An Unexpected Romance

An Unexpected Romance
By Fimbulvinter

I was practically humming with excitement as the train pulled in at Canterlot station. It was really happening; I was actually here, in Canterlot. Everywhere around me, there were pennants and banners and the atmosphere of a carnival. Flags whipped around in the breeze and ponies dashed in every direction trying to avoid crashing into each other while also hoping not to get lost.

It was a very special day today. The Equestrian games were only a few months away now, and Canterlot was having a series of qualifications to decide who would be representing them at each event. Ever since the Crystal Empire managed to snag hosting the event, there had been increasing hype about just who would be attending. Teams were being put together, flag carriers and cheer squads were being recruited; the games were shaping up to be the biggest sporting even in recent memory.

The majestic spires of Canterlot loomed high above me as I made my way from the train station towards the main plaza. Everywhere I looked, gleaming marble and glittering gold filigree shone as it they had been polished every day since they had been installed. Small children ran through every alleyway, screaming and hooting as they variously hid, dodged and squirmed out of the grasp of their parents or older siblings. I could only smile as I watched one very nimble toddler shimmy between two crates while his parents tried to squeeze their arms in after him. I could hear his mindless giggling as he thought it was all a terrific little game, and the muted curses of his parents as they tried to grab him.

Pushing between two arguing women, I reached the main plaza and its comparatively open space. Touching a hand lightly to my breast pocket, I checked that my ticket was still in place. It had taken me months to save up for this ticket. Working as a travelling magician didn’t really pay all that well. Tips from performing at a park, and the occasional kid’s party made up the bulk of my income. But, even still, I wanted to be here, if only to cheer on an old friend.

Spitfire was one of the women competing in the track and field events, and it was almost certain that she would qualify for at least one of the offered places. Spitfire and I had grown up as best friends; we were both the same age, attended the same school. We were even born around the same time in the same hospital. As we got older, she got more into athletics, while I focused on practicing for my magic act. Eventually, Spitfire went on to join up with Canterlot’s best track and field team as a junior recruit, though it wasn’t long before she became a full member, and then on to being a leader. Now she was captain, and regarded as one of the finest female athletes to have ever taken to the track.

I wonder if Spitfire ever thinks of me anymore? I’d like to think so.

Ducking down between two buildings, I spotted the sports ground where all the action would be taking place. There were lines of people stretching back for hundreds of metres, which made me happy I had the foresight to book my ticket ahead of time; the line for those who already had tickets was far shorter, and appeared to be the only one that was actually moving. Beyond the stadium, I could just make out the upper stories of the hotel where I would be spending the night. Like my ticket, I had a reservation, but was yet to check in. It was hardly the swankiest place imaginable, but far better than my normal accommodations. Often when I was on the road, it was just me, my sleeping bag, and if I was lucky, a place in a barn.

I would check in there once I had watched Spitfire run her races. Who knew; maybe I would even get to talk to Spitfire afterwards. One thing was for sure. This was going to be a great weekend for me. A quick pit-stop away from my life for a while.

Walking with some renewed vigour, I approached the line of people waiting to get in and flashed my ticket at one of the guards. He barely even glanced at it before waving me on, and just like that, I was inside the stadium. I could hear an announcer on loudspeaker, and the sounds of hundreds of people cheering and shouting. I quickly pushed ahead through a throng of people attempting to leave the wrong way and emerged out into the stands.

Almost all of the stands were full of people hollering down at the athletes running around the track. Up above me, there was what looked like a skybox filled to the brim with Canterlot’s snobbish elite, thought they, like every one else, were focused on what was happening down at ground level. Right now there were a half-dozen figures running around a short section of the track. From what the announcer was saying, it was one of the qualifiers for the one hundred metre sprint, and that the one expected to take it out was Fleetfoot. She had a commanding lead on the rest of the pack, and ended up taking out the victory with a good second on everyone else.

I wasn’t really interested in that, so I spent a little while trying to find a free seat that offered a good view of the hurdles area. Spitfire always competed in hurdles and steeplechase events, so I figured that would be where she would be. It took a while, but I finally found one that seemed perfect for me, and I scrabbled over a few people to reach it. That earned me a few withering glares, but I didn’t care; I’d gotten far worse over the years from patrons of my magic shows, or people who had discovered me trying to sneak out without paying a bill. Don’t judge me. If they wanted me to pay, then they shouldn’t have overcharged Trixie in the first place.

