A Well-Deserved Break: The Other Way to a Unicorn's Heart

Chapters

The Departure
The Arrival
The Steamy Part
BONUS: Commentary

The Departure

"Are you sure you can handle this?"

"Of course, sir!" the light-green colt in the white jacket replies. "You needn't worry! I may be young, but I've been studying as much as I can about being an effective head chef!" He speaks with an air of young boldness, going so far as to give you a sharp salute with his forelimb. You let out a little smirk at his display of determination while wondering if he forgot that you're not his drill sergeant.

"Okay, you've convinced me," you say to your sous chef Caesar Salad while trying your darnedest to avoid chuckling. Truthfully, you were already convinced a few days ago, but you kept asking him just to be extra sure.

Channeling the magic inside your horn, you levitate a set of keys over to him, which he promptly grabs out of the air with his mouth. "Open at eight, close at eight. Don't forget to clean the kitchen and restock ingredients in the morning, and my quarters are off-limits unless it's an emergency." He eagerly listens to every last piece of your parting advice, keeping his leg sharply angled towards his head as if you were the commander of the Equestrian Royal Guard.

"’Ou can coun’ on meh, sir!" Caesar says through grit teeth. In his fervor, he seems to have forgotten that he too possesses a horn that he could levitate the keys with.

"Heh, alright then," is all you can say to his enthusiasm. His experience may be as green as his horn, but the passion is certainly there.

You turn your head to take a glance outside, and spot the thing to remind you that it's time to leave: A purple-coated unicorn sitting outside at one of the patio tables, a pair of saddlebags lying beside her chair. She appears to be engaged in a conversation with another unicorn sitting across from her, this one sporting a brilliant white coat and a stylish curly purple mane. The white-coated mare, who you know by proximity as Rarity, seems to be enjoying the discussion more than her violet counterpart, if her dreamy stare and smile are anything to go by.

Your attention, however, is fully on the purple mare....no, not just any purple mare. The purple mare. The head of the Ponyville Library. The Element of Magic. The star pupil of Princess Celestia. The filly that you count your blessings every day for being able to call her your marefriend.

Twilight Sparkle...

"...Uh, sir?"

It's not until Caesar speaks up that you notice how long you've been staring at the two fillies outside, and that you've gained a grin that you often saw Twilight's dragon assistant carry whenever her friend Rarity was around.

"Oh! Er, yes, of course," you babble as you try to return your focus to your sous chef. "I need to be on my way now. Take care of yourself. I'll be back in a few days" With your words, you grab the saddlebags sitting next to you and toss them onto your back. You move towards the open door leading to the outside portion of the cafe and take a step outside when you remember one last detail that needed to be relayed.

"Oh, and Caesar?"

"Yessir?"

"Just relax and take the orders as they come. I have faith in you."

With those last words of encouragement, you step outside into the bright daylight, leaving the rookie chef to stand in awe as the weight of running an entire restaurant, if only for a couple days, began to sink in. You hear your keys hit the ground just as the door shuts behind you.

Now that there is no turning back, you return your attention to the table housing the two friendly fillies, still engaged in their discussion. Like before, the white unicorn is doing most of the talking with the same dreamy expression, while the mare of your dreams merely gives her a quizzical look. You slowly approach the table, picking up on their conversation as the distance grows shorter without them noticing you.

"....and I've just reached the part where she dragged her unconscious lover all the way back to her home and vowed to nurse him back to health! Oh, I really don't know how that Lionheart does it! It's all so romantic!"

"...I don’t know, Rarity, that sounds kind of clichéd to me-"

"Ready to go?"

You never realized how high unicorns could jump out of a seat until this moment.

You stand in quiet embarrassment as the two mares struggle to regain their composure. Since opening up shop here, you have gained a bad habit of occasionally sneaking up on the customers and not revealing your presence until it's too late.

"Will you stop doing that!?" Twilight shouts once her memory of the Equestrian language comes back. It is a few decibels higher than you expected, but you probably deserve it.

"Indeed!" Her friend Rarity chimes in, shooting a high-class glare at you. "There are few things ruder than sneaking up on somepony while they're deep in discussion." You feel a blush poking through your cheeks now that both fillies are ganging up on you. You lower your head towards the ground out of guilt. Because of this move, you don't catch Rarity turning her head away and muttering "Although I'd like to learn that talent for myself," under her breath.

"...er, my apologies," is all you can muster. They may not even be customers, but they've temporarily robbed you of your experience in waiting on tables.

"...don't worry about it," Twilight responds, her words preceded by a deep sigh. The scowl on her face quickly turns to a friendly smile as she remembers her relationship status with you. "So, I take it you're all set?"

"Yep," you reply, raising your head back up to hers. "Just handed off the keys to my sous chef. I'm ready to go when you are."

"Just as planned," Twilight says with a hint of satisfaction. You knew about the small sense of accomplishment she always got when things went according to her detailed plans. It had become one of the many little things you liked about the lavender mare.

"Now all we need to do is wait for our ride to get here."

"...er, our ride?" You ask. Unfortunately for you, Twilight neglected to mention exactly how the two of you were going to get to your destination when she discussed her plan with you a week ago, so you assumed that magic would be involved.

"Well, of course," she replies, taking on a tone that made you feel like you just missed a kindergarten math question. "It's too far away for me to try and teleport the two of us there. I'm not that good at magic...well, not yet, anyway."

"Okay then," you say after a few seconds of silence. You feel both relief and worry at her words. As skilled as Twilight is at all things magic, some of her spells didn't always work as they were supposed to, and you had unfortunately been on the receiving end on some of those spells gone wrong. You cringe slightly as you recall one particularly catastrophic spell that stripped your coating clean off and made you too embarrassed to leave your home and restaurant for several weeks.

As relieved as you are that the possibility of horribly merging together with Twilight due to her teleportation spell going awry is now very low, you still have no idea as to what she has planned for transportation. You want to be mentally prepared for whatever she has in store, so you decide to come out and ask her.

"But Twilight, how exactly are we going to get........oh."

