Social Bathing
Admiral Biscuit
Twilight checked the slip of paper in her hand one final time before reaching her finger out and pushing the doorbell button. She heard a faint two-tone chime from within, and let her hand drop to her side while she waited.
She was just about to push the doorbell again when Sunset opened the door. “Thanks for coming over, Twilight.”
“It's my pleasure.” Twilight wiped her feet on the doormat before stepping over the threshold. Once she was inside, she closed the door behind her. “This is a real nice apartment. If you don't mind my asking, how'd you get it?”
Sunset shrugged. “It'd take too long to explain. I'll tell you about it some other time. Do you want a snack or anything?”
“Depends.” Twilight looked around the room. “What have you got?”
“Bunch of junk food, if that's your thing, or there’s some healthy stuff in the fridge.” Sunset motioned toward the kitchen. “Take a look, see if there's something you want.”
Twilight followed her directions to the kitchen and began pulling open cupboards. A human kitchen wasn't that different than a pony kitchen, although the cabinets were taller, and the appliances ran on electricity that came from outlets in the wall. She wasn't entirely sure how that worked; most likely the town had some kind of receiving array that converted magical energy to electricity.
She couldn't make much sense of the bright boxes and shiny foil bags in the cupboards—she'd learned to her distaste that most human foods had animal meat in them, and while she'd been assured more than once it was okay to eat, it just felt creepy.
Twilight jerked back as a bright light came on overhead. She turned to see Sunset silhouetted in the door. “Sorry, thought you might want some more light to see by. You ever had Doritos?”
Twilight shook her head.
“They're pretty good. Not very healthy, but I guess that won't be a problem if you're heading back to the pony world.”
“I'll just stick with a salad, and something sugary for dessert. What kinds of flowers do you have?”
Sunset smirked. “None. Over here, we don't eat them. Can't digest them.” She ran her hand down the drywall archway. “Pity, really. Sometimes I buy a bouquet anyway, for old time’s sake.”
“We could treat ourselves later,” Twilight suggested. “Do you have any tea?”
“Yeah.” Sunset slid open a drawer jammed full with cardboard boxes. “If you want flowery, try the jasmine. Or you could have fennel and nettle—it's almost the same as the school staff prepared. I'll put on the kettle.”
While Sunset cut vegetables, Twilight skimmed through the choices, curiously opening a box of Celestial Seasonings, which smelled nothing like Celestia. She finally decided to trust Sunset’s judgement and selected the fennel and nettle tea.
“Can I help?” Twilight looked over Sunset’s shoulder. “If you’ve got another cutting board, I can slice up the cucumber and celery.”
“Let me do it. You’re still not all that good with your hands, and I’d hate to see you cut them. Why don’t you get the salad bowl out of that cupboard, toss in some spinach, and then mix in the chopped veggies?”
It only took her a moment to pick a suitable bowl from Sunset’s collection; a quick trip to the refrigerator later, she had a nice bed of spinach laid out. As Sunset added chopped veggies, she mixed them around with her fingers.
Quicker than she could have imagined, the kettle was boiling happily away.
Twilight took the salad bowl to the table while Sunset poured them each a cup, then they sat down across from each other and began to eat. Both of them picked at their bowls with their hands—Twilight still had trouble with silverware, and Sunset was happy with fewer dishes to wash.
When they were finished eating, Sunset took a pie from the fridge and set it on the counter, efficiently cutting two wedges from it. “It's store-bought, sorry. I didn't have time to make one.”
“Bakery pie is good.”
“I wish it was from a bakery. Eh, it'll do. You want some whipped cream on it?”
“Sure.”
“Alright.” Sunset pulled a spray-can out of the fridge. “Not really sure what's actually in these cans. It says it has real milk in it, so it can’t be all bad. Pinkie got me addicted to it.”
Sunset sprayed a dollop of cream on each pie wedge, then carried them over to the table. Twilight carefully picked one up and took a bite from the end. The flavor was . . . lacking. It wasn't off like it was spoiled, but it was obviously made from inferior ingredients. Still, it was better than anything the school had offered for lunch.
Sunset ate her pie with a fork, cutting small chunks off the end and chewing them thoughtfully. She kept her eyes on Twilight, matching her pace so that they both finished together, then took the plates and set them in the sink. “I'll wash them later,” she said. “You want anything else? More tea?”
“I'm fine, thank you. Where’s your bathroom?“
“Other end of the apartment. Next to my bedroom.”
