Cadence's Crackship Collection

Ms. Harshwhinny entered her apartment in Manehattan, her mane and suit all ruffled up and soaking wet from the harsh winds and heavy rain outside.

“Ugh!” she immediately groaned as she slammed the door behind her. “Finally, it’s like today was never going to end…”

The exhausted mare wasn’t just screaming into the void. When she entered her home, the lights were already on, as was the television.

A set of ears perked up from the couch, and the head soon followed, turning around to reveal the green earth pony mare who was lying on it for the past few hours.

“Oh hey, babe,” Tree Hugger responded, calm as ever. She tilted her head, seeing Harshwhinny’s haggard appearance. “Rough day at work?”

“Rough wouldn’t even begin to cover it…” Harshwhinny grumbled as she shook off some of the rain dripping down onto the floor.

“You wanna talk about it?” Tree Hugger suggested, patting the cushion next to her. “The spot’s nice and warm for you to realign yourself.”

Harshwhinny rolled her eyes, the corner of her lips twitching as she tried to suppress a smile. “...I suppose it wouldn’t hurt…”

The tired mare sat down, letting out a loud sigh as the cushion was the first bit of comfort she had all day. As she closed her eyes to let some of the stress out, she felt Tree Hugger tugging at her shirt.

Harshwhinny immediately started blushing and recoiled. “M-Miss Hugger, please! I just got home!”

“What? You wanna just sit there in your soaking wet clothes all night?” Tree Hugger smirked. “Just trying to help you clear your chakras.”

Harshwhinny stammered for a bit, flustered that she had misread her marefriend’s intentions. “I…erm…r-right…” She leaned back in, letting her remove her soaked suit.

Harshwhinny was now damp, but not dripping. She did feel a little better, although also a bit chillier.

Tree Hugger put her hooves on Harshwhinny’s shoulders, starting to rub in circles. “So, what happened at work?”

Harshwhinny’s tense body loosened a bit as Tree Hugger started massaging. “I thought it’d just be a normal day. But no, it seemed like everything wanted to go wrong for me today!”

“Mmhm…like what?”

“Well, first, the delivery for the fireworks was late, then it turns out that only half the shipment had arrived and the rest would arrive in two weeks! Then it turns out that the construction workers forgot to install the rotation mechanisms on the rotation statues. Fillydelphia somehow thought that I would be coming to check on their flag carrying routine in three weeks instead of three days! And on top of all that, the sudden and completely unaccounted for rainstorm has made me look like a total mess! Honestly, it’s like I’ve been talking to nothing but brick walls the entire time!” Just recounting the day started to get her worked up all over again.

“Chill…chill…” Tree Hugger gently cooed. “I’ve been listening to you. Doesn’t seem like any of the things that went wrong today were your fault, so no use getting hung up on being mad about it, right?”

“I suppose…” Harshwhinny grumbled, still pouting. “But just because it’s not in my control doesn’t mean that it’s not stressful! If everything isn’t done right and on time, the Equestria Games is going to be a disaster!”

Tree Hugger’s hooves moved to her back. “Right, but it’s not just you who’s in charge of making everything work out. There’s a whole team you’re melding with that’s trying just as hard as you, ‘kay?”

Harshwhinny let out a mix of a hum and a sigh as Tree Hugger rubbed her back. “Yes…I suppose you’re right…”

“And look at it this way: All the bad stuff that happened today is over and done with, and you have the rest of the night with me to make it better,” Tree Hugger winked.

“Hmmph, you’ll have to do an awful lot to make up for everything I’ve been through today…” Harshwhinny scoffed.

“I’ve still got time…” Tree Hugger said, pressing her hooves into Harshwhinny’s stiff back as the television continued to drone on. “You’re still, like, so stiff and tense, dude…”

“Well, forgive me if I’m still on edge after today…” Harshwhinny sarcastically grumbled.

“Well, I didn’t think it had to come to this, but I guess I have no choice now,” Tree Hugger said quietly.

Harshwhinny lifted her head up to see Tree Hugger getting up and walking away to the bathroom, leaving her alone on the couch.

She sighed, lying down to fill up the rest of the space on the couch, grabbing the remote and idly flipping through channels, but nothing quite caught her attention enough to numb her brain. She closed her eyes, ready to end the night early until she felt a tap on her shoulder.

