"So, Aloe and Lotus, is it?" the interviewer asked the two ponies behind the spa check-in counter, one pink with a gelled back blue mane, the other blue with a gelled back pink mane. Both had shared cutie marks of a white herb of some sort.
"Yes," the pink one answered.
"And you two are the owners of this spa?"
"Oh, yes," the blue pony said gleefully. "Aloe and I opened up Serene Sanctuary on our own. Both our life savings went into it."
"And business was booming ever since the grand opening," Aloe added. "Ponyville never had a spa to call it's own until we came along."
"Ponies would have to go to Canterlot if they wanted a proper spa treatment back then. So, as you'd expect, not many ponies took the trip."
"Well Rarity was always happy to go on any occasion," Aloe reminded her sister.
Lotus held her hoof up to her head. "Oh, don't get me started on Rarity."
"Are you saying that Rarity isn't exactly your favorite pony in town?" the interviewer asked.
Lotus lowered her hoof. "Oh, no, not at all. Rarity is one of the most interesting visitors we get. She always has some sort of gossip to tell from around Ponyville, and even Canterlot when she gets back from a trip. It's just, she visits a little too often if you ask me."
"Oh, she's fine," Aloe laughed.
"It can't be healthy to ask for a treatment just after you got another done. It's happened more than once you know."
Rarity stretched out her legs on the purple chair and removed the cucumber slices from her eyes. Aloe took the pink towel off of the unicorn's head and put it on the chair as she let out a relaxed sigh. "Is that it all for today, Rarity?" Lotus asked politely.
Rarity stood up and held her hoof to her chin. "Hmm, you know I think I have time for a short session in the sauna. Not many dress orders have been coming in this week."
Lotus glanced over to Aloe in concern, then back to Rarity. "You just had that treatment right before the massage. Are you sure you don't want something else?"
"No thank you," Rarity replied. "Just in the mood for a little steam is all."
"I mean you haven't had a seaweed mud wrap in a while, maybe we could-,"
"Oh let her be, Lotus," Aloe interrupted. "She likes the sauna. I don't see why we should complain."
"I know it's just odd how somepony with so much time wouldn't want to mix things up a little."
"Don't be so fussy. Come on, Rarity, I'll get the sauna all warmed up." Aloe led her through the brown doorway in the back of the spa. Lotus sat back on one of the chairs and looked at her hooves as if trying to wrap her head around that unicorn. She shook her head and stood back up to make her way to the sauna with her sister and Rarity.
"Now I'm not saying that we don't get the occasional weird visitor," Lotus admitted. Somepony pops in every once and a while that we would never even think to see in Ponyville."
"What do you mean?" Aloe asked. "I never anyone seen anyone out of the ordinary come in here."
"Oh, tell me you weren't shocked when we had the Wonderbolts came in."
"They're no different than anypony else, Lotus. Besides, Spitfire is friends with Rainbow Dash, right?"
"She still has a Wonderbolts Academy to run as well as go to all these events around Equestria to preform."
"Oh yeah. I forgot about that," Aloe said. Lotus facehoofed herself. "Well they're still normal ponies to me."
"What about the time Fluttershy brought Discord in for a hot towel treatment?"
"He's from Ponyville. I'm sure he'd stop in at some point," Aloe reasoned.
"He came in here all mopey and brought the towels to life. We had to chase them down because we kicked him out before he would turn them back."
"Well he's still-"
"And what about the time the queen showed up at our door?" Lotus questioned.
"Who?"
Lotus looked in Aloe's eyes in disappointment.
The spa twins were folding up towels left behind from their last appointment when they were suddenly alerted to the sound of the chime from the bell above the door. They looked over to the entrance with welcoming smiles, but Lotus' didn't last two seconds once she saw who was waiting in the doorway. There was a tall black pony with torn, insect-like wings and her legs were full of holes. Her horn was curved as if indented by bumping into too many low-hanging bars. Her mane was sickly green and dangling down the sides of her long neck and down to her shoulders.
"Welcome to Serene Sanctuary," Aloe welcomed gleefully. "How can we be of service?"
Lotus pulled her in and whispered in her ear. "Uh, Aloe, do you know who that is?"
"No, but she's here for something."
"She's the changeling queen. You know, lead an attack on Canterlot. Almost won."
"You can call me Chrysalis," the changeling said in a toxic voice.
