//------------------------------// // North Pole VIII // Story: Rainbow Dash's Unstoppable Ego // by MagicS //------------------------------// While it was now dark out in the city of Nogt; Rainbow Dash, Ark’Nogt, and Sia’Lorna sat calmly and quietly inside of a small teahouse as they waited for the tea master to finish brewing their beverages. Sia’Lorna had come back to the communal center later in the day after finishing her personal training and found Rainbow Dash. Deciding to take matters into her own hooves, she invited Dash and Ark’Nogt to her favorite place for tea in the city now that they were all free after their training for the day was done. Naturally Dash didn’t complain since it was free stuff again and Ark’Nogt saw it as a good opportunity to get her more in touch with their culture and traditions. Sia’Lorna too wanted to ask about Dash’s progress with training and how excited she was for the tournament now that the both of them were registered. So for the moment the three of them sat in a small room at a polished black table, being quiet because according to Ark’Nogt you weren’t supposed to speak while the tea was being prepared. This was a time for rest and anticipation. Rainbow Dash wryly thought to herself that Sia’Lorna didn’t bother with any of that stuff back when she had some tea brewing in her room but obviously this was a much more serious and formal situation. She could picture Twilight and Applejack appreciating that sort of thing. Though Applejack probably wouldn’t really care about the “tea” part of it. Now Rainbow Dash wasn’t a pony that could typically be called quiet or patient. And shortly after she started tapping her hoof on the table out of boredom she received a look—a polite look—from Sia’Lorna telling her to stop that too. It was difficult for her to remain still and there wasn’t even anything for her to look at our anything in this tiny room. They were secluded inside the teahouse and the tea room was totally undecorated with the vinyl floor and the walls being a boring tan color. She had to figure it was designed to make you bored and not distract you so you could just relax and meditate or whatever. Well fat chance of that happening. Rainbow grunted. Her mind usually went a mile a minute anyways, especially when she didn’t have anything for her body to do. She glanced over at Ark’Nogt and Sia’Lorna, who were both sitting perfectly still and quiet. How do they do that? This tea better be worth it. Ugh. She could just picture Pinkie Pie of all ponies trying to sit here and do nothing while just waiting for tea. And then she’d probably ruin it anyways by pouring a ton of sugar in it first thing. Rainbow Dash looked at the table, there wasn’t any sort of sugar or anything on it though. Either their tea was supposed to be drunk exactly as it was served or everything came out together with it. She wouldn’t be surprised if you were just supposed to drink it plain, and nothing to eat with it either. This seemed like the kind of place for that. You’d be “Fully enjoying the aroma and divine taste of the tea itself, darling” as Rarity would put it. Rainbow Dash was going to have to try and not guzzle it down immediately when it was brought to her. That’d probably be embarrassing both for herself and her two companions. Sia’Lorna and Ark’Nogt were both being really nice to her so she didn’t want to do that. She was pretty thirsty at this point though and her impatience was only growing… Just as she felt like she was going to groan and flop onto her back out of boredom, the door opened up and the master of the teahouse came inside. Rainbow Dash bit back a “Finally” and watched with excitement as the doe carried their tray in to the table. Three cylindrical teacups sat on the tray, they weren’t porcelain like Dash was used to but pewter. The teapot as well was pewter and Dash could see the steam rising from its spout. The aroma was noticeable instantly too. Powerful, almost like someone had lit incense in the room. It was a very flowery and light scent, filling the room completely but not overwhelming Rainbow Dash’s nose. She tried to place what exactly the flower scent was but she wasn’t sure yet. It definitely wasn’t roses, she would’ve recognized that, or daisies or daffodils, also common enough for her to know. Compared to the earthy scent that Sia’Lorna’s tea had this was definitely different too and she kind of wondered why. It must’ve just been a different brand or way of brewing it. The doe put the tray down on the table and placed the three teacups in front of Rainbow Dash, Ark’Nogt and Sia’Lorna. Then, slowly and steadily, she grasped the teapot and poured the greenish looking tea into each teacup, filling them up to just a little bit below their rims. After she was done with the initial pouring she placed the teapot back on the tray and left it in the center of the table for them. “You may begin,” the tea master said with a quiet voice and bowed, backing out of the room and sliding