I opened my eyes. I was in a bed, but the tiles on the ceiling told me I wasn’t in the hotel. I felt rather weak. I found the strength to sit up, and as the blankets fell off of me, I saw that I was wearing my robe. What happened?

“Ah, good evening, Yang” Rarity said, making me aware of her presence. “Glad to see you’re awake now.”

“Rarity?” I asked. My throat felt really dry. “What happened?”

“Well, Twilight explained it to us, but I can’t remember all the details. What I do remember is that the swimsuit basically got in the way of your transformation completing itself, leaving you screaming in pain, and bleeding a lot.”

“Well, that, well. . .” That was a lot that happened.

“None of us expected it to happen, dear. Anyways, you’ve been out cold for well over a day. Fluttershy made a meal for you, and she’s sure you’ll love it.” Rarity floated a covered platter over to me.

I sat up and felt a sense of relief wash over me when my legs moved and had feeling in them just as they were supposed to. I accepted the platter and lifted the cover off, revealing a pasta dish with chunks of chicken and various vegetables strewn throughout and covered with alfredo sauce with steam coming off of the whole thing. The smell kickstarted my stomach and it was soon known that I was very hungry. I grabbed the fork that was with it and began eating like I hadn’t had anything for a whole day, which was actually true. There was also a cupcake on the side, but I wasn’t concerned about it or its perfectly swirled pink icing.

The buttery pasta, the tender beef, the slightly crisp vegetables, the creamy sauce, all at a temperature that would normally burn someone’s mouth, but not mine. As I ate, I could feel my strength returning. I still felt weaker than normal, but I was getting better.

“Ah, Miss Xiao Long, you’re up” a doctor stallion said as he came in. I ignored him. “I would ask how you’re feeling, but the food you’re inhaling answers that question.” Heck yeah, it did.

“I presume that means she’s to be discharged soon?” Rarity asked.

“Yes. We’ve taken the liberty of cleaning her swimsuit ourselves, and I’ll bring it up in a bit.”

“Thank you very much, doctor.”

The doctor left and I continued eating until a question crossed my mind. “So, what now?”

“Well, as soon as you’re able to, we’re going to go back down there, though this time with you wearing a bikini. We go down, and before you go past the barrier, you take the bottom piece off and swim down there, get changed, and we follow. Sounds good, yes?”

“Y-yeah, it does.” Something like an alarm went off in the back of my mind about the idea, but it wasn’t about the part that I’d be wearing a bikini, though I certainly wasn’t looking forward to that prospect. It wasn’t that I’d have to take part of it off under there, which would be quite uncomfortable for me, even alone. Wait, I didn’t even have one. It was something else that was setting off the alarms, though I couldn’t figure out what. I decided to bury the confusion with the rest of the food in front of me, and top it off with the cupcake and some water.

“So, is there anything you’d like to do while you recover?”

I gave the question some thought. “Can I just walk around? No goals, no destinations, just walking around with a bit of spending money.”

“I don’t see why not, well tomorrow, anyways. It is starting to get late. Oh, just so you know, Rainbow’s not with us right now. She’s underwater with Princess Skystar and Queen Novo and is acting as a relay for messages.”

“Okay.”

“Oh, I brought you some regular clothes.” Rarity levitated my backpack up for me and I took it. Inside was a shirt, a pair of pants, my shoes, a pair of socks, a bra, and a pair of panties. After seeing the undergarments, I became aware that I wasn’t wearing any myself. “I had to rearrange the things in there a bit, but there should be enough room for you to put your robe in there.”

“Thanks. Could you leave for a bit? I’d like some privacy.”

“Of course, dear. I’ll take the platter for you.” Rarity left with the platter in her grasp and closed the door behind her.

When she was gone, I exhaled and relaxed a bit. After a bit, I grabbed the backpack and went to the attached bathroom. After closing the door, I looked in the mirror and saw that I looked a bit ghostly. My skin was visibly paler than usual, though not by much. I needed some sunlight or something.

The shower looked tempting, but an idea crossed my mind and I decided to skip it. Besides, this was a hospital, not a hotel. As I pulled out my clean clothes, I noticed something among them. Two things, to be exact. I pulled them out and looked at them. “She made me a bikini anyways? Well, at least it’s simple and looks modest enough.” The bikini was the same brown color as my swimsuit and had my burning heart emblem in yellow on the front left area of each piece. Honestly, it looked pretty good.