Reaching the seat, I settled in and took a look around at the competitors who were stretching out on the field. At this distance, I couldn’t really get a good look at their faces, but on one of the women I saw a shock of flame orange hair that could only belong to Spitfire. Like all the other’s, she was wearing a light blue and yellow figure hugging jumpsuit, which I was sure was very aerodynamic, but left little to the imagination. Not that there was much to leave to the imagination; Spitfire had done several very revealing photo shoots throughout her career. Not nude, but she may as well have been for all the carefully arranged strips of cloth covered up.

The racers all finished up with their warm up and ambled over to the starting line of the racetrack. Several attendants were busy placing and checking the waist high hurdles, while a few others were arguing about spacing. Eventually, everything was sorted out and the track was vacated of everybody but the racers.

Down at the track, I could see Spitfire shaking hands with a couple of her fellow racers. Presumably she was wishing them all good luck, or something similar. Once they had all taken their places, the announcer came back over the loudspeakers.

Attention, ladies and gentlemen. Next up we have the 100 metre women’s hurdles.
Hot tipped to take out the event is the previous champion and current captain of the Wonderbolts, Spitfire!"

At the sound of her name, the fiery haired runner looked up and waved to the cheering crowd. I joined in, hoping to catch her attention, though I knew that there was little chance that she could even make me out, let alone hear me above the din of the hundreds of people now clapping for her.

"Of course, Spitfire isn’t the only one favoured to take this race. Making her debut fresh from the Wonderbolt’s selection academy is a new runner. She’s hungry for victory, and looking to make a splash, give it up for the newcomer, Lightning Dust!”

Another runner, already kneeling down in the ready position raised a hand up above her head.

The announcer kept on reading out the list of names of the other racers, but it soon became clear that this event was really going to be a two horse race between the established champion and the new blood upstart. My money was on Spitfire, but the close-ups on the big screen showed that Lightning Dust was looking supremely confident in her own victory.

"Alright then, racers to your marks."

Everyone who wasn’t already in position quickly knelt down and got into position.

"Ready

Set

GO!!!"

All the women jumped up to their feet and were off in a flash. As expected, Spitfire managed to get an early lead on the pack, taking every hurdle with perfect form. Lightning Dust was right behind her, and while the rest of them were only a foot or so behind, it was clear that this had become a private duel between Spitfire and Lightning Dust from the first jump. They remained neck and neck right up until the last few hurdles, when Lightning Dust started to inch closer until they were taking their jumps at exactly the same time.

"It’s Spitfire, but Dust is close behind. Looks like this one could be a photo finish, folks."

The final hurdle was cleared and both women crossed the line within milliseconds of each other. I was on my feet the instant they passed the white line, and all around me, people were screaming out of their favoured racer. The rest of the pack crossed a moment or so later, each racer with an expression of disappointment on their faces. Spitfire and Lightning were panting as they waited for the formal results.

A minute or so passed as the judges checked the replay and compared notes with a finish line camera. Eventually, one of them stood up and nodded.

"That was a close one, folks! But in a photo finish, all judges are unanimous. Your winner, and still undefeated champion is… Spitfire!!!"

The disappointment on Lightning Dust’s face was clear, even from way back in the stands where I was. Spitfire walked over and the pair shook hands, smiling for the cameras. Coming in such a close second must have been an especially bitter defeat for Dust, though I doubted that this was going to be the last that we would be hearing about her. She was only just starting out her career, and she very nearly beat one of the highest ranked sprinters this side of the Crystal Empire.

I watched the results trickle in after that. Spitfire was awarded the coveted spot on the hurdles team and the announcer talked about how Lightning Dust was going to go places, but I lost interest after Spitfire got her place. Consulting my programme, I noticed that she wouldn’t be running again for a few hours when the steeplechase events started up.

Having no particular desire to watch the other events unfold, I decided to go and check out the concession stand and grab something to eat. A corndog would go down well about now, and then maybe a stroll around the stadium to see if anything else caught my eye. I had to clamber over the same people I had to get in here, and they weren’t any more understanding the second time around. One of them pointed to the pedestrian stairs just off to the side that I was supposed to be using. Like Trixie would demean herself to doing what she was ‘supposed’ to do. Their heads should have been honoured to have supported Trixie’s magnificent frame.

Still, if I had done that, then my day almost certainly would have turned out differently to how it did.

