//------------------------------// // Smell the Roses // Story: A Friend from the Stars // by AntiBronyBenSwolo //------------------------------// Cosmica headed over to Fluttershy's cottage and paused to catch a quick breather. She knew Fluttershy's cottage was distant from the town of Ponyville judging from her spaceship's footage of everypony, but Cosmica didn't expect her house to be that distant. In an attempt to regain her strength, Cosmica sat down on the ground and pulled out her checklist. Cosmica remembered all the fun she had at Applejack's farm yesterday apple-bucking and making an apple pie. The Apple Family was even nice enough to let her sleep in the barn that night. "Learn of the Apple Family's agriculture and make their famous dessert? Check," Cosmica chuckled to herself as she drew a huge checkmark next to the first item on the list. Cosmica breathed for a second or two and checked the second item on the list. "Tame myself a pet with the help of Fluttershy? On it," Cosmica said to herself as she folded up her checklist and tried to put it in her back pocket, except she remembered she gave up her spacesuit on accounts of Applejack calling the saltwater substance that neutralized her emotions immoral. She breathed a sigh of relief. As much as she was better off without them, she still missed her home. Cosmica cleared her breath and tucked the checklist in the stetson Applejack gave her. With that, Cosmica was ready to visit Fluttershy. Cosmica took a deep breath and knocked on the door, hoping to receive a warm welcome from her new pony friend. Instead, Fluttershy was hesitant about opening the door, checking to see who was at the door and...was she wearing a clothespin on her nose? "Oh. Hey Cosmica? I uh...wasn't expecting anypony," Fluttershy confessed as she hid behind her mane as Cosmica raised her eyebrow at her. "Why are you wearing that on your nose? Is that some kind of pony fashion I'm unaware of? And it looks like it hurts to wear," Cosmica observed as Fluttershy felt intruded by this sudden turn of events. "Oh, it's not fashion. It's just, uh...there was an accident and uhh...I have to go clean it up," Fluttershy said worryingly, hoping Cosmica wouldn't be curious enough to look into it further. "An accident? How so? Is there something you're keeping from everything?" Cosmica asked as Fluttershy muttered worryingly. "Well...if you want to help, I guess you can. Just...you might want to wear this," Fluttershy advised, handing out another clothespin to Cosmica. Cosmica took off her hat and bandana and placed it on the table and followed Fluttershy. "So...care to catch me up to speed?" Cosmica asked following Fluttershy to her backyard, where all of a sudden, the foulest and unimaginable stench hit Cosmica's senses like a brick wall. Cosmica looked at the backyard and saw a giant brown bear sitting sadly in an empty wooden tub as a ghastly green mist emanated from the bear, practically poisoning Cosmica's senses. "Poor Harry Bear here got skunked, leaving me to clean up the mess," Fluttershy said as went back inside and came back out with a couple of bottles of dish detergent. With the smell too overwhelming, Cosmica now saw the logic in the clothespin and pinched it over her nose. "I've evacuated all the other animals so nothing else has to smell him. I need you to grab the garden hose and spray him down while I pour dish soap over him," Fluttershy instructed while Cosmica was only behind by a couple of pages. "Wait, what did you say happened to him?" Cosmica asked as Fluttershy took a deep breath once more. "Harry met a bad run-in with a skunk and is now stinking up the place," Fluttershy explained as she opened a bottle and prepared to pour without getting too close. Cosmica aimed the hose at the large sad bear but didn't fire yet. "Then shouldn't we be using the fluid known as tomato juice? I remember catching an incident just like this, except this one pony was cleaning his dog, and he used such a substance to clean him," Cosmica replied as Fluttershy was taken aback by Cosmica's attention to detail. "Well, it's just a myth. Tomato juice doesn't actually work. Wait, why would you record such an incident?" Fluttershy asked as a drop of orange soap hit the top of the bear's head? "I found the creature quite interesting. To the point where I would like to say I'm considering adopting one. If that's possible, at least," Cosmica confessed as streams of water hit the bear's body and covering him with sudsy bubbles. "Well, you can always adopt a dog at the local pound. There's loads of cute dogs there. I tried adopting them all, but the owners wouldn't let me," Fluttershy said, chuckling. "No, I meant I wanted to adopt...whatever it was that made this bear stink," Cosmica explained as she continued firing the water at the bear and into the tub. "Oh! Well, I'll think about if I can get you in touch with one," Fluttershy said, as she snapped plastic gloves on her forehooves and scrubbed the stink away from the bear. After about an hour and thirty minutes of scrubbing, dish soap, and hose water, Fluttershy and Cosmica can finally breathe through their noses again as Harry no longer smelled like rotting garbage. "Well, that was sure fun," Fluttershy sarcastically joked as she headed on into the woods, confusing Cosmica. "Hey, where are you going?" Cosmica asked as Fluttershy turned with a witty smile on her face. "You said you wanted a pet. You coming or not?" Fluttershy asked as Cosmica realized where this was