I snapped myself out of the thoughts about the bikini and changed out of my robe. As I got dressed, I thought about what had happened, at least that I was aware of. I’d been asleep for over a day, probably from a combination of blood loss and shock, based on what I’d heard. At least I could remember the pain and the red cloud. I could get more details from Twilight later.

After I finished changing and packing the robe away, I put the backpack on, left the bathroom and opened the door to the room. “Ah, ready to go, Yang?” Rarity asked.

“Yeah. Do we have to wait for the doctor?”

“I already took care of the discharge forms, dear. And I have your swimsuit. Here, let me put it in your backpack.” Rarity did just that, using her telekinesis to open the backpack and put it in before closing it back up. “For now, we’re going back to the hotel.”

Shortly after Rarity and I entered the hotel, I was gang hugged by Twilight, Fluttershy, Pinkie, and Applejack. I can only imagine Rarity might have shrugged before joining in the gang hug.

“Yes, yes, I’m here, girls, I’m here, I’m alive.”

“I knew you were okay, but I still felt so worried” Twilight said. “How are you feeling?”

“A little weak, but I’ll be fine. Can you let me go?”

“Just let us hug you a bit longer, Yang” Applejack said. Well, sure, why not? Hugs are nice.

Eventually, the hug party came to an end. “So, how about we play some War Time Strategy?” Twilight asked.

“Without Rainbow?”

“I’m game” I said. Hooves met faces.

The six of us went our own ways for the day after a quick breakfast. Twilight scanned me and said I should be fully recovered by the end of the day, but still to take it easy. Well, I was planning on doing that today anyways, so there was no need to change my plans.

I found a map of the area of Los Pegasus we were in and set about scanning it for the kind of destination I had in mind. Fortunately, the area wasn’t too big, and I was able to find a few of what I wanted, all in one little area not too far from the hotel or the ocean. I had choices, lots of bits, a backpack, and the whole day.

The area was just as the map showed it to be. The whole block had a plaza in the middle, accessible from all four sides, and all the shops that made up the inside perimeter had their offers out on artfully decorated chalkboards. In the middle was a blue gazebo-style restaurant with a grill in the middle, where some equine cooks were working, and they appeared to be wearing black uniforms with colorful lines on them.

Either I had inadvertently started a trend with the Carne Den uniforms, or I had just chosen something that was already being done and didn’t know it. It didn’t affect me, so I didn’t give it much thought beyond that. I’d probably go there after going to one of the perimeter businesses.

This was the Spa Plaza, and it wasn’t hard to see how it got that name. The four spas aside, the pavement was made of warm yellow and dark green concrete, the area was a bit warmer and more humid than even just the outside of the block, and it smelled very clean. It was almost like the walls of the spas couldn’t contain the essences of what was in them.

I went into the one on the left first, called Heartful Healing, and the receptionist mare promptly greeted me. “Hello, Yang Xiao Long.”

“Please be professional. Please be professional.” Aside from it being three words instead of two, she had just reminded me of how big my name was.

“Would you like to know about our spa treatment?”

Thank goodness she was being professional. “Sure.”

“We believe in the power of group recovery here, so we have one big pool for all our clients to socialize in. The water has cleansing properties to it, which are perfectly safe, even if swallowed. All our technicians are trained in every area of treatment. Hair, skin, hooves and claws, or whatever the equivalent is for you, and even massages.”

“Thanks, but I think I’ll pass. I’m not looking for a group session.” I left the spa just as politely as I had entered it.

I went clockwise to the next one, The Sea-Spa and was greeted by a stallion receptionist. “Hello, Miss. Would you like to hear about our spa?”

“Sure.” The more you know, the better the decision you can make.

“We have a wheel shaped spa here. That is that there’s a central hub for rinses and light soaks as needed, along with socializing, then there are various treatment chambers all around. We have a sauna, mud bath, hoof and hoof equivalent treatment, massage, hair treatment, and hot tub. You can choose the treatments you want, and can even have the same treatment multiple times in one session if you want. All our water is pumped in from the ocean, so the healing salts are already in there.”

“The. . . Ocean?” What was this odd feeling of trepidation? Everything else was fine, but why was that idea scaring me so much?