“Really?”
“It's convenient. Most apartments here are like that.” She led Twilight down the hallway to the back of her apartment, opened a door and flicked on the lights. “There it is.”
Twilight looked over the small room. A vanity and sink were against one wall; the toilet sat on the opposite side. Along the end wall, a shower with glass doors took up the length of the room.
“It looks kinda cramped.”
Sunset pulled off her jacket and hung it over the top edge of the door. “Think vertically, Twilight.”
“Oh, right.” Twilight still hesitated on the threshold, studying the room. It was not what she had anticipated, but she could cope. It would be good for Sunset, and it would be good for her.
“You coming in?” Sunset sat down on the toilet to pull off her boots while Twilight dithered in the doorway.
“Yeah.” She paused just after entering the bathroom. “Should I close the door?”
“Depends on how steamy you like it. Trust me, if I leave the fan off, it's going to get foggy in here. How do you prefer?”
“We can always open it later,” Twilight decided. She pulled off her own jacket and hung it over Sunset's, then pushed the door partially closed. “It'd be nice if there was a bench in here. It's not easy to take off footwear standing. I’m not sure where you’d put it, though.”
“I don't get a lot of company,” Sunset said. She wadded her socks up in a ball and tossed them into a corner, then stood up. “Go ahead, you can sit down on the toilet.”
“Thanks.”
While Twilight was struggling with the laces and buckles on her boots, Sunset unzipped and stripped off her skirt and threw it on top of her socks, moved her shoes to the pile, and then turned back to Twilight. “You want some help?”
“I think I've got it.” Twilight wrapped her hands around the heel of her boot and tugged it off, dragging her sock along with it. Sunset picked it up and took it across the room, starting a second pile of clothes. “Hey, Sunset?”
“Yeah?”
“How come you aren't wearing a bra?”
“Never do at home. It’s the first thing I take off when I get home from school. They're torture devices, if you ask me.”
“I don't understand how humans put up with wearing all this stuff all the time.” She triumphantly pulled her second boot free. “Even Rarity—the one in Equestria—wouldn't want to.”
Sunset nodded, then leaned into the shower and turned on the faucet. “Gotta give it a moment to warm up.”
Meanwhile, Twilight got to her feet and continued stripping down, freeing herself from her shirt before sliding her skirt down her legs. She was reaching back to unfasten her bra when she felt a pair of hands gently touching her back.
“Let me get that.” With practiced ease, Sunset undid the hooks and pushed the straps forward, her hands lingering on Twilight's shoulders.
Twilight tossed it into the growing pile of her clothes and then slipped her hands under the waistband of her panties. Those, at least, weren't hard to get off, as long as she kept her balance. Just like her skirt, the trick was to let them fall to the floor and then step out of them.
They weren't as lacy as Sunset's red pair, but they did cover more of her butt. She wasn't sure if that was a good thing or not. Rarity was the only other girl she’d ever noticed who wore such skimpy panties.
“How did you figure out what to wear?” Twilight asked. “I didn’t really think about it at first . . . I mean, I thought it was odd that I was wearing clothes to begin with, but when I looked around everybody else was. And then after I made friends with this world’s Rarity, she helped choose.”
“You can't imagine how many fashion magazines I read, getting a sense of what was 'normal.'” She ran her eyes up and down Twilight's nude form. “Shaving, for one. Trimming . . . I see nobody's told you.”
“Oh, I got told.” Twilight sighed. “Once we were friends, Rarity took me aside for a little 'girl talk.' The problem is, each time I leave and come back, so does the coat. I figured that since I was only here for a little bit this time around, I wouldn't worry about it.”
“Huh.”
“Is it a problem?” Twilight uncertainly ran her hand down her stomach and into the patch of hair on her groin. “I can neaten up.” She looked at Sunset's crotch. “Or shave it all off. How—“
“Look up 'self-Brazilian waxing,' on the internet. I found an instructional video.” Sunset suggested. “Actually, on second thought, don't. You're fine the way you are.”
Twilight leaned down to pick up her clothes. “Are you sure?”
“Yeah, I'm sure.” Sunset said.
Since she was going to have to wear them afterwards, Twilight folded her skirt and shirt neatly, setting them on the floor next to her boots. She would have liked there to have been a table or a dresser to put them on—anything to keep them off the ground. Rarity would have been upset to see how casually Sunset treated her clothing.
When she stood back up, she noticed tendrils of haze already twining around the overhead light. “I see what you mean about the steam.”
