Research Logs

by Coppercoil

Fluttershy's Cottage

Fluttershy's Cottage

Twilight looked ahead seeing Fluttershy's beautiful cottage on the hill. Well, the cottage wasn't beautiful, It seemed cozy and welcoming, but the scenery around it was certainly stunning. The bushes were blooming with flowers, the grass had grown thick, yet not unkempt and the light shined perfectly. The grove was lively with bunnies, squirrels, and an armadillo.

There appeared to be some kind of sport as the bunnies were competing against the squirrels using the armadillo, who was rolled into a ball, as the centerpiece. Twilight had stopped to watch as the bunnies maneuvered the armadillo around the squirrels. The squirrels were defending a noticeably taller patch of grass which was mirrored on the opposite side of the grove. The bunnies and the squirrels were now head to head, pushing the the ball against each other in some kind of scrum. Twilight couldn't look away. She leaned over the fence and watch intently. The squirrels achieved to push the armadillo over the hoard of bunnies. As the bunnies attempted to regroup behind the armadillo, Angle, who had been acting as goal keeper for the bunnies, ran up behind the ball and allowed it to roll over his head onto his back. Angle then shot out his legs, and launched the armadillo over the squirrels and straight into the soft grassy goal zone. Twilight and Spike began to cheer as the bunnies jumped and hugged each other, dancing. The squirrels hugged, but did not dance, for they had lost. The armadillo had unrolled and smiled at the players, now shaking each other's paws in a display of showmanship. Twilight smiled at the sportsmanship as the bunnies and squirrels would give a nod as they shook the others hand.

"Hello?" A soft voice followed the slight squeak of a door's hinges.

Twilight raised her head to the cottage to see Fluttershy poking her head out a crack in the door.

"Oh! H-hello Twilight, hello Spike." Fluttershy looked around. "What were you two shouting about?"

"We were just watching the game!" Spike exclaimed.

"Game? What game?"

"Right over there!" Spike pointed to the grove.

As the three turned to the grove, all that remained of the play field was thick grass and a white bunny whistling 'inconspicuously'.

"Oh, alright then. Please, come inside." Fluttershy didn't look away from Angel. Staring with a blank face.

"I'd love to but I have to find Rainbow Dash after this. The hot air balloon will take a while to fill and I want to get started early." Twilight said sadly.

"Oh but Rainbow's inside." Fluttershy said with an unusual flat tone. And with an unbroken gaze she continued staring at Angel who's whistle became distorted and strained.

"Well that's wonderful!" Twilight trotted up the hill to the door, stopping to watch Fluttershy and Angel for a second before shrugging and continuing into the cottage.

Fluttershy lifted a hoof to her eyes, gesturing to Angel before walking back inside. Angel had finished his whistle, which was by then nothing more than air blown between pursed lips, making a foolish 'spitting' noise. Angel took in deep breaths before falling backward and panting heavily.

Twilight stepped inside to see Rainbow Dash sitting quietly at a small table. Her eyes were closed and she seemed to be taking slow, deep breaths. Twilight stood perfectly still, watching silently, hoping not to interrupt Rainbow Dash in... well, whatever it was she was doing.

Fluttershy had come back in and hovered to the kitchen and returned with a single cup and dish. She placed it at one of the empty seats on the table, and beckoned Twilight over with a silent gesture.

Twilight walked silently, while not really sneaking, to the table. Rainbow had taken in an especially long breath and held it for a second, before releasing a vividly relaxed sigh. She opened her eyes to see Twilight sitting at the table. With calm eyes and a content smile, Rainbow said, "Hi Twilight, 'sup Spike? When did you get hear?"

"Just a moment ago. What was that you were doing just now?" Twilight replied.

"Ah nothing, just a breathing exercise to help me wind down. I do it every time I come here." Rainbows voice was audibly relaxed, and relaxing. Twilight felt like yawning at the soft tone.

"Why's that?"

