Putting Her Dreams Aside

"There you go, Tank," Rainbow Dash said to her pet tortoise as she placed a bowl of lettuce in front of him. The pegasus had already had a simple bowl of oats for breakfast, and now it was time for her pet to receive his morning meal, too. It was 9:45 in the morning, and Soarin had left for Cloudsdale little after seven, leaving his wife to sleep in, something she greatly enjoyed.

As Tank slowly began munching on his leafy greens, Rainbow walked out of Twilight's kitchen and headed for the library, wanting to have her Daring Do fix for the morning. Upon entering, the pegasus admired the tall, almost fully stocked bookshelves, knowing that Twilight had more than enough space for storing the items of one of her most favorite hobbies. Dash soon found the shelf with the book series she was looking for, and immediately tried to decide which one to read, even though she had already read each book multiple times. "Let's see," Dash said to herself, aloud, "Sapphire Statue or Ring of Destiny?"

After several seconds of pondering her options, Dash made her decision. "Ring of Destiny it is," she said, aloud. She took the hardcover book off the shelf and held it under her right wing before turning and exiting the large room.

Dash was soon in the hallway once again, headed for the living room near the front of the castle. As she walked, she realized just how much harder it was to do so with each week that went by. She was a little over six months along in her pregnancy, and the unfamiliar weight was taking a slight toll on her normally athletic body. Her belly had distended quite a bit, about halfway down her forelegs. She had been told by Nurse Redheart that her belly would be a little more than two-thirds the length of her forelegs by the time she was expected to deliver the foals. There was a small part of Rainbow Dash that just wanted this over with, but at the same time, she knew that she was tough, and wanted to hold out for her unborn children.

As Dash continued down the hall and rounded a corner, she couldn't help but think about what was happening with Soarin's father. A couple of days after she had seen him, he was placed in a medically induced coma, as it was determined that part of his brain had swollen, which explained his sudden amnesia. Right now, he was doing better. His wings had almost fully healed, but as for his memory, it was going to take some time before he would remember everything again, but Dash was still sure that Grey Nimbus' memory would be fully functional again by the time his grandchildren were born.

At last, Rainbow reached the living room, where she and Soarin spent the majority of their first night at the castle. She climbed onto the same red lounger, except it wasn't perched right in front of the fireplace this time. After laying down and getting comfortable, Dash released the book from her wing and prepared to open it, but as she did, she heard a voice from down the hall. "Hello?" came a voice that Dash knew was coming from a glamorous white unicorn she knew all too well, "Anypony here?"

"Rarity?" Dash replied, her voice a little louder than normal. Immediately, she heard running hoofbeats coming in her direction, so she climbed down from the lounger and walked slowly toward the entryway, eager to greet her friend.

Eventually, Rarity came into view, and the unicorn seemed very happy to see her pegasus friend. "Rainbow!" Rarity said, excitedly, "There you are!"

"Hey, Rares!" Dash replied, "What's up?"

"Well, as you probably know, Fluttershy left town yesterday to go and visit Tree Hugger, but today is the day where she and I usually go to the spa together. The thing is, I know you've gone through quite a bit of stress lately, I mean, besides the wedding. That was simply marvelous."

"Yeah, it was," Dash replied, smiling.

"Anyway, you've been seeming rather exhausted because of...well, that," Rarity continued, pointing to Rainbow's belly, "Plus I know the situation with your father-in-law is still going on, and I can only imagine how devastated you and Soarin must be feeling."

"He's taken more of a hit than I have, but his dad's a good guy. I feel bad that this is happening to him."

"Same here, darling. Anyway, I'm really not one for going to the spa on my own, especially knowing that a friend has been going through so much lately. So, would you like to join me on my excursion this morning?"

Rainbow was a bit surprised at the offer. It had been quite some time since she had last been to the Ponyville Day Spa, and she couldn't forget the embarrassing events that followed her first visit there. If she weren't pregnant or didn't have an ailing father-in-law, she would have immediately said, 'no', but given that both of those were happening, plus the fact that, at the moment, her back was more uncomfortable that it had ever been, the pegasus figured a little R&R with one of her best friends was starting to sound like a good idea.