Distracted with providing one of the hecklers with a particularly witty retort, I failed to notice exactly what was in front of me, and I rammed into something soft, knocking it and myself to the ground.

I was back on my feet in a second, scrabbling to make sure that no one had seen such an embarrassing moment. “Why don’t you watch where you are going?” I said, expecting to see a child or similar on the ground.

What I saw was a woman in a plunging V line sprawled out on the ground a step below me. Quite how she had managed to keep her impressive bust from spilling out from the thin fabric was a mystery. A very fancy looking hat sat at a strange angle on her head, and for a moment I was slightly worried that she may have hurt herself until I realised that was how the hat was meant to sit.

It took the woman a few seconds to right herself and start to climb back to her feet. One of her heels had been dislodged in the fall, so she stood a little crooked, but she quickly got back up to full height, her eyes glaring daggers at me. I hadn’t seen it under her hat, but she had very soft hair tinged with a light almost purple shade that matched her violet eyes to a tee. That wasn’t what caught my attention though. What caught my attention was something far more banal, but no less impressive.

I had to look up slightly to meet her eyes. That in itself was hardly impressive; I was a respectable 5”11, so she would have to be about six foot in height. Again, nothing that impressive, until I realized that she was standing on the step below me. A quick glance down showed that she had removed her other heel and was standing barefooted on the stone step. Even allowing for this, she was still taller than I was in shoes.

I involuntarily took a step back, and the woman matched me, stepping up onto my level. As she did so, I suddenly found my eyes level with the bottom of her nose, and my estimate went from six foot to Amarezonian. I craned my neck up again to see her still glaring at me, hands on her hips and fuming.

“Why don’t *I* look where I’m going? How about you? You weren’t even looking forwards,” she said, indignant.

Now that I could see her face, I was sure I had seen her somewhere before. It couldn’t have been in person, as I would have remembered someone as tall as she was anywhere, so she must have had her picture in the paper or have been mentioned somewhere before.

Faced with this behemoth, I couldn’t think of anything witty to throw back at her that wouldn’t result in her hurting me, so I said something that was almost unknown to my vocabulary; I apologized.

“Trixie is…sorry for bumping into you,” I mumbled, nearly stumbling over the unfamiliar word.

Her expression softened a little, though she still looked angry with me. “Very well,” she said before taking a look at her dress and hat. “There doesn’t seem to be any rips or tears. Just try to be more caref-“ she froze as she got a good look at her hands. I followed her eyes and saw that two of the nails on her right hand were clearly chipped and cracked.

“Trixie will pay for that,” I blurted out, almost unable to believe the words coming out of my mouth.

The woman suddenly gave a single short chuckle. “Ha, you don’t need to be so afraid, miss…Trixie, was it? I’m not going to gobble you up just because you knocked me over. For one, I’m a vegetarian, and two, you would ruin my figure, and I’ve spent far too much time at the gym to let that happen.”

My eyes instinctively roamed over her body at the mention of her figure. Her dress was figure hugging and made up of red satin, and it reflected the light at she moved around in it. While it did cover up her modesty, the V in the centre showed off a lot of skin all the way down to her navel, along with enough of her cup to indicate she wasn’t wearing a bra; the dress itself was taking on the task of supporting her ample breasts. She clearly had a very lithe figure, and must have worked hard to keep it that way.

I looked up to see her smiling down at me. “If you really do want to pay for a trip to the salon, then of course, I accept your apology.” She stepped back down and slipped on her heels again before grabbing my arm and pulling me higher into the stands. Despite her thin physique, she was stronger than she looked, and I just followed along, meekly.

“H-Hey, where are you taking me?” I protested, dropping the whole third person persona for a second while I tried to free my arm.

She smiled back at me, “Just somewhere that you won’t feel tempted to skip out before paying your bill.”

Visions of dark, windowless cells flashed before my mind, but the reality turned out to be even more horrifying. It took only a few moments for the woman’s destination to become apparent. She was dragging me towards the skybox filled with all of the great and good of Canterlot. Though, when I say great and good, what I really meant was ‘the rich.’ Exactly the kind of place that I had spent much of my life avoiding.

Didn’t look like I had much of a choice this time, though.

