“Have you tried it yet, Twilight?” Pinkie asked, bouncing up and down as she usually did.

“No. Why would I? It sounds disgusting.” Twilight tried to focus on her task, which was rearranging the library, again. Whatever Pinkie was rambling on about, she was breaking through Twilight’s mental barrier as she relentlessly followed her around the library..

“Oh, come on, Twilight, you’ve got to try it, it’s really, really super duper fun!”

“But wouldn’t it be painful?! What you’re describing doesn’t sound pleasant at all.” Twilight moved a stack of books over to an empty shelf near the door.

Pinkie stopped bouncing for a moment,
“Well, yeah, I suppose it would be a little uncomfortable the first time, and the smell is hard to get rid of without a long shower, but it’s so totally fun, and feels amazing, Twilight! You’ve just got to try it!”

“Let me see if I got this. You got another ‘doozy shudder’ and you’re assuming that the unexpected thing is going to be me trying out some incredibly gross activity?”

“Yup!”

Twilight gave in and put down her books, turning to her friend. “But, Pinkie! You’re suggesting that I let somepony... “

Pinkie nodded vigorously. “Uh-huh! It’s a lot of fun! Come on, Twilight, you can do it with me. Or maybe it would be me doing it with you.” Pinkie tapped her chin for a moment as she looked up, having stopped bouncing again. “I’m not really sure.” She shrugged, and returned to hopping up and down in place.

“I’m sorry, Pinkie, but I have to watch the library. I just don’t have time for... whatever you call that.” Twilight returned to putting books on shelves. Pinkie bounced after her.

“Spike can watch the library, and we could stop by to make sure he’s doing okay.” Pinkie opened her lips wide to reveal a wall of shimmering teeth.

Twilight looked around for some other excuse to say no. “Well, um...” There were no more books to put away, no scrolls to reorganize...

“Please?” Pinkie cocked her head to the side and blinked rapidly.

“I...” beads of sweat rolled down Twilight’s face.

“Pleeeeeaase?”

Twilight groaned. “Ugh, fine, Pinkie. I’ll do this once to get it over with if it will shut you up, but I’m really not looking forward to this.”

“Whoohoo! Thanks, Twilight,” Pinkie replied. “You won’t regret this, I promise!”

“I better not,” Twilight mumbled as the two of them turned and headed out the door.

“At the spa? Really, Pinkie?” Twilight groaned.

“No, silly. We’re just here to buy the pill Aloe developed. You’re gonna need it for this if you don’t want problems. Then all we need to do is find you a partner. Hmm, I wonder if Mackie would want to do it.”

“I am NOT letting your coltfriend—”

“What? He’s been doing it to me all week.” They walked up to the front desk and Pinkie whacked a hoof onto the bell.

“Yeah, but you two are dating! It almost makes sense for you to do that with him, but me—”

Twilight was silenced again as Lotus appeared behind the counter. She and Pinkie both turned their heads as she addressed them.

“Hello and welcome to the Ponyville Day Spa. What can I get you ladies today?”

Pinkie Pie leaned over the counter and placed a hoof on the side of her mouth as though to mask what she was about to say. “One v-pill please. For my friend here.” She tapped the hoof near her mouth in Twilight’s direction and turned her head toward her with narrow eyes. “Actually, on second thought, we might want to get two.”

Lotus’s eyes widened at the mention of the pill, and then her mouth followed suit when Twilight was indicated. “You mean, she’s...” Lotus never finished the sentence, but her smile grew as Pinkie nodded excitedly.

“It’s gonna be her first time,” Pinkie replied. Lotus vanished toward the direction of the back room without a second thought.

“PINKIE?!” Twilight crossed her hooves as her cheeks flushed red. “Why are you telling her that? Just get what we need and let’s get out of here, I don’t want to make a whole scene out of this! Besides, I’m still not sure I’m okay with this.”

Pinkie’s lower lip curled. “But Twilight, you promised. Please?” She dropped low to the ground and stared up at Twilight with big, glistening eyes.

Twilight tried to avoid her gaze, looking everywhere but at Pinkie. There was the mud bath, the massage chairs, the hot tub... Just then, Lotus returned with a small, colorful paper bag with handles. “Here you are, miss Pie. Enjoy.” She grinned at Twilight as though she were a child taking her first steps.