"Sure, Rarity," Rainbow finally responded, "I'll go with you."

"Wonderful!" Rarity replied, clapping her front hooves together, "Come! We should be getting over there as soon as we can!" The two mares then walked back down the hallway and eventually exited the castle. At the same time, a certain tortoise was helping himself to a mid-morning nap next to an empty bowl of greens.

The air in the lobby of the Ponyville Day Spa was as fragrant as it always was, full of the scents of lavender and roses. Aloe was busy lighting a few scented candles with said scents, plus preparing some incense and air fresheners to go along with them. The pink mare looked over at the clock on the wall, noticing that it was two minutes to ten. Knowing that her first appointment of the day would be for Rarity and Fluttershy, she wanted to make sure that two of her and her sister's most valued customers felt welcome as they walked in. However, Aloe was unaware that today was going to be a bit different.

Soon, the clock struck ten, and, as if on cue, the bell above the front door rang, and in walked Rarity along with her pegasus friend, albeit not the one she usually came with. "Good morning, Aloe," Rarity said, noticing the mare behind the counter.

"Ah, hello, Rarity!" Aloe replied as she turned around, happy to see that the unicorn was right on time. She then noticed that a different pegasus was standing next to her, but she was one whom she had met sometime ago.

Almost immediately, the three mares in the room heard another voice, this one coming from Lotus Blossom, who was returning from one of the back rooms. "Hello, Rarity!" she said, equally as happy as her sister to see the white unicorn.

"Hello, Lotus," Rarity replied.

"And, Rainbow Dash, right?" Lotus continued, reaching a forehoof toward the pegasus for a hoofshake.

"Yeah, that's me," Rainbow responded, shaking Lotus' hoof.

"Well then, long time no see! Where is Fluttershy, might I ask?"

"Oh, she's out of town visiting a friend," Rarity replied, "I brought Rainbow with me today because one, I didn't want to come on my own, and two, I think this is something Rainbow could definitely use."

"Ah, yes," Lotus replied, noticing Rainbow's pregnant state, "Rarity told me that you were expecting. Congratulations!"

"Thanks," Rainbow replied, "But, are you sure it's okay for pregnant mares to get a spa treatment?"

"Oh, don't worry about that," Aloe responded, coming out from behind the counter, "We have a special treatment for expectant mothers. I'm sure you'll find it quite soothing. Come. Let us lead you inside."

"Thank you, ladies," Rarity replied for her and her friend. She then levitated a small bag of bits out of her saddlebags and placed it on the counter, to which Aloe moved back behind it and put the bits in the register. Aloe then rejoined the group as they headed for the back.

"Ahhhhhhhh........." Rainbow moaned contently as Aloe's hooves roamed her back, slowly easing the tension that had built up throughout the pregnancy. She was lying on her stomach, but her hips and upper chest were being supported by a pair of special pillows, part of a set that Aloe and Lotus used for pregnant mares, depending on how far along they were. Because of the slight increase in height, Aloe was standing on a wide stool next to Rainbow's massage table, perfectly positioned for her to work her magic on the pegasus. "Why didn't I come here sooner...?" Rainbow asked out loud to nopony in particular.

"Well, darling," Rarity replied as she received a back massage from Lotus, "I assumed you...ahh...didn't like coming here because you thought it would be embarrassing."

"Forget that...aaaahhhh...I gotta come here more often..."

"Well, we'd certainly love to have you return, Rainbow Dash," Aloe said, "It's always a pleasure to have such a satisfied customer."

"Absolutely," said Lotus, "Even though my sister and I don't have any children, we know all too well how much a pregnancy can wear out a mare, and we feel that it's important to keep your body in check because you shouldn't have too much stress, whether you're pregnant or not."