Your question trails off into nothing as you divert your attention to a new sight: A large balloon, sporting a sizable basket almost the same shade of lavender as Twilight, was approaching the cafe, gingerly dropping in altitude as it floated along. Eventually, the balloon sets down in the middle of the road, causing quite a stir amongst the other ponies in the vicinity.

The door to the basket swings open, and out steps its pilot, a purple dragon with green spikes. You know this dragon as Spike, Twilight's faithful assistant. Judging from the unkempt scales and sleepy stare, it seems as if Twilight has been putting him through plenty of work in getting ready for her leave.

"...Uh, sorry I kept you waiting," He says to his friend and guardian right before letting out a yawn. "I kind of dozed off while the balloon was airing up."

"Not to worry, Spike," Twilight smiles, "You're actually right on schedule."

"...What, really?" Spike perks up, looking genuinely surprised at his own punctuality.

"Well, yes and no," Twilight confesses. "You're still late, but I figured you would be, so I adjusted my schedule to account for the lost time. Technically, that makes you on time and late at the same time."

"Oh." Spike sighs, his surprised look drooping into one of disappointment and annoyance.

You hear Twilight giggle a little in her throat before she talks again. "Cheer up, Spike. You're going to have a whole weekend to yourself. I bet you'll like not hearing me order you around for a few days." She rubs a hoof on his head in a playful manner as she finishes talking.

"...Well, yeah, that's true," the dragon responds, already looking a little bit happier. "But I still gotta run the library and stuff. You don't have to do anything but relax where you're going."

"Indeed," Rarity chimes in again, albeit in a cheerier voice than before. "I really do envy you, Twilight. A weekend stay at the Hot and Happy Hot Springs Resort with your coltfriend! I've always wanted to go, myself. I hear their massages and baths blow the Luxury Lotus Spa right out of the water...or bath, in this case." She adds a proper feminine giggle at her own joke.

"Well, I kept telling you that if you wanted to go the resort, I would've given you my reservation," Twilight remarks, "I'm not really into that kind of thing."

"Oh no, I couldn't do that," responds Rarity, "You deserve it the most out of everypony for all you've done. Besides..." She leans forward and motions with her hooves for Twilight to do the same. Twilight complies, and Rarity puts her hoof between you and the two unicorns. Despite her attempt at keeping the next line a secret, you can still hear her quite clearly.

"...They have private springs there, and I've heard that some time together in them can do wonders for a relationship."

"Rarity!" Twilight stammers as she jerks her head back in embarrassment. You can already make out two pink spots breaking through the coat on her cheeks, and feel pink spots of your own forming as well.

"I may have said too much," Rarity giggles. "Well, I suppose I should let the two of you be on your way. Do have a good time, Twilight. I think both of you have earned it." She flashes a smile at the two of you as she gets out of her seat. "Ta-ta for now." She waves a hoof, and then turns to leave.

"...uh, bye Rarity, I guess." Twilight calls out as the white unicorn walks away. You can tell from her voice that she hasn't fully recovered from Rarity's suggestion. She turns to you and gives you another smile, but this smile looks a bit more coy than usual. "Well, looks like it's about time for us to head out."

"....of course," is all you can say. You notice that the blush on Twilight's face is still present, and judging from the warmth on your own cheeks, so is yours. You try to return the smile the unicorn is giving you, but you're sure that it comes off with the same level of embarrassment as hers.

Without another word, Twilight turns and walks into the basket of the hot air balloon. You follow behind her, trying as hard as you can to not stare at her flanks as you climb into the basket. The apprehension you felt from when you didn't know how the magically-talented mare was going to transport the two of you to the resort begins to creep back. You had never traveled through the air by any means, and you certainly don't know just how adept Twilight is at piloting this craft. For all you know, your vacation could be spent fighting for survival after crash-landing in the middle of some uncharted territory.

Your brain creates an image of the two of you stranded alone in a dark jungle in the middle of the night, potential danger on all sides, as you both huddle together to derive some warmth from the cold, her lavender fur brushing against yours and imparting what little heat it has onto you....

You shake the image out of your head before it can go any further. The least you can say about this random thought is that it distracted you from staring at Twilight's backside like "that" kind of coltfriend.

You turn back to Twilight and see that she now has her hoof in the air and wrapped with a string leading to the device that creates the open flame. You don't quite know the finer details of flying a hot air balloon, but you do know that when the flame shoots up, the balloon also goes up.

"Spike!" You hear Twilight call to her assistant. You glance over the basket to look at the dragon, and notice that he's staring into the direction that Rarity walked off with a smile on his face. You could almost swear his eyes were temporarily replaced with big pulsing hearts before Twilight's call jerked back him out of it.

"Huh, what?" He responds to the call, looking a bit sheepish after being caught lovestruck. Does he really have a thing for a pony? The further mysteries of dragons....

"We're leaving now. Are you sure you can handle taking care of the library by yourself?" asks Twilight.

"Of course!" Spike replies, his sheepish expression replaced with one of determination.

"...okay, I'll hold you to that," says Twilight, "Library opens at six and closes at six. My friends are supposed to check up on you once in a while, and don't forget to re-organize the books every morning."

"You can count on me, Twilight!" Spike says, remembering his position as her most faithful assistant. He even goes so far as to give a sharp salute with his claw.

You're not sure how, but you feel the strangest sense of Deja vu right now. Great minds think alike? is the only explanation you can come up with.

"Alright then, we're off," Twilight responds, "Take care, Spike!"

"Wait, Twilight!"

You could almost hear the sound of a carriage wheel squealing to a stop on a concrete road as Twilight just manages to avoid pulling down on the string far enough. "Yes, Spike?" she says with a slight twinge of irritability.

"Sorry, but I, uh, just remembered that I need to speak with your coltfriend real quick."

"Me? Really?" You ask. You hardly spoke with Spike when Twilight wasn't around, so you're understandably a little surprised that the dragon has some words for you.

"Yeah, just a couple quick words. We'll talk right over here." Spike says, motioning you to follow him.

You oblige, following the small dragon almost to the door of your cafe. He stops just short of the door, well out of earshot, and turns back to you. He waves for you to come closer, and starts speaking again once you do.