Twilight raised an eyebrow at her, then looked back down at Pinkie, who was now running in place on her four hooves, and giving her a look that made her wonder just what she was about to get herself into.

“... Fine.” Pinkie was insufferable, and Twilight really wanted to see what the whole fuss was about.

Pinkie handed Lotus a bag of about 20 bits, then picked up the parcel and placed it in her saddlebag.

“Okay, great. You’ve got the pill thingy, now can we go?” Twilight turned and started heading toward the door.

“Actually,” Pinkie added. “I just got an idea, let’s do it here!”

Twilight whirled around. Pinkie was once again bouncing in place with that goofy smile of hers that she got whenever she had an idea.

“What?! Here?!”

“Oh, sure! They’ve got a back room here. We go in the back room, you take the pill, and the fun begins.” Pinkie’s was rocked back on her haunches, leaving her head low and her rear end high in the air with her tail waggling back and forth rapidly. She still had that dumb smile on. “Please, Twi?”

Twilight stumbled backward for a few steps, her eyes darting toward the door. “I— but— Weren’t we going to go ask Big Macintosh if he would—”

“Yeah, but you didn’t like that idea. Besides, I thought maybe I could do it. Please, Twilight, I could make it that much more special for you.”

Twilight held her pose toward the door for a moment as beads of sweat ran traces down her sides. She gave an involuntary shudder and relaxed, head and tail drooping.

“Fine. I suppose if I’m getting that up close and personal with somepony, it may as well be you.”

Before she could begin walking, Twilight was instantly tackle-hugged by Pinkie.

“Oh, thank you thank you thank you. You have no idea how cool this is. I’ve been having fun all week, but now I get to have the fun from the other side, HEEHEE!” Pinkie Pie let go of Twilight and began dancing in place as she asked Lotus to show them the back room, who eagerly escorted them post haste.

~ ~ ~

The back room of the spa resembled somewhat of a personal lounge or a bedroom. There was a bed made up with red velvet comforters, a comfortable looking couch in the corner not unlike the one Rarity usually summoned when she was being melodramatic, some wine bottles all arranged neatly in a rack, and several other objects Twilight had never seen before. One of them was simply a long round length of rubber, about two feet long and several inches around. As Twilight contemplated possible uses for the device, Pinkie opened up the bag she’d purchased and pulled out a small box.

“Recommended only for use with unicorns,” Pinkie read aloud from the back of the box. “Well, you’re a unicorn, so I guess we’re set. I wonder why I’ve been able to do this with Mackie all week without any problems.” She ripped open the box and pulled out a small purple pill. “Ready?” She asked, turning to Twilight with half closed eyes. The look on Pinkie’s face caused Twilight to turn pale.

“I, um... Pinkie, are you alright?” Twilight asked, taking a few steps back.

“Huh? Oh, yeah. I’m fine. I’m just trying to make this really special for you.” Pinkie said. She tossed Twilight the pill. “Here. Just eat it, and the fun will begin.”

Twilight caught it with her magic. She stared at it for a few moments as she tried to make up her mind. Should I really go through with this? I could just not take it and leave. But I promised her I’d do it. I know it wasn’t a Pinkie promise, but it still feels like one. Pinkie looked as though she might fall over forward at any moment. Her eyes were wide open and her tongue was hanging out slightly, saliva dripping from the tip of it. Twilight looked from the door to Pinkie and back, before finally opening her mouth, and popping in the little pill.

“Okay,” Twilight gulped. “Now what?”

“Now, we um... Let’s check the box.” Pinkie Pie strode over to where she’d dropped the box the pill came from. “Let’s see... Oh, here it is, step two: Cast protective spells. (instructions included)” Pinkie turned the box over and out slid a folded up piece of paper. Unfolding it, she brought it over to Twilight.

Except Pinkie seemed a lot bigger as she got nearer to Twilight.

“Um, Pinkie? Am I getting smaller?”

Pinkie Pie dropped the paper in front of her, and it landed with a resounding thud, sending a gust of wind and dust blasting into her face.

