I'm Not Proud Of My Special Talent

Chapters

Discovery
Curiosity
Distractions
Practice
Ascending
Descending
Argument

Discovery

Cutie marks: the first long term goal that a filly would create for themselves. How fun it must be, to trudge through the thousands of activities that ponies were able to test out in order to acquire their special talent. The elation that filled up a pony's mind when they were finally able to find that one attribute which made them different from others is one of a kind. At least, that is what I was told. I was never able to experience elation of that degree. My discovery of my special talent was noteworthy, only because it was the clarification of a part of me that I didn't want, and was embarrassed to possess.

I was born as Stress Relief, a unicorn daughter at the nearby Ponyville hospital. My father told me that I acquired my name because of the mood that both of my parents reverted to when I was finally in the doctor's arms and crying due to the cold room. When my mother first found out that she was pregnant, she was terrified of my health. This was their first child, and my parents did not want anything to jeopardize my health. My mother ate the healthiest (and the most expensive) food that she could buy at the grocery store, despite the financial hole that it dug for my parents. She asked everyone in Ponyville for advice on how to handle children, and was directed to Mr. and Mrs. Cake. They told my mother what she had learned from the twins, and Twilight Sparkle provided all of the books that she obtained on the subject over the years. Not a single page was left unread.

Despite all of this stress and worrying over negative events that would end up creating a handicapped filly, no such events occurred. My descent out of my mother's body had an effect on her that was unheard of in unicorn children. The financial hole that was created due to my mother's panicked eating, and the extra equipment that had to be bought to make sure that I was living in a comfortable environment was in the back of my parent's minds. I'm sure that they worried over it every day, and I'm also sure that my mother was never at home, since she was trying to take care of this debt by finding extra work. Although the debt collector was a nice colt, he assured my parents that they could take as much time as they needed to raise the money. Over this time, my mother and father were seeing each other less and less. Both parents were trying to take care of the debt.

Neither of my parents had managed to pay off the debt by the time I was born, but as the doctor handed me over to my mother, she told me that a warming sensation had moved over her body. All of the worry that moved through her body because of the debt and the fear that I would not be healthy conveniently disappeared, because of me. All my mother could think about was how happy she was that I was born, and that she couldn't wait to bring me home when she was fully healed. My father felt uncomfortable at my mother's sudden lack of worry and he held me as well, and felt the same warm feeling rushing over his body. The money, the fact that his job was very competitive and always had a chance of firing him because of this nature, it all disappeared when I was held in his hooves. I stopped crying when I was in my mother's arms, so my father was able to look up into my light purple eyes, and smile. All of the previous stress and lost money, was definitely worth it, since it evaporated the moment I was in the room.

My parents told me that they never worried about the debt again, and they held their composure whenever they had to pay a portion of it off. They always moved to their jobs and any temporary work with a smile on their face, and left in a completely different mood. Migraines and muscle aches were rampant throughout my parent's bodies, but when they came home and held me to feed me, the tension turned to calmness and the migraine exuded out of their head. My parents were unable to form a correlation with their happy moods and the possibility that a dormant type of magic would be causing it. They thought their happiness over the fact that I existed and was their child was keeping them in a good shape. While that wasn't completely false, I do not believe now that happiness is capable of removing physical injuries to muscles. I also do not believe that happiness is capable of (completely) removing stress. I should know.

As I aged into a filly, my school days always took way too long to reach me. Every pony wanted to look for their special talent, when they weren't learning from one of the teachers at the school. Ms. Cheerilee was my favorite teacher, and I took to staying after class so that I could talk to her more. She didn't mind having me in the class, her lessons brought relaxation into the room, although that was probably me. Ms. Cheerilee and I would talk about possible talents that my future held. She suggested that I should go into writing speeches or books, since my tendency to ameliorate the troubled feelings within a pony whenever I spoke was noteworthy. Another suggestion was to draw a picture or paint something to convey a feeling of bliss, the same feeling that I (apparently) projected in class, even though my mouth didn't talk that much and my horn didn't voluntarily use magic to do so. It just... happened.

After the second week of classes, I managed to write down an extensive list, telling myself that the list should be played out and connected to calm feelings in order to find my cutie mark. Although when I started to play with other ponies on the playground, the list was abandoned for a few years. I distinctly remember placing it in my dresser drawer, and not caring about my cutie mark until I aged a little more. When a few years had passed, my friends started to acquire their cutie marks. What was their names again? Damn, it was so long ago, I can't remember but I know that they were nice. I talked with them about how they found their cutie marks, and they explained their discoveries. My friends focused on finding out what they were good at and worked from there, until those marks formed on their flanks.

I grew impatient. I remember heading home that day, taking out the list that I previously made a few years ago, and straightening it on my dresser. Speeches, paintings, and drawings, this is what I came up with. I looked down at my hooves, and levitated a quill onto another piece of paper, dipping it in a bottle of ink before it started to write. My speeches looked like predictable piles of literature, that the Mayor would no doubt use if it meant other ponies would be more calm towards her (despite her mistakes). However whenever my parents read them, they told me that I should write more. I could turn a paper about hay seeds and how wonderful they were into something that made my parents believe that I was going to be famous and one of the classiest ponies in Equestria. They were half right.

Another year passed and I stopped writing entirely, since it became more of a habit that made my parents feel better, than an attempt to acquire my cutie mark. I didn't notice at the time, but as I grew from a filly to a mare, my ability to cause calm and unstressed feelings in others was slowly disappearing. Ms. Cheerilee was the first to notice, since for the first time during that year, someone had interrupted the class due to their boredom of the lecture. They were immediately lectured back into respecting the teacher, but if I was in the classroom, Ms. Cheerilee assumed that it wouldn't happen. Now, that was not the case. One such night, I remember it as if it was yesterday. It was the beginning of this spiral into something that I never wanted to be. But if it was my special talent, then I couldn't resist.

The cotton sheets on my bed, freshly placed there after my mother had done the laundry. The smell of freshly washed sheets was something that I loved, especially when everything on my bed was freshly washed. Lavender was an intoxicating smell, which relaxed my muscles once my body hit that bed. My whole body relaxed on my bed, my hooves moving up behind me to pull the pillow underneath my neck. As I let my body relax there, unmoving, my legs shifted open and closed a few times, as they felt a cold draft moving through the room from my opened window. That was interfering with my attempts to go to sleep, and I closed the windows shut, my horn's magical glow dying after the deed was done. My purple eyes looked back down at my body. I was slowly growing, especially in the parts that my mother had explained to me.

I was curious, I wanted to know, were there other ways of relieving stress then writing and drawing works that made the viewer at ease? I knew of massages, but I didn't know how to apply them. I had no experience in the physical means of stress relief, and I remember reading a book on a particular kind. My right hoof slowly slid down my premature body, my face turning red as I remembered the words in the book. Sentences flashing through my mind, explaining the healthy things that was brought to ponies that touched their own bodies. Ten minutes later, as I felt my back hooves digging into the bed while I whimpered, my red face cooled from the temperature of the room compared to my blushing. All of the worries of acquiring my cutie mark had melted away, along with the peak that I reached only minutes ago. My chest rose up and down, gasping for air as I stared up at the ceiling. A glow started to illuminate the room, although it was mostly pointed at both of my walls. The glow disappeared as quickly as it came, and a symbol appeared. A content and relaxed face had appeared on my flank. My cutie mark had appeared... due to my embarrassing act.