"Hey, listen, Twilight's friends wanted me to tell you to make sure that she has a good time on vacation."

"Sure thing, Spike," you reply, "but why did you need to tell me this in private?"

He takes a quick look at Twilight to make sure she can't hear him before he continues. "Well, it's just that she's been pushing herself pretty hard lately, and we're all concerned for her. She doesn't want to admit it, but she really needs this." He pauses to rub a sore spot on his back. "Not to mention I could use a break, too."

"I'll do my best, Spike," you reassure the dragon. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I probably shouldn’t keep her waiting any longer.”

“Good idea,” Spike agrees. You turn and walk back to Twilight, letting yourself back into the basket.

“What was that all about?” Twilight asks as you shut the door.

“Oh, er...nothing,” you say, trying to come up with a lie on the spot. “He just...um, wanted to know if the guy running the place in my absence was going to offer gemstones on the menu.”

Twilight gives you a hard stare, and for a moment you think she’s about to ask you for the truth, but instead her expression softens. “That does sound like something Spike would ask,” she muses. “Well, let’s get going while we still can.”

With this, Twilight gives a tug on the string, causing the open flame to shoot up into the balloon. Before you can brace yourself, the basket jerks slightly as it slowly lifts off the ground, throwing your balance off for a second.

"...er, sorry about that," you hear Twilight say to you. "I should have given you a little more warning there."

"No worries," you reply, trying to mask the nervousness in your voice. For the first time in your life, you are travelling through the air, your safety entirely in the hooves of the pilot.

Against your better judgment, you look down and see a waving Spike, your cafe, and the rest of Ponyville sink beneath you. To your surprise, the worry in you is already starting to dissipate as you take in the thrill of seeing the world through a new angle. Surely, this must be what it feels like to be a pegasus. Well, minus the elaborate contraption, of course.

For the next long while, you let yourself go and enjoy your new-found appreciation for flight as you and the love of your life fly towards a weekend of rest and relaxation...

The Arrival

"I think that's it over there!"

Twilight directs your attention to a building hidden in the back of the town. It's a rather sizable building, much bigger and more lavishly decorated than most of the other ones, yet it blends so well into the surrounding mountain that it would be easy to miss unless pointed out by someone like your marefriend.

After travelling across the countryside for most of the day, you and Twilight now find yourselves in the village of Witherton, a quaint town built into the side of a mountain much like Canterlot. The balloon trip itself was pleasantly uneventful; the two of you spent most of the time engaging in small talk about any topic that came up, landing only to make the occasional pit-stop and enjoy a packed dinner - two daffodil sandwiches prepared by you earlier this morning. As planned by Twilight, you both arrived at the village just as the sun was starting to set, bathing the town in a homely orange glow.

As the balloon lowers towards a pony-made landing spot, you become certain that the big building is none other than the Hot and Happy Hot Springs Resort. Aside from the name being stitched in fancy letters on a canopy above the entrance, the building is quite a marvel to behold. It somehow captures the quaint feeling of the rest of Witherton while looking like a high-class establishment at the same time. You had overheard some of your customers talk about it as one of Equestria's go-to spots for a vacation, and you completely understand why if the rest of the place is as high-grade as the outside.

With a light bump, Twilight touches the balloon onto the ground, and the two of you exit the basket. You are immediately greeted by an earth pony in a bright red vest and cap. You aren't sure what to do, but Twilight is ahead of you there. She levitates some bits into the colt's jacket pocket, and he climbs into the basket and takes off with the balloon. For a moment, you panic as the thought of you just being robbed pops into your head, but this thought dissipates immediately when you notice a few other colts near the entrance of the resort wearing the same outfit. This is definitely a high-class place, you think to yourself.

Your last thought is only further confirmed when you and Twilight walk inside the resort. The reception area matches the same level of attention to detail as the outside of the building. A waterfall runs along a good portion of one of the side walls while you hear soothing music play over a series of gramophones hung to the walls and connected by magic. You could almost spend your entire weekend with Twilight lying down together in this one room and still feel like it was worth the trip.

The two of you approach the receptionist's desk, currently helmed by a female earth pony. This mare sports an attractive light green coat, and her bright yellow mane, done back in a white headband, gives off an alluring shine. It would seem that the employees here are able to enjoy the resort's special services as well.

"Hello, and welcome to the Hot and Happy Hot Springs," she greets both of you in an accent that you can never hope to identify. "Do you have a reservation here?"

"Of course," Twilight responds, "I believe we're under the name Twilight Sparkle. We're supposed to be here for a weekend stay."

"Okay, let me check real quick," says the receptionist, turning her head from the two of you down to her book. "Hmm, let's see here....ah, yes, here you are! Sparkle, party of two, weekend stay. It says here that the bill for the room has already been paid in full, too." You catch her smile grow a little more when she relays that last piece of information to you. You suppose that she's glad she doesn't have to go through the monotony of working the cash register and exchanging money, at least not for these two customers.

"Aster, is someone there?"

You hear a voice not that different from the receptionist coming from the door behind the desk. A second later, it opens up to reveal the source: another mare, this one with a bright yellow coat and a shiny green mane, also held back by a white headband. She walks up to the mare you've been talking with, and you almost rub your eyes to convince yourself you're not seeing double.

"Of course, Cassia," responds the first mare, "You've actually come at the perfect time."

Aster brings her head down behind the desk and emerges a few seconds later, carrying two keys in her mouth. She deposits them on the desk, at which point both you and Twilight lift them into the air with your magic.

"My sister will take you to your room now. Please enjoy your stay here."

"...sister?" Twilight asks. Your turn your head and notice Twilight displaying the same look of Deja vu that you had earlier today. "...have we met before, by chance?"

"Hmm, I don't think so," replies Cassia, "but we do have plenty of family members in the spa business. Perhaps you've seen a few of them already?"

"That...seems likely," Twilight responds. You can almost see the cogs turning in her head as she pieces things together.

"Well, let's get you two into your room. I'm sure you have a lot of rest and relaxation planned for this weekend." Cassia says. She turns around and begins walking down a hall past the reception desk. "Right this way, please."