"It's so quiet here, even the birds sing softly. All I hear is the breeze pushing the leaves on the trees and bushes. It's just so calming."

"Really? But what I meant to ask was, why do you do it at all?"

"I heard that stress can be bad for your health, and I wanna make sure I'm in peak condition at all times." Rainbow was returning to her haughty tone. "Besides, it feels good to do."

"Are you stressed out?" Twilight asked with concern.

"What? No, not really. My job's pretty easy, it can be hard work, but it comes naturally to pegasi. But even an easy job can strain ya'. I started coming here and found work got easier to do the more I came. Fluttershy makes tea and we talk. I get to relax and spend time with a friend. After a while, I understood that it was good for me to come here after work and I wondered why. It was Applejack who told me, she said, 'If ya' don't take a minute to stop and smell the flowers, you'll work yerself to an early grave, you take it from me, I learned the hard way.' " Rainbow impression of Applejack entertained the girls who smiled in return.

"What about the breathing?"

"Oh that? I learned that from Rarity, I had walked in after her sis Sweetie Belle had actually cleaned her 'inspiration room'. She was huffing and puffin until she just stamped her hoof and started taking these deep breaths. When I asked her what was up, she told me about her breathing technique and how she would do them to avoid blowing up and 'breaking her poise'." Rainbow waved a hoof at the expression, "She taught me how and I just use them to relax when the time feels right."

"I looks like it works! How do you do it?"

"Easy! just breath in through your snout, and out through through you mouth. Close your eyes, and focus on taking deep breaths." Rainbow Dash lead through example. "After a while the world seems to melt away." Rainbow Dash sighed before lifting her cup to her lips. She took a long whiff before sipping.

Twilight was surprised, she had never seen Rainbow Dash so calm. Even her 'cloud naps' looked like the consequence of labor. When she looked down her self, she had seen the cup Fluttershy had brought out for her, steaming with hot tea. Twilight hadn't even noticed Fluttershy fill her cup. Twilight looked to Fluttershy. Fluttershy was staring wistfully out the window with a slight grin. Twilight looked to Rainbow, who was holding her cup close to her snout. Rainbow breathed calmly. Twilight looked down to see Spike, sitting on a cushion, watching Rainbow Dash with a raised eyebrow, as though he were studying her. Twilight lifted her cup with a purple glow. The tea was a light amber and smelled mildly of mint and... something else.

After taking a sip, the presence of mint was confirmed, but the tea was weak, and that 'something else' had yet to be named.

"Is something wrong Twilight?" Fluttershy asked nervously.

"W-what?" Twilight looked at Fluttershy, confused. Perhaps she was staring at the tea with a cross look. "Oh, no it's... it's nothing just that the tea's a tiny bit weak is all."

"Oh. I sorry Twilight, we don't usually have guests so the there wasn't enough tea for everybody and..." Fluttershy looked flustered, "I'll just go make another pot. Yes that's it." Fluttershy began to get up from her seat before...

"NO! No, it's alright, I'll just add some sugar. That's all it needs, sugar." Twilight lifted the sugar bowl and brought it close before taking a teaspoon of sugar into her cup. She mixed for a couple seconds before removing the spoon and tapping it against the back of her cup and laying the spoon flat on the small dish the cup resided upon. After taking another sip. She looked up to Fluttershy. "What kind of tea is this? Mint?"

"Mint and ginseng."

"Ginseng?" Twilight had tried to recall what that was. 'How could you forget!? You just read about it the other day!' Twilight had shouted at herself in her head before hitting her forehead with her hoof. "Ginseng is a natural stimulant found in Northern Equestria. It is harvested primarily for it's root and is used for an energy boost and assisting stallions with-" Twilight forced a hoof into her own mouth. She was blushing through her coat. After removing her he hoof, "I had just read about it in Super- Naturals." Twilight coughed and asked, "Where did you get it?" Twilight had seen the pattern, "Wait! let me guess, Odsanends?"

Fluttershy blinked, "Why, yes Twilight. How did you know?"