“It's not a problem, is it? I can open the door or turn on the fan.”
“There's probably enough of a crack at the top of the door to let it out. Our jackets are keeping it from closing all the way.”
“Just let me know if it's an issue.” Sunset stuck her hand in the stream of water, then reached forward and adjusted the temperature. “I really appreciate this, Twilight. No one else here seems to be interested in social bathing.”
“How odd.” Twilight waited until Sunset had stepped into the shower before following her in. “Are you sure? Did you ask around?”
“Not at first.” Sunset reached around Twilight and slid the shower door shut. “I was too busy trying to fit in.”
“Yeah.” Twilight shifted her weight and sighed. “It was sort of the same for me. I was trying to cope with everything all at once, and I didn’t really have a chance to step back and look at the big picture for a while. Um, I hate to bring this up, but I am curious.”
“Go ahead.”
“Did you ever ask Flash to bathe with you? When you two were dating?”
“Yeah.” Sunset stuck a loofah into the spray to get it wet, then squeezed some bodywash on it. “He liked the idea, but wasn't really clear on the concept.” She turned and handed the loofah to Twilight. “Although I have to admit that my boobs were sparkling clean, but he kind of neglected everything else. And he had a constant erection. You'd have thought he was expecting to have sex in the shower.”
“Did you?”
“It's not really the right place for it, you know. Bedroom or backyard.”
“Or the alley behind Donut Joe's.”
“You, too?” Sunset giggled. “Wasn’t the most romantic place.”
“I like the smell of doughnuts,” Twilight said defensively. “Plus, I couldn't take him home with me. Shining was there.” She looked down at the loofah in her hand. “Is it better to start with your front or back?”
“Doesn't really matter—whichever you prefer.”
Twilight hesitated for a moment. She'd always had trouble washing her back as a human; she couldn't see what she was washing, and her arms didn't really like to bend far enough to get every spot. “Well, since you're already facing me. . . .” She tentatively reached out and touched the loofah to Sunset's neck, soaping under her chin, before moving on to her shoulders and breasts.
She paused when she was halfway down Sunset’s stomach. “Do you want me to wash under your tail? I mean—“
Sunset laughed. “I know what you mean. If you want to. This stuff's pretty mild, but I can do it myself if you don't want to.”
“Doesn't bother me.” Twilight went back to work on her stomach, following down to the jut of her hips, covering her bare pubic mound before she squatted down in front of Sunset. “It is kind of weird to have fur-covered genitalia,” she commented as she ran the loofah between Sunset's legs.
“Yeah, I didn't like it. Just felt wrong.” Sunset shifted her weight as Twilight moved on to the inside of her thighs. “Of course, everywhere else being bare didn't feel right, either. I would have preferred leaving my armpit hair and leg hair alone.”
“I know.” Twilight was crouched low enough that she could easily reach around Sunset's legs, and she washed them thoroughly. She finally paused when she reached Sunset's feet—while the tops would be easy enough, she didn't want to knock Sunset off-balance by lifting her feet for her.
This had never been an issue as a pony: three legs were sufficient to stand on. Fortunately, Sunset also recognized the difficulty, and leaned back slightly, getting a good grip on the handrail in the shower before raising a foot. Unfortunately, her new position meant that some of the shower spray was hitting Twilight in the face, a problem not solved until she moved her head closer to Sunset's crotch.
It probably wasn't polite to stare, but she was sure Sunset wouldn't mind, so she studied her friend intently. There was only so much of herself she'd been able to observe, even with a mirror, and besides, she knew a sample size of one was too small to draw any conclusions.
Sunset snickered. “Enjoying the view?”
Twilight blinked and remembered too late that she'd stopped scrubbing while she was staring.
“It's just, um, different than a mare's.”
“Yeah, isn't it?” Sunset laughed. “Wait until you see a guy flaccid. It just sort of hangs there like a little elephant trunk.”
“Really?” Twilight finished with Sunset's left foot and her none-too-subtle examination and looked up at her friend.
“Yup. No sheath; it just dangles over the balls.”
“Weird.”
“Plus, it's right in your face. Not literally, but it's just there, hanging out, saying 'look at me.'”
“I think it would be annoying, to have it flopping around all the time.” Twilight set her hand on the slippery floor of the shower and stood up. She was actually getting a bit chilly, which was odd given the amount of steam the shower produced. Apparently, the fine spray of the shower only briefly warmed, before the evaporation of the water drew her skin temperature back down.