We reached the landing that housed the entrance to the skybox. The lady let go of my arm as we approached a very burley looking security guard standing outside the box. His eyes roved over the pair of us, and I was sure that they lingered for just a moment too long on my companions ‘assets.’ Still, she didn’t seem to notice, or maybe she just didn’t care about people ogling her.

She didn’t hesitate as she strode up to the security guard manning the entrance to the skybox. He gave her one look and dropped the rope cord blocking the doorway, though he instantly replaced it and planted himself directly in my path.
“Invitation only,” he said, making sure that he was taking up every inch of possible space.

“Oh, stop putting it on,” the woman called from right behind him. Despite his impressive size, I could still see the top of her head above his. “She’s with me, so consider her invited.”

“Yes, ma’am,” the guard said, and he opened up the way for me, though his expression clearly said ‘don’t cause trouble.’

I followed the woman in red into the skybox, and the contrast to how things had been outside couldn’t have been more marked. Inside the box, everything was plush or lined with some kind of material. Unlike the folding plastic seats I had been sitting on before, the chairs were carved wood and soft cushions. A table was set off to the side with an impressive spread of appetizers and flutes of what I assumed would be fine brand champagne. Several busboys in livery were handing drinks around or taking orders. I shouldn’t have been surprised, but I hadn’t expected this much opulence for such a minor affair. This wasn’t even the actual games. Inwardly, I shuddered at the idea of how much all of this would have cost. I could probably have lived comfortably for a year on what it would have taken to buy the drinks alone.

Everyone who had been chatting or looking down at the athletes through binoculars stopped the moment I entered into the room. A deathly silence dropped as they looked at me in my best skirt. It was the nicest one I owned, but it was old and starting to fade, and it looked especially tacky compared to the top of the line formalwear that everyone was sporting. Diamonds or other gems were on every finger, while hats and veils covered faces. Even all the men were wearing top hats.

I had never felt more out of place in my life. If there was a corner that I could have crawled into, I would have taken it in a second.

The silence lingered on for a few more seconds until one of the men wearing a tuxedo called the woman over. “Fleur, my dear. What happened to you? You’re looking a little flustered. And who’s that?” he asked, pointing in my direction.

Upon hearing the name, everything fell into place. I knew who my new companion was now. The eyes, the hair and the exceptional tallness all meant that she could only be one person. Turning back to her, I looked at her face again, feeling a sense of terror and elation at the same time. She was Fleur-De-Lis, currently one of the highest ranked fashion models on the circuit, and more importantly, she was the wife of Lord Fancy Pants, the wealthiest businessman in all of Canterlot. I had read an interview featuring her a few months back in which she commented on her modelling career and some of her more prominent charity work.

Fleur have him a slight shake of her head. “Oh, it’s nothing, Hoity. And this is Trixie,” she said, pulling me over and wrapping an arm around my shoulder. Now that she was back in heels, the height difference between us was even more pronounced. Fleur could have rested her chin on my head if she was interested. “We just sort of ran into each other and got to chatting, so I thought I would bring her back here with me. Is that ok?”

The man, Hoity as Fleur had introduced him gave me a sneer that said he would rather be talking to a piece of dirt on the floor, but he nodded all the same. “I suppose so.” He turned to face me. “Well, miss…Trixie, I suppose I should offer you a drink."

Several hours later, Fleur and I walked out of the skybox. The smells of the stadium were like a breath of fresh air for me after the perfumed sterile atmosphere of that box. I had decided that I had had more than enough after only a few minutes of listening to people paying me false compliments about my dress, or forcing laughs at anecdotes that weren’t funny. They may have been some of the richest and most powerful people in all of Canterlot, but I would stake my, admittedly tattered, reputation that not one of them had ever lived a day in their lives.

We had both stayed to watch Spitfire run in her steeplechase event, but a nasty trip on the second lap had knocked her out of contention for winning it. She had put in a good effort, but had ended up coming in fifth out of a field of eight. It had been a real letdown for me, but at least she had won one of her events. Fleur gave me a quiet smile when she saw me looking a little downcast.

“You don’t really have to come with me to the salon if you don’t want to, Trixie. I forgive you for knocking into me. You probably actually livened the place up a little. Go on, go home,” Fleur said, giving me a gentle nudge.

While I understood what she was trying to do – allowing me to leave while saving face – I was going to have none of it. Trixie had given her word, and she never went back on her word, except all those times that she had, but not this time.

“Trixie said she was going to pay, so she is going to pay,” I said, effectively ending the matter.

