The Canterlot Spa. It was a place that meant many things to many people. It was a place to come to when you needed to relax, to unwind after a long and stressful day at work. It was a place to be in when you simply wanted to feel good about yourself as the attendants did their best to make you feel as welcome as possible. It was even a place for lovers, for those who have grown close to each other to be near one another in a soothing and calm environment. What it wasn't, however, was a place for six pre-teens to be in when they had absolutely no idea why they were here or what they were supposed to be doing. And yet, that was exactly the situation that Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo had found themselves in today. For yet again, the three girls had elected to go on another joint date, and the Spa, apparently, was the place for them to be doing it.
Right now, they were in one of the facility's most coveted spots, the hot tub room. And they themselves were currently sitting together on one side of the largest one here. The girls, all clad in the same style of dark-blue one-piece swimsuit, were huddled together, looking completely unsure of what to do next, even as the water bubbled around them. They were hardly alone in this though, as there, sitting across from them, were their respective dates, Tender Taps, Button Mash and Rumble. The boys, like their dates, were also clad in identical-looking clothes, with the garb in question being similarly-coloured swim trunks. And again, like their dates, they too seemed to have little clue as to what was supposed to be happening here, and so took to just looking around the room aimlessly. Eventually, things came to a head, and Scootaloo let out a grunt of irritation.
"Ugh! Bloom? Are you sure this is what boyfriends and girlfriends are supposed to do together?"
The red-haired girl looked back to her friend, nodding once and giving a slight frown as she did so.
"Yeah! Ah was talkin' with Granny Dagi the other day an' she jus' came out an' said that hot tubs were somethin' boys an' girls jus' kinda did together."
Sweetie Belle turned to her.
"You sure? I mean, not that I don't appreciate her advice, but...what exactly are we supposed to do when we're in here?"
Apple Bloom shrugged her shoulders.
"Dunno. Ah never asked. But she jus' kinda winked at me, like ah was supposed ta already know."
Scootaloo raised an eyebrow.
"...Do you already know?"
Apple Bloom shook her head, letting out a sigh.
"Nope."
The three of them were interrupted when, just then, there was a quiet "ahem" sound. They turned their heads in unison to discover that it was Button, who was looking at them nervously, scratching the back of his head before finally speaking up.
"So...what do we do now?"
Sweetie shook her head.
"I guess...we just sit here?"
Rumble looked to her with some scepticism.
"What, just...sit here in all these bubbles and stuff?"
Sweetie nodded back to him, prompting Tender to add his voice to matters.
"Is...is that just something boyfriends and girlfriends do?"
Scootaloo was the one to reply to that one.
"I guess. I mean, it sounds pretty weird, but if that's what the grown-ups say..."
Apple Bloom looked over to her.
"Maybe...maybe this is just somethin' we do after the kiss stuff?"
Immediately, all three of the boys blushed, remembering well the kiss that ended their previous joint date.
"You...you mean...this is where we...um...kiss on the lips?" Button asked, nervously.
Likewise, a blush emerged on the cheeks of the three girls, and just like that, all six of them suddenly found that they had a hard time looking each other in the eye. However, mere moments afterwards, Scootaloo looked as if she had a sudden thought.
"Wait...can't lip-kissing happen anywhere? I mean, I know I've seen my brother kissing Sunset on the lips before, and he didn't have to be in a tub to do it."
As expected, confusion was the order of the day for all of the youths, who now appeared to be scratching their heads on what to do next.
"Well...maybe there's something other than kissing that couples are supposed to do?" Sweetie suggested.
All eyes were now on her.
"Like what?" Apple Bloom asked.
Sweetie sighed in response.
"I...I don't know. I just wish the grown-ups would just tell us this stuff."
Hearing that, Apple Bloom glanced at both of her friends before speaking up again.
"Speakin' o' which...did y'all let yer families know we were comin' out here?"
Sweetie and Scootaloo looked to her, nodding in unison, with the former speaking first.
"Yep. But Mom acted like it was supposed to be "cute" or something. Let out a big squeal too."
She frowned in a disapproving way.
"I kinda get the feeling she wasn't expecting much to happen here today."
Apple Bloom nodded, then looked to Scootaloo, prompting the latter to nod right back.
"I left a note at home for my Mom and Flash. But my brother's probably gonna be the one to see it first. In fact..."
She turned, looking to the clock on the wall nearby.
"...he should be getting back from guitar practice and seeing it right...about...now."
Just then, the door of the tub room burst open, and all six of the youths' heads turned to see, to their complete surprise, that it was Flash Sentry himself. The teen was at the door, panting furiously as though having just run a thousand miles, looking to them with pure horror in his eyes.
"DON'T DO IT!!!"
While the boys backed away as much has they could while in the tub, the girls all looked to one another with uncertainty, until, finally, Scootaloo broke the silence and addressed her brother directly.
"Don't do what?"
Flash stayed there, his eyes slowly moving from one girl to the other, occasionally also casting a glance to the boys as well. But when his sister's words finally sank in for him, he seemed almost hesitant.
"I...I mean...you know...it?"
Again, the girls looked to one another with confusion, and when they looked back to Flash, it was once more Scootaloo's voice that spoke up to him, this time with a touch more irritation than before.
"It? What's it?! Do you know what we're supposed to do here? Because we've kinda been hitting a wall with that."
At that, understanding dawned for the blue-haired boy, and having finally caught his breath again, he coughed nervously.
"Oh! Well...in that case..."
He took a step backwards, now smiling.
"...enjoy the bubbles!"
And with that, he closed the door, leading to a great deal of frustration on the part of the girls.
"Darn it! Nobody's gonna tell us!" Apple Bloom remarked.
There was a round of nods at that, as everyone in the tub silently realised that they probably weren't going to figure this out anytime soon. Scootaloo especially seemed embarrassed at her brother's rather unexpected appearance just now, and let out an annoyed grunt at the whole situation. Eventually, and after much mental debate, Tender cleared his throat, getting everybody's attention.
"So...do you girls wanna get some ice cream? Because sitting here is...well...kinda boring right now."
The Crusaders looked to one another, and when they'd finally finished doing so, Apple Bloom looked to her date with a smile.
"Tender...that's the best idea any of us have had all day."