Without being asked, Sunset turned around, presenting her back to Twilight while rinsing the lather off her chest and legs. She stepped forward, letting the water beat down on her chest, then reached back and pulled her wet hair up and out of the way.
Twilight gently soaped off her neck, shoulders, back, and butt without a word, making sure to cover everywhere she hadn't been able to reach before. Cleanliness was important, and it just couldn't be done by one pony. A rough farm-style bath, sure, but to really be sure that you got everything, you needed a partner.
Besides the lack of a coat, it felt weird to not have a tail jutting out. Twilight could feel Sunset's spine under her fingers, but it just stopped at the curve of her buttocks. “It's weird. I just take my tail for granted, but when I come over here, suddenly it’s not there anymore. It doesn’t bug me like it did the first time I was here, but every now and then I’ll suddenly notice that it’s gone.”
Sunset dropped her hair and turned her head so that she could see Twilight out of the corner of her eye. “A missing tail isn’t as odd as hands and feet. That was what I noticed first.”
“Yeah.” Twilight lifted up her left hand and stared at her palm. “All those little lines at the joints and in the center of the palm . . . and so many bones! I still can't wrap my head around how it all works. After the first time I was here, I really studied Spike’s hands.”
“Scooch back a bit and we'll change places,” Sunset said.
Twilight moved back then stepped to her right as Sunset moved off to the side. The two turned sideways and squeezed to opposite ends of the shower—whoever had designed this had clearly meant for it to be sole occupancy—and Twilight briefly experienced the bizarre sensation of her chest sliding against the warmer and wetter Sunset’s, while her back and shoulders slid across the still-cool glass shower enclosure.
Then she reached the water, the spray first catching the edge of her breast before she centered herself, paradoxically shivering at the heat.
Sunset's hands rested lightly on her shoulders and then began to squeeze firmly; before she could form an objection, she felt the tense muscles in her back relaxing.
“Shoulder massage,” Sunset explained. “One of the benefits to hands. That's something ponies can't do well.”
“Mmmh, no,” Twilight sighed. “Although if you had decent hot tubs here, you wouldn't have to.”
“There's a hotel in town that has one,” Sunset said. “I went there after Prom my first year here. That was an interesting experience.”
“Why? Was it different than in Equestria?”
“Yeah.” She moved her hands further down and kneaded with her palms. “For one, there are water jets in the tub.”
“Like a fountain?”
“No, they spray underwater. Sort of beat on the skin, like a hoof massage, or if you sit just right. . . . That's not the weirdest thing, though. You've got to wear a special kind of bra and panty in the tub. They won't let you use it if you haven't got your junk covered.”
“What's the point, then?”
“That's what I wanted to know. I didn't ask, though.”
“Why not? Weren't you curious?”
“Of course I was curious, but I was trying to fit in, remember? So I kind of played my ignorance off like it was a big joke and didn't bring it up again and Flash didn't say anything 'cause I rode him until he couldn't walk right. Then the next day I forgot all about it when I went off estrus and had to deal with that. Loofah, please?”
Twilight looked down at her hand and giggled, passing it back, then helpfully picked up the bottle of body wash. “Is it different as a human?”
“Somewhat.” Sunset pulled Twilight's hair off to the side and handed it forward, letting Twilight hold it clear of the water. “I was a bit crankier . . . the first couple of times, I chalked it up to my general bitchiness, but I still get that way.”
Twilight stayed silent, not wanting to further dig open a fresh scar.
“You've probably missed that experience over here, haven't you?”
“I think so.” Twilight closed her eyes and focused on the sensation of the slippery loofah sliding across her bare skin. It felt totally different when Sunset was doing it than when she was washing herself. It was practically decadent; why humans didn't indulge in this type of social bonding behavior was incomprehensible.
“Oh, you'd know. The blood's a tip-off.”
“In your urine?”
“You probably haven't really noticed that your urethra isn't in the same place. So it doesn't rinse you out like it would as a mare. They've got this thing called a tampon that you stick in your vagina to absorb everything.”
“Yuck.”
“It's something I could do without,” Sunset said honestly. “That was the one thing I was looking forward to my first winter: I was eager for my cycles to stop . . . but they didn't. In humans they go on year-round.”
“Wait, so you could get pregnant in the middle of the winter here?”
“Yeah.”
“That's dumb. Who'd want a new baby in the winter?”