You and Twilight follow the yellow-coated twin into the hallway and up a flight of steps, you doing your absolute best to look at anything but the employee's flanks. It's one thing for you to be caught staring at your own marefriend in that way, but you especially didn't want to come off as "that" kind of coltfriend.

"Here we are."

You breathe a sigh of relief you hope neither Twilight nor Cassia noticed when she turns around and stops at room 215, the room reserved for the two of you. "If there is anything you need, feel free to come by the desk and ask. We hope you enjoy your stay here, Mr. and Mrs. Sparkle." Cassia relays this last piece of information to you and then leaves, returning to the reception desk. Once she rounds the corner, you insert your key into the lock and let you and Twilight into your room.

You may only have a regular one-bed room reserved, but this room makes the suites in the hotels you've been to before seem cheap by comparison. Lovely original portraits adorn the walls, and the small table in the corner houses a vase of roses so properly cared for that they put the decorative pieces at your cafe to shame. You even notice one of those fancy magical boxes that display moving pictures with sound right across from the princess-sized bed.

"Let's see here....arrive at resort, check!" You hear Twilight say. You turn to her and see she has already set her saddlebags down to the side and pulled out a quill and notebook of sorts. "Pay for valet-parking, check! Check into room, check! Put saddle-bags down and get out checklist, check! Yep, looks like everything is going right on schedule...for once."

"Yeah, that's great, Twilight." You speak genuine truth to her as you set down your saddlebags. You can't recall the last time she made a plan that went off without a hitch. Maybe it's a first for her?

However, your run-in with the receptionists has left you with a question that you can't help but ask.

"Um...Twilight?"

"Yes?" She looks away from her checklist and towards you.

"Since when were we married?"

"We're what, now?" She gives an inquisitive stare at you before she finally understands what you mean. "Oh, you're talking about the "Mr. Sparkle" thing, right?"

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure that's not my last name," you respond half-jokingly.

"Don't worry about that. It was probably a mistake...that, or my friend Rainbow Dash made the reservation and decided to play a joke on us." She rolls her eyes unamused at her own idea. You aren't entirely sure if she's being serious, but you've seen how some of her friends act, and can't rule out the possibility.

"Okay, then," you reply, satisfied with Twilight's answer. "You know, Twilight, I still can't believe that your friends all paid for us to go on vacation like that. This place must have cost a pretty bit just for a weekend stay."

"I know, I was just as surprised as you when they told us."

She was correct on that part. With nothing else to do at the moment, you reminisce about the events that led to your vacation with Twilight.

It was the day after Winter Wrap-Up, your first one in Ponyville. Both you and Twilight had your hooves full that day. Her duty as the event organizer kept her frantically moving about the entire town and checking on nearly every citizen for the whole day. Meanwhile, you had elected to prepare and provide lunch for as many of the ponies working the fields as you could. It wasn't easy to convince the mayor to give you this role after word got out about you accidentally poisoning most of the attendees at one of Pinkie's parties with expired ingredients. However, she finally relented when you gave her a taste of your latest dish, a salad with a hint of elderberry to the taste.

Thanks to Twilight's leadership, the citizens of Ponyville were able to finish Winter Wrap-Up in record time, even beating the other surrounding towns for the first time ever. The next day, you, Twilight, and all of her friends decided to have a celebratory dinner together at Chez Ponie, the ritzy restaurant across town from yours. It was there that, after much bickering as to who got to reveal it before Pinkie blurted it out, they announced that they paid for a reservation for two to the hot springs resort and they were giving it to Twilight and you for all your hard work.

They had been planning something like this for quite some time, they explained, since Twilight either always had her head in her books or was aiding her friends and Ponyville in some significant way. You had proved just as busy; you had not taken a day off since you first took over the cafe, not to mention the work you put into restoring your reputation after the party mishap.

"Anyone home in there?"

Twilight's voice jerks you back into the present, and you find that she's standing in front of you, looking both concerned and a little irritated.

"Oh! Um, sorry, did you say something?" You reply. You feel another blush forming on your face, and can't help but look sheepish.

"...yeah, as I was saying, I, uh, would like to try maybe visiting one of those private springs tonight," Twilight responds. To your surprise, her irritated look dissipates into a less confident one, and you could almost see some pink breaking through her purple-coated cheeks.

"You do?" You can't resist saying this next line. "Did one of your friends suggest that idea?"

"No!" Twilight exclaims, jumping away a couple feet. You can definitely make out the pink breaking through her cheeks now. "Um, well, maybe a little, but uh, it's purely for, erm, academic reasons!" She flashes a nervous smile to you, and you hold back a snicker at how cute she looks when trying to hide a secret and not doing a very good job of it.

"Academic reasons?" you inquire, your smile turning from one of embarrassment to one of smugness. You figure the poor thing must still be mulling over her friend's "suggestion".

"Yeah!" she replies, her eyes darting around as she tries to piece together her excuse. "I've, er, been kinda curious about how hot springs work, so I read up on them and want to try them firsthand with you-uh I mean, for academic purposes, of course!"

That snicker you've been holding back eeks out slightly at her Freudian slip. "Well," you begin as you try to stop from succumbing to a giggle-fit, "If it's just for 'academic' purposes, then that sounds lovely."

"R-Really? I mean, great! That works just fine!" says Twilight as she slowly regains her composure.

"So did you have this little trip written down on your schedule?" You ask.

"...actually, my schedule stops at me getting my checklist out of my bag." She confesses. "I figured we're on vacation, so what the hay?"

"...okay then, so when do you want to go?"

"Maybe...now?" She replies. That nervous smile comes back, albeit not as strong.

You chuckle a little in your throat at her initiative. "Sounds good to me."

"Okay then, shall we be on our way?" She asks you.

"Yes, let's."

The Steamy Part

After getting directions from Aster at the reception desk, you and Twilight now find yourselves standing inside one of the resort's many private springs. Luna's moon hung in the dark sky, its dim-yet-comforting light reflected by the calm waters and competing with the light coming from the oriental firefly lamps hanging on the walls.

