Steam

It was like any given morning for Pipsqueak. He woke to the familiar Ponyville exclusive sounds of birds chirping, a Sweet Apple Acres rooster greeting the morning, and the hot breath of a certain dragon on the nape of his neck. Also, this dragon was naked.

“Get up, ya limey! It’s time to attack the day!”

In return for his enthusiasm, Spike got a slap from the back of Pipsqueak’s pinto hand. “Agh, bloody hell, Spike... Can’t we postpone the attack? I’m perfectly comfortable right here,” Pipsqueak grunted out in his Trottingham accent. His arms wrapped around the dragon’s thin waist and held him close.

“As tempting as that sounds, we have to get up.” Spike drummed his hands on Pipsqueak’s smooth, finely groomed back and leaped out of bed. “Come on, dude. You don’t wanna be one of those college sluts that spends the whole day shacked up with his latest conquest.”

“Uh…” Pipsqueak scratched his head as he struggled to sit up. “As I recall, you propositioned me. At least, you implied it…” He reached over to the bedside table and grabbed a half-full bottle of cherry schnapps.

Spike snatched the bottle out of the lanky boy’s hands. “Don’t drink that. It’s way too early.”

“Hey, it’s four o’clock somewhere,” Pipsqueak replied as he tried to get his drink back, only for Spike to keep it out of his reach.

“Too bad it isn’t four o’clock here,” Spike shot back as he took the drink outside of the room.

Pipsqueak lamented the grim sound of a fridge opening and closing. My wee bottle o’ scrumpy, he pined internally. He stuck his tongue out at Spike when he returned to the bedroom. Spike gave a little hiss and stuck his forked appendage out in turn.

“I only do these things because I cherish you,” he said.

“So, forcing my parents out of the house so I could have steamy, possibly illegal social interactions with a dragon is fair game, but a bit of alcohol isn’t?”

“You are correct,” Spike answered with an innocent smile on his face. In his mind, he was trying his damndest to not see the gaps in his logic. Even though Bloody Mary and Ferment were out of town for another day, he dreaded how they would react if they found a dragon balls deep in their gorgeous twink of a son. “End of argument.” He bent over, granting Pipsqueak a generous view of his smooth, scaled ass. When Spike stood back up, he was clad in his purple, tribal-patterned jacket.

“You’re unbelievable,” Pipsqueak grumbled. The pony finally found the energy to get out of bed. He gave Spike a quick slap to his butt and went to get himself some clothes. It took him less than a minute to throw on something fitting for a pleasantly sunny afternoon; a loose fitting deep v-neck, cargo pants and a few friendship bracelets.

Spike slipped into his boxers and jeans, but decided to forgo any kind of shirt. He walked with Pipsqueak into the bathroom to help him apply his two earrings. Spike was still blown away by how much sexier and exotic they made the cute stallion. He couldn’t resist giving the little guy a kiss on the cheek. “I just wanna show you to the world.”

Pipsqueak rolled his eyes. “Uh, is cool and casual Spike in there? I didn’t fall in love with Femboy the Wonder Dragon.”

Spike’s response was a laugh, which turned into a yawn. “Oh he’s in here, he’s just not as much of a morning person like Wonder Dragon is.”

“Theeeen how about we just go back to bed and wait for that Spike to wake up?” Pipsqueak asked, hoping to catch up on some more sleep, as well as snuggle up with his sexy dragon boy.

“Hell no, my lovely limey!” Spike threw his arm around Pipsqueak, thrusting out the other and pointing to nowhere in particular. “We’re going to the place where heroes and angsty artists are born!”

“Coffee shop?” Pipsqueak asked in deadpan.

“Coffee shop.”

Spike thanked every fictional deity from every fantasy story he ever read that there was a coffee and donut shop embedded right into Pipsqueak’s apartment building. The dragon and the young stallion stepped into Donut Unto Others and ordered the most chocolately, caramelized, whipped-creamed, sugargasmly delicious drinks on the menu. They also grabbed some donuts for the heck of it.