“It's biology—what can you do?” Sunset squatted down and started scrubbing Twilight's calves. “I was so skittish at first, thinking I'd be figured out as soon as I tried to do anything. It was everything, from not knowing the social rules to not fully understanding my own body. I thought somebody would see right through me, call me out as a changeling, you know? Even something a foal could do . . . like when I had to figure out how a human toilet worked.”
Twilight nodded. “I didn't know that they were separated by gender.”
“Found that out the first time you went into the wrong bathroom at CHS, did you?”
“Third time, actually.” Twilight snickered. “You could have used that in your video smear campaign.”
“Would have, if I'd known.” Twilight's ears burned at the slight touch of venom in her friend’s voice, but just as soon it was gone again. “I'm kind of surprised word didn't get around.”
“The whole demon thing probably nipped it in the bud.” Twilight wasn't against hurling a little mud herself.
“I—“
“I'm sorry!” Twilight spun around and wrapped her arms around Sunset. “That was cruel.”
“I deserve it.” Sunset leaned her head against Twilight's shoulder. “The things I did—I don't deserve your friendship. You've always done the right thing, while I was chasing a fantasy of power.”
“That was the past.” Twilight pulled her friend closer. “You can't undo it, but you can learn from it and make yourself a better pony . . . um, person. And maybe one day you'll get the chance to share what you've learned with someone else, to help guide her down the right path.”
“It's just, oh, I don't know. You came all the way here for this. Something stupid—I shouldn't have even asked.”
“It's not stupid.” Twilight lifted Sunset's head up and looked her in the eye. “It's something a friend does for a friend.”
“Well, not here, apparently, but I see your point.” Sunset leaned forward and rubbed her nose against Twilight's cheek, then burst into a fit of giggles.
“Who knew taking a shower would be so emotional?” She touched the loofah to Twilight's shoulder and ran it down her arm. “Kinda forgot for a moment there that people don't nuzzle each other.”
“Explains why the girls gave me weird looks when I did it.”
“Probably. You know, you've got really nice breasts.”
“I do?”
Sunset nodded. “According to all the fashion magazines I looked at, you do.” She reached up and absently brushed a bit of hair back with her finger. “If you ever need to make some extra money in the human world, I know just the place. All you've got to do is take off your shirt and wiggle 'em around a bit, and guys just toss money at you.”
“Like that?”
“Close.” Sunset took a step back and demonstrated, before moving back in with the loofah. She soaped around Twilight's belly, stopping just short of her groin. “Maybe I ought to use shampoo here.” She devilishly ran her fingers through the curly purple hair.
“If you think that's best,” Twilight said uncertainly.
“Might soften it up some. Won't hurt to try.” She pressed up against Twilight so that she could reach the shampoo bottle that was sitting on a ledge in the front of the shower, and squirted it out in her palm. “You don't mind, do you? You can do yourself if you want.”
“It's not really proper social bathing if I do it myself. We might as well just be in the school's locker room.”
“How many times did you offer to help before you figured out that wasn't the norm here?”
Twilight sucked in a breath as Sunset's fingers twined through her pubic hair. It felt bizarrely pleasurable, and she wondered if Sunset's bare skin was as sensitive. “Maybe a half-dozen? I kinda stayed to myself at first . . . I was worried about being caught and thrown into a crystal prison or something.”
“Thrown in a crystal prison?”
“Yeah. The first time was when Queen Chrysalis trapped me under Canterlot; the second was during King Sombra's attack in the Crystal Empire.”
“Spread your legs a bit. Let me get in there. What's the Crystal Empire?”
“Oh yeah, you wouldn't know about that. It was a northern empire, ruled by a despotic unicorn. The whole thing got put under a spell for a thousand years, and then Princess Celestia sent me to save the crystal heart, but I couldn't do it—I triggered a magical booby-trap and got imprisoned.”
“Should have teleported out.”
“I tried. The magic just bounced me back inside. I think there was a mirroring enchantment on the trap. I probably could have teleported further and overcome it, but I wasn't exactly thinking clearly at the time.”
“I know that feeling.” Sunset finished soaping her thighs and moved down to her knees and shins. “When I get to your feet, do you think you're going to be able to stand one-footed so I can get the sole?”
“You braced yourself on the handrail.”
“Yeah, but I've got more practice.”
“I think I can.”
“Don't unless you're sure. I probably won't be able to catch you if you slip, and falling in the shower's really painful.”
Twilight wrapped her hand tightly around the rail and lifted a foot experimentally. “I've got it.”
