Thankfully, the spa is only a brief walk from the town hall. I am starting to get a bit weirded out by the number of ponies I don’t recognize who seem to recognize me. I got more of those odd looks from before on my short trip, but I did my best to ignore them. After all, I have an entire spa day ahead of me! There’s no use in collecting more tension when it’ll all melt away.

An anticipatory hum passes my lips as I approach the building. Its checkerboard patterned roof and floral accents give it a welcoming, not quite whimsical appearance. A sign depicting a pony with a long, beautiful blonde mane and tail marks this as the place.

Walking in, I hear a tiny bell chime above me, jostled by the door to announce my arrival.

“One moment, please!” I hear a pleasant, feminine voice from out of sight call out in a thick Swedish accent, and some rustling and hoofsteps can be heard.

I take a few moments to look around, soaking in the decor. Shades of soothing Lavender purple surround me, with more floral accents and patterns dominating the decor. A comfortable-looking couch with fuchsia upholstery sits on the far side of the room next to the reception center, a hole in the wall with a counter to facilitate sign-ins.

And out of this hole peeks an earth pony mare. Her coat is a soft, lovely baby blue. Her coat is contrasted by a bright pink mane held back from her face by a white hairband and complemented by her striking cobalt eyes. A simple white collar with a single pink button decorates her neck. She sees me and smiles a bit wider. “Åh! A new customer.” She says, her voice filled with restrained excitement as she waves me over. “Come in, come in, snälla! What can we do for you?”

I approach the reception counter and reach into my saddlebags, rummaging around until I produce the writ the mayor had provided. “Er…I am starting work at the library tomorrow. The mayor told me to come here and give you this?”

The mare takes the papers and reads them, her smile slowly widening as she does so before setting them down. “Ahhhhh, I see. Well, Mister Tint, rest assured we will ensure you look your absolute best by the end of your time here. Komma! We have much to do with you.” She says as she beckons me to walk through the doorway next to the reception area before walking off.

Nodding, I do as I am told and walk through the doorway into the building proper. Several amenities I recognize from television and a number that I don’t sit scattered throughout the premises. It’s almost a bit overwhelming. Will they be using all of this on me?

As I ponder this, the mare from the counter returns, accompanied by a similar-looking mare with the same colors but swapped so that her mane is blue and her coat is pink! They both have a Cutie mark of a lotus flower on their flanks.

The blue one begins to speak again. “Mister Tint, my name is Lotus, and this is my Sister, Aloe. As Mayor Mares requested, We will personally oversee your grooming and spa treatments this afternoon. Please follow us to the prep area so my sister can prepare you.”

As instructed, I follow behind the pink mare, still curiously looking around at the array of displayed equipment as I am guided into a clean, tiled room. In the center was a grated floor with a step-in body harness. “And what er…is this for, if I may ask?”

“This is the prep room, Mister Tint. We will simply give you a brush and wash to make sure you are adequately groomed before proceeding to the other treatments,” Aloe explained patiently with a kind smile, gesturing toward the harness. “Please remove your clothes and step in so I may adjust the harness and begin.”

Nodding to her nervously, I remove my tie and hand (hoof?) it off to her. I then approach the harness and with a bit of trouble, manage to step into the harness one leg at a time. Once I am in, she begins turning a crank on the side of it, causing the harness's supports to rise until the fabric of the straps is pressed snugly against my body. She hums softly and uses her mouth to adjust some of the straps to fit me more snugly, and once she is sure that everything is appropriately adjusted, she raises the harness further until my hooves no longer touch the floor.

I give a small nervous nicker at the sudden suspension, and she smiles reassuringly, running her hoof up and down my back soothingly. “Please try to relax, Mister Tint. The straps simply ensure you do not fall over while we clean you up. Some ponies tend to…get a bit too relaxed while being brushed, and we would not want anypony to get hurt.” She says as she walks over to a nearby bench where somepony had set out an array of grooming tools.

I sigh softly and do my best to relax into the contraption as she returns with a rubber-bristled brush in her mouth. “I suppose that makes sense. Sorry, this is just all very new for me. I’ve never been to a spa before.”

“Mhm…” She says as she places the brush on her hoof, freeing her to speak again. “Is that so? In that case, We will do our best to make your first time positively underbar!” She chirps as she begins to slowly but firmly brush my coat.