Thanks to Twilight's impromptu lecture while you walked, you had learned the springs here are made private due to a series of soundproof walls and a magically-enchanted glass ceiling that only those inside the room can see through. She also explained how the spring is heated through the naturally high temperatures that occur far beneath the surface...or something to that effect. Most of the terms she used to describe this were words you had never heard before, and trying to comprehend them was starting to make your head hurt.

"Wow, they weren't kidding about the 'hot' part," Twilight says as she stares at the pool of water. The spring, large enough to comfortably fit you two plus all of her friends, gives off little wisps of steam here and there, and the room itself is already more humid and several degrees warmer than you expected.

"I see that," you reply, "So...I guess we just get in and sit together for a while?"

"I guess....would you like to go ahead?"

"Erm...fillies first?" You turn to Twilight with a nervous grin.

"How chivalrous of you," She replies, her voice laced with her trademark sarcasm.

Twilight walks up to the edge of the spring and stares at it as if she was learning to swim for the first time. She slowly lifts a forelimb off the ground and towards the water. She hovers her hoof a few inches above the spring for a few seconds and then lightly touches the water. Immediately, she jerks the hoof back up and lets out a slight gasp.

"Are you alright?" You ask as you walk up to her.

"...yeah." She responds while shaking a few drops of water off her hoof. "It's just...really hot...but I don't think it's hot enough to cause any burns, at least."

A few seconds pass before Twilight raises her limb again. Once more, she dangles her hoof above the water before gingerly dipping it back in. She gasps a little again, but she keeps her hoof in the water this time, even setting it all the way down on the step leading into the deeper part. After a few more seconds, she raises her other forelimb and touches it to the water. You see her face wince from the extreme temperature, but she perseveres, setting that limb on the step as well.

This goes on for a few minutes, as Twilight puts her rear legs into the water and then slowly climbs down the steps, hissing through grit teeth every step of the way. Eventually, she makes it all the way inside the spring, the water up to her barrel. She walks over to the side of the spring and slowly sits down, submerging every part beneath her neck under the steamy water.

"...you know," she starts, her face no longer contorted in pain, "This doesn't feel too bad. It's...kind of nice, actually." She glances over to you, still high and dry. "Well, are you getting in? There's plenty of room in here."

"Uh, sure." You reply. You're not too thrilled about getting in after Twilight's performance, but if she could do it, then you have to at least try.

You stare into the hot spring at the edge of your hooves, its calm nature belied by the heat emanating from it. You lift a hoof towards the water and sink a good portion of it underneath the surface, hoping to power through the heat and get it over with quickly.

Your plan backfires immediately as the nerves in your hoof suddenly cry out in searing heat, making you yelp and pull it out of the water. As you shake your limb all about to get the hot water off, you hear a giggle come from the other side of the spring.

"Having some trouble there?" Twilight says with an amused grin on her face.

"Yeah...guess your performance wasn't for show," is all you can think to respond.

"It's not that bad once you get used to it," she replies, "Just take your time with it."

"Good advice," you reply.

You glance back down at the water, the surface now disrupted by the waves created by your hoof. With the extreme temperature still fresh in your mind, you lift your forelimb once again and gingerly set it under the water. You gasp a little as the sting returns, but the pain is already diminishing to a tolerable level. Now that you have a hoofhold on the situation, you lift your other foreleg and begin repeating the process.

...

A few minutes later, you finally reach the middle of the spring with all four of your limbs fully submerged and the water nearing the base of your tail. Twilight had looked on with a sly smirk as you involuntarily gasped and jerked every time one of your legs got deeper into the spring, your movements almost a perfect mirror of her own not long ago. Mustering up the willpower, you walk over to the side of the spring Twilight had situated herself in and sit down, letting out one final gasp as everything up to your withers is now in the searing hot spring.

As the nerves in your body grow used to the high temperature, however, your sharp gasp slowly turns into a relaxed sigh. It would seem Twilight was right; the water that once felt like bathing in hot lava is now starting to elicit pleasurable sensations from your nerves. You let your eyes fall close and lean your head back slightly, letting the water flow around you and caress every part of your body-

"Ready to get out?"

Your eyes snap open when you hear Twilight ask this question. "Get out?" You respond, "But I, you...just here...hot...everything-"

Your babbling stops as soon as Twilight lets out a giggle. "Just kidding. Sorry, couldn't resist that."

You try to shoot a mean glare at her, but you can't form anything but a grin. "Oh, you," you say to Twilight in between a couple frustrated chuckles. It seems that a certain pink pony is starting to rub off on your marefriend.

Once the giggling finally subsides, the room goes silent, and you return to kicking back and letting your body enjoy the spring as much as it could....

...

You aren't sure how much time passes, but you hope that you never have to get out of the spring. The pain you felt when you first tried to get in is long gone, the waters only bringing you good feelings now. You let out a sigh as tense spots you never knew you had melted away under the gentle pressure of the pool. It's like taking a long bath after a hard day's work. A bath with the hot water handle cranked all the way open, but a soothing bath regardless.

"You know, Twilight," You speak for the first time in a while, "I understand why your friend wanted to come here so much now."

To your surprise, you don't get a response.

You open one of your eyes and sneak a quick peek over in her direction to check on her. Instead of leaning back and enjoying the spring like you expected, Twilight has her head tilted down, her eyes staring into the clear water. What really gets you is the frown she now carries on her face. You have no idea what's going on in the unicorn's head, but whatever it is must not be terribly pleasant.

"You alright there, Twilight?" You say again, this time getting up and starting to walk over to her.

This time she pays attention, hearing you move and feeling the waves lap against her neck. "Oh! Um, yeah, I'm fine." She turns to you and forces out a smile. "Don't let me get in the way of your relaxation."

"It's okay," You reply, "What were you thinking about? You were in a pretty good trance there."

"Oh...nothing important, really," says Twilight, "Just...wondering about...my friends."

"What about them?" You inquire, your curiosity growing at Twilight's vague responses.

"Uh...well, you know," She starts, "Just what they're up to now, how Spike's coping with running the library by himself...how they're getting along without me. You know, stuff like that."