the door shut again. Rainbow Dash raised an eyebrow at her as she left and looked at the teacup in front of her. “Oooookay? So we just drink now?” Sia’Lorna giggled. “Yes, we drink now. And we can speak now too obviously. Tell me what you think of the tea after you have your first sip.” Rainbow Dash shrugged and picked up the teacup. She squinted at the slightly clear liquid inside before smelling it, still not sure what exactly the flower scent was that was coming from it, before putting it to her lips. “Here goes nothing.” She said and took a sip. Immediately the flavor and unique sensations of the tea filled her mouth. It was a sweet taste with a strangely buttery undercurrent. Rainbow Dash found herself unconsciously savoring it and closing her eyes before swallowing down the tea. It warmed her gullet and stomach on the way down and she let out a satisfied sigh when she was finished. “Woah… that’s some good tea.” Rainbow said. “Wonderful, I’m happy you like it,” Sia’Lorna smiled. “Me too,” Ark’Nogt said. “It’s tasty and really warming. And it smells different than it tastes, what is that?” Rainbow Dash asked, still sniffing the tea to figure out what it was. “That scent you’re smelling is oleander,” Ark’Nogt said. “Oleander?” Rainbow Dash raised an eyebrow at him. “That’s a flower, right? I feel like someone else mentioned that to me before… Roseluck maybe? Or could have been Daisy or Lily Valley I guess.” “It is a shrub that flowers,” Sia’Lorna nodded. “And it is quite a poisonous plant at that.” Rainbow Dash paused. “Wait. What?” “The tea is imbued with the fragrance of oleander but it’s carefully harvested and treated in a way that removes the poison from it,” Ark’Nogt told her. “That’s what gives the tea its exceptionally sweet scent.” “Seems a little unnecessary but as long as I’m not gonna die from drinking it I guess that’s okay,” Rainbow Dash shrugged and took another sip. “I can assure you that such a thing wont happen,” Sia’Lorna said. Each little sip Rainbow Dash continued to take just made her feel better and better. Any leftover fatigue or muscle pain from all the working out she had been doing was leaving her body. It was practically like the Reindeer tea was healing her, she was starting to feel blissfully unaware of anything else right now. Each time she closed her eyes and really savored the tea it was the same as relaxing on a floating cloud on a warm summer day above a beautiful grass field full of flowers. “If I didn’t know any better I’d say there was something magic in this tea to make it as good as it is,” Rainbow Dash said as she set her teacup down, now more than halfway empty. “Nothing magical, just generations of refinement and work to make it the best tea you’ll ever drink,” Sia’Lorna said. “I’ll take your word for it. It’s definitely the best tea I’ve ever had at least,” Rainbow picked the cup back up and drank down a larger gulp, almost emptying the cup. “How much is left in that teapot?” “Enough to fill up all three of our cups one more time,” Sia’Lorna said. “And I for one intend to have my refill,” Ark’Nogt said with a smile. Rainbow Dash grinned at him. “Yeah, me too.” She took another sip and looked over to Sia’Lorna. “You still doing more of your own training tomorrow?” “I am,” Sia’Lorna nodded. “Me too. I think I’m going to do a bunch of running, work out my legs even more you know? Cause I’m still way, way, way more used to flying than running. I want these things to be the best they can be,” Rainbow Dash said and patted her legs. “I understand, you’ll need them at their strongest if you want to win,” the doe said. “And like I said, I’m definitely winning,” Rainbow stated and finished off the last of her tea before reaching for the teapot to fill it back up. “You’ll have to get through a number of tough opponents for that. Me least of all. But I admire your confidence,” Sia’Lorna smiled. “I hope we do get to fight. And that’s fine by me anyways, it aint worth winning if I’m not beating up on strong creatures,” Rainbow shrugged. “It’s only a couple of days now, I’m very much looking forward to watching you participate in the tournament,” Ark’Nogt said to her. “Thanks for telling me about it in the first place.” Sia’Lorna suddenly coughed into her hoof to get both their attention. “I know it’s fine to talk now but generally speaking we should be talking more about the tea and more relaxing things. The time for fighting is coming soon, this is a time for something else.” If it were any other creature Rainbow Dash would’ve probably heard some veiled annoyance or exasperation from Sia’Lorna. Instead it sounded like she was trying to be as honestly kind as she could be while illuminating their customs as they pertained to drinking tea. “Heh, sorry. Let’s just relax and finish off this teapot then?” Rainbow suggested. “Yes, lets,” Ark’Nogt said. Sia’Lorna smiled and the three, much more quietly and calmly, finished drinking the delicious and relaxing tea that had been brewed for them.