At first, Aloe focuses mainly on the neck and torso areas. As much as I hesitate to admit it, I can now see why she insisted on the harness. My legs almost immediately begin to wobble, and I let out a soft, embarrassing moan as she works the brush through my coat. I can see some loose fur and bits of detritus, little snips of leaves and twigs slowly being pulled from my coat, along with a bit of dust.

Aloe chuckles softly at this and continues to work as she speaks, gently lecturing me. “You see, Mister Tint, although you can generally keep your outer coat clean with minimal upkeep, tending to the more delicate inner coat requires more specialized equipment to ensure that anything caught within is properly removed and the hairs do not become matted and tangled. This helps to promote the effectiveness of your coat in insulating your body and protecting it from moisture and the sun's rays.”

“I…I see…” I manage to respond through the pleasant haze of relaxation I am experiencing from the brushing. No wonder the horses back home always seemed to enjoy it so much if this is how good it feels.

After a few more minutes, she moves on to my facial area and then down to my legs. She starts at the bottom, working her way slowly upward until-

“U-hmm…I’m sorry, do you really need to…” I trail off as I arc my head back to look at her, her hoof straying worryingly close to…certain areas of my equine anatomy. “Brush there?”
She clicks her tongue at me, making an almost offended face. “Mister Tint, I assure you that I am a trained and licensed professional. I have seen plenty of these in my line of work, and I will see plenty more.” She pauses for a moment, starting to lean down to my undercarriage to get back to work. “I am more than capable of handling the care of your body with a respectful level of professio-det är väldigt stort…”

I can feel her stop brushing. I can also feel hot breath washing uncomfortably close to specific areas that seem exceptionally unprofessional. I sit there, frozen in place for a few long moments before loudly coughing and nudging her with one of my hind legs. “Is everything okay down there?”

A small squawk can be heard, followed by a bit of scrambling before the brushing resumes, a more respectful distance from that part of me. “Å-Åh, ja! No problems. No problems at all, Mister Tint. You’re in good hooves, I promise you.” She says quickly, finishing the scrub of my undercarriage, standing back up and trotting over to the bench to retrieve another brush with long, firm bristles.

“A-ahem…Now, the hard bristle brush is just to clear away any remaining bits and bobs left over on the surface of your coat. We will use a softer bristled version of this for your more sensitive areas like the legs, face, and er…other,” she says as she gently runs the brush over my coat, careful not to scratch my skin with the firm implement.

This goes much more smoothly and quickly and feels quite pleasant. The pass with the soft-bristled brush also goes faster, and Aloe is more…respectful of my personal space. I quickly find myself back in that blissful twilight of relaxation from before as she goes to grab another tool.

I feel her move one of my hind legs, bending it upward so that my hoof faces the ceiling as something firm scrapes against the bottom of it. I giggle softly, the feeling of whatever it is tickling more than anything.

“This is the hoof pick. We use it to ensure you do not have any compacted dirt and debris in your hind hooves. They are much thicker and more rigid than your front hooves and receive a lot less attention from most ponies, so it’s important to make sure that they are checked regularly and cleaned this way to prevent conditions associated with poor posture and uneven gait.”

She patiently explains this between my airy giggles, firmly holding my leg in place even as the tickling sensations cause it to twitch and spasm in her grip. Man, earth ponies really are strong…

Once my hooves were picked, she took out another smaller brush and dusted them off, only leading to me squirming in my harness more at the tickle of the bristles on my hooves. She rolls her eyes and smirks, setting it aside on the bench and returning with another brush, a wire one, and a spray bottle. She takes the bottle in her mouth and sets to work, spritzing down my mane and tail. She starts to speak again after setting it down on the floor. “This is a gentle detangling solution. We will let it set for a minute or two, then run the brush through your mane and tail, starting from the ends and working upwards to the roots to ensure we do not pull any healthy hair out and remove any dead hair or debris.”

Once again, the brushing feels immaculate. I murmur contentedly and close my eyes, allowing Aloe to brush my mane and then my tail without complaint. There is an occasional snag or pull, but she works to be exceptionally gentle with me. The discomfort is minimal and outweighed significantly by the soothing nature of the act.

After the final brushdown, she returns to the bench again, coming back with a basin of warm water and a few bottles and soft brushes. “Now that we have ensured you are free of dirt and debris, we will move on to a wash. I will shampoo, condition, and rinse your mane, tail, and coat. After that, I will apply some strawberry mint oil with a brush to promote healthy and thick hair and fur growth, and well…to make you smell nice.” she finishes with a little chuckle, approaching me with a wet sponge in her hoof.