"Well," You begin your reply trying to pick your words carefully, "I don't know if you or I can answer any of these questions right now, but I do know that it was really nice of them to send us on this vacation."

"Yeah, I guess...but I still think they didn't really have to do this."

"Twilight, they're your friends. You don't have to feel guilty just because they did something nice for you, especially when you've been working your tail off. They really do care for you, you know that?"

"....yeah, they do." Twilight says as her gaze moves from you back down to the water.

"It's still bugging you, isn't it?" You ask.

She glances back up at you for a second with a serious look on her face. "Am I really that easy to read?"

"Sometimes," you say with a nervous grin. You were putting it generously; hiding her emotions well was never one of Twilight's many skills.

"Well, don't you feel a little bad that they did something as grand as this just for the two of us?"

"Hmm," you think her question over for a second, "I would have just settled for some new pots and pans, I suppose..." You take a moment to give a quick shrug, "...but that's just what good friends do. They make each other happy even if it comes at their own expense."

"Yeah....it's just that..." she starts to say something, but her words trail off.

"It's just what?" You ask, trying to coax her statement into the open.

"...well, it's just they do so much for me, but....I really don't do enough for them." Twilight finally confesses.

"What makes you say that?" You ask. Now you're concerned. You've never heard something like this from Twilight before. Maybe this is what her friends were concerned about?

"This vacation, for starters," she begins, "...but there's more to it. I've already told you about my friendship reports, right?"

"Of course, Twilight."

"Well, being with my friends has taught me so many things on friendship and made me the happiest I've ever been, but...I feel that I haven't done nearly as much for them. Even when I try to do something to help, I almost always screw things up."

She lowers her head as she recollects some less-than-pleasant memories. "I caused a parasprite outbreak to eat up the whole town. I made nearly everypony go crazy over some stupid doll just so I could have a friendship report to write to the princess. I...I even let you almost get seriously hurt trying to save a sandwich for me because I didn't have the courage to confess my feelings for you..." her words trail off again. You assume she's thinking of what would've happened if you hadn't been so lucky on that day.

"...that's why I've been working so hard for a while now," She resumes speaking, "I want to make my friends feel just as happy as they've made me feel, but...I'll never be able to do that. I...I'm not good enough for them or you-"

"Twilight!"

The lavender mare jumps back a little at your outburst. You had heard enough. You reach your forelegs out and grab at her own under the water and look her right in the eye, hoping that your expression is somehow both firm and gentle.

"Please Twilight, don't say something like that." You continue in a calmer voice. "You don't have to push yourself so hard."

"But...but I-"

"You're really selling yourself short," You interject, not letting her continue her self-doubt for another second. "You already do so much for your friends and for Ponyville. It was your organization that helped everyone finish Winter Wrap-Up this year long before the other towns did. It was you that stopped a raging Ursa Minor from leveling the town, and if not for you, Equestria would still be all messed up because of that..." You take a moment to try and figure out this next word: "Draconi....Dragooneye...Dragonahkwa...."

"Draconequus," Twilight corrects you almost out of pure instinct.

"Yeah, that thing, and that's just the stuff I've heard your friends talk about casually," You continue, leaving out the part where you shocked them from accidentally sneaking up on them to take their orders. "Besides, you already make your friends happy just by being you. You don't have to do grand things all the time just to be a good friend. You already are a wonderful friend to them and to everyone you know."

You lean closer, letting a reassuring smile naturally grow on your face. Her wide-open eyes stare directly into yours, awaiting your next move.

"Your friends will always love you for who you are. Don't ever forget that."

"I....I...." Twilight stutters, but nothing comes of it. Instead, she lowers her head back down, staring at both of your bodies through the water. At least a minute of eternity-filled seconds pass before one of you speaks up again.

"You...you really think I'm a good friend?" She speaks up again, once more lifting her gaze to face yours, her eyes forming their own moisture in spite of all the water around her.

"More than that," You respond, "You're the best friend anyone could have."

Twilight says nothing back to you, only staring at you with her teary eyes. Was that too cheesy? You start to wonder. Twilight was never one for sappy romance stories, after all. You expect her to tell you you're just trying to make her feel better, that she still isn't as good a friend as she could be.

You did not expect her to wrap her hooves around and rest her head on your shoulder.

"...Thank you," she says softly, finally letting some tears go free. "Just...thank you."

You slowly return her embrace, pulling her deeper into the hug with your hooves. Even through the hot water, you can still feel how incredibly warm her own coat is.

"No problem," is all you say.

You sit with Twilight like this for several minutes in silence, enjoying the warm feeling of her coating against yours through the water and letting her pull your body close to her. Her friends were right; she really needed something like this, even if she didn't believe it herself.

Slowly, Twilight relaxes her grip on you and pulls back, looking right at you. You can make out streaks where tears went down her face, but her quiet smile is all she needs to do to tell you she'll be okay.

"Feeling better, Twilight?" You ask her, already knowing the answer.

"Yes, much better," she replies, "Sorry if I acted a little silly there."

"No need to apologize. It actually felt kind of nice holding you like that."

"Really?" Twilight asks, but she doesn't wait for an answer. "Well, I...um...have a confession to make."

"You do?" You respond.

"Um, yeah...you see, I, uh, didn't just want to come here to enjoy the water..." She averts your gaze as she finishes, and you notice another streak of pink breaking through her coating.

"Really?" You say, trying to feign surprise at her "confession". "What else could you want to come here for?"

"Well...you see, I wanted to do some research on a few things...."

"Research?" You respond yet again, having a harder time pretending to not know what she's talking about. "What do you mean by that?"

"Um..." She pauses at first, not noticing you slowly leaning in. "I...er, wanted to study the...effects of...." She pauses again, not noticing her eyes slowly closing and her head leaning in as well. "...hot springs on r...relation..."

She never finishes her excuse. At that point, both your lips connected together, the two of you preferring to switch to the oldest language in Equestrian history. You shut your eyes along with Twilight as your lips press onto hers, softly at first but slowly growing in force. You can't see anything, but you can feel her moving in the water, and still flinch out of surprise a little when you feel her hooves wrap around you, her soft fur once again pressing into yours. You reach your own limbs around her and return the favor, pulling her even closer to you and letting her appreciate the warmth of your own body just as much as you appreciate hers.