Fleur seemed to sense that I wasn’t going to be moved on this one, so she simply nodded and motioned for me to follow her. “Come on, then. I know a good little place not too far from here. We can get our nails and hair done; even get a massage if you are interested. And the best part is that this place doesn’t allow men inside, so you don’t need to worry about anybody perving on you in the showers or baths.

I had to admit that it did sound good, though I would have to carefully check how much it was going to cost. Fleur would get whatever she wanted, as my ego wouldn’t allow her one moment of superiority over me.

The salon turned out to closer than I had expected, only a block or two away. It was actually a combination of a nail and hair salon mixed in with a dedicated back area for spa and sauna treatments. The front area with the nail salon was visible through the windows, but everything else was hidden behind doors. Fleur opened the door and nodded to the girl working behind the reception desk. The girl smiled when she recognized Fleur.

“Welcome back, miss De-Lis. How can we help you today. Your usual package, or something different?”

“Just my nails done toda-“ Fleur started, before I cut in over the top of her.

“She will have her usual package and the same for me,” I said, effectively ending the discussion. Fleur gave me a look that clearly said I didn’t have to do this, but this was now a matter of pride for me. I wasn’t about to let this high society toff look down on me. Even if it meant I had to sleep in a gutter tonight, I was going to have perfect hair to go with it.

“Excellent. We have two slots open right now. The complete package will come to 300 bits, inclusive for the both of you. We will start you off with a steam bath, to relax your tension, followed by a massage and finishing off with a pedicure and hair styling.”

I almost gagged at the price. I could afford it, but I wouldn’t have anything left over for the hotel I had booked. Still I opened up my pouch and forked over the requested bits. A half-dozen 50 bit pieces were exchanged, and I made sure to close the pouch before anyone could get a good look inside.

Fleur gave me a meaningful look, but she didn’t say anything. Instead, she led the way through to the changing room. The changing room was done up in the same fancy design as the reception area of the salon, but it had a selection of towels and robes off to one side, along with several sets of lockers. Fleur opened one of the lockers and put her few accessories in it, motioning for me to do the same. I only had my money pouch and a few little things.

Before she locked the cupboard, Fleur walked over to the robes and grabbed a pair. Turning back to be, she held her hair off to one side. “Trixie, do you mind unzipping me?”

I gripped the zipper and pulled, letting Fleur’s slinky dress fall to a puddle around her. Though I had suspected it before, the dress confirmed that Fleur hadn’t been wearing a bra to the track. A pair of support inserts had been sewn directly into the chest area of the dress. It appeared that Fleur also hadn’t been wearing any underwear to go along with it, having decided to go regimental. She stood there, buck naked in front of me, clearly not fussed about being nude with a total stranger.

I could only stare at Fleur. She had a fantastic figure, hourglass shaped with a slim waist, but generous hips and bust, and a cleanly shaven crotch. Clearly, she had spent a great deal of time and effort to maintain such a body.

Fleur saw me looking, and she gave a quick smile. “36-22-34,” she said as she picked up her robe and slung it over her shoulder, rather than putting it on.

“Huh?” I wasn’t quite she what she meant.

“You were thinking about what my measurements were, weren’t you? Don’t feel embarrassed about looking. I have people checking me out all the time, and some of the clothes I model aren’t exactly, how do I say, preserving of modesty? The point is that I’ve gotten used to people looking at my figure, and let’s face it. I’ve got a good body, so I might as well show it off when I can. Nothing wrong with looking, just no touching unless I say so.”

Fleur picked up her dress and stowed it in the locker. “Besides,” she continued, “like I said on the way here, there are no men allowed inside this salon, so it’s not like there will be anybody gawking at me.”

I thought about it for a few moments before shrugging and stripping off my dress and undergarments. I had nothing to hide, though I was a little self conscious about comparing my body to Fleur’s. I didn’t think I was bad looking, but Fleur’s figure was a whole other class.

Fleur gave me an approving nod as I took the robe she held out. “Not bad, Trixie. With a little makeup and styling, you could cut a good figure. Now come on, the mineral baths here are fantastic for relaxing.

A few minutes later, we were both soaking in a communal bath the size of a small pool. It had been a little bit uncomfortable at first taking off my robe in front of the half dozen other patrons, but that soon passed when some other girls stripped off and got in. Clearly, nudity was not uncommon in this business. All the workers were dressed modestly in short cotton shifts, but they didn’t seem fazed in any way if a woman wearing nothing passed by and asked them something.