going as the two mares headed into the woods to where Harry's little incident took place. The two wandered the woods for a good fifteen minutes before a familiar smell hit their noses. "Yep. This must be where it happened," Fluttershy said, covering her nose with her wing. Cosmica had no such luck in bringing her clothespin, so she just settles for plugging her nose with her simple hoof. The leaves rustled and the twigs snapped from one of the nearby bushes. Cosmica and Fluttershy turned towards the direction of the noise until out popped a little black head with a white stripe on its nose and forehead. The critter crawled out revealing the white strip all along it's back spreading to the tip of its incredibly bushy tail. The critter growled and aimed it's rear at the two ponies. Cosmica was thinking back at the footage she saw of the similar-looking critter hitting the dog with such a foul spray, and realized what was about to happen. Out of everything Cosmica had seen from orbit and wanted to try out, this was something she did not want to try out. Cosmica braced for impact and closed her eyes as if a ranged weapon was aimed at her ready to strike her down. "Stop! Hold your fire!" Fluttershy demanded, snapping Cosmica out of her panic and confusing the little skunk. "So, you must be the little skunk who sprayed Harry the Bear," Fluttershy said, staring down the striped animal with little to no worry. And Cosmica wondered why she was supposed to be the shy one for a second there. The skunk faced Fluttershy and chipped and chattered away. "I can see Harry was trespassing upon your den but isn't this the path he usually takes to get to the river so he could eat his salmon?" Fluttershy asked, causing the skunk to chatter in anger. "Maybe if you moved your den away, then maybe he won't intrude upon it," Fluttershy argued as Cosmica can't believe her eyes. She's seeing a simple pony argue against an animal who can't speak pony. The skunk chipped in chattered a threat as he aimed his rear in Fluttershy's face. "How about: Instead of leaving you alone, or else we get your stink, how about you go apologize to my friend, or you'll get my Stare!?" Fluttershy threatened, staring down the smelly critter. The skunk chuckled until he turned to actually face her. Suddenly, the critter didn't have the courage to spray her and Cosmica, instead pinning himself up against the wall with nowhere to go. Fluttershy continued the stare while the skunk whimpered and worried as he gave in and promptly surrendered and agreed to apologize, causing Fluttershy to end the stare. "Woah...That was amazing!! How did you do that?" Cosmica asked as Fluttershy returned to her normal anti-social state. "Oh, that was nothing. I do that all the time with animals that misbehave," Fluttershy said as she brushed her main all flustered again. "And also, you were able to understand their animal language incredibly fluently. Your translator must be state-of-the-art," Cosmica praised as Fluttershy let out a weaker chuckle. "Oh, I don't have a translator. I can naturally speak to animals. Except I didn't teach myself as you taught yourself pony, it's just the way my Cutie Mark functions is all," Fluttershy explained as the two ponies and the mean little skunk made it back to the cottage. Harry recognized the skunk and took cover in the wood tub as not to get sprayed again. "There's that word again. 'Cutie Mark'," Cosmica noted as Fluttershy turned to Cosmica. "What do you mean?" Fluttershy asked as Cosmica examined her rear. "Applejack and her sister noticed there was supposed to be...something on my flank known as a cutie mark that turns out isn't even there. Applejack thinks my species might not be capable of having a cutie mark, though I'm curious if this is the case" Cosmica explained as Fluttershy squinted at Cosmica's flank. "Oh, would you look at that. It is blank," Fluttershy noticed as the little skunk made it over to Harry the Bear still covering in the wooden tub. The little critter made a couple of little squeaks with no longer made the bear scared, but rather a little happy that an apology was in order. The skunk breathed in relief as that forced apology was out of the way, so now he can go back into the woods and make himself a new den. However, that relief would be short-lived as Cosmica picked up the skunk and examined him closely. "Say, do you mind if I adopt this one? I think he could be a good companion," Cosmica asked as the skunk growled in anger. Fluttershy and Harry ducked and covered so they don't get hit, and Cosmica now looked like she was holding something explosive. Five minutes later, Cosmica walked out of the house with the little skunk in a tiny little cage as she and Fluttershy walked out of the door laughing. "Thanks for the new pet Fluttershy, I really appreciate it," Cosmica replied as she gathered her hat, bandana, and list as Fluttershy waved goodbye to her alien friend and her new pet skunk. "I still can't believe I got out of that debacle unsprayed. Now, what will I name you my little friend?" Cosmica asked as the skunk chattered his disappointment to her. "You know, you remind me of the common Earth plant known as potatoes. They just look so grumpy and you're so grumpy, so I think I'm gonna call you 'potato'," Cosmica explained as the skunk whimpered in annoyance. "Good. Come along Potato. We've gotta go where no Space Pony has ever gone before," Cosmica said skipping along the road as Potato continued being a grouch in his little cage.