“Alright, come on, I got your bath all set up,” Tree Hugger said warmly.

That finally got a tiny smile out of the exhausted Harshwhinny, walking towards the bathroom.

Once she opened the door, she was immediately feeling more at ease. Tree Hugger didn’t do much, she filled up the tub and lit some scented candles around the sink and tub, but it changed the atmosphere entirely.

Harshwhinny inhaled deeply through her nostrils, getting the scent of cinnamon from the candles, making the small smile on her face grow just a bit bigger.

But she wasn’t there just for the nice smells. She walked over to the bath, dipping a hoof in to test the temperature, and feeling that it was still soothingly warm, she slowly slipped the rest of her damp body in.

As the warm water enveloped her body, a long sigh escaped her, as if the stress of the day was finally allowed to be released.

While soaking in the bath, Harshwhinny got another scent that mixed with the cinnamon candles, something that made the mare sink just a little bit deeper in the water in satisfaction. There was lavender oil mixed into the water.

The soothing scents of cinnamon and lavender mixed together to soothe Harshwhinny’s tired body and mind. Her tense muscles loosened up more as she submerged deeper into the tub, kicking her hooves up on the other side of the tub as she sank in until only her muzzle and eyes were above water, leaving her alone with her thoughts.

With each deep breath, all the previous mishaps of the day stopped feeling as significant. With each breath, she let out a quiet sigh.

She usually didn’t buy these kinds of scented candles or essential bath oils. The scents were always too strong and gave her a massive headache.

But in fairness, she didn’t buy any of the aromatheraputic items used today. It was all naturally made by Tree Hugger and her associates. Perhaps that was the reason why she could finally relax with those methods that her coworkers kept bragging about.

Tree Hugger made the claim that they were “purely organic”, but that distinction hardly mattered to Harshwhinny. She could finally take a relaxing bath and “bliss out”, as Tree Hugger would put it.

She lay there in the tub for a while, letting her mind drift away until she heard her stomach rumble. In all the commotion of the day, she had forgotten that she hadn’t eaten anything in hours.

After soaking for long enough, Harshwhinny exited the tub and blew out the candles, feeling much more relaxed and warm. She dried herself off and slipped into a bed robe and slippers. It was hardly the time for sleep yet, but putting her suit back on to eat dinner wasn’t worth the hassle.

She opened the bathroom door, and as the steam escaped, the smell of something cooking entered her nostrils. She picked up on the sounds of something being fried in her kitchen only a few feet away. She looked back into the bathroom, musing that aromatherapy really does take you to another place.

As Harshwhinny walked into the kitchen, she saw Tree Hugger stirring something at the stovetop.

Tree Hugger took a quick glance behind her. “You were in there for a while, you enjoy your cleansing soak?”

“You could say that,” Harshwhinny said with a small smile. “I didn’t know you were cooking dinner.”

“Well I was getting hungry too, and I didn’t think you were in the mood for cooking yourself,” Tree Hugger mused. “What, did you think I’d be like, getting take-out for you after today?”

Harshwhinny quickly shook her head. “No no! I just…I didn’t even hear you start cooking at all.”

“Heh, I told you that it was like being in your own little world for a while, right?” Tree Hugger chuckled as she sauted the frying pan.

“So you’ve told me.”

“Alright, sit down, food’s almost done.”

Harshwhinny sat down at the table, empty plate in front of her, looking down to the other end with hardly more than another plate and a single lit candle. Not exactly a fine dining atmosphere, but it was a little romantic, at least.

Tree Hugger came in with the hot pan, sliding some creamy pasta onto both plates, sitting down on her side of the table.

Just seeing the food in front of her was enough to get Harshwhinny’s stomach growling, eliciting a quiet chuckle out of Tree Hugger.

“Well? Don’t just stare at it, dig in!”

As soon as Harshwhinny took her first bite, she felt a warmth in her chest as the food went down, she couldn’t help but take more and more bites. “My, you’ve really outdone yourself on this one, Miss Hugger!”

“Aw that? Nah, that was just something I threw together, dude,” Tree Hugger modestly giggled, slowly taking bites as Harshwhinny scarfed down her food.