“Yes. We-”

I didn’t hear the rest of his spiel because I left after he said ‘Yes’. I made a beeline for the restaurant in the middle, called Compass Rose, and took an open seat at an outer counter facing my next destination, The Only Spa.

“Hello, Miss Xiao Long” a waitress said as she gave me a menu. “Can I start you off with something to drink?”

“Do you have anything to calm my nerves?”

“Something happen?”

I just had to open up to her or I was going to break down, my mind was running so quickly. “The Sea-Spa looked like it would be a good place, and it sounded good, but when I heard that they pump water in from the ocean, I just, I don’t know, something about that scared me.”

“The cost?”

“No, the seawater. I’m sure it’s clean and safe, but I don’t know why-” I took a breath, sighed, and forced myself to relax a bit. “Sorry for unloading that onto you. Do you have anything?”

“How does a strawberry sunrise smoothie sound? It’s our signature drink.”

“How much is it?”

“Four bits, but we give you a very good amount.”

“I’ll take one. With a little umbrella.”

“I’ll have it out in a couple minutes.”

“Thank you.” As the waitress left, I forced my breathing to slow down to a more reasonable pace. I had to think about why I had that kind of reaction to the idea of seawater. I wasn’t afraid of it back on Earth, and I wasn’t afraid of it at the beach, so what was with that reaction? It didn’t make any sense.

“Your strawberry sunrise smoothie, ma’am.” The waitress put the drink in front of me, complete with a little yellow umbrella and a straw.

“Thanks.” I looked at the drink and saw that it took up most of a regular drink glass. She wasn’t kidding about how much there was. I picked it up and took a sip through the straw. The flavor, sweetness, and texture were working some magic on me. I was already feeling much calmer. I didn’t forget the experience at The Sea-Spa, but it certainly felt a bit more tolerable.

Sometimes, you just needed something to take the edge off a problem so you could take it on. Or at least make it easier to remember to talk about it with someone else later.

I finished my drink, paid, left a good tip, and went to The Only Spa. The inside, well, it was to lavishness what a sense of peace was to THE TRANQUILITY. There was gold and diamonds in the walls, the chairs in the lobby were gem encrusted, there was a large sapphire encrusted ruby hanging from the ceiling, there were maids stationed around not doing anything but being paid scenery, and it probably took me almost thirty seconds to get used to the permeating fragrance. “Hello, and welcome to The Only Spa” the maids all said at the same time as they bowed.

The receptionist came out from an alcove and greeted me personally. “Ah, Yang Xiao Long, the legendary hero. Welcome to The Only Spa, the most luxurious spa in the Spa Plaza, nay, the world. You tell us what you want in your treatment and you’ll get it.”

“Tempting. Do you know why this place is called The Only Spa?”

“It’s called The Only Spa because we believe we are the only spa that needs to be here.”

Wow. Smuggitude much? “How much is it?”

“200 bits.”

“Nope.” I left The Only Spa and took a deep breath when I was outside. The clean air out here was much easier to breathe, not just because of the lack of fragrance, but also the lack of an overwhelming sense of superiority. Good god that was some terrible air.

There was only one spa left to try, and it was simply called SPA-CE. All big letters. I went inside and it was way different. While the other spas were bright or at least very well lit, this one was darker and had an overall quieter feel to it. “Hello, and welcome to SPA-CE.” The desk was behind the meditating receptionist, and it looked like she had bat wings.

“Please tell me about this place.” If there’s any disappointment here, I want it out of the way immediately.

“Of course. Our treatments are fully individualized, to your specifications. All of us here are adept at treating you silently, allowing for your inner peace to be maintained through outer peace.”

I’m liking this place so far. “Do you offer anything really unique?”

“We have masks that allow you to see and roam through outer space during your time here. They are complimentary with your treatment, and you are free to put it on or take it off anytime you want.”

“What treatments do you offer?”

“We have hair and skin treatments, massages, and hoof treatments, all of which can come to you in your own chamber, which has a hot tub in it. We also have a mud bath and sauna, which we will happily guide you to, even if you have your mask on.”

“How much?”

“A full treatment with everything is 150 bits, and you can make a custom treatment plan as well.”

I’m sold. “How much for everything but the mud bath?”

“130 bits. You may change your clothes and prepare as you see fit in the room on the right. There’s another door in there that leads straight to the hallway. I will have someone waiting there for you.”