Spike munched greedily on a maple and hay-bacon pastry between slurps of coffee, only to have a mare in pink shades and a fedora ask him to quiet down so she could write an editorial on commercialization destroying Equestria’s youth. Pipsqueak’s response was to point out that she came here every day and always ordered the exact same drink. The mare stormed off in a fit of rage and embarrassment as the two males quietly laughed to themselves. After eating their breakfast (though Spike more or less destroyed his), the two paid for their food while leaving a generous tip, because that little encounter was worth it.

The stallion and the dragon walked down the street when they ran into Featherweight and Rumble. The four talked for a while to catch up on recent exploits. Spike, however, was constantly distracted by how absolutely gorgeous Rumble had become. His hair was down, he was dressed mostly in leather, and he had a new ‘I’m awesome and so is everypony who knows me’ attitude to every word he said. Even Pipsqueak was rather smitten, nudging Spike and winking suggestively at him. When Rumble suggested catching up over poker, Spike immediately said yes. The two brought it in for a hug and went on their merry way.

Pipsqueak grabbed Spike’s hand and dragged him into a recently opened arcade called Quicktime Event Horizon. When the two went in, they found Button Mash playing a fierce round of Equestrian Warriors against a scruffy looking adult, while Twist watched them from the side. She cheered on Button Mash with every punch he landed, but it wasn’t enough; the other guy decapitated Button’s character, forcing the poor fellow to clutch his head and have a spaz attack. He laid down a bag of bits and leaned back in his seat, welcoming Twist’s comforting hug. Spike suggested they play the dance games downstairs instead.

Time flew by like a Wonderbolt on caffeine. The sun was already on high by the time the two wandered out of the arcade with sweat on their brows from all the dancing. Spike let out a groan. “Agh, after that, I could use a massage.”

“I hear ya’,” Pipsqueak replied as he tried and failed to crack his sore back. As coincidence would have it, a gust of wind sent a flyer to the side of Pipsqueak’s face, causing the poor fellow to lose his balance and fall right into Spike’s loving embrace. The dragon pulled the flyer from his friend with benefits’ face. After taking a look at it, the dragon found an answer to their dilemma.

“Ooooh, snap!” Spike tucked the paper into his jacket. He had a slight blush on his face as he grabbed his little friend’s shoulders. “Hey, Pip, how about going to the spa to get rid of our kinks and have some real fun?”

“I wanted to have real fun this morning, but you got all prudy—”

Spike interrupted Pipsqueak by raising a claw to his stiff upper lip. “Consider this my apology, then,” he said, his smile becoming wider, “Lotus Spa, ho!”

Spike knew that this was a good idea the instant he stepped inside. The spa’s furnishings were as clean and white as could be, reflecting much of the noon sun. The carpet was as close as one could get to walking on a cloud without actually doing so. The subtle smell of fruity scented candles set a wonderful mood. He was tempted to take off his shirt right then and there. At least, he would have if he was wearing one.

An unfamiliar face was at the front desk. Spike had expected Aloe or Lotus, but this mare was different; a light blue coat, stylish violet mohawk and pearlescent eyeliner made her look the part of a new-age fashion model. She batted her eyes as she looked up from her papers. “Hello there, dears,” she chirped with an adorably proper accent. Her smile was as glowing as the rest of her. “You picked a good day to time to come by. This place has been rather quiet all morning.”

“Has it?” Spike asked. He approached the mare and leaned over the counter. “I don’t mean to sound like a clod, but I’m a regular here, and I haven’t seen your pretty face before.”

“That’s because I’m new here,” she said as her smile grew. “You’re Spike, right? My name is Roxie. You might know my sister, Vera? She and I decided to relocate here.” She pointed to a set of pictures frames on the desk. Next to the familiar photo of Aloe and Lotus posing in their white spa dresses sat a new addition. The yellow-coated, purple-maned Vera had Roxie in a headlock.

“Ah! Of course.” Spike snickered to himself. “You’ll have to forgive me. I’m used to the spa staff wearing their manes back, but you’re quite the nonconformist. I like it.”

Pipsqueak, once again, found himself awestruck by Spike’s precision charm and charisma. However, the peace of the moment was thrown into complete disarray when he noticed a rather upbeat pink mare skip out of the break room. He recognized her as Aloe.