“Alright. Can you lift a little higher, or is that uncomfortable?”
“This good?”
“Yup. Hey, I was always a bit curious about alicorns. How—“
“Woah, hey, that tickles.”
Sunset moved her hand away from Twilight's foot. “Sorry, should have warned you. Soles of the feet are pretty sensitive. You don’t notice it when you’re washing your own feet, but whenever somebody else touches them. . . .”
Twilight flexed her foot. “Another oddity—how did humans get along before shoes? Ponies don't need them unless they're always walking on paved streets or have bad hooves . . . and I guess back in the old days, the ones with bad hooves wouldn't have grown up.”
“Never really thought about it.” Sunset moved back in, carefully watching Twilight for a reaction. “I've heard that a lot of physical labor makes your hands tougher; maybe the same thing can happen to feet. Like, if you walked around barefoot a lot, you'd have tougher feet.”
“And the toes are so pointless.” Twilight wiggled hers. “They can't grab anything; they're just in the way.”
“Maybe they used to be bigger, like an ape's.” Sunset waited until Twilight shifted around to another secure position and lifted her leg.
“Maybe . . . are you suggesting that their ancient ancestors could have been swinging from the trees?”
“Well, humans do look a lot like apes, so maybe. I don't know. I didn't really do a whole lot of studying human history; I was more concerned with fitting in.” She sighed. “And increasing my power and ultimately turning into a demon.”
“Well, you won't make that mistake again.”
“Feet are all done.” Sunset stood back up, leaning up against Twilight so that she could hang the loofah from the faucet. “I think I should do your hair first, but do you mind if I move into the hot water for a minute? It's a little chilly when you're not right in the spray.”
“I'd noticed that. If there were a showerhead at each end, it would be a lot better for two. It wouldn't even take that much extra pipe, I don't think.”
“It's not really an issue when you're showering alone.” Once again, Sunset scooted to the inside to squeeze by Twilight. “Which I think is the way they expect these to be used.”
Twilight nodded, then crossed her arms over her chest. Her upper arms seemed particularly sensitive to the cold, although rubbing her hands along her biceps helped ease the sensation. It was tempting to think that friction played a part, but it was unlikely she was stroking them fast enough for it to really be a factor.
Could it be some sort of muscle response? My back felt better when Sunset was touching it. Experimentally, she reached out for Sunset's back, touching her lightly below the fall of her hair.
She tried to replicate the kneading motion that Sunset had used on her back, concentrating on whether there was any measurable increase in skin temperature. As far as she could tell, there was not; however, Sunset did appear to relax under her touch.
Then she bent forward unexpectedly, reaching for another slippery squeeze-bottle. Twilight jerked in surprise as a spray of warm water caught her in the belly.
“Gonna be a bit more movement involved here,” Sunset informed her. “Your hair's still wet, but you might want to rinse it out again. Make sure you get it wet all the way to the roots.”
“Yes, Mom.” The pair once again switched places, sliding against each other to get to their respective ends of the shower.
Twilight slowly backed under the showerhead, letting it soak her hair. “Do you usually turn around to get your forelock wet?”
“Forelock? Oh, bangs. No, just tilt your head back. Like this. Close your eyes, too.”
Twilight squinted her eyes shut and leaned her head back. “That feels really weird. I never did it that way in the school showers. It was easier to keep my head down, and let the water run off the front.”
“Well, if you'd rather do it that way. . . .”
“No, this is okay. A little disorienting, but not too bad.”
“Are you ready?”
“Yeah.” Twilight took one cautious step with her eyes still closed before she was sure she was totally clear of the spray, then opened her eyes and took another step towards Sunset. “Is this far enough?”
“Depends,” Sunset said honestly. “It would be easier if you turned around.”
“Oh.” Twilight's cheeks colored. “I should have thought of that.”
“I could try to reach around from the front, but I don't think that would work very well.”
“We're about the same height . . . yeah, I can't see how that would work.” She turned around and rested a hand lightly on the grab bar. “Would it help if I squatted down a bit?”
“Not really.” Sunset hooked Twilight's hair and gently pulled it off her back. “Huh, that's weird. It feels like a horse's mane, kind of. Is that something that happens each time you come here, too?”
Twilight nodded. “Conditioner helped to make it softer, but it always stayed a bit more coarse than human hair. I think if I were here for long enough, it would eventually be replaced by finer hair, but it might take years to grow out. Did it happen like that for you?”