“Is there a place to keep my backpack?”

“We do have lockers in there, and as long you have something in one, it will only open for you.”

“Thanks.” I went into the door on the right and the room within had a simple layout. A few lockers that looked like they were made of wood were along a wall, and there was a closed off stall with its door open. I went in there, preemptively took care of getting anything in my system out, and changed into my bikini. Normally, I’d have just gone with the swimsuit, but I actually kind of wanted to wear the bikini. At least once.

After changing and putting my backpack in a locker, I went straight out into the hallway and to my right was another bat winged mare, apparently waiting for me. I went into the room she had chosen for me and saw the hot tub in the middle of the room, already steaming. Around the tub were various items for various treatments. I slid into the water and discovered that the tub was cushioned. Nice.

“Is the water depth to your liking?” the mare asked me.

“That can be changed?” I was wondering how that worked since the water was at the brim already.

“Of course.”

“Can it go to my neck?”

“Just a moment.” The mare went aside and soon, I felt myself going down until the water was at my neck, exactly where I wanted it. “Would you like a mask?”

“Sure.” A moment later, I had what looked like a sleeping mask over my eyes. My hair had to be moved so it could be properly secured, but it got done. “So, where’s the space?”

“It just takes a moment.” She was right. A moment later, even through my closed eyes, I found myself looking out on the planet from the moon. “What would you like first?”

“A few minutes to see the space.”

“I’ll be back in ten minutes.”

After the mare left, I focused on the visuals. It didn’t take long for me to figure out how to move around. It wasn’t like walking, but more like floating. To the side, I saw. . . “It can’t be. . .” The moon buggy and American flag? I looked back to the planet and saw what I recognized as the North American continent, and then the rest of the world.

My puzzlement was being pushed aside by a sense of awe. I looked the other way, away from the light side, and looked out into the stars. I imagined myself leaving the moon’s surface and found myself doing just that. There was no vertigo, no drop in my stomach, and no disorientation, even as I approached Mars in a matter of seconds.

Just floating there and seeing Mars closer than anyone has before was awe inspiring. The awe, while not broken, was stressed a bit when the mare came back. “Miss, are you ready for a treatment?”

Oh, right, the treatments. “How about the massage first?”

“Of course.” I barely heard something being adjusted and moved around in the room before hearing something being lowered into the water. “The massage table is ready for you.”

I lifted one side of the mask and saw that they had the massage table submerged, which was interesting. At least the ring shaped headrest kept the water away, probably by magic. I made my way to it and got on. “This is interesting.” I lowered the mask and made my way to Saturn and its rings.

“I will now begin your massage.” Four hooves gently landed on my back and began poking around. “There’s a lot of tension in your muscles. When do you relax?”

There was a hexagon on the north pole of Saturn. Or was it the south pole? “I usually spend a day every week or so just laying down on the roof at home.”

“This must be some recent tension then. No matter, I’ve dealt with worse.” After a few more seconds of her getting the feel of what she was working on, she started at the small of my back. Something in my spine popped almost immediately and I found myself relaxing even more.

As I relaxed more and more, the space visuals retreated from the solar system and out to the space between stars. Whoever came up with the submerged massage and air bubble idea was a genius. The warm water and masterful hoof movements were working wonders at making me more loose.

After my will to move was brought down to the likeness of an overcooked piece of spaghetti, the massage came to an end, but that was alright. I’ve never felt so relaxed before. “Would you like your nails, skin, or hair done next?”

How did she know they were called nails? I don’t care. “Nails. Hey, on the skin treatment, could you-”

“If you wish, we will not touch any area you specify.”

They’re really good with the details. “Chest and hips.”

“We will avoid those areas then. I’ll get you ready for your nails.” I felt the table going up, or maybe the water going down, I didn’t care, but I was out of the warm water. “If you could turn over, that would help us greatly.” If helping them helped me, well, that was motivation enough for me to turn over. While the spirit to move was strong, the flesh was very reluctant to oblige. After a lot of effort, I’d managed to turn over onto my back, at which point the mare began drying my feet off, followed by my hands. “What would you like done with your nails?”

“Nothing artistic.” I wasn’t that kind of woman.

“A trim and plain polish it is then. I’ll be right back.” Note to self: endorse SPA-CE and get it on record. Or just write it out.