Fleur had picked a good spot over near one of the corners of the pool. There were a few other women in the water, but we were alone in our little spot. Fleur had relaxed into the water the moment she had gotten in, letting her body sink down up to her neck. A few strands of her hair were floating lazily in the water around her body, and she had the slow and steady breathing of someone who was content with their lot.

Having nothing else to do, I decided to stop worrying and follow Fleur’s lead, letting my body sink into the cool liquid. Fleur had been right, it did feel great, though I wasn’t exactly sure about was different about this than just taking a bath or going swimming. The bath we were in could easily be used as a makeshift swimming pool if it needed to be.

I was just getting a good calm going when Fleur’s arm touched me on my shoulder, bringing me back to my senses. I looked over to see Fleur sitting just a little bit out of the water. Her nipples were just kissing the surface of the water, the pink nubs sending ripples skimming around. It took me a moment to stop staring at them and realise that Fleur wanted to ask me something.

“What do you do, Trixie? You don’t seem like the type of person who would live here in Canterlot.”

“Trixie was born in Canterlot, but she hadn’t lived here for many years. She travels Equestria, dazzling audiences with her prodigious talents in magic and theatre,” I said, stretching my arms up behind my head and scratching the back of my neck for a moment. “Oh, but it appears that you have something caught behind your ear.”

Before Fleur could say anything, I leaned forwards and seeming pulled a small copper coin out from the lock of hair behind Fleur’s ear. To her it would have appeared that the coin had indeed just been pulled from her ear, though in truth, I had just palmed the coin from its resting place under my hair while distracting her attention with the more obvious movement of scratching my neck. From there it had been simple to conceal it in my palm before switching it to my fingers behind her ear. It was child’s play grade magic, but it never failed to please.

Fleur looked at the coin in my hand before bursting out laughing and clapping. Several of the other women in the bath, and a couple of staff all looked over to us, some with annoyance, but most with curiosity. Fleur chuckled away for a few more seconds before pressing a hand to her chest. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry. That was just so…unexpected.” She paused to gather her breath again, settling back down into the water. “A magician, huh? What made you decide to get into that?”

“Mostly because of my grandfather,” I said, “Presto was one of the best stage magicians to have ever lived, and I wanted to be just like him. I’ve even got a hat and cape packed away somewhere.”

Fleur looked at me again. “Presto. Not Presto Lulamoon?”

I nodded once. This kind of reaction was common, and one day I hoped that people would talk about me in the same way. Though the way my career was going, that didn't seem likely.

Fleur was suddenly beaming at me. “I remember going to see one of his stage shows when I was just a little girl. I don’t know how he did it, but he just seemed to be able to pull things out of thin air. Cards, books, balls, fruit, even a trio of doves. You name it; he could make it appear with just a swish of his cape.”

We chatted for a while longer, mostly me telling her stories of my adventures around Equestria, though Fleur did tell me about her own life as well. In the end, we must have lost track of the time, as we were interrupted by an attendant telling us that the salon was soon going to be ready for us and would we like to dry off?

Fleur got out of the pool first, and wether she meant to or not, she gave me a fleeting glimpse of between her legs as she towelled off and put on her robe again. I followed suit, not really fussed about anybody seeing me naked anymore; everyone in here had already seen it.

Once we were dry and covered, the attendant took us back to the front room of the salon and bid us take a seat in the two free chairs. Several staff members were standing by with nail files or various bottles and jars of product. The entire room stank of flowers; perfumes cloying to the nose, but Fleur didn't seem to mind the smell. It was enough to make me gag though.

Fleur took one chair and motioned for me to take the other. "The people here are excellent. Just sit back and relax while they take care of you. In an hour or so, you will feel like a whole new woman."

I trusted her, so we both sat back in the chair and let the attendants do their work. One happily started filling away at the rough edges of my fingertips, while another brought over a basin of water to soak and wash my hair in. I had always been a little proud of my silvery hair, a trait of my family. When it was properly treated, it gleamed like its namesake metal, but it wasn't often that I could afford to have it treated and maintained beyond a quick dunk in a river.

The manicure and hair treatment took us about another hour to complete. Fleur had the cracks in her nails repaired, and I even got mine painted a shocking shade of purple to match my eyes. All in all, it was a wonderful little distraction from the grind of my daily life, and I was almost willing to forgive it the fact that I wouldn't be able to spend a night in the hotel like I had planned.