“I'm not sure.” Sunset squeezed shampoo into her hand and began working it into Twilight's hair. “With everything else, I wasn't really paying all that much attention to the texture of my hair, and whatever I might have felt, I'd've chalked up to the difference between hands and hooves.”
“Well, we never would have known if you hadn’t said something. I wish we could compare the hair texture on other places on our bodies, but you removed all yours.”
“Yeah, sorry.” Sunset worked the shampoo down to Twilight's roots. “Next time you're going to be here for a while you should try waxing to see what happens.”
“Not a bad experiment.”
“Of course, if you leave before new hair grows in, you might go back to Equestria bald.”
“No.” Twilight absently traced a finger down into her pubic hair. “Can you imagine what a sight a bald pony would be? The coat comes back. Rarity made me shave my legs and armpits bare the first time I was here, and when I went back I still had a coat on my hind legs and fore . . . legpits sounds weird, but we haven't really got a colloquial name for that part of the pony body, now that I think about it.”
“And we both know that pony vulvas don't have hair, so there's nothing to learn there. I wonder . . . if you cut your hair short in this world if it would be shorter when you went back?”
“I don't think so—why would it?”
“It's coarser, and it’s pretty close to your current manestyle, isn’t it?”
Twilight nodded in confirmation.
Sunset lifted the soapy tangle of hair in her hands and examined it thoughtfully. “So it probably doesn’t really get changed by the mirror portal. What if you cut an inch out of the magenta? If there was a notch when you went back, you'd know.”
“That's a really good idea. You've got scissors, right?”
Sunset nodded. “A pair in the kitchen and another in my desk. Probably the ones in my desk would be better; they’re sharper. Alright, time to rinse off, then I'll put some conditioner in. Can you hand me the bottle—I forgot to grab it first. Oh, and make sure to close your eyes again. This stuff really stings when it gets in them.”
“I've already found that out.” Twilight boldly stepped forward, intending to get the conditioner before she turned around and thus save a step, but as soon as the water hit her head, the soap immediately began running down her face and she had to squint her eyes shut, too late for it to prevent all the burning.
She fumbled around for the conditioner bottle, but gave it up when she felt she was on the edge of balance. Sunset had already warned her about falling in the shower . . . “Sunset?”
“Yeah?”
“Do you ever think it'd be easier to balance with a tail?”
“What do you mean?”
Twilight wiped a hand across her eyes to try and clear the shampoo. “Well, lots of animals use their tails for balance, and I can't help but think that it might be more useful as a biped. Everypony knows that a tripod is more stable than a bipod, after all.”
“Ponies don't,” Sunset reminded her.
“I know that.” Twilight cracked an eye open experimentally. Finding it pain-free, she opened the other as well, and successfully reached the conditioner bottle. “But lots of quadrupeds do, and I can't help but think that if humans only had a tail, they'd stay up a lot easier.”
“Most people don't fall down that much,” Sunset informed her as she began to condition Twilight's hair. “There's this one grey-skinned blonde girl in school who does, but I think she's just naturally clumsy. Otherwise, humans are almost as stable as ponies.”
Twilight leaned back to give her easier access. “How long did it take before you got used to it? To being bipedal? It kind of goes to the back of my mind most of the time, but every now and then I think ‘wow, my head's really high up right now.’”
“I've . . . I've almost forgotten about what it was like to be a pony.” Sunset's hands stopped moving in Twilight's hair.
Twilight reached up and squeezed Sunset’s hand. “I can’t imagine how hard it’s been for you.”
“Sometimes I get down on all fours, and look at my apartment that way, and it looks so weird, but it also kinda looks right. I think it's like looking at your own muzzle: you can always see it, but you don't ever really notice it.”
“That's kind of bugged me, too,” Twilight muttered, crossing her eyes. “You might be right, though. I hadn't been thinking about my . . . nose?”
“Uh-huh.”
“But now I can see it, and my mind's kind of telling me it isn't what I should be seeing.”
“Do you want me to condition your pubes?”
“Is that something humans do?” Twilight turned around to face Sunset, both to help her make a decision, and to start rinsing off her own hair.
“Maybe?” Sunset pointed to her own self-waxed crotch. “I wouldn't know. Can't hurt, though.”
“Go ahead.” Twilight waited until Sunset's hand moved forward, then continued with her earlier thought. “I've considered that magic in Equestria—and perhaps throughout the multiverses—is somewhat sapient. A lot of times, it feels like it shows us the way. Did you ever notice that?”