“I’m serious! The sauce is savory, the vegetables are lovely, and the pasta is cooked to perfection!”

“It’s nothing that special,” Tree Hugger casually shrugged, “Used to make it all the time when I was a filly.”

Harshwhinny had already finished most of her plate. “With how good you are at cooking, it’s a wonder why you didn’t become a chef instead of an activist.”

“I dunno, you’re so high-maintenance sometimes, taking care of you is like a full-time job already,” Tree Hugger chuckled.

Harshwhinny huffed air from her nostrils, though she couldn’t deny there was a bit of truth in Tree Hugger’s teasing.

“So, what do you have planned for tomorrow?” Tree Hugger asked.

“Probably starting out fixing everyone else’s mistakes from today,” Harshwhinny grumbled, the scowl returning to her face. “As if we aren’t behind schedule already…”

“Well, I know you’re a pretty smart and professional mare,” Tree Hugger winked. “I have a feeling you can make it work.”

“We’ll see, not that I’m particularly thrilled about ‘making it work’ when it should’ve been working to start.” With a defeated sigh, Harshwhinny pushed her seat backwards to head straight to bed.

Tree Hugger let out a quiet hum of worry as she followed behind.

Harshwhinny discarded her slippers and robes as she crawled underneath the sheets. “Might as well try and get up early in order to try and do damage control…”

As she closed her eyes to try and force herself to go to sleep, she heard the bedroom door open.

“Going to sleep so soon?”

“Yes, but don’t feel like you need to join me now,” Harshwhinny said dismissively, not even bothering to turn around. Which only surprised her when she felt the other mare’s hooves wrap around her.

“Nah, I gotta. You can’t sleep until I’ve realigned your vibes, babe.”

Harshwhinny could usually get what Tree Hugger was saying through context clues, but this was eluding her. “What do you mean my vi-IIIIIIHIHI?!”

With her hooves wrapped around Harshwhinny, Tree Hugger started tickling the other mare’s belly and sides. “I only want positive vibes in this house, Harshie.”

“Nnnghah! Hnnngh! S-Stoooop!” Harshwhinny protested. She tried to squirm and crawl away, but Tree Hugger kept pulling her back in.

“You went from being upset about the past to dreading the future,” Tree Hugger chuckled, rubbing her hoof in circles against Harshwhinny’s belly. “I want you to take in the bliss of the now!”

“I…! Nnngh! Aah! Y-You! Eeep!” Harshwhinny gasped and writhed, trying to fight the goofy smile that was growing on her face.

Despite Harshwhinny’s struggling, Tree Hugger’s hooves still managed to stay on her body, poking and rubbing all her sensitive areas. “Stiiiill waitiiiiing…”

Every time Harshwhinny tried to bat Tree Hugger’s hooves away, they’d just get her in a different spot. “M-Miss Huhuhugger! T-This is hardly AAAHAHA! T-TREEHEEHEEHEE!”

“There we go!” Tree Hugger smiled in satisfaction, but still not letting up on her ticklish assault. “Let it all out, Harshie!”

“Ahahaaaa! Treeheeheehee! Stohohohop! Nohohot the tihihickles!”

“Nope. Being grumpy all day has thrown your aura all out of whack. I’ve been trying my best to help, but now I have to make sure that I cleanse your body of all the negativity!” Tree Hugger scribbled her hooves all over Harshwhinny’s belly.

“EEHEEHEE!” Harshwhinny frantically kicked her hooves, gasping and giggling. “I…I can’t take…! It’s toohoohoo muhuhuch! Ahahahaha!”

“I mean like, the massage, the bath, the dinner…the least I deserve is to see you smiling and laughing, right?”

Harshwhinny squealed and snorted and guffawed in ways most ponies would call “highly unprofessional”, but she didn’t care. By the time Tree Hugger stopped, she had a smile on her face she couldn’t wipe off even if she wanted to.

“Now do you feel better?” Tree Hugger asked, kissing Harshwhinny’s forehead.

“Yes, much better…” Harshwhinny said with a resigned sigh and chuckle. “Are my…vibes realigned?”

Tree Hugger took a good look at the bright and giggly smile Harshwhinny finally had. “For now, yeah.” She wrapped her hooves around her mare once more, this time to embrace her under the covers. “But I better make sure they stay that way all night.”