Curiosity

I remember that night. Although I wasn't a pegasus, my body certainly felt like it. My bed felt like a cloud, as those feelings moved throughout my body. It felt warming, and tiring at the same time. My eyes didn't stay open for long, but I fell asleep with the biggest smile on my face. The discovery of my cutie mark had the class congratulating me, along with Ms. Cheerilee. But I always had to lie about the question over what my special talent was. The definition of my actions last night escaped me, so if I wanted to tell them, the name wasn't available. I continually lied and told everyone that writing was my special talent, and I was capable of creating stories that would help others become relaxed. It felt terrible to be lying to the teacher who encouraged me to follow my dreams and secure my special talent. My friends believed me, and although they asked from time to time if I could give them an example of such a speech, they usually forgot about it the next day and the worry disappeared.

My actions started to become routine, as I moved through school and helped my parents clean up the house. But when Luna's beautiful stars began to dot the sky with their beauty, I laid back in my bed, exhausted from the day's activities. Every night my curiosity over a mare's body grew. I wondered about the tingling sensations that moved through my body when my hooves ran down my fur. I wondered exactly why I wasn't able to hold in these tingling feelings, and why they were making me push my back hooves against the bed sheets, arch my back towards the ceiling, and make me wish to continue. My body felt like I was being inflated by a balloon of tingling feelings, and as my hoof continued its work, more questions pooled into my head. I could never remember those questions when I reached my peak, but they would reiterate themselves in my mind when I laid back down on my bed to lull myself to sleep with my right hoof.

I began to switch chores, opting out of doing the dishes and switching to doing the laundry, probably due to the activities and smells that my recent habit was creating. My parents didn't seem to notice that their growing mare was learning how to please herself, but it was understandable. The truth was probably hidden behind a large suspension of belief. Their daughter would always be pure, she would never dare to participate in actions of that nature, and if she did, she would talk to them first, right? What a funny sentiment. I didn't want to lie to my parents, but how were you supposed to talk to them about subjects such as these? If you gained your cutie mark from pleasing yourself in bed, the implications behind it were obvious. The innocence of a teenager, especially one that my parents had raised, was delicate. However due to curiosity, the innocence slowly disappeared.

My parents didn't keep any books on my actions in the house, no matter how long and far I searched the house. Although I did find a bag of oddly shaped... things. I don't really want to talk about that, but all I know is that the outfit in the bag was too big for my mother. Changing subjects. There was nothing in my house that could provide me with the answers that I needed, so I headed outside to Ponyville. Twilight Sparkle kept a large library, I would be able to borrow some of her books and possibly answer the questions that flooded through my mind throughout the previous nights. What exactly, is stress? Ms. Cheerliee never explained it to me, although she did tell me that it was a bad feeling. She didn't want to depress me, I remember that well, so she tried to sugarcoat the feeling.

My stroll throughout Ponyville was different then a walk to the grocery stands, or a favor to ask someone for my parents. I felt awkward, uncomfortable that my desire for answers was so great. A fear started to grow, that I would be unable to handle my answers. But as my eyes scanned over the body of a light blue mare, my worries disappeared. I felt that sensation in my stomach, as it slowly moved throughout my body. It was the same feeling that moved through me whenever my friends and I shared secrets on the playground. The feeling when someone moved their muzzle extremely close to yours, and whispered words into your ear that could not be repeated. Especially when the words came from a mare or colt that you were thinking about during school. That warm breath tickling your ears, the soft voice as it echoes in your ear in order to replicate twice in your thoughts, I cannot do it justice by explaining it.

The beauty of the mare's body as I looked up to her mane, and the blue and white color stood out to me. Her curvaceous body, the fact that I was staring at her back and behind. Her name escaped me, but I wanted to ask. I had to focus, and my gaze looked away, staring at the road ahead of me so that I could avoid bumping into anything. My face was red as I trotted down the road. I had absolutely nothing in my mind at the time, since I was a teenager, slowly turning into a mare, but I could tell you now the things that I would have done to her. Whoever managed to marry Colgate was a very lucky pony indeed, because that body would have Iron Will on his knees, begging to have a night with her.

As I reached Twilight Sparkle's library, the red color had completely drained from my face and I was able to talk to her, although I didn't want to get too far into a magical subject with that mare. I remember hearing somewhere that Twilight would not be quiet when it came to the magical arts, and I'm sure that it mixed in with the inner jealousy that I had towards her. My special talent came to me from pleasing myself in my bed, and while I didn't know Twilight's talent at the time, I was willing to bet that it was way better then mine.

I knocked on Twilight's door and watched it illuminate with purple energy, as the door opened. Twilight's eyes widened as she saw me, and she closed the book she was reading. “Why hello there.” she said, smiling. Twilight's house was dirtier then most would expect. Perhaps her assistant was gone for an extended period of time, and Twilight started to clean, but got distracted.

I noticed a large pile of books on her main table in the middle of the room. I distinctly remember that table was bigger then before, so the fact that she was able to pile so many books on top of it, creating a mound that could probably suffocate me, was impressive. “Hello Twilight Sparkle.” I said, a smile on my face as my light purple eyes stared into her own. “I was wondering if I could borrow a few books from you?”

Twilight's smile only grew wider as I asked this. “Ooh yes, I would love if you did!” She replied. Her horn glowed with that purple energy, as the pile of books were raised in the air, and then set down on the table, assorted by subject.

My eyes scanned over all of the titles. “Obscure Magical History, Starswirl the Bearded: A History, A Practical Guide to Organizing Your Garden.” I read aloud. “No, no, no, no. Twilight, do you have any books on stress?”

The purple mare looked over her bookshelf, apparently having trouble since her assistant was not here to point out where every book was. “I believe I have a few books on the subject. Why do you ask? Is something the matter?” she asked. Twilight's eyes seemed to twinkle when she realized that I could have a potential problem that needed solving, and I felt myself being levitated, and then lowered on top of the table. Twilight had brought out a scroll and quill, and sat down on the stool in front of the table. “Now, you could say that the two of us are friends, right?” She asked, a smile on her face as she wrote her name on the upper right corner of the paper, followed by, “Notes on Stress Relief, the filly”.

I hesitated. The two of us only spoke a few times, so I couldn't exactly say that the both of us were friends. But, I never had any reason to dislike her, other then the fact that I felt like she was trying to coax some secret out of me. I couldn't tell her about the habit that I started to exhibit during night times, and I couldn't tell her that I was stressed. “I, yes, I believe that we are friends. For now.” I said, a small smile on my face even though I was anxious to get my book and leave. I could wait, it felt nice to sit here while I got to look down at Twilight. Her mane was interesting, blue with a purple and pink stripe trailing down the middle. Even her tail was the same. I almost didn't hear her second question.

“Are there any problems or things, major or minor, that I will be able to help you with?”

I blinked a few times, and then shook my head. “No.” I responded.

“Are you sure?”

“Yes I am sure, I just came for a book on stress.”

“But there must be a reason why you are looking for a book on stress? I, with the magic of friendship, will be able to help you if that is the case.”

“No, I'm not stressed.” I lied. Carrying around the embarrassing fact of my nightly habit was very stressful, but I usually emptied it out when I laid down in my bed anyway, so if I were to spill the beans, I would just end up worrying Twilight over nothing. Twilight seemed deflated as she rolled the scroll back up, nodding her head as she gave me the only books that she had on the subject, three books that were titled, “Stress, A Reference Guide”, “An Egghead's Guide to Stress” and, “100 Ways to Relieve Stress.” She was smiling as she gave these to me, but the lack of a letter to write to the Princess was probably saddening her. I placed my small hoof on her own and smiled as I gave her a small hug. “Thank you Twilight, I will return the books when I am done, and I promise to come to you if I have a problem, okay?” I told her.

