A "Spa"cial Treatment(open to Changlings in Paradise Participants: See OOC)

[IceStorm]

 

Once she had made her way to her room and got everything settled in, Ice Storm found herself wanting a little bit more R&R. She had heard mention in the brochure that the spa here was among the best that money could offer. She could only wonder if Aloe and her sister had any hooves in setting it up because as far as she was concerned they had the best spa that you could go to period. They had everything there, and even some extra excitement to go along with it. It was Ponyville after all; always something going on there. It definitely wasn't the small village that it used to be wince Twilight's Castle had been put there. She dare say that it was more like a smaller Canterlot now.

 

She stepped out of her room and started to look at the map to try to figure out how to get to the spa. She wanted to get there as early as she could to get a decent place in line. She already had her idea lined out. She wanted the fullest of the full treatments. She looked at her brochure and well, she might as well have had everything circled on it. She was definitely going to be dropping a good hoofful of bits when she got there. Thankfully she came prepared and pulled out extra for this vacation. If she was gonna pamper herself, she was gonna pamper herself large. After a bit of a trek through the resort she soon found herself at her destination and began to make her way inside. She was more than a bit excited and hoped there wouldn't be too big of a line... but would be a line... she wanted to make some new friends while she was here to and if there was no lone, who would she get to meet and talk with?"

[PyroBlaze]

Yūrei hadn’t been entirely sure which of these visitors interested her the most, at least of the ones that weren’t immediately assigned to someone else. After a bit of thought though, she decided to head to the spa and see who showed up. 

 

She really didn’t have to wait all that long before the first interesting pony came in, some kind of Icy mare from the looks of things. The disguised changeling gave a welcoming smile and approached the unicorn before speaking. 

 

“Why hello there. May I help you with anything, Miss?” She asked, still smiling. 

[Blueblood]

Why, why had Kahz chosen to disguise himself as an earth pony?  He could hardly keep his wings from buzzing in happiness, and while he could cover the sight of the appendages themselves, it would probably weird out the guests who didn't know his true identity.  Which.... really didn't apply to the mare he was currently conducting, but whatever!  Shouldn't fall into bad disguise habits anyway.

 

Nonetheless, he was bouncing so lightly on his hooves already he might as well be floating.  His head still felt as if it was; had it just been three months ago that he despaired of the whole future of his beloved Queen and Hive?  And now, here they were, and here he was, conducting a real pony (well, qilin) friend to a lovely day at the spa!  "Oh, look, there's a couple here already, Yu!"

[Dubstep]

So good things can come from bad after all. Not that Yù particularly doubted that on most occasions. Just...well when one thinks of something good coming out of being blackmailed by an organization bent on dismantling the establishment and harming many innocent ponies?...Ugh, no no. Enough negative thoughts! Today was a relaxation day and it was a day made aaaaalll the better by the fact that Kahz actually was here. O-of course that was good because it was nice to have a friend around is all. Ahahahahha..ha...Ahem.

 

The spa! Even with all the various thoughts, both for weal and for woe, floating around in the mare's head, they all agreed that a nice relaxing day at the spa was just what the doctor ordered. They should know, they technically are one! Yù smiled over at Kahz as they arrive, she may not be a changeling and couldn't literally sense his emotions or something, but it was easy to tell he was just as excited as she was...which only made things better still! "Ah, it would appear so yes! I'm sure the spa's going to be a fairly popular destination over the course of everypony's stay, huh?"

 

[IceStorm]

 

The decor around the spa had Ice Storm transfixed for the moment. The color scheme being quite easy on the eyes, and the aromas that presented themselves to her were definitely that you would find inside a spa. So many soapy, fruity smells with the accompaniment of mineral water. Yup, definitely a spa. Her trance was broken though when what she presumed to be one of the ponies that ran the spa came over to her and asked her if there was anything that she could be helped with. "Oh yes! I would simply love one of your golden flake mineral baths, as well as a hot stone deep tissue massage. I also do a lot of traveling on my hooves so a hooficure would be amazing as well," she said with a smile as she looked to the others that came into the spa. Hopefully they would get paired together, but she understood that most liked their privacy in a situation like this. One of the ponies that came in was a Qilin! The other was an earth pony that seemed a bit ecstatic. She didn't know anypony other than Rarity got that excited to go to a spa.

 

Ice Storm took another moment to go over the brochure again to make sure that she wasn't missing anything. She was going to be here for a week or so, so she didn't have to get everything on the first day, but she thought of a list that she would like to do while she was here. "Hmmm.... Yes, I think that will be all for today. Start off small and then go for the more extravagant stuff later in the vacation," she said with a smile looking back to the other ponies and giving a smiling wave to them. True she didn't know them, but at least saying hi was the polite thing to do. Plus it would make speaking with them easier in the off chance they were getting similar treatments and would be in the same rooms.

[PyroBlaze]

“Oh, I agree completely. May as well spread it out if you have the time.” Yūrei responded to the unicorn, smiling at her a bit more as the disguised changeling glanced over at the other two that had just entered. Seemed that qilin mare already had a changeling companion, which was just as well really. Honestly, living as the leader of a group of changelings like she did necessitated the ability to spot her fellow changelings even through their disguise. Of course, it helped that she was standing with him on the beach earlier. 

