With her wings and ear wrapped in bandages, Rainbow Dash limped out of the Ponyville Hospital. By some miracle, she still had four legs attached to her, but a few bruised bones in her back right one caused her to walk at an uneven gait.
Ugh, this day sucks...first I manage to mess up my wings, then Spitfire comes and relieves me of Wonderbolt duties until I get better, then I have to shack up with an egghead. Celestia, please, you might as well get it over with now!
Biting back a groan, Rainbow made her way to the castle, staring up at the sky as she watched Pegasi move about as though nothing was going to get in their way. It made her jealous and bitter, and also made her feel regret that, for all the crashes she had made and injuries she had sustained, she hadn't tried to get something built that would enable her to fly when she was unable to.
It only took a few minutes to reach the castle, and nearly every second of every minute was spent looking up at the sky. Being greeted by Twilight, she made her way inside, closing the door behind her and following the alicorn.
"I got this neat thing at the hardware store just recently." Twilight explained. "I didn't really want to get it at first, but Spike played my hoof by showing me the benefits of what it can do."
Rainbow would be lying if she said she wasn't at least a little bit curious. Her mind became filled with possibilities of just what Twilight had for her. It had to be something grand, right?
Well...perhaps not.
"...A lawnmower."
"Yes!" Twilight used her magic to roll it along the floor. "It's completely push-powered."
Rainbow looked at it with disinterest. "Count me out."
"Rainbow, wait!" Twilight urged. "It's not about the physical labor. It's about the reward."
"What reward, a shorter lawn?" Rainbow scoffed. "In case you haven't noticed, Twilight, I'm a Pegasus. We trim clouds."
Twilight trotted towards the doors. "Just try it. I think you'll enjoy it."
Rainbow opened her mouth to respond, but her friend was gone before she could utter even a single sound. Huffing, she stared at the lawnmower.
Well...I guess it wouldn't be good for me to stay in the castle all day. Gotta stay in shape, after all.
Besides, I've trimmed the clouds around my house before. How hard could mowing a lawn be?
As it turned out, mowing the lawn around the castle was surprisingly easy, if Rainbow treated the grass like clouds. The only thing that stopped her was the pain that flared up in her back right leg every so often, plus the fact that having no wings forced her to put more effort in.
When she was done, she moved the lawnmower to the side and sat. A cool breeze flowed through her mane, and it was then that a fairly new scent tickled her nose. It felt so familiar, but at the same time, so foreign. It was sweet, but at the same time, sharp.
And it actually smelled...good.
She laid down and closed her eyes, allowing the scent to fill her nostrils. It felt peaceful and relaxing, and her body was overcome with a feeling of drowsiness.
Was this what Twilight meant when she said "it's about the reward"? The reward is...this?
Not gonna lie, I thought it would be something bigger. I mean, mowing the lawn without using my wings isn't easy...
...But it's so worth the effort.
Without consent, her eyes began to close as the drowsiness fully set in. She turned on her side, allowed her head to lay on the grass, and allowed sleep to claim her as the scent and the breeze finished their sweet shared lullaby.
By the time she woke up, the sun was setting. There was no breeze now, but somehow, some of the smell of freshly-mowed grass still remained.
"Hey, Rainbow Dash."
The Pegasus whirled her head to her right to look at Twilight, levitating a few paper bags in her corona.
"I just bought some things for dinner at the Ponyville Farmers' Market before they closed." She glanced at the lawnmower. "How was mowing the lawn?"
Rainbow shot up and raced over to her friend as fast as her hooves would take her. "It. Was. Awesome!!" She trotted in place. "I didn't know grass could smell so good! I mean, I've smelled it before, but I've never really..." She stopped, drawing a hoof along the ground. "...stopped to really take it in, y'know?"
Twilight kept going towards the castle entrance, with Rainbow flanking her on her left. "That's almost word-for-word what I said." She glanced at the lawn. "I've lived in Ponyville for a long time now, but I've never actually stopped to take in the scent of freshly-mowed grass."
"Because you never mowed a lawn before?"
Twilight lightly nudged Rainbow and chuckled. "Very funny, but...yes, actually. When I started living in the Castle of Friendship, Spike handled the lawnmowing. It wasn't until a few days ago that he talked to me about doing it instead, telling me there was something special that would be waiting for me at the end." She pushed open the doors. "He wouldn't elaborate. But as it turned out, the 'something special' was the smell of the grass when I was done. It was so nice that I've been mowing the lawn ever since."
For the next few minutes, Rainbow didn't respond as the pair headed to the kitchen, where the alicorn took out the ingredients and began sorting them. Perhaps she had a point, and it was one that made Rainbow Dash decide something.
"Hey, Twilight? While I'm here, can...can we mow the lawn together?"
Twilight smiled and nodded. "Of course. Mowing the lawn is much more fun when it's with a friend."
Rainbow grinned.
If I'm gonna be staying here, then I'm gonna make the most of it.