"That makes sense...aaahhh..." Rainbow replied as Aloe began massaging one of her hind hooves, "I'll definitely take that into consideration."

"Has she ever had a massage before?" Lotus whispered to Rarity.

"Not to my knowledge," Rarity whispered back. Her statement made perfect sense, as Rainbow was practically melting at Aloe's touch. Never in her life had she built up so much physical stress, and never in her life had she ever had such a mind-blowing stress release. Rainbow could feel the heat releasing itself from all of her tense muscles, mainly from her back, and flowing throughout her body. She hadn't been in such a state of bliss in quite some time, and now that she was, she was loving it.

Soon, the mares' massages were over and the Spa Sisters led them to the changing area, where Rarity put on her signature robe, the one with the glamorous letter 'R'. As for Rainbow Dash, she was given a slightly bigger robe, one that would fit around her belly and hug her entire form at the same time. Aloe and Lotus only had a few of these special robes around, but they weren't made for pegasi, so they allowed Rarity to create two holes in the back for Rainbow's wings.

After all that was done, Aloe and Lotus led the unicorn and the pegasus to the sauna. Normally, Rarity would stay in the heated room for upwards of thirty minutes, but because of Rainbow's current state, she could stay in there for no more than seven minutes, as the pegasus needed to keep her body temperature in check, plus the fact that Rarity didn't want to be in there all by herself.

Before the two friends were left alone, Lotus gave Rainbow a normal, white, feather pillow, as the pegasus would be lying on her side in the sauna, instead of on her stomach, like Rarity usually did. After that, Rarity and Rainbow began to relax once again as the coals filled the room with soothing heat. It was a shame, though, that they wouldn't be able to experience it as long as they both desired. Nevertheless, it was a pleasant heat, and it made Rainbow sweat a little, but she didn't mind, as spending most of her life flying really fast had always made her sweat when she stopped.

"So, Rainbow," Rarity began, "Tell me, how is your father-in-law doing at the moment?"

"He's gotten better over the last couple of weeks," the pegasus replied, "But he's still trying to remember who everypony is."

"Oh my, did he really have that big of a blow to the head?"

"It was hard enough to cause his brain to swell and for him to lose his memory, so, yeah. I mean, he's made progress, but he's still got a ways to go. As for his wings, they should be fully healed by next week."

"Wonderful! I'm glad he's making progress!"

"Yeah, me, too." The two ponies then remained silent for about a minute before Rarity spoke up again.

"Rainbow, I must say, I'm really glad Pinkie Pie isn't spying on us. If she was, she'd probably start planning for a "Dashie's Father-in-law Is All Better" Party."

Rainbow chuckled. "I know, right?"

All of a sudden, a pink head rose out of the coals, not seeming to be affected by the searing heat. "What was that about me?" Pinkie Pie asked, quizzically.

Both Rainbow and Rarity gasped. "Oh, uhhh..." Rainbow mumbled.

"Did you say you needed me to throw your daddy-in-law a party for when he's all better?" Pinkie continued in rapid succession, "Absotuta-lootley!"

"Wait, Pinkie, we..." Rarity tried to say.

"I'll make sure he has the time of his life! Bye!" With that, Pinkie's head disappeared back into the coal stove, and, despite her skin being in direct contact with the coals, no scream could be heard.

Rainbow and Rarity stared at each other for a good ten seconds. "Don't worry," the pegasus said, "I'll talk to her later."

"Sounds good," Rarity replied.

After a couple of minutes more, Rarity and Rainbow exited the sauna, as their seven-minute restricted time had passed. They then walked back into the main room, where they were greeted by Aloe and Lotus. Both the unicorn and the pegasus sat down on another set of tables as the two earth ponies got prepared. Rarity lay down on her stomach before having her face coated in a familiar cream, while Rainbow lay on her back, not wanting to make Aloe and Lotus have to fetch those special pillows again. The table was comfortable, as it was angled slightly, so not too much of her pregnancy weight was bearing down on her. Her robe was still covering her body quite well, which she liked, as she wasn't interested in having too many ponies see her underside.