My thoughts were interrupted by two sets of hooves coming in. There was no talking, just them starting on my toenails. As they did their work, trimming, filing, and polishing, I drifted my way back to the solar system and looked at Neptune. It was just so blue and serene. I stayed over Neptune as they finished my toenails, and when they started on my fingernails, I zipped over to a prismatic nebula. Truly, it was a sight to behold.

“And that’s your nails all done. Would you like the skin or hair treatment next? Or maybe the sauna?”

“Skin, please.”

“We’ll begin with your face.” My hair got levitated and moved back before they put some kind of cream on my face almost like icing on a cake. It even smelled a little sugary, though that could have just been my imagination. Once that was done, they moved on to the rest of my body except for the areas I’d specified. “We’ll let the skin treatment settle in for a bit, and then we’ll get your back, alright?”

“Sounds good.” I certainly wasn’t going to complain if I had to put in as little effort as was being asked of me for some serious relaxation. At this rate, the sauna might just put me to sleep. It wouldn’t surprise me.

Eventually, the time came for me to make what felt like another herculean effort to turn over, and I did it. Once again, they put whatever it was they used for the skin treatment on me.

Wait, why would ponies have skin treatments? Well, they did have skin under their fur, so maybe it was for that? I don’t know.

Minutes passed. I saw the massive black hole at the center of the galaxy. They gently peeled the cream mask off and my face felt fresh and minty. There was no other way I could have described it.

Eventually, they moved my head so I was looking downwards, the opening in the headrest allowing my face to not get smashed (if that was possible) while still supporting my head. Almost immediately, they got to work on my hair, starting with a conditioner. “What scent would you like for your shampoo?”

“Do you have citrus?”

“Yes we do.”

“Citrus would be nice.”

“Consider it done.” The conditioner was left in my hair for a while before being thoroughly rinsed out. “Would you like any styling done?”

“No, just a wash. And a brushing.”

Once again, I felt them working product into my hair. Even from my face down position, I could smell the citrus. It was strong, but it would probably fade out a bit after the rinse. And I had to give kudos to the ponies working on my hair. Even without hands, they were gentle, thorough, and precise. My hair never flared up at any point, even during the brushing.

Finally, the rinse came, the warm water falling on my head at an easy pace. “Hey, is it too late to cancel the sauna?” I asked.

“No, it isn’t too late. May I ask why you want to cancel the sauna?”

“I’d probably just fall asleep in there.”

“We’d wake you up if you did.”

“Thanks, but I’ll still pass on the sauna.” I wasn’t sweating over possible dehydration, since that wasn’t an issue for me. I just didn’t want to impose on them like that.

“Very well. Just tell us if you change your mind again.” After the shampoo was fully rinsed out, I asked to have the water over me again, and soon enough, the warm water was over everything but my head. “We’ll warm up a robe and some towels for you. They’ll be by the door.”

“Thanks.” I continued relaxing on the table and flying through space for a while. Eventually, the space simulation started to get kind of boring, so I felt my way to the edge, sat down, took off the mask and opened my eyes. It was a cool trip, but seeing so much of it for so long started to take away some of the wonder. Being able to see the room I was in was rather nice, and it didn’t take long for my eyes to adjust to the dim lighting.

As comfortable as the water was, it felt like it was time for me to get out, so I did just that. Over by the door was the robe and towels, neatly stacked up. I started with the towels first. I tried to wrap it around my head, but I didn’t get it to stay. On the other hand, it was a quality Equestrian towel, so it helped dry out my hair quite a bit, making it kind of floofy in a good way. After drying off the rest of my body, I put the toasty robe on. It wasn’t a perfect fit, but it was fairly close, so it was good enough. The robe practically sucked the water right out of the bikini, but didn’t show that it had done so from the outside.

I almost fell asleep standing up with the toasty robe on. I’ve got to figure out how to make mine like this at home. It’s just so comfy and toasty.

I collected the towels and left the room, went back to the restroom/changing room, got my backpack, changed in the unoccupied stall, and went out to the front desk, where the receptionist was still meditating. Or had gone back to meditating. “Welcome back. How was your experience?”

“I loved it” I said. “Professional, solitary treatment, and that underwater massage. It was just amazing. How much do I owe you?” Since I opted out of the sauna, that should drop the price a bit.