 

“Will you two be joining her? Or shall I let somepony else see to your needs?” She asked the two, smiling gently at them. 

 

A bath, massage, and a hooficure... Well, she was glad she decided on a unicorn for this, that was for sure. Not that she had any specific problem with touching others, but still... usually when she touched someone, they were not in any position to walk away from it afterwards. 

[Blueblood]

The wellspring of positive emotions that Kahz could sense pouring of of Yu was nothing if not encouraging.  After all, if she was happy to be here (and happy to be here with him), that boded well for the acceptability of any future suggestions.

 

But, those future suggestions could wait until... well, the future!  "Yep!  For obvious reasons; most ponies take a vacation in order to escape some kind of stressful situation, and we strive to do our best to relieve that stress!"  *And see if they are really all that willing to return to such a place of emotional torment.*  It was no fun being under pressure, that much the little changeling knew for certain.

 

"I'm not on staff here specifically, but I'll be happy to show you to whatever you like!"  He didn't quite have the strength in his hoof-chitin to be a masseuse; it would be quite un-hostly of him to leave little black shards all stuck in his guest's hide and scales!  And speaking of the staff, looked like Yurei was on duty today.  Kahz threw her a snappy salute, as a kind of joke.  He'd noticed when she arrived that she had let slip an air of command, before falling into the Queen's service.  Officer, perhaps?  Not from Chrysalis' hive, he knew.

 

"Hm, sounds like a good itinerary to me; what do you think?"  He asked his qilin companion, thinking it might be nice if she made another friend with the icy mare.  Of course, there was that inconvenient little detail about them belonging to rival secret organizations, but maybe they didn't know about that?  Hopefully a fight wouldn't break out; the unicorn might freeze the hot springs solid!

[Dubstep]

If anyone knew about escaping some kind of stressful situation, it was Yù. Not like she felt she could ever truly escape it, short of some kind of miracle. But at least some time away from the epicenter, so to speak, would possibly do wonders. And the spa treatment couldn't hurt either! "I do have to admit, that does sound like a great way to relax." the qilin said with a nod, returning the smile and wave to the mare that had arrived before them. "I hope you don't mind the extra company! I'm Yù Xīn, it's a pleasure to meet you!" Yù bowed her head and offered a hoofshake. As much as she'd like to have some alone time with Kahz, there'd be plenty of time for that later. For now? Why not relax and try to make a new friend?

[IceStorm]

 

The Blue unicorn smiled and nodded as the other mare agreed with her in the fact that it was best to spread everything out if she could. If you got everything done at once, there wasn't anything to look forward to. She looked back to the other two as Ice Storm heard the hostess asked if they would like to join her, or if they would like to be serviced separately. She was honestly okay either way. On one hoof she hoped they said no because this was the first trip here, so she wanted to relax, but at the same time, it was always fun to meet somepony new so she hoped that they would say yes to. In the end, it was indeed yes that they chose. The Qilin introduced himself and Icy picked up on it pretty quickly. "Long," she smiled. "I can't say I've ever been to the mainland there, but I've been to Neighpon a few times. Quite lovely over there. I can't imagine Long being any different," she smiled looking over to the earth pony.
 

She smiled, hearing him say that he wasn't directly on staff here but that he would be happy to show them whatever the Qilin wanted. She also smiled as he also seemed to thing that it would be a good idea to join her. It took a moment to register what he meant by his first statement though. She considered where they were, what the paradise was, and who was ultimately running it. She deducted that this pony wouldn't have brought up something like this if they weren't a changling. She doubted that Chrysalis would employ anything other than other Changlings in this establishment. Yet the pony that was here was a unicorn. So she supposed it was actually possible. It just didn't seem like something Chrysalis would do. For now, she figured that she would have to wait and see. Not that she had a problem with him being one. She found them interesting, and she to this day hadn't had any negative experiences involving a changling. She more just had questions, that only they could answer. Here in the spa, was not the place for those kind of questions. For now she was simply content to hang back, relax and make some new friends.

With her soft expression, Ice Storm turned back to the qilin. "My name is Ice Storm, Head Archmage of the Ice Division in the Canterlot Magic Guild. I also own the Frozen Delight's franchise throughout Equestria, and I am also a Stewardess, and Astrologist under Princess Luna," she smiled. Of course, there was another part of her identity that she left out, but these ponies didn't need to know that part. She probably already told them too much about her as it was. Although the thought did occur to her, if she made some friends over in Long and Neighpon, possibly taking her franchise international. After her meeting with Lens though, her first priority was to look in the Las Pegasus area. She'd thought of putting something there before, but was uncertain of how it would take off there. However, Las Pegasus has a reputation of rewarding those who take chances, so as long as you don't take too many.