To your surprise, it is Twilight who first moves on to her tongue, poking her succulent wet muscle around your lips trying to seek access. You accept her offer and part your lips. She wastes no time in entering your mouth, licking as much of its insides as she possibly can.

You let her have her way with you for a little bit, but eventually you decide to have some fun yourself. You push your tongue against hers and engage in another wrestling match with her. She has learned much on how to gain the upper hand in this situation from both experience and some skimming of certain sensual books, but after much playful fighting, she finally relinquishes and grants you access into her mouth. You almost match her insatiability at first, eagerly lapping away at her. You can't get enough of that special taste that only she seems to possess: that mixture of her own fluids and a hint of elderberry. You nearly drove yourself crazy crafting a meal with that flavor after getting your first taste, but even though the recipe you came up with was certainly a favorite amongst your customers, it still could not compare against the original source.

Your self-indulgence comes to an end all too quickly, however, as Twilight recalls a certain technique she read in Kissing 101 and overpowers your tongue with hers, quickly regaining control of the situation. Be that as it may, you feel no annoyance at her temporary victory; the kiss, her body, the water, everything still feels far too good for you to develop any sour grapes.

This kiss goes on for....well, you don't keep track, but you never want it to stop. The playful tongue-wrestling match between you and her gradually lessens in intensity, eventually becoming a slow appreciation of each other's mouths. You had thought that less force would mean less pleasure, but you're once again surprised at how good it feels to be tender as well as wild. You become aware of all the little things: the rough texture of her tongue, the near-flawless way she whips it around yours, the moans from deep within her throat making her mouth vibrate. Much like eating a good meal, it's no longer about greedily devouring everything, but rather enjoying the finer details and savoring every last taste as if it was the last time you would ever get to enjoy an experience as good as this.

Finally, it is Twilight who breaks the kiss and leans her head back. You open your eyes and smile a little at just how much she got into the kiss. Her straight mane is tussled up, and you can spot a line of drool going down to her chin. I probably don't look that hot either, you convince yourself.

"....wow." she speaks first. "I don't think there's a word in the Equestrian dictionary to describe this."

"No kidding," you agree with her, "So...do you think you have enough 'research' now?"

"....actually," she responds, her pink blush and shy smile coming through again, "If you're willing, I'd like to, er, run some more tests."

"Sounds lovely to me. What did you have in mind?"

"Well..." She takes a few seconds before answering, "....I heard about a certain move that the two of us can do, although my knowledge of it isn't that great...."

"If you want to go through with it, then I'll be happy to do it with you," you respond. You have no idea what she's planning and are a little worried, but your want to have more fun with her is much stronger.

"Okay then, I'll start us off," says Twilight before taking a deep breath, "Well, here goes."

She gingerly leans her head forward again, almost as if to kiss you once more. Instead, she tilts her head down and moves to the side of your head. You're clueless as to what she has planned....

That is, until you feel something firm touch your horn.

A shiver goes down your spine as you decipher that Twilight's horn is now connecting with yours. Of all the places on her body you explored, you had yet to touch that particular area. Being a unicorn yourself, you knew firsthand just how sensitive it could feel to the touch under certain circumstances, but you always strayed from that part of her body (among other, less mentionable places) out of respect for her. You still hold a small amount of disbelief that she is now letting you touch her horn, let alone with your own horn, but the twitches now travelling through your entire body feel too good to back away.

*Ah!*

You exhale sharply upon feeling something you've never felt before course through your body. You don't think there are any real words to describe it. It's like the sensation you feel is yours, and yet it isn't. It has a character and feeling all of its own. It's almost as if what are you feeling is not something, but rather someone....

Twilight....

You let your mind and body rest as the answer comes to you: Twilight is sending short waves of her magic through your body now that your horns are connected. Each pulse of her power sends shockwaves of pleasure from head to tail, and you can't help but let out a moan at nearly every jolt. The pulses gradually come faster and quicker, and your moaning turns into light pants. You feel yourself going crazy at these new sensations; you are experiencing Twilight like you never have before, and each wave of pleasure she sends is unmistakably just as much a part of her as her talents and personality.

It feels far too good for you to let you have all the fun to yourself. You force yourself to concentrate through the shockwaves and started to pulse your own reserves of magic through her body. You know your magical abilities and strength can't ever compare to the power that Twilight wields, but that won't stop you from making her feel as good as you do right now.

Right away, your efforts are met by a sudden moan from Twilight, and you feel the steady pulsing of her magic stop for a second. However, she quickly resumes sending her magic into you, the pleasurable sensations drowning out your concentration. You only become more determined at this, and focus even harder on channeling your magic into her horn. Twilight moans even louder this time as the shockwave of your magic flows from her horn down to her hooves, but her own magic does not falter. If anything, your effort only succeeds in making her magic stronger.

Thus begins another contest between you and Twilight as you both let your magic flow through each other. You make a valiant effort at pleasing her, but as you expected, the amount of magic you possess is nothing compared to Twilight's. Despite you running low on steam, the two of you are still going at it fiercely, rubbing your horns together and losing yourselves in the waves of magical bliss. You feel your horn growing hot and your face getting covered with your sweat as the wonderful sensations in you grow stronger still. At this rate, you feel like you will explode in perfect harmony in mere moments-

*Gasp!*

You didn't make this noise, and neither did Twilight. You both jerk away from each other immediately after hearing the gasp and turn to find its source. Standing close to the edge of the spring is the yellow-coated receptionist from before, staring right at the two of you with a red blush on her cheeks. On her back are a pair of white towels with the resort's logo stitched in them as well as a set of keys for getting inside the private springs, you assume. Your mind races with questions. How long has she been there? Was this against the resort's policy, somehow? Were you about to be kicked out and lose your reservation?

"I'm so sorry!" Cassia blurts out, taking a couple steps back in embarrassment. "I-I was just restocking towels in all the springs! I didn't mean to interrupt you two! I didn't even see you until just now!"