Twilight's smile brightened back up and she nodded her head. “Okay, have a good day!” She responded, and I trotted out her door, using my magic to close it behind me.

I trotted down the road, back to my house so that these books could be read in silence and peace. My happiness over the fact that I was going to learn exactly why my name had “stress” in it was blocking the other part of my mind from interfering with my thoughts. The other part that told me how curvaceous Colgate's body was, remained silenced for the time being. My special talent, one that my teacher was too scared to teach me about, and my parents were too naive to think I would explore, was going to be answered, hopefully in these three books. I stopped when I realized what my current situation. What if my parents were not teaching me about my talent, because they didn't want me to learn more about stress? I stopped in my tracks, and looked to the right. A beautiful yellow and pink building stood before me, a green sign showing off a yellow mare, who had just let her hair go. I took a few steps towards the building, and then looked in both directions. What a perfect place to read, my parents will never find me here.

Distractions

I rushed through the archway into the spa and I panted as I looked around the room. I sat down on a nearby sofa, allowing my legs to dangle while I placed the three books on the other side. A light blue mare with a white headband on her head, a pink mane, and beautiful blue hues was staring at me, since it looked like I had stolen those three books and was running from whoever wanted to chase me. She looked somewhat worried about me, and she moved out from the counter and her paper shuffling duty, and met me near the couch. “Hello there little one.” she said.

I felt somewhat insulted that I was at the least a teenager and at the most a mare, but I was still being treated like a filly. “Hello.” I responded, but didn't meet her gaze. I instead looked towards the books on my lap, and opened the pages to the table of contents.

Lotus blinked a few times, and after she looked over the titles of my two books, she took a step back. “Are you here because you need to relieve stress?” she asked. Unfortunately I did not hear all of the sentence, since my eyes were focusing on getting to the right page, but I did hear “stress” and nodded my head. Lotus smiled and softly pulled me onto my hooves. “Well if you need to be relaxed and stress free, I can help you with that.” she said, as she moved over to her clipboard. “For a small fee, we can take you in the back for a massage, and I promise you that when you come out, you will be free of stress.”

I looked up from my book when the blue mare started to talk, but frowned slightly when she said that a small fee would have to be applied for me to have a massage. I didn't have any money, and there was no chance that my parents would give me some. I didn't want to inconvenience them just so that I could feel less stressed, but if it was research for her special talent, they might agree. My head shook no, and realized that I wasn't internally doing so. Lotus kept her smile however. “I don't have any money.” I responded.

Lotus moved over to her clipboard on the other side of the counter, and she then looked back at me. “Well let's see. We don't have an appointment scheduled for another hour and a half. I can give you a half hour massage for free.” she said.

I was extremely elated when she brought up that offer, but the doubts in the back of my mind were starting to eat away at me. What if my mind were to wander while this massage was being given to me? Lotus was very beautiful, her eyes, that mane, and the makeup behind her eyes only made her more beautiful when she hid her hues in a blink. My teenage mind, the fantasy world of innocence and unknown desires was flaring up, but I nodded my head anyway. “I would love that. Thank you, Lotus.” I responded, reading off the name tag that she stuck to the band around her neck.

She placed her hoof onto my back, and picked up my books with her other hoof. “I don't want you to have any thing with you when you are getting this massage. It is going to be half as long as our usual massages, so I am going to skip the mud bath and steam room.” she said. I nodded my head, even though I had no idea what she was talking about.

Lotus brought me into a large room, and I was blown away by the beauty. Another pink mare was busy massaging away the tension of a white mare, who kept looking towards the door every now and again. She must be waiting for her friend. Although for once, the beauty of the room was able to keep my eyes away from the beauty of a mare's body. The room carried eight massage tables, that were placed in a half arch. Although the design of the tables made them look more like beds. Three side tables were placed three feet away from the beds, so that the masseuses could move around freely without bumping into things. One table held towels, and from their discoloration I could guess that they were wet or at least moist. Another table held bottles of liquid that I couldn't guess, due to a lack of labels. And the last table held four red pillows with golden fabric edges. Behind the beds was a mirror, and a vase with a beautiful potted plant sat to the right of each mirror. Whoever designed this room was a genius, I could already feel the panic leaking through my fur.

Lotus let go of my hoof and walked over to a bed in the corner of the room, probably to avoid disturbing the other mare who was getting a massage. She motioned for me to lay down on the bed, and I hesitated, before nodding and moving up. It felt soft, like the fabric was moving to the shape of my hooves. The inner half arch of my hoof was being cushioned by the other part of the fabric that moved up and rested, like a comfortable shoe. I climbed completely onto the bed, and laid my head down, placing my front hooves in front of me and my back hooves behind me, while Lotus moved around the bed. She softly pulled my front hooves in alternate directions, motioning for me to cross them, and I did before she placed a hot and wet towel over my back. I let out a gasp and closed my eyes. This towel was probably too hot for me, but I was not going to complain. This was all free, and it would probably help me learn more about stress if I analytically took in everything that Lotus did to me.

If only it was that easy. Lotus' hooves moved over my frame, as she tried to guess where she should start. She grabbed one of the bottles on the table, and squeezed a small amount onto her front hooves, since I wasn't an adult. I wouldn't need as much attention. I could smell the fragrance of the oils, although the name escaped me. Whatever it was, my mind was moving slower, and whatever this feeling was, I liked it. Then I felt it, her hooves slowly pushing against my back hooves, and as much as I wanted to let out some sort of sound to tell her that this felt amazing, something was telling me that this feeling of nirvana would leave me if I made a noise. So I didn't. Both of her front hooves were at work, as she softly picked up my hoof, lightly pushed against it to feel for any kind of tense muscles, and pushed against the indentation. There was a small amount of dirt on my back hooves from running down the road, but Lotus didn't seem to care.

She softly started to work the oil into the indentation of my lower right hoof, as she pushed and prodded, making sure to be extra careful with the pressure since I was younger then most of the ones who asked for their services. My feet didn't hurt from running, but apparently they did as Lotus continued her work. It felt like the tension was moving from its hiding spot, and was caught right in my muscles. The tension was caught red handed, as Lotus massaged it all away. I almost drooled as her hooves moved up and down my leg, eliminating all of the tension that hid within my muscle fibers. As she placed my leg back down on the bed, and took up my other one, it took all of my willpower to stay awake. I could feel her eyes staring down at my body, as she scanned my body for any kind of stress or abnormalities. She was adept at multitasking, as more gel was applied to my left hoof and leg, and slowly massaged into my fur.

Lotus moved her hooves to both sides of my flank, and with another application of the gel, I was once again lost to the feeling of relaxation. Twenty five minutes later, Lotus had moved back from the bed, and smiled as she moved over to wash her hooves. “There we go, please lay there for a moment.” she said.

Nothing was going to stop me from doing so, I had never felt this relaxed in my life. “Thank you, Lotus.” I responded, my eyes opening. I looked behind me to catch a glimpse at Lotus' flank, and the innocence of my mind had once again started to bug me. My curiosity over stress was stronger however, which prompted my next questions. “Lotus, what is stress?” I asked.

The blue mare smiled as she wiped off her hooves on the towel that was used to heat up my back, before lightly pulling it off of me. “Stress is the feeling that you get when you aren't well.” she responded. “It is a build up of feelings, usually bad ones, that cause a pony to not feel comfortable or happy.”