Twilight just smiled, "Educated guess. It seems he's helped nearly everypony in some way or another. He gave me a this."
Twilight showed the book to Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash. "He sold a priceless cookbook to Pinkie, Rarity a necklace that seemed made for her, and now an uncommon root for tea." Twilight looked to Rainbow dash. "What about you? What did he do for you Rainbow?"

"What? Oh, he sold me the tea, said it would help with my workout. It felt like it worked great yesterday. He even sold me some seeds and told me how to grow it myself."

"How much did it cost? Wait, was it free?"

"Not really... It was more like, payment."

"Really? How so?"

"Well, he wanted me to make a cloud to 'block the beating burn of the sun.' So I figured my break had been up, and I might as well leave my 'rest cloud' hanging over the dude. S'good to know where my nimbus is too. So, after I finished my shift, I flew over to his cart to see what he was pushing. And get this! he recognized me! I had to be like, 12 stories above him with the a solar flare right behind me when he called to me, not to mention behind a cloud with just my head sticking out. Turns out he had some shades." Rainbow Dash produced a pair of sunglasses. "I mean, look at these things, it's like, You could weld with these things. He also said it's hard to miss a mare with a rainbow mane." The sunglasses had a red frame and the lenses shined like oil on water.

"He gave you those!?"

"Pfft! I wish!" Rainbow adorned the lenses. "I had to beg him to even sell it, and then, they were not cheap! I had to pay twenty-five bits for these babies."

Twilight was confused, her story had been so different from the others. Not only had she bought the shades, but for so much. 'I guess he has to make a living somehow, right?' Twilight figured. "And the ginseng?"

"Oh that? After wrestling the glasses from him, he called out and threw this baggy at me." Rainbow pointed to the the small green bag on the table. "He told me that it would help me with a workout and that it was 'thanks' for the the cloud thing. Must've had a good eye, but then again, my talent is clearly visible." Rainbow dash struck a pose, glowing with pride.

"And the mint?"

"Fluttershy." Rainbow said blankly, admiring herself in pose.

Twilight raised an eyebrow to Fluttershy.

Fluttershy, with the sudden attention on her, coughed in her tea splashing herself. "I'm so sorry." Fluttershy wiped the tea from her mouth with a napkin. "The tea had smelled... 'off', so I added the mint for aroma."

"Fluttershy, did you meet Odsanends?"

"What? Oh me? No, but Angel did."

"Really?"

"I'm sure of it." Fluttershy's voice, still soft, had a slightly stern tone to it, almost angry. "Angel had come home with that over there." The item in question seemed to be a simple rubber ball, placed high on the book shelf. "At first, it looked harmless enough, but then..." Fluttershy took a sip of tea before 'stamping' her hoof on the table. A light tap that barely shook the porcelain tea set. "They started playing that violent game."

In the corner of Twilight's vision, she could sea Rainbow Dash rolling her eyes.

"All that pushing and shoving, And I thought I taught them better."

"You mean with the squirrels and the bunnies?"

"So you did see it? I mean, before you came in?"

"Well yeah I-"

Fluttershy interrupted, "With what, did they have another ball?"

Twilight remembered the armadillo. "Well, not exactly."

"Then what was it then? A ball of yarn? Twine?" She gasped, "A rock!?"

Twilight coughed, the gulped. Nervous she said, "Well they were uh... they were using an armadillo..."

"AN ARMADILLO!!!"

Twilight had never heard Fluttershy shout, no, roar like this before, save for a certain incident at the gala.

For a single second, she looked around flustered, confused, and oh so angry before dashing out the door at a speed that rivaled immediate company.

Twilight looked to Rainbow Dash, who with her eyes closed, made a ticking noise with her tongue as she slowly shook her head.

"You shouldn't have done that."

Comments

[reader238]

yep fluttershy just doesnt understand the game. twilight noticed the comradery right away that they were having fun playing

[Shielded Myth]

well this could get intersting