You open your mouth to form some sort of reply, but Twilight beats you to it. "No, it's our fault. We didn't hear you come in at all....we're not in trouble for this, are we?"

The employee takes a second to regain her composure before talking again. "In your case, no. Plenty of couples like to use these springs for similar purposes. We only discourage the most....erm, passionate purposes for sanitary reasons." You shudder a little as your mind conjures up images of what she could be suggesting by that.

"Well, that's a relief, I guess." says Twilight, perfectly mirroring your response.

"Okay then," Cassia continues, "I'll just...leave you two alone now. Let me know if you need anything else." Cassia then shyly turns away and leaves the room, leaving you and Twilight alone again.

You're not sure what exactly to do now, but after about half a minute of awkward silence, Twilight turns back to you and nervously calls you by your name.

"Yes, Twilight?"

"Um....perhaps we should continue this somewhere more private?"

"More private? Like where?"

"Like...our room?" She gives you a smile that could very well have been accompanied with the sound of a squeak toy, her face regaining that cute pink blush.

Your eyes open in surprise at the potential of Twilight's suggestion, but you try your best to play it cool. "Yeah, that sounds good, but I thought your 'research' involved hot springs?"

"We could...study something else instead," She coyly suggests.

"I'll always be up for more research like this," you snicker a little at the realization of just how far the two of you have played out this excuse. "So...when do you want to go back to our room?"

"Maybe...now?"

"Okay then, let's be on our way."

Without another word, the two of you get out of the water, this time taking much less time than you did getting in. You both lift up a towel and dry yourselves off, depositing the towels in a nearby hamper when you finish.

Now that the towels taken care of, you turn back to Twilight and notice that she is staring in your direction, a far-off look on her face and a small smile forming on her lips.

"What'cha thinking about?" You can't help but ask.

"Oh! Um, not much really...." she replies. Her head turns away from you for a second but then quickly returns. "Um, can I ask you a question?"

"Of course."

"...what did I do to deserve a coltfriend as good as you?"

You didn't need any time to think of an answer. "You're you. That's all you need to be."

She says nothing in response. For a moment, you think you came off as too cheesy again. However, Twilight quickly dispels this thought by walking up to you and nuzzling your cheek, her freshly-dried coat sending shivers down your spine.

"Shall we be on our way, then?" She asks you.

"Yes, let's."

With this, the two of you exit the spring and begin the walk to your room, both lost in the happiness of each other's company.

It is still a pleasure to love.

_________________________________________________________________________________

Note: Generally speaking, it’s not a good idea to engage in intercourse when in water, especially in hot springs. Water robs the body of its natural lubricant, and that’s not to mention the potential for acquiring an infection of some kind. Also, frequent hot spring and/or hot tub usage can cause sterility issues in guys, so always use in moderation.

Plus, you totally have a thing for Twilight Sparkle now. Don’t lie.

BONUS: Commentary

Note: This chapter is not an extra chapter to the story, but rather a series of interesting tidbits that went into the creation of this fic. Spoilers warning apply. Enjoy, and thank you for reading.

-Let's start off with before I ever began writing the story. You see, right after I finished Friendly Games, I made a crushing realization: I had no idea what I wanted to write next. Well, that's not entirely true. I had a few characters I wanted to write about (Zecora, Princess Celestia, etc.), but I had no absolutely nothing in terms of a good enough backstory to justify the sensuality. My inability to write anything was further compounded by the season 2 premiere. Discord's shenanigans had successfully put me into a depressing funk that lasted until part 2 (something I would've never imagined doing over a kid's show). Once I saw Part 2, however, that funk lifted pretty quickly, and that's not all. After a while, the episode got me thinking about Twilight Sparkle once again. Everyone's favorite lavender bookworm has certainly gone through a lot of garbage over the course of the series, and after I started thinking about it, I realized that there was a part in me that wants to see Twilight get a nice break. Soon enough, the idea and the resolve to write a story about giving Twilight a break came to me. It was good to be writing again.

-Speaking of episodes, while writing my story, I was a bit afraid that Lesson Zero, the first slice-of-life episode of season 2, would either A.) Introduce something to the series that would completely negate my fic, or B.) Kill my drive to write once again. It turned out to be quite the opposite. Not only did it strengthen my resolve to keep writing, it fit perfectly with the story's concept of Twilight needing a nice retreat. I even ended up adding the part about Twilight overworking herself and making a mention of the episode because of how well it fit. It's like Faust's mind and I are in perfect synchronization...

-Yeah, I pretty much put Rarity in this story just so I could have a line of dialogue referencing In Sickness and Health. To be fair, I ended up giving her a more substantial role than just that.

-I kept arguing with myself over just how long I wanted the scene where they arrive at the spa to be. I didn't want to have a lot of filler for the reader to wade through, but at the same time I didn't just want to cut to "You are now in your room for the weekend." I suppose that scene is still pretty filler-ific regardless, but I think it helps the story's pacing.

-For some reason, the thought of a valet parking service for hot-air balloons in Equestria made me laugh. That's the only reason that bit is there.

-Anyone catch the Hotel Dusk reference?

-Ah, Winter Wrap-Up. How you make me feel for Twilight. I had to have that there.

-I agonized over exactly why Twilight would be depressed in the hot spring scene for the longest time. The only rejected reason I can recall is that she was lamenting for all the bad things that happened to her on a semi-regular basis while ignoring all the good. Even when I eventually settled on "I'm not a good enough friend", it still took me a while to figure out exactly how I wanted her to say it.

-I also debated how long I wanted the actual sensual bit to last. I had started writing the belly portion when I looked back and saw that the sensual part was already pretty long at that point. I ended up moving it into the extra scene instead. The interruption part was planned since the beginning, however.

-If you were wondering what Twilight Sparkle and the chef get up to after leaving the spring, I did write a scene involving that. I can't post it in this specific story, as it is rather explicit, but if you want to find it, you need only dig through my blog posts on here, or do a quick search through the Pony Fiction Archive or the Clopfics Directory.