I nodded my head gently. The clarification of stress had made a lot of questions start to answer themselves in my mind. My parents named me Stress Relief because their worries and anxieties had disappeared when I was born. My classes and Ms. Cheerilee were more relaxed because of me, at least, when I was a filly. But, what did stress have to do with the actions that I did last night? It certainly felt like my stress had disappeared when my hooves were pushing against my sheets and my chest was being thrust to the ceiling. Perhaps there were multiple ways of getting rid of stress. Lotus was the ticket to learning more about my special talent.

I moved off of the bed, back onto my hooves and I stumbled a small amount, placing my front hoof on the bed to balance myself. “Lotus, I want to learn more about stress.” I told her, and she looked surprised from my statement.

No one had ever asked her about her job before, they just enjoyed it, and left when their time was up. She didn't want to deny me, but I could tell that her time was wearing thin, since the clipboard had a large amount of appointments scheduled for today. “How about this.” She said as she started to walk out of the room. I followed, levitating my books behind me. “If you really want to learn about stress, then come down here on Fridays, at 4:00 in the afternoon. I will teach you all that I know about stress and how to get rid of it.”

I could almost fly home with the excitement that I felt. “Thank you so much Lotus!” I said, as I hugged the blue mare. She hugged me back with her front hoof, before I placed the books underneath the sofa in the appointment room. “I'll be back for those.” I told her before running home. Every step that I took, every movement of my muscles felt more loose and tender then I had ever experienced. Wonder filled up my mind, questioning if I could run forever, since it felt this good. I laid down in my bed that evening, and was too excited about my special talent to spend the night with myself. I completely forgot about the fact that a hoof between my legs was what caused me to get my cutie mark, not a massage. I was distracted for the time being.

Practice

As a teenager who was a few years away from turning into a full adult mare, it was hard for me to focus on what I really wanted. Having to juggle the secrets behind my cutie mark, the secrets behind stress, my desires for the bodies of other ponies (while being unable to clarify what I wanted about their bodies), and school work was becoming challenging. Something eventually had to give, and it was my social life that became the main handicap. I was on the playground less, and my visits to my friend's houses would eventually dwindle down to one a month, as long as it wasn't on a weekend or Friday. Maybe if I didn't take those stress classes right away with Lotus, then I would have been able to spend Fridays with friends, and in turn, spend more time bonding with my friends. I would have probably been able to date someone if I bonded with my friends more. But you aren't listening to me ramble on so that you could hear the wonderful story of the famous Stress Relief, having her way? You want to listen to me crash and burn. My apologies if I am boring you, that part will come soon, I promise.

I remember this colt in my class, he was extremely good at testing, and it seemed that he was able to take in the lessons and remember each of them perfectly. He was the kind of person that I needed in order to pass my classes, since I was focusing more on the endorphins that move through a pony's body when they were stressed or unhappy, then the fact that there was a Great Pony War that involved Disord, or Diszord or whatever his name was. Smart Cookie, I believe that was his name. The name of the colt that I started to cheat off of, not the Pony War general that no one cares about. Either way, I remember the first day that he started to help me. I walked up to him at the end of class one day, and I struck up a conversation with him. I suggested that for the upcoming test, it would be best if he were to have a study partner. I also told him that Monday through Thursday, I was available to study with him, if he didn't mind. He thought that those days were perfect, since he had family things to do during the weekend days. I had four days until the test, it was time to study.

Both Smart Cookie and I sat on my bed, the door hanging ajar while the colt had to take in the girly quality of my room. Our books were open on my sheets, and I was taking notes based off of the pages that Smart Cookie was giving to me. Every now and again, I would sneak peaks up and down his body, just so that I could take in the colt's body, and what it looked like. Certainly different from mine. His shoulders were more broad then mine, and he had more muscle strength then I did. That was expected. His dark blue coat was able to be seen through my peripheral vision, but it was extremely hard to take more then a few second glances. I was more curious on how a male body would relieve their stress. Certainly they didn't have the same mechanics that I did in order to do so? Sex had completely slipped past me, and they were not teaching it in schools yet, since there was no need for teachers to explain it. You only need to teach things to avoid problems, and premature sex was never a problem.

The question hovered in my mind as I wrote down the years of the Pony War, and the main generals on each side. General Discord on one side, and General Luna and Celestia on the other side. The year, 0 to 300 years before the common pony era. I paused as I looked back to Smart Cookie, and I found that he was staring right at my flank. Whether he was trying to take a glimpse of my body, or trying to realize what my cutie mark was, I wasn't able to know. “So what were the causes of the war?” I asked, and Smart Cookie's eyes had immediately shifted from my flank to the pages. He was good at keeping his composure, his face wasn't red at all. But he was bad at catching glances. He was a teenager, and he was probably letting his imagination run wild. Smart Cookie knew more about sex then I did, so his mind probably had all sorts of imaginary scenes playing out.

Smart ended up turning a few pages back and pointed at a paragraph, which had the entire answer replicated in paragraph form. I smiled as I continued to write. “Thank you.” I remember telling him. For the few moments that I wrote down the paragraph, obviously copying it into my own words, the question of male masturbation had moved into my mind again. I didn't know how they did it, I was able to see that males did not have the same core that I did. I finished off the paragraph and then I turned to the dark blue colt. “Hey Smartie, do you mind if I ask a personal question?” I asked him.

Smart's face turned slightly red. So much for composure. “Yeah?” he responded, his voice cracking slightly.

I smiled before I closed my notebook. “Well... how do you relieve stress?” I asked. Smartie turned even more red, and he paused, trying to think of an answer that he could say in front of a mare, that he probably fancied. I wasn't able to tell at the time, but his body was probably pumped full of hormones and thoughts of me.

What he ended up responding with was the polite response, as if he was afraid of my father coming in the room and beating him senseless if he were to flirt with me, “I go for a walk, or I read up on my favorite subjects when I need to relieve stress.” he replied.

I nodded my head and then I placed my hand onto his shoulder. “You know a good way I learned to relieve stress?” I asked. Smart gulped and didn't answer. My hand moved down until it reached his side, and then I pushed him down onto his stomach. I climbed up on top of him, and I pressed my hooves into his shoulder blades.

Tense muscles were pushing back at me, and I raised an eyebrow at him. “Apparently your methods are not working.” I responded to him. Smartie didn't say anything, he was probably surprised by the fact that he had a mare that he considered attractive, sitting on top of him. However I knew now what was going through his head. I, being the innocent pony that didn't know what sex was, remained clueless... for the time being. I started to roll around my hooves on his shoulder muscles, feeling knotted up fibers pushing back at me, asking me to continue. Smartie let out a groan of delight, not wanting to interrupt this moment obviously. “I suggest that you go get a massage from time to time. I know, we are teenagers and we probably don't have as much tension as adults, but it would probably help for the test.” I told him. Smartie nodded his head, and I felt his waist pushing up at me a small amount, as his hoof moved to his lap to adjust something. I had no idea what it was, but I was more focused on my attempts at massaging then whatever Smartie held between his legs.

My hooves had managed to massage away the tension in his shoulders, but it was starting to get dark and I realized that I had to finish up the page of notes in my book, or else I would be behind for tomorrow. I moved off of Smartie and finished up the notes, asking him from time to time where the answers to the test would be, on which page. He didn't sit up, he remained laying there on my bed, probably because he had something that he was trying to hide from me, to avoid embarrassment. Good thing he did, because my descent would have taken less time if I ended up seeing what that smart horse held. I finished up my notes and offered to walk Smart Cookie home, but he refused and told me that he was fine with walking by himself. The both of us agreed to meeting up tomorrow, and he left. I moved back up to my room after seeing him off, and I closed my book, letting out a sigh of relief that I didn't have to study for hours, just so that I could earn a good grade on a subject that I didn't care for.