As Aloe laid two cucumber slices over Rarity's eyes and began filing her white horn, Lotus got to work on preening Rainbow's wings. The pegasus was a bit surprised at the initial approach, and she jerked her wing back out of reflex. "Whoa, do you know what you're doing?" Rainbow asked Lotus.

"Oh, I'm sorry," Lotus replied, looking a tad concerned, "I won't preen your wings if you're not comfortable with it."

"It's not that. It's just...do you know what you're doing?"

"Of course. My sister and I have plenty of customers who are pegasi, so we decided to get a few lessons in preening wings."

"Oh, Rainbow, you should see Fluttershy's face when she gets preened here," Rarity said, "I swear, it's as if she's drunk!"

"Hahaha!" Rainbow laughed. She took a few seconds to catch her breath before turning back to Lotus. "Alright, Lotus. Go ahead." The earth pony nodded as the pegasus stuck her right wing back out. Lotus' hoof then made contact with one of her feathers, and Rainbow gasped as a tingling sensation spread through her body. She soon relaxed, and Lotus continued to massage and groom her feathers. It didn't take her long to finish, however, as it had been some time since Rainbow had actually flown anywhere. It hadn't even been five minutes before Lotus had finished preening both of Rainbow's wings.

The earth pony then brought out a hoof filer, and Rainbow immediately grew worried upon seeing it. It made her think of when the Cutie Mark Crusaders made her visit to the spa one of their headlines, which embarrassed her to no end. That, however, had happened quite some time ago, and she, along with the rest of the townsfolk, had long since forgiven the three fillies.

Right now, seeing how Rarity was enjoying herself so much, combined with the fact that Rainbow herself thought this day had been going really well, the pegasus thought to herself, "Screw the tabloids. I need this."

After a pleasant hooficure and facial, followed by a short, three-minute dip in the hot tub, Rarity and Rainbow Dash had completed their visit to the Ponyville Day Spa. Rarity felt refreshed, as usual, but as for Rainbow, it was a completely different, yet very much similar, story. "Thank you for everything, ladies," Rarity said to Aloe and Lotus as they walked to the front door of the lobby.

"No, no, no, thank you for being such a wonderful customer, Rarity!" Lotus replied, "We always look forward to the day when you come to visit!"

"We sure do!" Aloe responded before turning to face the cyan pegasus who was next to her, "Rainbow Dash, how was your day at our spa?"

Rainbow was still in a slightly relaxed state as she did a few small stretches. "Wow..." she soon replied, "I, like, haven't felt like this in years! I feel more rejuvenated than I've ever been! I wanna just take off and fly somewhere right now!" Out of instinct, Rainbow spread her wings and bent her legs, as if she was about to take flight, but before she leapt upward, she remembered something. "Oh, right..." she said, blushing slightly. The other three mares chuckled.

"Oh, wait!" Lotus began again, running behind the counter and reemerging a few seconds later with two bottles of water, "You don't want to forget these!" She then handed each of her customers one of the bottles.

"Thank you, Lotus," Rarity said.

"Thanks," Rainbow followed up, "But, how much is this gonna cost me?"

"Oh, nothing at all, Rainbow Dash!" Lotus replied.

"We always give our customers a complimentary bottle of water when they leave," Aloe said, "It's important to drink plenty of fluids after a massage, and we want to make sure that you get some in your system before you go."

"Sweet!" Rainbow replied. She then unscrewed the bottle cap and brought the mouth of the bottle to her lips, chugging the entire bottle in about six seconds. "Ahhh..." she sighed in contentment before... "Uuurrrppp!" She then blushed furiously and looked guiltily at the other three mares. "Excuse me..." she said. The other mares only chuckled, and Rainbow did the same a few seconds later before she and Rarity left the spa, ready to take on the rest of the day with freshly rejuvenated bodies.