A Bad Day at the Spa

The rest of the spa visit was almost what Applejack expected. The spa in Ponyville had rooms that appealed to a specific purpose, but allowed ponies to interact if they wanted, or put up partitions if they did not. This one seemed far more personal, with separate rooms that were big enough for only a single pony. There were bigger rooms, in the event that a guest wanted to bring their entire entourage, as Applejack found out from the bath attendant, but that was often not the case, as many of them wanted to relax in silence without being stressed by their manager telling them about some upcoming events.

Shady or not, the Sleeping Springs Spa was a business, and because of the mix-up, the bath attendant spoke to the manager, and before Applejack left, she was given a card. That card was good for making an appointment at the spa, and had another twenty-five-character code on it, just like Rarity's paper. It was a different number, of course, but it would allow Applejack to come in and fill out the paperwork, as well as granting one free treatment in the dreamer steamer. The rest, she'd have to pay for out of her own pocket, but a four-hundred-bit discount was nothing to sneeze at.

As she stepped out of the building into the open air, she suddenly felt cold, despite it being a nice day. Her skin pulled tighter around her, and as she passed in front of a shop window, she looked a fair bit younger. The ponies in the street seemed to think so, too, as they were very friendly. A few of them hit on her, and one even asked her out. The spa treatment was definitely effective.

When the train arrived at the station, Applejack climbed on. She thought about having a nap for the rest of the trip back to Ponyville, but there was no sleeper car, so she just opted for a bench, instead. As she moved through the compartments, however, she found another mare who had the same idea.

As the train jolted to a start, the mare was awoken by some luggage knocking against the wall behind her. "Let me rest, damn it," she growled.

"Ah'll go have a word with 'em," chuckled Applejack. "You have a rest, Rarity."

Rarity bolted upright. "Applejack?! What are you doing here?!"

"They jus' let me out," she answered, sitting down. "You can go back to sleep, if ya like. Ah was thinkin' of a nap, myself."

"Oh, no, I've been awoken thrice already. It's probably best that I wait until I'm in bed."

Applejack nodded. "So, how was the show?"

"Oh, I only caught one. It was embarrassing; I fell asleep on the radio. Luckily, the hosts were too afraid of waking me up, and Sapphire Shores told them what happened in a very subtle way after cutting my mic. After that, they sent me back to the train station and ensured that I'd be brought back home. But not without a little gift." Rarity reached into her bags and pulled out a small envelope. "Aside from the money, which she'll be bringing later, Sapphire Shores also gave me a group pass to the same spa I sent you to. How was that, by the way?"

"Well," started Applejack, but was immediately cut off.

"It looks like they did an amazing job. You look gorgeous! I almost didn't recognize you; you have a healthy, young glow to you that just shouts beauty!"

Applejack snorted and lowered her hat, which they'd cleaned while she was asleep. "Does that mean my usual appearance is sickly an' old?"

"Oh, no no no!" backpedalled Rarity. "I didn't mean... oh. That was a joke, wasn't it?"

Applejack smirked. "Ah know what ya meant. It feels like Ah'm a bit younger, too. Deep tissue massage, skin's nice and tight; no wrinkles... Ah had no idea that there was a hooficure treatment that actually hardens the hooves and makes them less likely ta break. That's a game changer come Applebuck season, if it works."

Rarity cleared her throat. "I did know that there was such a treatment. I hadn't considered bucking apples with it, though."

"Well, Ah'm gonna try, if Ah can convince Aloe an' Lotus ta offer that as an option."

"Oh, it already is," answered Rarity. "I'll talk to them about it, for sure. How was the rest of the treatment?"

Applejack told Rarity about the bath, the mane treatment, the hooficure, the mud bath, and the massage before talking about the dreamer steamer. She even showed off her appointment card, saying it was for a bit of grief and a rather painful mix-up.

"And the dream treatment?" asked Rarity. "What was that like?"

"Well," sighed Applejack, "Ah'm sure they take great pride in what they do there..."

Rarity frowned. "Oh, no. Did they mess up your dream?"

"Not exactly. Ah'm sure it would have been a pleasant dream... For the pony it was meant for. They mixed me up with somepony else."

"So you ended up with somepony else's dream?" gasped Rarity. "That sounds horrible! I hope it was at least pleasant for you. I'm sure that whoever they gave your dream to had the time of their life."

Applejack pursed her lips. Nopony was given her dream. It had merely been overwritten. But did she have the heart to tell Rarity that?

Luckily, she didn't have to. Rarity's eyes shot open as she remembered the registration process. Rewriting the entire dream was nigh impossible day-of. "You had my dream?"

Applejack's face turned bright red. "Almost..."

Rarity blushed and turned away. The realization that Applejack had experienced one of her sexual fantasies, even with some mild alterations, meant that she was now fully exposed as the deviant she was. Those dreams were supposed to remain private, and now, Applejack knew about it.

She took a deep breath. If there was anypony she could trust to keep that information under her hat, it was the pony who always wore a hat. Applejack was the most dependable and trustworthy pony ever. Blabbing was not something she was prone to. If asked about the weirdest sexual dream she'd ever had, Applejack may describe that dream, but she would not reveal that it was actually supposed to be Rarity's dream. She'd probably stick to "I had no indication that I would be having that kind of dream."

"So, ummm..." Rarity fidgeted in her seat. "How was it?"

Applejack wiped her face. "Ah think you'd'a enjoyed it..."