The elegantly dressed spa pony clapped her hands together. “Is that the hottest dragon in the world?!”

Spike looked to Aloe and laid on the smoulder. “Is that the finest masseuse this side of Canterlot?”

“I dunno, is it? Get over here, you sexy bitch!” Aloe commanded, although she met Spike halfway for a friendly kiss, much to Pipsqueak’s surprise. “It’s so good to see you.”

“Please, Aloe, quiet yourself.” Lotus entered the lobby, clutching a clipboard under one arm. “This is a place of relaxation, not a sorority.”

“Ahh, can’t it be both?” Aloe whined as she hugged the drake.

“No,” Lotus answered without missing a beat. She turned her attention from her to Spike and Pipsqueak. “What can we do for you gentlecolts?” She paused. “Uh, gentlecolt and gentle...drake. My apologies.”

“Why so serious?” Pipsqueak asked, leaning forward with a smarmy glare. “Come on, you know Spike. Bring it in for a hug, lass!”

Lotus rolled her eyes and showed a defeated smile. She reached out with her one free arm and let Spike in. She was caught off guard by a sudden nuzzle from the dragon. “Come now, friend. Save it for later…”

Pipsqueak folded his arms. “Okay, and that just leaves…” He turned his head at the sound of a ringing bell, as did Spike. In came Vera, who was wearing a sports coat over a purple oriental dress. “Ah, right on time.”

“As always.” Vera punched herself in and turned towards the group. “Oh, Spike! What’s up?” She put up her dukes. “You wanna go?”

“Bring it!” Spike played along, letting the mare lightly sock him in the arm. “Oof! That’s my girl!”

“What is she, a boxer?” Pipsqueak asked.

“Kinda, yeah,” Roxie said as Vera walked over to her.

Vera removed her coat, revealing her rather athletic frame. It contrasted with the other three girls’ more curvy figures. “See, Daddy wanted a boy and a girl, but he ended up with both me and Roxie. So, he improvised. Rox learned how to cook, and I learned how to punch a guy.”

Roxie held out her arms and shrugged. “Buuut, the novelty eventually wore off, so we decided to do something else with our hands for a living.”

“Actually, speaking of hands...” Spike said as he pulled the flyer from his pocket, “We found this thing, and it reminded me of a certain, ah, ‘special treatment,’” he made quotation marks with his claws, “Aloe and Lotus did for me way back when. My buddy and I were wondering if that was still available?” Spike threw an arm around Pipsqueak and pulled him in.

“Oh, Spike…” Aloe said, stepping up to Spike and touching his shoulders. “You know you don’t have to pay for such a thing. All you have to do is ask.”

Spike shook his head as he reached into his pocket, bringing out a coin purse. “And dock you out of a generous payment? No freakin’ way. You fine ladies work hard.” He dropped the purse on the front desk. “There’s a bit extra in there, because I decided to bring this fella along.”

Lotus took the purse as she looked to the friend in question. “Pipsqueak, is it? Spike speaks very highly of you during his visits.” Her professional demeanor contrasted with her thick blush, which was made more obvious on her blue coat. “Are you familiar with this service?”

“Nothing outside of what Spike has mentioned,” Pipsqueak answered. “I have to be honest, I half-figured he was joking, but you actually do this?”

“Only for the cute customers,” Aloe says with a wink.

Roxie shuffled a few papers and stood up. “Well! If that isn’t something you only hear about in Stablehouse… Excuse me, I will go freshen up, then.”

Vera looked outright excited. “Sweetness!” She stepped behind Spike and Pipsqueak and wrapped her arms around each of their necks. “Okay, studs, if you’ll come with me, we can begin…”

“Wait a moment!” Lotus piped up. “Just for legal reasons: We all agree that this arrangement is entirely consensual for all parties?”

Pipsqueak groaned. “Yes, yes."

"And you are at least eighteen, right?"

"Yes, we both are," Spike said with a faux groan. "Enough about parties, let's party already!”

Lotus smiled and tossed her clipboard aside. “I had a feeling today was going to be a good day.”