Milo's life as a ride service was always hectic. Back and forth between the same places, going all over town, dealing with the strangest kinds of traffic...even getting free meals out of it wasn't enough sometimes. But there were the bright spots. A client had been dropped off in a section of town that the Scolipede had never been to, and there was this lovely inn just a few blocks down the street. The air was much warmer around it, due to the natural hot spring that was the centerpiece of the inn. A good soak and stay sounded absolutely divine right now, and that's how Milo found himself nosing at the door of the building just a few minutes after dropping off his last rider for the day.


Milo could see who he assumed to be the owner of the inn, a white pegasus with jade green wings, behind a desk in the main room, but with all these hooves, there wasn't exactly much that the Scolipede could do except nose and push and hope that his imposing frame would be enough to get the innkeeper’s attention. He would really hate to have to start stomping around out in the dark, increasingly-cold evening...so, it was good that the pony had perked up a few moments later. Her brow furrowed for a moment, trying to discern what exactly it was out there...but soon, her face lit up as she realized that it was a potential resident for the evening.


"Oh! Apologies, give me just one moment..." the innkeeper said at the top of her voice as she got up from her desk, making her way over to the double doors and opening them as wide as possible to let Milo's huge, centipedal body through! "Hey, big guy. Erm...are you lost?" the pony asked as she searched the bug's neck for some sort of tag or identification. Milo often blurred the line between pet and person, and the innkeeper was certainly erring towards the former right now. The big bug rolled his eyes before nosing in the direction of a poster on the wall that read "FULL HOT SPRINGS PACKAGE". It took the pony a few seconds, but eventually things managed to click in her head. "Oh! My apologies again. I can certainly set you up for a night. Just come over here to my desk…"


After a minute of typing away at her computer, and digging through Milo's saddlebags for debit cards and IDs, the big Scolipede was all set up for a night in the hot springs, with free meals included. During that process, the innkeeper had revealed her name, Len, to Milo, and had made it very clear that she would be available for anything that the bug needed. A nice offer to take up, and maybe those hot springs would feel even nicer after a big, filling meal…


A half-hour later or so, and Milo was presented with a platter of all the berries, poffins, and curries that he could eat...and he ate them *all*. No annoying customers at work for the bug to scarf down today, so he was absolutely starving...he gorged on every last drop, leaving all of the plates as clean as a whistle before waddling out of the dining room with a heavy, jiggly undercarriage packed full of food. More perfect conditions for a long soak in those hot springs, the bug could not think of~


Milo soon made his way out of the inn and around to the back, the heat and humidity in the air ratcheting up with every step he took. The hot springs themselves were rather inconspicuous, tucked underneath a rather large hill, but to the bug’s appreciation, it seemed that he would be it's only inhabitant for the time being. The bug used one of his back hooves to peel his saddle off and casually toss it to the ground near the "shore" of the pool, Milo watching the gentle bubbling and steaming of the water in front of him as it lapped at his hooves. Slowly, those hooves started to pitter-patter out into the water, hesitantly at first, then more confidently as Milo's body got used to the drastic change in temperature. Already, the bug could feel his aching exoskeleton tingling warmly, a sensation that was sure to only get stronger as he immersed more of his body in the healing springs…


Milo waited and waddled his way out to the center of the springs, crouching down and allowing pretty much all but his head to soak in the bubbly pool. His eyes closed almost automatically, the secluded, peaceful nature around him lulling the bug into a moment of rest. Aaaaaahhhhh...he definitely needed this, and he was definitely going to be staying here for at least another hour! Himself in the springs, let the water gently wash over his back and shoulders and soak into his armor plating. That warm, fuzzy tingling was starting to spread throughout his extremities, a bit more of an odd sensation, but still welcome nonetheless. Mmh…


The big Scoli soon found himself slipping into a bit of a nap, which he accepted with open arms. The bug ended up drifting through a bunch of nice dreams, though they were all pretty fuzzy and vague. Still nice regardless. Milo was drifting in and out of consciousness at this point, occasionally twitching or adjusting his position, until his body finally pulled itself out of his stupor.


Milo slowly opened his beak as wide as it could go, the bug letting a long, satisfying yawn tumble out of his mouth before he started to stir again. As soon as he kicked one of his legs out, though, he was surprised to feel it kick against one of the stone walls of the spring...had he drifted towards the shore in his sleep or something? That was a bit strange, but not entirely unexpected; but that odd occurrence caused him to notice another thing: the water of the hot springs, though it was still bubbly and warm, barely covered his knees now! And, mrrf, it was *cold* out. Did the water start draining at night or something? That'd be pretty bogus, Milo was most certainly enjoying his time here…


All that movement turned on some sort of motion-sensing light, which illuminated the area around Milo and at least gave him some visual data to work with, though all that extra information just ended up leaving the bug even more confused. The hot spring around him had suddenly shrunk to what looked like maybe the size of a kiddie pool! Or...perhaps he had grown, he noticed, after he saw the saddle he had removed on the side of the water, more the size of a toy than an actual piece of equipment. Suffice it to say, the bug was very confused by what had transpired in the time he was asleep. Was this some sort of elaborate prank...or was there something to these hot springs?