“Yup. You have to be small, how else was I gonna swallow you?” Pinkie Pie dropped low onto her front hooves and opened her mouth. “Come on, cast the protective spells and let’s get this over with. I can’t wait to feel you wriggling around inside me.” She let her tongue slide out, forming a sort of staircase into her mouth.

Twilight’s face paled again and she drew her head back at the thought of actually climbing inside Pinkie’s mouth. She looked back down at the paper, which contained two spells: One was for protection against bodily fluids, primarily stomach acids. The second one was an anti-breathing spell, which would remove the need for her to breathe. Both spells were said to last an hour, and were made simple enough that most unicorns would be able to cast it.

Twilight looked up at Pinkie’s gaping maw, and back down at the spells in front of her. Well, I came this far, I suppose there’s no turning back at this point. She gulped hard, and summoned the magical energy needed to perform the spell. Her horn glowed, and she arranged the leylines as depicted in the picture. But when she released the spell, nothing happened. The protection spell might have worked, but she was still breathing heavy. She tried again, and the spells still didn’t seem to work.

“Pinkie!” Twilight jumped as she heard the squeakiness in her voice. Pinkie must have heard it as well, because she then fell over on the floor and burst out laughing.

“Pfffthahahahaha! Twilight, you sound so funny!”

“Pinkie, the spells listed here aren’t working. I don’t think I have enough magical energy at this size to perform any spells. This isn’t going to work.” Twilight let out a breath. “Whew, I might not actually have to go through with this.”

Pinkie rolled over and glanced at her. “Hahahahahuh? What? Oh, hahahaha THAT’s why I’ve been fine all week. HAHAHAHAHA! Wait right there, Twilight. I’ll be right back.” Pinkie got up and trotted out of the room, closing the door behind her.

“Wait! Pinkie!” With the door being the shrunken equivalent of about a hundred yards away, Twilight tried teleporting after her instead. All she achieved was giving herself a massive headache. She decided to try other spells, but found that she was out of magic.

“Well, that’s just great. I’m out of magic, I’m about the size of a mouse in a room by myself, and the only pony who knows I’m here wants to eat me as a fun activity! Super.” Twilight slumped onto the floor, finding no pleasant outcome to her current situation.

After about a minute, the door opened and Pinkie trotted back in, followed by Rarity.

“Alright, Pinkie. Who was it you wanted me to— OH! My, Twilight?”

Rather than endure more relentless laughter from Pinkie Pie, Twilight simply nodded her head at the gargantuan white unicorn before her. Rarity immediately turned to Pinkie Pie.

“Pinkie Pie?! Why didn’t you have her cast the spells before you shrunk her?!”

Pinkie shrugged. “I dunno. I didn’t think we needed to. It always worked out fine when you did it to me.”

Rarity slapped a hoof to her forehead. “Pinkie, I wasn’t the one being shrunk when we did that. The whole reason it specifies a unicorn is so that somepony can cast the spells. But poor Twilight is too small to have any magical energy left. Did you at least tell her she was going to be shrunk before you mentioned the spells?”

“Nopey dope.” Pinkie Pie replied without hesitation, as though such a thing were not a problem.

Rarity sighed, sliding her hoof down her face. “And I suppose this is why you’ve summoned me back here?”

“Uh-huh.” Pinkie nodded, eyes closed while the rest of her face smiled enthusiastically.

Rarity groaned, turning towards Twilight. “Alright, fine, but you owe me. I was in the middle of a wonderful mud bath.” Her horn glowed for a few moments, and she turned back to the door. “There, done. Enjoy yourselves, but please don’t bother me if you decide to go a second round.” She closed the door behind her as she left, leaving Twilight and Pinkie in the room together. Second round? Twilight wasn’t sure if she was ready for a first round, never mind a second time.

Pinkie took the few steps it took to get to Twilight, and leaned over again. “Ready, Twilight?”

Twilight began breathing heavily, then stopped as she realized that she hadn’t been breathing a moment ago. “Did it work?” She let all the air out of her lungs, and waited. One minute passed, then two. Sure enough, the dizziness that normally accompanied a lack of air was absent. It was a strange feeling. She could breath if she wanted to, but it wasn’t at all necessary. “I’ll have to remember this spell if I ever get stuck underwater.” Twilight looked up once again at the gaping maw before her, swallowed hard, and slowly, shakily stepped forward.