[PyroBlaze]

Right, Kahz was his name. To tell the truth, he wasn't all that interesting to her, at least not in comparison to some of the other changelings working on this resort. Still, he could be amusing at times, and Yurei couldn't help but let out a small chuckle at his mock salute. Her gaze then turned to the qilin, looking her over briefly as she introduced herself as Yu. Well, as surprising as it may be, she did not interact with too many from Long Guo, so this may be more interesting than she thought.

 

The disguised changeling nodded to the three, motioning them to follow her further into the spa and collecting a couple helpers along the way to send ahead and make sure the baths were ready for them. Yurei lead them into the room with the three baths in it, helping them stow away their things and helped them into the baths if needed. 

 

"If you require anything else, do not hesitate to ask. Once you are finished with the bath, please call for me so I may move you along to the massages." She smiled to them, glancing at Kahz briefly and raising an eyebrow at him. "My name is Ember Fall." She added with a slight nod before starting to head for the door to go set up other stuff, or just rest, time would tell.

[Blueblood]

Ice Cream!  Kahz had completely forgotten about the ice cream!

 

The little changeling had long been an admirer of the culture of what some of his Hivemates called the 'Prey' societies, never really being able to believe in the inferiority of beings who had such an overwhelming superiority of products.  In his own way, he had diverted through charm, flattery, and favors resources to developing the Hive's own attempts to produce music and art, little enough in their own way, but such had proven to be the foundation of entertainment now available to visitors at the resort.

 

But the desserts!  Feeding off love, the changelings couldn't quite match Equestrian cooking.  Perhaps, it would be best to outsource it... "A pleasure to meet you, Miss Storm, or would you prefer Ice?"  He graced her with the most charming smile he could manage, which was considerably so.  His survival depended on such things.  "I wonder if you would at any point consider opening a branch, or partnership here?  This seems to be a perfect location for a frozen-treat seller as I ever saw."  It was a brief diversion from Yu, but perhaps showing a welcoming spirit was the best way to encourage the qilin to consider emigration and asylum.

 

A weak hope, perhaps; security was probably wanted more than accomodation.  But if he couldn't get security for his friend, prosperity for his Hive had also to be considered, a concept he tried to convey to Yurei through a mirrored eyebrow-raising.  Again, possibly a futile effort.  Was she even interested in the long-term prospects of this place?  He had to wonder, sometimes, about the other Loyalists.  It's as if they preferred toxic relationships, he could swear...

[Dubstep]

Yù blinked in surprise at the mare's introduction, working under Princess Luna herself on top of being an archmage _and_ running an ice cream chain? No wonder she was on vacation! The qilin smiled and dipped her head. "Goodness, such a prestigious guest. It makes my occupation seem rather dull in comparison heheh. I live in Canterlot currently, where I'm a dream therapist, but yes! I am originally from Long Guo. While my home does share some similarities to Neighpon, it can be worlds different as well." This was...nice. Actually getting to just chat with somepony without it being a work thing or...worse. The mare smiled over at Kahz while he talkedbusiness with Ice Storm. Charming and a practical business thinker. Did he ever take any days off? More importantly has he ever thought of visiting Long Guo?  Yù was sure he'd enjoy the sights. Perhaps she could bring the topic up after the bath and massage.

"Thank you very much, ma'am." Yù replied after Ember's kind escort. Equestria had so many tales about changelings, and not all of them good...most of them not, though things had seemed to change with that recently, and perhaps some of them were merely misunderstandings. Every story is painted by perspective, and every villain is the hero of their own story. "He does bring up a wonderful point. Tropical island paradise seems like a sure fire hit." she added as she turned her attention back to the others.

[IceStorm]

 

Ice Storm nodded to the pony that was running the spa and followed as she instructed. She also nodded when she heard her say that if they needed anything, just holler. At that point, she went through a door, likely to get the materials needed for the soaks and the like. She knew that Aloe and Lotus generally required advanced notice for their super premium package that included the gold treatments, so it was likely that it was something that would have to be prepared a special way.

 

It was then that she heard the earth pony speak up to her, calling her Miss Storm, or Ice if she would prefer. She giggled a bit before replying. "Most of my friends just call me Icy. That's good enough for me. As far as opening something up here... It might be something that I would consider in the future, but It will have to wait a little bit as I already have some arrangements about a possible Las Pegasus front if the price is right. If I'm able to get a hold of some land there, That store will be my priority before I work on getting anything else," she said addressing one of the statements from the Qilin as well.

 

Of course the Yu got her full attention when she started talking about his occupation. To say that anything involving dream works was dull, well honestly she wasn't sure the kind of dreams that she dealt with, but it very much wasn't dull that Icy could think of. "Sounds like you share a profession with Princess Luna, though her dream therapy is more of a hooves on approach while the pony is still having the dream. It's quite fascinating how she can travel through the dreamworld the way that she does." She replied as she heard her talk about long and how there were some similarities between Long and Neighpon. Yet, they really were worlds apart despite being across a relatively small body of water. Of course, the same could be said for Equestria and Whitescar. They are only separated by a strait and the cultures are completely different, as well as the land and the terrain. "Understandable. I hope to be able to see it someday," she replied, hoping that when she did get to see it, it was on more legal terms than when she visited Neighpon for the first time. That was still an interesting night.