Lotus turned back to their customer. "I'm sorry for the rude welcoming, but we're just not-"
"No need to explain," Chrysalis stopped her. "I've gotten my fair share of dirty looks on the way here."
"So what do you need?" Aloe asked again.
"I was hoping I could find somepony with a little decency and would demonstrate how one keeps others looking, well, not dead."
The sisters exchanged glances. "Um, can't you like change shape or something?" Lotus questioned.
"Yes, but that takes magical strain you couldn't imagine. I'd much rather have a modest appearance in my natural form."
"Well come right in and have a seat," Aloe offered. "Let's start off with that mane." They brought her over to the hot tub and up the semicircle staircase. They assisted the queen into the wooden tub and let her lean back in the warm water. Lotus looked at her mane peculiarly. Somehow her hair had holes in it. How was that even possible? Aloe instructed her to sink down and get some moisture into that mane, and Chrysalis let herself float for a few seconds. The twins helped her back up against the rim of the tub where she rested her hooves on, and let her drenched mane flow down; still covered in holes.
Lotus decided to roll with it. She grabbed a nearby brush and started stroking the locks. The bush moved through the hair smoothly, but when she looked back at it, it was in the same position as before. She tried it again, this time with a little more tug. Still no changes. She tried again with all her might, and it nearly pulled the hair out of Chrysalis' head.
"Gah," she said in pain. "Could you be a little more gentle?"
"Have a little patience, Lotus," Aloe said, trying to calm her down. "It'll fix itself up in time."
"You're lucky I'm doing this for bits," Lotus mumbled under her breath. She went back to brushing, but the irritation made her stroke too far to the right, and she managed to dislocate a few strands of hair from it's formation. She tried brushing to the left to cover it up, but she ended up making a massive fork in the mane. "By Celest-"
"Yeah, that was a field day," Lotus groaned.
"So are a lot of your customers this bad?" the interviewer asked.
"No, we usually have nice, patient customers with functioning manes," Lotus added. "They make good company when we're just biding our time."
"Oh, but I think Lotus likes some more that others," Aloe said teasingly.
"What? Who?" Aloe just smiled at her sister with half-closed eyes, saying nothing. Lotus began to blush and looked away. "No. No you can't prove it." Aloe looked to the interviewer bearing the same smile. "Aloe, if you say anything I swear I will-"
"Oh, yeah," Thunderlane sighed as he lay down on his stomach on the purple chair, his face buried in the pillow. Lotus blushed as she dug her hooves into the stallion's back. He lifted his head from the pillow. "Thanks, Lotus. Rainbow Dash has got be beat in prepping for the water transport to Cloudsdale. Let me just say that you are a miracle worker." Lotus giggled and kept rubbing his back. Thunderlane began feeling a little bit of pain from too much pressure and started cringing. "Alright, Lotus, that's enough."
Lotus stopped the massage and gave the pegasus a hoof up. Thunderlane got to his hooves and stretched out his back. "Ah, thanks for your help."
"Don't mention it," she smiled with another giggle. Thunderlane smiled back and looked around.
"Hey where's Aloe? She's almost never here whenever I drop by."
"Oh, she likes to take off Tuesdays to visit the family. She stays if it's a busy day, but it's been easy for a while now."
"Ah, alright. Well tell her I said hi."
"Will do," Lotus assured him as he walked toward the door. "Same time next week?"
"Yep, I'll be here." Thunderlane replied. Lotus waved goodbye as the door closed behind him. The pink earth pony ran back to the doorway to the sauna and poked her head inside.
"He's gone," she said.
Aloe walked out of the sauna, smiling at her sister. "I know, I heard that long goodbye you gave him."
"What? It was long? Was it too long? Was I-"
"Relax Lotus, I'm only teasing. Are you happy I let you handle his appointments alone?"
"Quit reading my mind," Lotus blushed. "Now Aloe, listen to me. This stays between us, got that?" Aloe nodded and the twins gave each other a big hug.
Lotus had fled from the counter into the main room while her sister told the story. "I can't believe you told somepony that for the newspaper!" she cried.
"Oh, you act like it was a bad thing."
"It is a bad thing! I don't want him to know I like him!"
"Lotus, he knows you like him."
"Why? Did you tell him already?"
Aloe turned back to the interviewer. "It's fine, she'll get over it."
"No I won't!" Lotus yelled back, still stammering from crying.
"In about two weeks." Aloe gave the interviewer one last smile before he left.
"I can't believe you'd betray me like this!"
