The Relapse

So a few interesting things happened today. For whatever reason, Dew Star decided to come with me to the gym. Actually, over the last few days she’s been spending all of her free time hanging out with me, whether I’m doing something or not; it’s a little weird. Anyway, it was when we got to the gym that things started to get interesting. Right as I walked up to the door of the building and reached for it, my hand bumped into a claw also reaching for the door.

“Oh, you go to this gym too, huh?” I asked Selene with a small smile after I recognized her. Her surprised face quickly turned into a smile as she nodded and looked between Dew Star and me.

“Oh. Selene, this is my friend, Dew Star. Dew Star, this is my other friend, Selene,” I introduced.

“H-hello,” Dew Star greeted as she stuck out a hoof, surprising me. Selene glanced down at Dew Star’s hoof for a second before looking in her eyes again and smiling as she took hold of it. The two stared at each other silently for a few moments until my light cough broke the hold they had on each other.

“After you two,” I said as I opened the door. Selene led the way inside and over to the unisex locker-room where I changed clothes and Dew Star put on sweatbands.

“S-so you two are friends now?” she whispered to me as she sat and waited for me to finish changing.

“Yeah, we’ve been going to lunch a lot and I’ve found out we have a few things in common,” I answered as I glanced at Selene a few lockers away and was pretty sure she could hear us.

“W-what about not being friends with employees?”

“I figured it wouldn’t hurt to at least give it a try,” I replied as I closed my locker and headed back out to the gym filled with various sweaty creatures. In the middle of my stretching, I noticed Selene trying to get my attention to help her stretch. Being a little hesitant to touch her for the first time, I stepped over and helped her work her back. Before this I thought ponies were nice to pet, but griffons are on a different level with their feathers and fur, at least, Selene is. The only ones that might be better are Celestia and Luna, but they won’t hear me say that. A small cough from Selene made me realize my hands had gotten a little curious and lingered on her.

“S-sorry,” I said as I started to pull away, but stopped when she nuzzled my hand, “…You don’t mind?” She shook her head with a smile before leaving and heading further into the gym, most likely wanting me to follow. When I looked back at Dew Star, she had that face she’s been making a lot recently before using her good wing to lead me in the opposite direction of Selene. For a half hour or so, we worked out and spotted each other on the medieval exercise equipment and I somehow managed to avoid Selene the whole time until Dew Star finished with some bench presses.

As I was spotting the impressive amount of weight she was lifting, I noticed Selene at the rack next to us without a spotter.

“You alright over there?” I asked as I looked at her bar and saw she was also benching a weight I could only dream of. In the middle of her rep, she glanced over with a smile and nodded before continuing, her pace picking up a little. Focusing back on Dew Star, a determined look was in her eyes as she too started to increase the speed of her lifting. Taking a step back, I watched the two churn out reps at a ridiculous speed, impressing me immensely and concerning me slightly at who was going to tire out first and need my help.

Turned out I was worried for nothing when they both stopped and put their bars back at the same time. The two were panting and sweating pretty heavily as I congratulated them both.

“You two are pretty impressive. I could never bench that much,” I admitted as I handed Dew Star a towel. In the middle of her recovery, Selene waved her claw dismissively before pointing at the bar and jerking her thumb upwards.

“You could do more?” I asked and she nodded confidently, “I can believe that.”

“M-me too!” Dew Star spoke up, “I-I can lift more!”

“I don’t doubt it. Even though you’re not a Royal Guard anymore, you’re still in really good shape,” I said making her blush, “that’s why I was confused when you said you wanted to come with me; I thought I’d slow you down.”

“I-it’s alright to take it slow sometimes.”

“I hope I’m not too slow,” I said as I led the way back to the locker room.

“…” Once I was stripped of my sweaty clothes and had my towel, the three of us entered the steamy showers filled with all kinds of smells, but mostly bad ones.

“Ugh, this is the worst part,” I muttered as I turned on a shower and rinsed myself. The two took the showers on either side of me and used their own body wash, helping me deal with the smell a little better. Felling a soft poke on my leg, I looked to my left and found Selene pointing to her body wash before her back.

“…You want me to get your back?” I asked and received a happy nod, “uh, okay.” Kneeling behind her, I took the bottle of soap and squeezed out a decent amount into my hands before lathering them. Not bothering with a warning, I started at her shoulders and worked my way down to the base of her tail, being careful to avoid her wings, but also enjoy the feel of her. That sounds weird. When I was done, she smiled gratefully at me before rinsing off.

“C-Comet?” Dew Star called.

“Hmm?”

“C-c-can you help with my w-wings?” she stuttered.

“Sure,” I answered without a second thought. Sliding over and behind her, I took the bottle she offered me and squirt the soap into my hands. As I was lathering up, I looked around and noticed the strange amount of attention we were getting; some creatures had red faces and some breathed shallowly, which made me start to think. Why’s everyone staring at us? I’m just helping her out like I did Selene, so what’s different about this? Is it her wings? …Didn’t Cadence say something about wings?

With a shrug of my shoulders, I ignored the busybodies and carefully took Dew Star’s good left wing. Being extra careful because it’s her only good wing, I massaged and lathered her thoroughly, despite the weird noises she made. When I felt my work was done, I stood up and went back to washing myself.

“Are you alright?” I asked Dew Star a minute later when Selene and I were finished.

“Y-yeah,” she replied airily from the spot she hadn’t moved from since I helped her, “I-I just need a minute.”

“Okay,” I said before grabbing my towel and heading back to my locker. When I got there, I found Selene waiting as she dried herself.

“I guess I should start expecting to see you here, huh?” I said and she replied with a smile and nod. She then pointed from her to me before making her claw ‘walk’ on the other.

“…We should come together?” I confirmed and she nodded happily, making me smile, “I guess we could. May as well since we have to go to work after anyway.” The two of us talked conversed for a while until Dew Star finally came out of the showers with red cheeks.

“You okay?” I asked as I watched her trot over and start to towel off, “You look a little flushed.”

“I-I’m fine; I-I must have been in there too long,” she replied.

“Hmm… Well if you don’t mind, can you make it work by yourself?”

“W-why? What happened?” she asked as her eyes looked between Selene and me.

“Nothing, it’s just that Selene pointed out the office is in the opposite direction of the castle, and it would be a bit of a pain for me to walk back and forth.”

“I-I…” she muttered before looking down at her hooves, “That’s fine.”

“Thanks,” I said as I gave her head a rub, “I’ll see you later tonight.” With that, Selene and I left the gym and headed on to work. At some point during the silent walk, Selene’s back got under my hand and I instinctively started petting her. I thought about pulling away, but when she leaned against me and into my hand, the thought disappeared from my mind.

Dear Princesses,

I’m worried about Dew Star. I’m pretty sure I understood what you were trying to do in the beginning, but I don’t think it’s working out like you planned. She’s been quieter than usual, refuses to hangout with Comet unless it’s just them two, and because of that, has been spending a lot of time by herself. I don’t know if Comet has noticed since he hasn’t said anything, but you know how he is. He has been noticeably happier lately, so maybe he has been thinking about himself like you told him to. I just hope he’s keeping the rest of us in mind.

Sincerely,

Crystal Beth

Dear Princesses,

Don’t worry; I’m fine. I’ve just been a little preoccupied with something recently; I just hope it will all work out in the end. Please give me strength, Princesses.

Sincerely,

Dew Star