Stress Relief

>You had spent two hours getting this ready.
>Drawing a bath, setting up candles, getting a preening kit out.
>Heated towels for the mare's forehead and back.
>Separate combs for her mane, tail, and coat.
>A bottle of massage oil for your hands and wherever she wanted them.
>Horn and hoof polisher was a must as well.
>A final lilac candle was lit, joining its ten other twins lining the tub.
>Everything was in place.
>Twilight was still out, dealing with some bureaucratic nonsense.
>She'd be home any minute.
>As of late, she was getting stressed out like she often did.
>No progress on some experiment, repeated failures on another, Spike was starting to ask 'mature' questions...
>Her stress was worrying you, so you were going to pamper the shit out of this mare.
>The front door opened.
>"Spike? Anon? I'm home!" Twilight called.
"Up here, Twi!"
>You heard her saddlebag get tossed onto a table, with perhaps just a tad bit more force than needed.
>Hooves started marching up the stairs.
>The door was pushed open, and Twilight fluttered over to the bed.
>She then flopped down on it, sighing.
>Both wings were flared in frustration and annoyance.
>One was fine, maybe a loose feather here or there.
>Her other wing looked like it had been hit.
>Feathers were bent and broken all throughout the wing, though it didn't appear to be causing her much discomfort.
"Wow Twi, what happened?"
>"Somepony may or may not have started a hoof fight, and I may or may not have had to physically break it up." She said with a touch of annoyance.
"You sound like a school teacher."
>"They act like schoolyard foals."
"Even Mayor Mare?"
>"She has no real say, she just brings up topics. Moderator, essentially. Mayor Mare stayed calm and collected."
>A frustrated huff.
>"Why are some ponies so stubborn? Like, to the point of stupidity?"
"Talk to me, hun."
>You walked over and started massaging her shoulders, working out the kinks and taut muscles.
>She hummed in pleasure before sighing.
>"I'm just going to make myself angry again if I do."
"You'll feel better."
>"Fine. Mind if I borrow a word from your vocabulary?"
>You arched an eyebrow.
"My 'vocabulary'?" You quoted, confused. "Go ahead, I guess?"
>"Some of these ponies are so fucking thick I'm shocked they can function from day to day."
>You blinked.
"Ah, the good ol' f-bomb. Always useful." You said with a bit of humor.
>"Mm. This one stallion, I don't even remember his name, is head of some committee that is dedicated to bringing more money into Ponyville. Fine, nothing wrong with that."
>She tried to get worked up again, but your gentle ministrations on her shoulders was stopping her.
>"Instead, he wants to spend money on frivolous things that do nothing for anypony but his own little community on the outskirts of town!"
"Mm, I can bet that's irritating."
>"Very."
"Want me to come knock his block off?"
>"Ha, no no, I don't want to resort to that...yet. Though, he IS an Earth Pony, pretty sure you could take him."
>You chuckled with her as your hands moved to her wing joints.
>They were swollen, and she hissed when you touched them.
>"I've, uh, had my wings flared up all day. I was angry."
"I can tell." You said with a small hint of disapproval. "At least you didn't go 'firemare' on them."
>"My wings are so sore now..."
"I've got just the thing."
>"Huh?"
>You stopped the back rub for now, picking her up.
>Never failed to get a blush before, and today was no different.
"I've drawn mi'lady a bath, of course." You said with a bit of old-world flair, still smiling warmly.
>You stepped into the bathroom and gently lowered the lavender mare into the tub.
>"W-wow Anon..." Twilight said quietly, mystified.
>She sniffed the air, smelling the candles, then relaxed into the warm water.
>Said candles were the only light source in the room, as you had disconnected the room's usual lighting for tonight.
>"Care to join me, Anon? I could use those hands..."
>You thought she'd never ask.
>You slowly disrobed, letting Twilight take in all the looking that she wanted.
>This night was for her, after all. If she wanted a show, she was gonna get one.
>After a few minutes of taunting and teasing the mare, you carefully joined her in the bathtub.
>You held her in your lap, which made a convenient resting point for her.
>Reaching over for one of the hot folded towels, you unfolded it and draped it on her face.
"You okay?"
>Her reply was a relaxed sigh as the steaming towel worked its magic.
>Grabbing another towel, you raised her back slightly out of the water and placed it there.
>You oiled your hands up a bit, and started on her shoulders again.
>"Seems like you're sucking up for something..." Twilight muttered. "You're doing it so, so right..."
>You smiled, shaking your head wordlessly.
>Oiled hands met tense back, and Twilight was in another world.
>You pressed warm water into her coat, making sure it reaching all the way down to the skin.
>Your gentle ministrations were more than enough to make her croon in a low pitch, a relaxed sigh leaving her every so often.
>Your slender digits ended on her hips, right over her cutie mark.
>The mare tensed only briefly, unused to the sensation.
>She was happy, exactly how you wanted her.
>Whatever stress she had suffered today was over with.