She starts by dampening my coat, ensuring the water penetrates both layers, doing the same with my mane. She then drizzles the shampoo over my body where she can, and applies it manually with her hooves on my extremities and undercarriage.

Have you ever had one of those super relaxing hair washes at the salon where they tilt you over the sink and just really get in your stuff and clean you up? Yeah, imagine that, but it’s your entire body. To call the experience pleasant feels like an egregious understatement. I feel as if Saint Peter is greeting me at the holy gates in the best possible way as she uses that brush to work the warm water and shampoo into my coat, with all sorts of less-than-flattering noises escaping my mouth. Coos and mewls and soft little occasional moans and everything in between are coming out of me as this mare works her magic, and frankly I am enjoying myself too much to be bothered by her smug smile.

“Ja, it’s quite nice, Mister Tint, yes?” She asks as she begins to hose me down. She takes the hose in her mouth, chuckling as she uses the brush to clear the soap from my fur and hair before applying the conditioner. She massages the product slowly, carefully ensuring that she has evenly saturated my coat and mane, then lets it set for a few minutes before rinsing it out.

I wistfully sigh and lean into the rinsing and brushing, nodding slowly at her question. “Y-yes, it’s very nice…” I say softly, my eyes closed to avoid any sort of soap entering them as she lathers and rinses me. “And this is just the cleaning portion of the treatment?”

“That is correct, Mister Tint,” Aloe answers as she sets the hose back down and returns to the bench. Once we have blow-dried and brushed you an additional time, we will move on to the next step. I am happy to hear you are satisfied with my work.”

The rest of the cleaning goes by uneventfully. Aloe allows me to drip dry for a few minutes, taking the time to brush my teeth for me. It's a bit odd, but I suppose being exhaustive with the cleaning is not a bad thing, so long as they are not…too exhaustive this time.

Once I stop dripping, Aloe uses a blow dryer to blast the remaining water in my damp coat away, the mare brushing my coat simultaneously with her hoof. By the end of the process, my coat feels pleasantly light and airy against my body, and suffused with warmth.

She then takes another small bottle and a soft bristle brush, applying the liquid in the bottle to the brush with a dropper and rubbing it in thoroughly before brushing me. She brushes along the direction of the growth of the hair, hitting several angles for each position of my body. “And here is the strawberry mint oil. By massaging the oil in at several angles, a healthy, mid-length coat like yours should become more wavy and lustrous as the mixture supplements your naturally secreted oils.”

I give a small yawn as Aloe brushes me one final time, feeling refreshed and even a bit ready for a nap after such a luxurious experience. And to think there is still a whole other stretch after this!

My legs wobble a bit as I’m lowered back to the ground, but Aloe is gracious enough to help steady me, smiling gently as she rubs my back. “There we go, all ready. And how are you feeling, hm?” She asks as she pulls a mirror over for me to inspect myself. “Look how much better you are looking already with just a proper wash and dry, hm?”

“I'm….feeling pretty good, thanks…” I say softly as I stretch slightly, extending each of my legs under me one after another. I feel them pop a bit and give a satisfied grunt with each one before shaking myself off. I look into the mirror and tilt my head, slightly confused. I almost don’t recognize myself for a moment. I’m definitely…fluffier. A lot fluffier and much softer looking. It almost reminds me of one of those silly images of a cow that has been recently shampooed, which makes sense, considering.

I do a few little poses in front of the mirror, and perform a turnaround before nodding, satisfied with the results so far. I would definitely say I look cuter than before at the very least, and Horse Brain is telling me that this look is more attractive, so I’ll take it! “Thank you, Aloe. I almost feel like a new stallion already,” I Say kindly to the mare in acknowledgment of her work.

Aloe nods and walks towards the door, gesturing for me to follow. “Excellent! You’ll probably be blown away by the end result, then! Right this way, Mister Tint. My sister will be taking care of the next step of your treatment.”

Smiling contentedly, I obediently follow behind her. So far, aside from a few minor snafus, this has been quite lovely. I can’t wait to see what’s next!

This is a bit self-indulgent, I admit, but I spent several hours researching horse grooming and spa treatments this weekend, and I wasn't going to *not* pamper the shit out of this lad after that.

A Special thanks to Exiled Path for their continued support on Kofi with a second donation! If you would like to be featured in my author's notes, you may secure your spot with a donation as small as one dollar.