“I've got a slightly different perspective.”
Twilight's eyes sparkled. “Oh, that's good. Research needs different perspectives. Has it led you astray?”
“I'm here, aren't I? You can rinse off when you're done with your hair, then let's switch places. You've had a string of successes, leading all the way up to your ascension, while I got stuck here and wound up turning into a demon. I can't say that magic has been showing me the way.”
“What if it's subtle? What if that was meant to guide you to finding friendship, in the same way that Celestia sending me to Ponyville was meant to show me the meaning of friendship? I know it’s not the same, but I kind of felt like I was being punished when I got sent to Ponyville.”
“That sounds a lot like confirmation bias.” Seeing the look on Twilight's face, Sunset moved forward and gave her a hug. “Hey, I'm not saying I'm right, either.”
Twilight closed her eyes and leaned her head against Sunset’s. She’d never considered it in the moment, but had some of the villains she’d fought with the girls thought that they were doing the right thing? Had Sombra felt betrayed by his own former citizens as he was cast down?
“Sunset?”
“Yes?”
“Are you happy?”
“That's a complicated question.” You've forsaken your home forever; your parents and old friends think you're dead; you've lost all your magic and the respect from your mentor of course you’re not happy. Friendship doesn't make up for that.
But Twilight's body is warming me, and she came all the way here to help me, expecting nothing in return. Sunset squeezed her tightly, rather than answer the question.
The water had started to cool off by the time Twilight started on Sunset's hair, and it was only lukewarm at best when she'd finally rinsed all the conditioner out. The two girls stepped out of the shower into the steam-filled bathroom and began toweling each other off.
Twilight looked over at the pile of her clothes in the corner. “I hate putting on my clothes when I'm still wet. No matter how much I dry myself, my skin still feels damp. You've probably got it all figured out, though.”
“Hair dryer helps.” Sunset plugged the appliance into the wall. “Plus your body hair traps moisture . . . I can't really remember any more how long it took to dry off when I was a pony, but I keep telling myself it was longer than it does as a human.”
“Yeah, it is.” Twilight smiled. “I've got fresher data on the subject. But I never put on clothes after visiting the spa, just let myself finish drying naturally.”
“Well, we don't have to get dressed right away,” Sunset suggested. “We could just sit on a couch and eat ice cream and watch some dumb sitcom for a while, and not put our clothes on until we're all the way dry.”
“As appealing as that sounds, I think I'd be too cold.” Twilight rubbed her hands across her arms. “I'm already getting a bit of a chill. My toes are going numb . . . how is that even possible, with so much steam in this room?”
“Feet get cold easily.” Sunset paused from blow-drying her hair and aimed the hair dryer at Twilight's feet. “Dunno why. I think it's a lack of blood circulation to them, since they're frogless . . . or maybe it's because humans wear socks and shoes all the time, so the feet aren’t accustomed to the cold. It's always bothered me, too.”
“You might be right. Maybe that goes along with the soft feet.” Twilight reached over to the vanity and picked up a hairbrush. “It's unfortunate that the mirror portal's default is the current normal, though. At least in some respects, not others.”
“From what I gather, humans have been wearing shoes for thousands of years, so maybe our feet have gotten naturally soft.”
“Or maybe they just become that way when they aren't used right. A lot of unicorns in Canterlot have soft hooves compared to the Earth ponies in Ponyville. Shoeshine mentioned that to me once.”
“Who's Shoeshine?”
“Ponyville's farrier. She said that my hooves were getting harder, a year or so after I moved.”
“Kinda thought she was a farrier. Name like that . . . that's something I don't miss.” Sunset handed the hair dryer to Twilight. “It didn't hurt, but it felt like it should.”
“And then you're walking funny the whole day after that.”
“And every time, you wind up going somewhere and think that you got the wrong kind of shoe put on, and you want to go back and have them changed—“
“—But you know you won't, because you don't want to have to visit the farrier any sooner than you have to,” Twilight finished. “And then you just get used to the ones you're wearing and don't think about them at all.”
“Until next time.” Sunset walked over to the door and opened it, causing a brief moment of turmoil as the steam-laden air in the bathroom and the chillier, dryer air in the rest of the apartment rapidly tried to homogenize. “You ready?”
“More or less,” Twilight admitted. “I could use another round of drying and brushing before my mane—my hair is good.”
“After TV and ice cream. I’ll get a blanket.”
Author's Note
Preread by Topaz Moon and AShadowOfCygnus