These study sessions continued until the test, which I managed to ace due to the help of Smart Cookie and the notes that we made. I remember him asking if I wanted to go with him to the nearby bowling alley on Friday, since he didn't have a family gathering that day, and I told him that I had my own plans. He looked deflated, but understood and he said that he wanted to study with me more often. I thought it was sweet of him (at the time) to offer to help me again, even though I was just using him so that I could read my stress books in the back of the class and ignore the lectures that were given to me. I didn't need his help anymore, since our teacher was shifting subjects, and I told him so. Smartie then bit his lip, and tried to invite me to one of his club meetings, which I denied as well. He told me that he understood, and he hoped to talk to me again. I thought the same thing, but I only nodded absentmindedly, since my stress book was out and open in front of me on the desk. He eventually gave up and walked away, although I didn't remember when since I was focused on electrical responses that carried pain from point A to B between nerves.

Friday had finally came around, and I smiled as I dashed out of class, running as fast as I could over to Aloe and Lotus' massage parlor. It wasn't 4 PM yet, but I was completely willing to wait. An hour and a half I waited, reading the stress books and I let out a sigh as I finished the first one. I placed “The Egghead's Guide To Stress” on the sofa, and then picked up the second book, one that was more catered to the adept focuses of massaging. The first paragraph was unreadable to me, and I put it down out of frustration, moving to the third book. Before I was able to open the cover, Lotus called out for me. “Stress Relief.” The blue pony called out, smiling as she looked out of the reception counter. “Oh, there you are. Are you ready for another lesson?” She asked.

I stood up and nodded my head. “Yes please.”

Ascending

Light blue hooves moved under the running water of the faucet, as Lotus started off the multitude of steps that she would need to accomplish, if she wanted to create the perfect massage experience. She looked down at me, and I smiled, almost shaking the with the anticipation that I would be able to learn about the art of stress relief. Of course there were other applications, but an innocent filly such as myself wouldn't learn such stories until later. Lotus finished washing her hands and the two of us walked out of the bathroom, which remained adjacent to the steam room. Lotus took two white towels, and handed them both to me while grabbing another two for herself. “Now, wrap your mane up into the first towel, and let the other one cover your flank.” She told me, and I nodded in response. I placed my front hooves against my mane, tilting my head back slightly while my hands worked. However before I could wrap the towel around in my mane, a sudden word jarred me. “Stop.”

My hooves moved back to my sides, and I exhaled once, terrified that a mistake was already being placed on my record. Lotus however smiled, and she kept her gaze with my own. “Take mind of every single detail when you are doing this, because it is those details, that are going to help you understand how to get rid of stress.”

I nodded my head, and my hooves slowly slid back up my face, sliding up white skin and finally resting atop a light blue mane. A soft surge of feelings moved from my face through my body, as I closed my eyes so I could focus. How funny, that ponies usually did not think about the actions that one creates when they are not focused on them. But when the senses are cut to just these minor actions, how amplified they felt. The hair, which usually rested at my shoulders, was slowly pulled upwards into a bun, while a towel snaked around it. I could feel the pulling sensation, and the tingling feeling due to all of my hair being pulled at once and forced into the towel. A sigh of relief left my lips, and Lotus opened the door to the steam room.

It was certainly a sight to behold. I stepped inside and immediately heard the loud sounds of my hooves “clopping” on the floor. Lotus walked alongside me, and sat down on the wooden bench that took up a large portion of the room. The ceiling was decorated in a warm brown color, which complemented the wood. The room was well insulated, since there was a difference between the cool temperature of the hallway, and the warmer degrees in the steam room. I noticed a gap in the wooden bench, nearby the wall on the right side. The area was black, and right when I was about to guess the use of it, Lotus had reentered the room. Somewhere between my marveling of the room, she had collected a large amount of rocks and placed them in a bucket, which she held with her teeth. She walked over to the black spot, pulled the towel from her mane, and wrapped it around her hoof to avoid any burns. A sizzling sound came from the rocks as they were picked up, and individually placed into the black space. “Feel free to guess what I am doing.” Lotus added with a smile, her blue eyes shifting to gaze at me for a moment before moving back to her duty.

My eyes stared at the bench, and then the bucket when the last rock was placed in its position. All of this had to do with stress relief, which made sense since the steam room was mentioned in my previous massage. But the methods behind all of this had eluded me. A steam room was not in the books. Nervously, I smiled before taking a guess, “The rocks are going to be used for... pushing down on the body to massage the muscles?”

Lotus shook her head, “I wouldn't have heated them up this much if that was the case. That is a good guess though.” She said. I felt so stupid that my guess was that a large and burning hot rock would be used for a massage. But before I could internally beat myself any more, Lotus provided the correct answer. Not by telling me however, she lifted the bucket with her mouth and left the room for a few minutes. She came back with the bucket full of water, and she spilled a small amount onto the hot rocks. The rocks sizzled from the water, and a small amount of steam spread throughout the room. Now that there was water in the bucket, her previous answer made a lot more sense. Lotus smiled as she reached for the ladle that she placed in the bucket, and she dropped a hefty amount of water onto the hot rocks. The steam started to permeate the room, and she sat down on the wooden bench.

I sat down as well, as Lotus explained, “The steam room is the first thing that we place our clients in for the massage. The main purpose is to relax the muscles and the tension that builds in them, so that the massage we provide is easier on them, and on us. Less work needed on our part, and our clients will also be able to socialize if they want. When they order a massage, the steam room comes with the massage. It feels nice, doesn't it?”

My head nodded, and Lotus dropped another ladle full of water onto the rocks, sending more steam throughout the room. Beads of sweat were starting to form on my forehead from the heat of the room, and I closed my eyes in order to concentrate. My mind started to slow down, as the fear of my parents finding out and my school work slowly left my body, to be replaced with my wonder. How did all of this work? Which of my muscles were currently relaxing? All of them, it certainly felt like it. The room was silent, except for the sounds of my breathing. My head lightly tapped against the wall, a smile coming across my face. “I see why the steam room works. I feel relaxed too.” I said.

“After twenty minutes, we usually take the client out of the steam room, and whoever is not working at the time will clean up the rocks and prepare the steam room, unless there is another client immediately afterward.” Lotus responded. Since the two of us did not want to sit here for twenty minutes, we both left the bucket and rocks in their places. Lotus took the towel that was previously used for handling the rocks, and she placed it in a large cloth bag, which was inhabited by previous towels used that day. “The massage follows the steam room.” She told me. Once again, the two of us were inside of that beautiful massage parlor, my eyes holding in the sight of brilliant decorum, that I would have never been able to mimic.

My hooves pulled me up onto the massage bed, but I was stopped by Lotus. “Would you like to try and switch today? I would like to see what you know.” She said.

“Y-yes of course.” I responded, feeling the pressure mount on me for suddenly having to massage someone that was probably more adept then I ever could be. There was no reason to argue, I moved off of the bed, and walked over to the towel table, grabbing one and placing it on Lotus' back when the beautiful mare had laid down. My hooves, running along the soft fur of my teacher, was almost enough to space me out, but I had to stay focused. This was my special talent, I wanted to learn more about it. Through practice, I would be able to turn into the best masseuse in Ponyville. Lotus laid completely still, her head relaxed on her hooves while I moved back and forth between the massage oils and the bed, trying to figure out where to start. Working from back to front, or vice versa would be a good idea, so maybe starting there would be good.