>Now she was with you, relaxing in a warm bath while you worked her over to the best of your ability.
>You reached for a dry towel and put a small amount of polish on it.
>Giving her horn a quick single-finger stroke just to see her shiver, you then applied the polish and rubbed the material into her horn, following the spirals perfectly.
>Her eyes rolled into the back of her head, the bony outcropping being especially sensitive for Twilight.
>As you kept polishing her horn, you whispered sweet, comforting words into her ears.
>Calling her things like 'lovely' or 'precious', giving her sweet little kisses on her temples, things like that.
>You watched delighted shivers run down her spine.
>If her contented purrs were any indication, she was loving every minute.
>"Whatever you do, don't stop..."
"I have no intention, love."
>You pulled the towel away, revealing a sparkling, well polished horn.
>Smiling at your own handiwork, you then pulled the preening kit over.
>A simple thing, consisting of a fine tooth comb and a tiny pair of scissors designed for plucking, not cutting.
>You also pulled the now-cool towel off of her face.
"Stretch your wings, sweetheart."
>She did with a tiny grunt.
"Still sore?"
>"Less than they were an hour ago..."
>You nodded and started running the comb through her broad wings.
>It would occasionally catch on a bent feather, which was immediately plucked.
>It took you ten minutes on her first wing alone, though the alicorn didn't care.
>Her damaged wing would be tricky but nothing you, Magic Fingers Anon, couldn't handle.
>You again ran the comb through, and many of the feathers simply fell out against the smooth combing motions.
>A few more stubborn ones had to be plucked, but Twilight sighed in contentment each time one was.
>"I'm so glad you're doing this. Spike is too rough."
"He just needs to develop fine motor control skills, he'll be fine."
>The mare nodded.
>"I'm still worried about the questions he's been asking."
"Twilight, he's growing up. It's bound to happen." You replied, scissors again plucking a stubborn bent feather.
>"Yeah..."
"Would you rather him ask you, or someone else?"
>Twilight took a deep breath in.
>"I...I suppose you're right."
>One more feather, and Twilight's wings were back in perfect shape.
>You packed up the tools, then removed the back towel.
>"Hey, that was comfy..."
>She again groaned happily into your ear when you rolled her back onto your stomach and began a belly rub.
>One hand was busy doing that, the other hand was busy getting a towel ready with more polish.
>You slowly stopped the belly rub, then held one of her forehooves in your palm.
>The towel applied the shining oils into the hoof, and Twilight kissed you on the cheek as you tenderly cared for her sore hooves.
>You repeated the process with the other forehoof before having to reapply the oil to the towel.
>Twilight fell asleep into your chest a few minutes later, allowing you to polish her back hooves with little issue.
>Task complete, you simply cuddled with her in the tub for a little while.
>She shifted once or twice in the warm bath, splashing the water onto your chest.
>Her chest rose and fell in time, your heartbeat syncing with hers.
>A small, sweet kiss to the top of the head woke her up.
>"O-oh, I'm sorry." Twilight said with a yawn.
"There's no worry, Twi."
>Several of the candles had burned out, though most were still lit.
>"I think I'm ready to get out..."
>You nodded with a soft smile, then helped her out.
>Another blush at the unneeded assistance, and then you covered her in yet another dry towel.
>This one was actually a bathroom towel, so it covered the mare completely.
>You dried her off for the next couple minutes, making sure to get most of the water.
>When you pulled the towel off, the blush had gone from small and pink to large and rose red.
>Her mane and tail were a tasteful mess, one you ran your fingers through to her great pleasure.
"Even like this, insanely hot."
>The mare's eyes widened, the blush brightening to an almost impossible degree.
>You then pulled out the mane and tail brushes.
>A magic aura encased both, but were stubbornly held in your grasp.
>"Anon, wha-"
"Nope. My job tonight, not yours. Just relax."
>You pulled the brush through her silky mane, taking your time.
>Once or twice she tried to snatch the tail brush from you, only to be completely shut down each time by a tender kiss.
>A 'coincidence', of course.
>It took you ten minutes to get her mane straight, draped on one side of her neck like she liked to keep it.
>Her frizzy tail was next, and you picked up the slightly more coarse tail brush for it.
>You ran it through, pulling off stray loose hairs and the like.
>Eventually it too was how she styled it, complete with that tiny little part at the end.
>Now, the coat brush.
>The fine-toothed brush stroked the pony's coat, sending delighted shivers down her spine.
>The mare was smiling broadly and contentedly, occasionally humming in glee.
>Finally straightened up, you put the brush kit away and kissed the glowing mare on the cheek.
>Twilight looked herself over in the mirror.
>"Wow. You...just wow."
"Heh, when you're in a library most of the day, it's hard to not learn a thing or two." You replied.
>"You're the best, Anon."
>She pushed the bathroom door open, leading you to the bedroom.
>"Why don't I show you just how much I appreciate that..."
===