When we were done, Fleur looked stunning. Her hair was sleek, and it shined almost with its own light. I supposed that my hair looked something similar from the way that she was clearly checking it out. I smiled a little at the attention. It had been a long time since I had looked this good.

Fleur and I went back into the changing room to grab out clothes and get changed. Once again, Fleur had no issue with stripping down to her birthday suit right in front of me, and I didn't really hesitate either. Fleur had already seen everything I had on offer, so there wasn't much point to trying to hide it anymore.

As I was folding my robe up, I caught sight of myself in one of the full length mirrors. Gleaming silver cascaded down my back, with one forelock hanging down over my eyes. Vibrant purple eyes stared back at me from behind the glass, looking proudly out of a body that I was proud to call mine. Two perky and ample, though not overly large tits filled out my chest, with soft pink areolas. My legs and waist were toned. I looked better than I thought I did, and for a second I wondered if these mirrors had some special design that made the viewer look better than in real life.

That thought vanished as Fleur, sill as nude as I was, came over and stood next to me, putting her arms around my shoulders and pulling me in tight with her. Without her heels on, she wasn't as overpoweringly tall, but she still dwarfed me. Her body was flawless; pale, milky skin that looked smooth as butter, a thin hourglass waist, and, of course, her massive breasts pressing into the side of mine. In the reflection, I could see that her nipples were just starting to swell, the nubs pressing forward ever so slightly.

All in all, Fleur looked fantastic. She had a beautiful face and body, and she clearly knew it. There was no question that she looked as good in real life as she did in that mirror.

Fleur idly leaned over and rested her head on my hair. "You look good, Trixie. I knew bringing you here would be a treat, even if you were the one to pay for it." She paused for a moment and took a quick inhale, sniffing my silvery locks. "Mmm, I love lavender."

It was an odd experience, having someone so openly smell my hair right next to me, but with Fleur, I wasn't sure I wanted it to stop. It felt...nice, having someone find me so attractive, in a way.

Another thing I noticed in that mirror was that Fleur kept her crotch completely shaven smooth. My own area was covered in hair, not an unkempt jungle like some girls did, but it wasn't smooth and hairless like Fleur's. Maybe it was time to try a new style.

The sound of a door opening broke us apart, each of us quickly jumping for the closest piece of clothing we could find. I turned around to find another pair of customers walking in from the pool, still dripping water under their towels. I looked back up at Fleur, who was already sliding a leg into the top of her dress; the moment was gone, and I couldn't help but wish that it had gone on a little longer. It had felt so nice, being so close to another person who actually seemed to like me.

Silently, we both got dressed again, and headed back out into the streets of Canterlot. In the couple of hours we had been in the salon, the sun had nearly finished setting, and heavy clouds now filled the sky in all directions. A light breeze carried the scent of rain along with it, and there was the occasional distant rumble of thunder. It was clear that it was going to rain soon.

Fleur stepped out into the street and quickly stretched her arms up above her head, arching her back out. I could hear a few pops and clicks as she loosened off. “So, where are you staying tonight, Trixie? Is it very far away?” she asked, looking worriedly up at the sky. Night was falling rapidly now, and the clouds had taken on a black, nearly purple look, like one giant bruise.

“Trixie will find somewhere to accommodate her. Don't you worry about it.”

Fleur didn’t look impressed. “You don’t have anywhere, do you? The money you spent on me in there was meant to be for your hotel tonight, wasn’t it?"

I gave a tiny nod of my head. “Trixie will get by. She always does.”

“Nonsense. I’m not going to sit back and let a friend spent a night out here in the rain,” Fleur said.

It didn’t escape my attention that she called me a friend. Did she really think that of me so quickly, and after the way we had met?

“Come on,” she continued, “You can spend tonight at my apartment. Fancy won’t mind, and there is plenty of room for you.” She paused to look back up at the sky again. “I just hope the rain holds off until we get there.”

As if to punctuate her words, a mighty thunderclap echoed overhead and the heavens opened and rain began to pour down on our heads, quickly soaking us through our clothes.

We both turned to look at each other. I could see Fleur’s nipples clearly through her dress as the fabric turned translucent in the rain.

“Remind me, why did I go without a bra today?” Fleur asked, deadpan.