My hooves slowly ran down Lotus' mane, her soft follicles sending tingles down my spine, even though I should be the one doing that to her. I pressed my hooves a little harder on Lotus' back as I moved my way down, and a small knot of the masseuse's muscle could be felt between the indentation in my hoof and the “shoe”. I stopped, and pressed lightly down, which caused Lotus to gasp, as if she wasn't aware of such a knot, and breathe so that she could move back to relaxation. The tip of my hoof slowly traced down Lotus' flank, until I reached the tip of her back hooves, and a smile formed on my face as I pressed down on Lotus' hoof, reminding her of the nirvana that she put me through when I had my short massage. I wanted to replicate that on her, both for the sake of my feelings, and the sake of my learning.

I worked my hooves around her milky blue legs, my horn glowing a small amount as my hooves worked. This magic, it felt different then the aura that came out of me. I wanted to stop, out of fear that this magic would create something that I didn't want. However at the same time, I had never felt so many tense spots in a pony before. Lotus was covered in my magical energy, and she opened her eyes in surprise. “What are you...” She paused as a particular muscle in her leg was slowly being worked down to a relaxed bunch of fibers. “Doing?”

“Massaging you.” I responded, although the exact spell that I exhibited was not anything that either of us knew. My eyes remained closed, and I kept complete concentration, more out of curiosity then anything else. Where exactly was this spell going to lead? Lotus' leg was lightly lowered down onto the bed, and my horn glowed a little brighter. All of a sudden, as if a map was opened in front of me, my hoof hovered an inch away from a particularly tense muscle. As if I was testing my sight, I pressed my hoof down on Lotus' thigh in my vision, and the muscle pushed right back at me. This was too cool. I moved over to the massage oils, and brought one of the bottles over to the bed, while my horn continued to glow. I could feel a small headache starting to form, but my desire to please Lotus was far too large for me to stop now.

I squirted a nice bit sized amount of oil onto my right hoof, and I rubbed the oils together before placing one of my hooves on the previously tense muscle, and the other hoof on Lotus' back. I started to imitate the methods that were performed on my previous massage. To my surprise, either I was able to adeptly massage away muscle tension in seconds, or I was pushing Lotus' muscle back into her body. Judging by how I could see a small strand of drool leaking out of her mouth and onto the pillow below her, I was sure that the latter wasn't the case. My eyes were able to stare through Lotus with my “X Ray” spell, and pinpoint every amount of tension in her body. When I was finished, she did not want to get up, and instead decided to speak to me while her head was planted on the pillow, effectively muffling her voice, “That was the best massage I have ever had... I don't know how, but you were capable of beating my sister in massage quality.” She said, “The moment you become a mare, I want to hire you as a masseuse.”

I bit my lower lip, excitement exploding through my body like the feelings back on my bed, “I turn eighteen in a few months.” I replied, smiling brightly as I washed my hands to get rid of the oils.

“Next week, we will continue... I just might have to pay you for a massage.” Lotus said, a small laugh coming from her as she finally lifted herself onto her hooves, grabbing the pillow so that she could wash it.

“Thank you Lotus. See you next week.”

Descending

The next two months were nothing but torture due to time. My school work was spread out among the days of the week, and I even took up a job at a local restaurant so that the time could move faster. My parents were extremely happy with me, that their young mare was already preparing herself for when she would move out and live her own life. Now that I think about it, maybe if the desperation to get out of my house was reduced even a slight amount, I probably would have not have self destructed. I wouldn't be sitting here, I could be home.

The first day that I was finally assigned to be a masseuse, I felt nervous, but confident that I would be capable of holding my own share of clients. It was a Friday, and my whole body was rushing around the building, making sure that all of my materials were in their correct places. I passed Aloe, who happened to be massaging a yellow pegasus that I had not seen before. A light touch, I noticed from the look of Aloe's hooves. Her eyes shifted towards mine and she smiled. I did the same, but when I looked away, her eyes were staring into the back of my skull. She wanted to tell me something, but what? I rushed past the counter, stopping when I realized exactly what the twins wanted to talk to me about. Standing in the corner of the room, was a chalkboard sign. My name was created with five different colors, I was being advertised.

“Please welcome Stress Relief to our massage team! If you would like, please speak to Lotus about our Stress Relief Special! Only ten bits, and you will be booked for a fifteen minute massage special, where you will go out feeling rejuvenated, and completely stress free!”

A feeling shuddered through my body, that the twins wanted to put more on the board, but my thought were interrupted by my favorite teacher acknowledging me, “Stress Relief!” Lotus said, as she moved away from the counter and placed her arm around me. “Do you like the sign? I thought that it would be nice to take advantage of your special talent. After all, Aloe and I are earth ponies, we are stronger then you. But you are a unicorn, you have magic that we could never create.”

“Ah... yes.” I replied through my shuddering voice. I opened my mouth to say more, but Lotus continued, “I wanted to train you to be just like us, so that you could be the extra hand when we have more appointments then we could handle. But that was just stifling your massage creativity, and that is wrong. While I am the boss of you, I do believe that you would be better off if you used your own massage techniques. Does that make any sense?”

My mouth felt like it was filled up with... peanut butter. Get your head out of the gutter. I agreed with every word that she said, but that chalkboard in the corner of the room was still mocking me. Before I could create an answer, an orange mare with a western hat moved through the archway entrance. She looked strong, but at the same time, did not seem to come here that often. Her eyes were moving every so often to the new decorations that furnished the room. Another colt walked in behind her, one who made her look like a weak mare. His body mass was huge, and I quickly blinked to make sure that I wasn't staring at that huge and strong mass of red... meat. “Thank you for this opportunity.” My voice uttered, before I disappeared, pushing my back against the hallway wall so that I could hear.

“Ah believe that this is the place.” The woman in front of the counter said, in a southern accent which complemented her hat. “Big Mac, you need to have your legs fixed.”

“Nope.” The stronger male responded. Maybe his brains was too busy being sucked up into the muscles.

“Ah shut it, Brother. For once, just listen to me.”

There was a pause, and a small laugh came out of Big Mac's mouth, probably because he was hit with deja vu. Lotus smiled brightly, and looked to Big Mac's neck. Her eyes widened as she realized that there was a muscle bulging out of his neck. That was not supposed to be there. Applejack pushed a piece of paper onto the counter, and Lotus looked down at it. “I see, so Big Mac threw out his neck when he was apple bucking?” She asked.

“Eeyup.” Was the response. A grunt followed, as Big Mac's neck clenched up on him, and he had to lower his head to relieve the pain.

“This is a prescription from the doctor, he recommends a full massage to get rid of the neck pain.”

“Nope.”

“Let me take care of this Big Mac. You need your neck to be fixed, Ah can't get all of these apples down by myself.”

There was a sigh, and the colt finally agreed. Lotus smiled, “Well since this is recommended by the doctor, we can talk to him about the price of this, you don't have to worry, we will take good care of him.” She said. “Please Big Mac, keep your head down to avoid the pain while we set up a room for you.”

I moved away from the hallway and walked into the back. The yellow pegasus was gone from this room, but the mud bath door was closed, a sign that it was being used. I started to fold up heated towels, and Lotus rushed into the room. “Aloe? Is Aloe here?”

I shook my head, my hoof pointed at the mud bath door. “Flutterwhoever is in there.”