“110 bits.”

I put my backpack down, found the bits, and started counting them out. I really need to get the five bit coin idea out there. I gave 120 bits for the quality services and put on a 15 bit tip on as well for all involved. “That’s that, then. Thanks.”

“And thank you for visiting us. Have a wonderful day.”

I left SPA-CE and had to take a moment adjust to the bright sunlight outside. It felt a bit warmer out here now and there were more ponies going about. A number of ponies saw me as I left and turned back to whoever they were talking to.

“Excuse me, Miss?” a white pegasus mare asked. Her mane and tail, both bright yellow, were styled in a way that looked kind of familiar.

“Yes?” I asked.

“Is that spa any good? I’ve heard it’s a dark place run by bat ponies.”

“It is, and let me tell you, it was very relaxing. Go ahead and try it out.”

“Well, if you like it, I guess I’ll try it out myself.” The mare landed and went inside while I went back towards the Compass Rose.

I had just taken a seat facing SPA-CE when the realization hit me: that white pegasus mare had styled her mane and tail to resemble my hair. I had no idea if yellow was the natural color or not, but she was a fan, by the looks of it. A well mannered fan, by the way she acted.

“Back already?” the waitress from before said as she gave me a menu.

“But much better.”

“Certainly seems that way. Want another strawberry sunrise smoothie?”

“No, I’ll just have some water. No ice.”

“Can do.” She left and I looked over the menu. The Compass Rose was apparently a soup and sandwich shop with some light drinks on the side. No meat, but at least there didn’t appear to be grass in everything. “And here’s your water. Need a minute?”

“No, I think I’ve got it figured out. I’ll have a cup of the cheese and potato soup and, you know what, I’ll just have a bowl of the soup with a breadstick on the side.”

“Can do. Oh, how was SPA-CE? I’ve never gone in there.”

“It’s really nice. Trust me.”

“Thanks. I’ll have your order out in a couple minutes.”

As I waited, I began thinking. Even though I was treated fairly normally by just about everyone here, I still seemed to have some degree of star power. Just by my word alone, I could make SPA-CE the most successful spa in the Spa Plaza, or even all of Los Pegasus.

Eventually, my food arrived and I had a proper lunch. It was good. At the right time, I paid, thanked the waitress, and left the Spa Plaza. There were things to do around the city.

During my trip around Los Pegasus, I got a few things. A couple paintings of fantastic landscapes (already framed), some treats for my friends (including Pinkie), and a dragon plush like the one I’d already won (but smaller). I was heading back to the hotel and passed by the Spa Plaza and chanced a glance in there. I saw a crowd gathered outside SPA-CE, and a closer look showed one of the chalkboards had been changed to a drawing of me winking and saying that I had visited and praised their spa.

Somehow, I wasn’t seen by the crowd of ponies, consisting of mostly mares, partially stallions, and one Rarity. I didn’t press my luck by hanging around and left the herd. Fortunately, I was quiet enough not to be heard. It was only after I was certain I was out of their range that I changed from a quiet walk to a casual, if slightly fast walk.

I made it to the hotel with no problems and went into my room. “Hi, Yang” Fluttershy greeted. “I befriended a seagull today. I named him Steven.” I pinched the bridge of my nose at the pun Fluttershy had unwittingly made. “Did you go to a spa today?”

“How can you tell?”

“You’re much more relaxed than when we left the hotel earlier today, your hair smells different, the citrus scent is nice, by the way, and Rarity heard that you said good things about a spa. She left a couple hours ago, so she should be back in time for supper with us.”

“She’s actually in the crowd waiting to go in there. At least she was when I walked by.” Steven flew toward me and I stuck an arm out for him to land on, which he did. Smart bird. “So we’ll probably have to have supper without her. Is Rainbow back?”

“She should be back soon. Twilight, Skystar, and Novo decided to move the meeting place inland a bit.”

“Why?” I pet Steven’s chest and he seemed to like it.

“Twilight used some big word to describe something about you after the incident. I can’t remember what it was, but it was related to the sea. I think.”

Steven had enough of my petting him and flew back to Fluttershy. “I guess we’ll just have to wait and find out what it is later.”

Author's Notes:

So, did you find yourself relaxing while reading the spa scene? I found myself relaxing as I wrote it.