“I need help with a very strong client, it is going to take more then me to relax him.” Lotus responded. She then smiled, rushed over to me, and brought me into the room that would have been used for my special massages. It was simple, one bed, the oils, and the faucet. It was my job to use a separate towel for every customer. Lotus explained the colt's problem, and I nodded my head, pretending that I didn't eavesdrop.

This colt's body was... messed up to say the least. As he laid himself down on the bed, wincing as he relaxed his neck on one of the pillows, I focused my magic and surrounded him with a light purple glow. How he even managed to stay moving was my question. Every muscle in his arms and legs were clenching up, extremely red from the tension that was built up inside of him. “Woah.” I actually said, forgetting the professional atmosphere.

“Eeyup.”

“Okay, now I'm assuming that your major tense muscle is right here.” Lotus said, as she performed the lightest tap on his neck that she could muster. Big Mac responded with another one word answer. Lotus turned to me. “Where else is he tense?”

“A better question would be, where else isn't he tense?” I responded, as my hooves slowly started to run up his spine, where a noticeable amount of muscles were tense, but not clenched up. He had never gotten a massage before, I could figure that out. “Any muscle that he has is tense.”

Lotus nodded her head and placed a towel over Big Mac's lap, covering the one thing that I was actually curious about. He was strong, maybe he wasn't smart, but was he powerful in... that area? My teenage curiosity wanted me to know, even though this was professional and I knew that Lotus would kick me out, the moment she saw me doing anything obscene. This was my job, my special talent. My talent was massaging... which was partially true now that I think about it. Lotus' words disrupted my thoughts yet again, “Okay, should we start at the neck and work our way down, or start at the legs and work up?” She asked.

“Depends. Big Mac, how much are you in pain?” I asked.

Big Mac's hoof pressed against the bed, his eyes turning to stare at me in a mixture of irritation and desperation. It was that bad. I nodded. “Okay, from the neck down.”

Every sound that came out of his mouth had sent feelings down my body that I couldn't explain. The closest thing that I could compare them to was the feelings that flooded down my body when my right hoof had began its work. Just like those feelings, I was loving this one. The tingling moved through my body, and I was half wanting to place a towel around my own lap, to avoid showing off my visual adoration. My hooves worked, and I realized that my spell had wore off on Big Mac a couple minutes ago. The colt assumed that I was just finished with the spell, and Lotus looked to me with a mixture of confusion and curiosity. A nervous smile moved across my face, and Big Mac was engulfed in energy once more.

I could feel what he held in his lap, what was currently being covered by the towel. My face was turning red, but I focused on the spell, trying to think of the large muscle knots that begged to be released, rather then the other... that was probably going to be released by his girlfriend. It took ten minutes to completely massage away the pain in Big Mac's neck, and I moved to work on his legs when the tough muscles were finally worked through. Even with my magic, I doubted that I would be able to use enough force with my hooves. Someday I had to visit Twilight to learn about levitation, I'm sure it could be changed up to work on massaging.

When we were completed, Big Macintosh nodded his head to the both of us, and moved off of the bed. We walked outside to the waiting room, where Applejack was reading one of the magazines on the couch, obviously bored. She saw Big Mac and smiled, “Are ya feelin better?” She asked.

“Eeyup. Thank you.” Big Mac said, turning to me. The smile on his face made my heart skip a beat. I couldn't respond, my head nodded and I laughed nervously. Before I could run, another colt stepped through the archways. Lotus was the first to welcome him, “Well hello there Filthy Rich!” She said. The both of us were happy that the subject of my nervousness was changed, for different reasons.

The fancy colt looked towards the chalk board in the corner of a room, and a smile formed on his face as the text moved across his vision. “Hello, I would like the Stress Relief Special.” He said, his right hoof pointing towards the chalk board. The color drained from my face, and I nodded my head, probably a few more times then was needed.

“Yes of course.” I responded, and Lotus brought out a clipboard for Filthy Rich's signature. The colt brought out a bag of bits and set it down on the counter, followed by signing his name on the paper. “Follow me, please.” I asked, and the two of us moved into my room. I levitated a towel over to him, and headed towards the door. “Please undress, and place the towel around your waist, I will be back to give you the massage.”

“Yes of course.” He responded, his smile turning into a smirk. However I didn't see it, as my back slid along the wall and out the room. Five minutes later, I slipped back into the room. He was laying down on the bed, but his head was not down. He was staring at me, and his eyes were starting to wander. During the time that I was gone, my composure drained back into me, and I moved over to him, motioning his head downward. He agreed, only because his eyes were able to look my form up and down. Pervert. I focused my magic onto his body, and it didn't take long for me to realize his stressed points. For a person that came in for a massage, there were not that many muscles that needed to be worked free. It only took a few minutes, and his muscles were like putty in my hooves, moveable and relaxed. “Miss, would you mind earning an extra twenty bits?”

My eyes widened. Twenty bits! That would be enough to cover a whole week of being paid at the restaurant! Combining that with the money that I would make for the massage alone, I would be well on my way to a nice savings account. I nodded my head, gulping since I didn't know what he wanted.

“Oh don't worry Miss, it will only take five, ten minutes.”

Due to my ministrations, it only took one.

Argument

I couldn't have moved my hooves underneath the sink quicker. The cold water gushing onto my hooves brought my mind away from my previous task, even if it was only for a moment. A warm and wet towel remained tucked underneath my arm, while Filthy Rich dressed himself and left me in the room, a large bag of bits sitting on top of the bed. Soap covered my hooves, both rubbing against each other in order to get rid of the smell and the reminder that I had just done that for money. I was naïve and allowed that colt to talk me into doing something I was not trained in. My face felt like there was lava flowing through my veins. Embarrassment was running through me, although I wasn't sure why. There shouldn't be any problem with performing that kind of a massage on a colt. The rationalizations began.

First of all, there were some stress knots in his body, probably due to his rich lifestyle (which I will never understand). Those knots were unable to be released by my magic or my hoof, which had started to bug me by the time his massage was going to end. However when my hooves were dirtied, I noticed those stress knots had released, and he was as relaxed as a sleeping foal. Second, there couldn't be anything wrong with using my special talent as a means to help people.

My hooves retreated from the faucet when they were finally clean, and I looked down at the warm and wet towel. I was aware that the towel was wet with more then just water, and my eyes shifted towards the hamper in which dirty towels were placed. Did my colleagues feel the same as I did? Would they question me if they happened to notice the differences in white color? Despite my years of training and the friendship that I made with both twins, this couldn't be risked.

The big pouch in the center of the bed, that had to be hidden as well. I scrambled around, pushing the pouch and the towel underneath the bed before I smelled my hands to make sure soap still lingered. Lotus knocked on my door, and then entered, a large smile on her face. “So how is the newbie?” She asked, before she moved over to me and hugged me gently. The color managed to drain from my face before Lotus came in the room, so she wasn't able to notice my embarrassment. My hooves wrapped around her waist as we shared this hug, and then I pulled back. I sat on my bed before I responded.

“I'm doing well, that massage was easy. It was just nerve wracking to have a man who is very wealthy asking you for a massage.”

“I can understand that. My first massage with him made me nervous as well.”

A sigh of relief moved out of my lips as I realized I wasn't the only one who got nervous on my first massage. But the end part of the massage was a different deal entirely. Could the two of us talk about it? We were both adult mares, and she was probably more adept at my previous massage then I was. However, Lotus never had a lover of her own, whether it was a mare or colt. She never talked about anyone in particular as if they were a lover. But then again, I never took part in her life conversations. My thoughts were broken by her words, “I'm going to check on you in a few hours, when your shift is done. If you don't mind, I would like if the sheets and covers were replaced by the time you leave, along with the towels put away. If anyone else asks you for a massage, I will honestly pay you whatever amount the massages give you. This is your start to becoming a professional, and I really want you to succeed.”

“Thank you Lotus, I won't disappoint you.” I replied as a weight sank into my stomach. I couldn't tell her now, since I already did disappoint her.

The next few hours were not anything noteworthy. Ten ponies asked me for a quick massage, since they were going to ask for an appointment. But if you were able to schedule an appointment, and get a quick massage after it, who wouldn't want to do that? The blood vessels in my head throbbed as a headache started to pool together. Using my spell too much was apparently the cause, but it had to be done if I wanted to make this much money. Now that I think about it, a headache was preferred to what happened to my reputation at the end of this story.

I'm here for a reason, wait your turn.

Lotus knocked at my door again and allowed herself into my room. The duties she previously asked for were done, and I sat down in my bed, keeping my gaze with her so that she didn't look under the bed. “Well let's see here, eleven people asked for your massages. That's eighty eight bits.” She said, a clipboard in her hand as she moved over the previous customer signatures.

My jaw would have hit the floor if it was capable. Eighty eight! Combined with the bits that were hidden underneath my bed, I just got a hundred bits in one night! Lotus giggled, probably because the surprise on my face was capable of being seen by pegasi in the sky. “I don't know what to say.” Was my response, as Lotus grabbed a medium sized bag from her hip. Her posture was slightly more straight as she handed the bag to me, which I happily took.

“I hope that you can buy whatever you need for the next week, you certainly worked hard today.” Lotus said. My hooves agreed, considering they were aching along with my head.

“I will, don't worry about me. I'll see you next week.” I responded, and Lotus left to go file the papers for today. My back hooves pulled the bag and towel out from underneath the bed, and then I looked at the medium bag. It could certainly fit a towel. I bunched up the towel into a small ball, and then pushed it into the bit bag, followed by emptying the twenty extra bits. I tied the bag to my hips, and almost fell over from the weight. This walk home was going to be long, I could tell.

My body remained frozen as I stood near the back door to my house. Luna's splendorous stars glittered in the sky, but the light in the kitchen told me that my father was doing the dishes. My parents promised to do the chores on Saturday, since I was working. The outside wall had no means to climb up it, and unfortunately I couldn't walk into the house with a hundred bits dangling from my (probably dislocated) hip. I softly moved around the house, tip hoofing until I reached my window. The window opened, although my headache now was worse as a result. I slowly started to levitate the bag up and off of my hip. Slowly, it ascended until the bag was inside my room. A splitting pain moved through my mind. My teeth gnashed together and I kept the spell up until the cloth bag hit the ground. A sigh passed my lips. The evidence was gone.

I passed through the front door and the first thing that I heard was my mother coming up to me and hugging me. “Oh there she is! My own little girl is growing up!” She said, as I felt my hip and back being squeezed back into place. “How was your day at work?”

“Oh it was fine Mom. I'm thinking of switching jobs.”

They were not excited by this proposal. My mother's grip on my body was loosened, while my father looked up from the dishes to stare at me. His horn glowed and I could see the shuffling of papers into a big pile, before being placed out of sight. “Why do you say that?” He asked me. One of the things that I liked about my dad, he would never judge me, he would ask questions before doing so.

“Well... I don't like washing dishes forever. It gets boring and tedious. I have a headache from levitating crates of dishes.”

“I have a headache from listening to your mother, that doesn't mean that I shouldn't stop doing it.”

My mother smiled and let out a small laugh, although annoyance was plastered on her face. “Yes Dear, if you are going to want to move out of here, you can't do that without money.”

I wanted to ask when the suggestion of my moving came up, but a certain conversation a month ago refreshed my memory. “I know that, I was thinking of doing something else with my talents.” I replied. My father took a glance of my cutie mark to remind himself of what I could be, and I could see the nervousness moving into his body.

“What are you thinking of?” My mother asked, as she released me and took a step back.

“Well... massaging people. I mean, I'm not called Stress Relief for nothing, right?”

A sigh came from both parents. My dad was still not convinced, “What kind of massaging?”

“Professional kinds? I'm not sure how to make it more clear.”

“You aren't planning on doing any funny business?”

I started to blush, “I would think that my dad would know what I did and didn't do. I don't plan on doing anything other then relieve tense muscles.”

“Through sex?”

The three of us remained silent, probably because I couldn't think of a good response. I wanted to tell him that I would never do that. But if I did, I would be lying. Twenty extra bits were lying in my bag because of an extra massage. Twenty bits that could buy a cute outfit, or rent for my own place. The silence was obviously worrying my parents. My mother walked back over to my dad, wishing that she could still defend me. “Are you going to answer me?” My father asked in a worried but slightly higher tone. When he was worried, he got angry.

“No, not through sex.” I finally responded. But my large pause wasn't exactly the reassurance that my parents wanted. They stared at each other, as if telepathically trying to figure out what they were going to do if their daughter sold herself for money. “I have to go to bed, please leave me alone.”

My hooves made soft noises as I finally reached my bed, my headache growing worse as the door slammed behind me and locked into place. I laid down on my bed, staring up at the ceiling as my thoughts raged around in my head. “They probably won't want you to keep going to work, if you keep doing... that for it.”

“You used to be able to lie to them so easily? What happened?”

“This is your special talent, you should be practicing it, since that is what makes you different from everyone else.”

“I don't care if it makes me different.” My voice uttered, as my hooves ran down my abdomen. “That isn't what I'm worried about. What I am worried about, is which talent makes me different?”

Despite the release, I still woke up four hours later, shivering as a breeze passed over my body. Blue hues looked over to the window, which still remained open from when I smuggled my money. My head was not pounding for the time being, but the previous pain was so great, that I didn't want to risk it. My hooves touched the carpet of my room, and I walked over to the window, shutting it with a sigh. Those papers Dad moved were now on my mind. He was always honest with me, although I couldn't say the same for myself. Why was he now hiding something?

Slowly down the hallway I moved, my eyes focused on the kitchen counter. No one was awake, this was my chance to look. I opened a drawer and managed to see a small hint of the paper underneath the silverware. The papers were pulled out and shuffled along the counter. Despite the possibility of my headache coming back, I illuminated my horn, and looked down at one of the documents. Many of them were bills, although this one happened to jump out at me.

“We are aware of your desire to take out a loan for a thousand bits, but unfortunately we are unable to do so at this time. Your record in paying back money has not exactly been flawless, and we are hesitant to provide you with the aforementioned money.” The document said, followed by an apology.

What did my dad want a loan for? I looked at another paper, which asked for fifty bits in rent. Another document stated that a lack of payments towards the house would result in the house being taken. My eyes drooped a small amount, depression and worry moving through my body. If I could keep my massage sales up, then I could help pay my way around this house. No one cared if I helped a rich man release in order to acquire this money. All that mattered was that the money was paid, not the smell. The previous documents were placed back, as I held onto the two that my weekend job was going to pay.

I hesitated, as my dad's attitude was played out before me. After the judgment that he placed on me from making this money, should I use it to help him? My own house was just around the corner, if the hundreds of bits were saved up. Anger moved through my body, and I placed the two bills back underneath the silverware. They could pay the bills on their own. As much as it hurt me to think this, saving their ass was not my special talent.