//------------------------------// // Calming the Flame // Story: The Impact of Humans on Ponies // by the koopanater //------------------------------// After the meeting between Flint and the other heroes, things were a bit tense for a while. Most of the time when someone saw Flint they tended to get out of his way, giving a greeting as they passed. It wasn't that they were afraid of him per say, it was just that they respected his wishes and wanted to keep their friendship intact if getting in his way meant angering him. They already did interfere when they broke the warding stone. As time went on however, they noticed that Flint was working a lot more than any of them, either heading to the Everfree forest or patrolling town. If he wasn't doing those things he was working out, almost never giving himself time to rest. Even now he was working out as Rainbow, Xavier, and Alex watched him do some pushups in the park. "So... do ye even take breaks lad?" Alex asked. "I do, but I cannot become complacent." Flint replied. "Dude, you sound like one of those weird monks." Rainbow mentioned, getting a nod from Alex. "It's just a part of the army." Flint said. "You never know when someone will attack." "...I'm not going to deny that it's pretty common for something to attack around here." Xavier admitted. "And I will admit I do tend to get lost in work, but even I need a break at times." "Yeah, aren't ye gettin' exhausted, goin' from the Everfree ta workin' out after?" "Actually, those trips-" "Hey man, no need to get yourself worked up." Rainbow interrupted, flying up to his shoulder and patting it. "We're gonna help you out by teaching you how to relax." "Well actually-" "No buts lad!" Alex announced, also next to him with Xavier following. "Yer gonna be relaxin' fer the rest've the day, like it or not!" "...I'm not going to get out of this, am I?" "Sorry, those two are pretty headstrong, take it from me." Xavier said as he patted his other shoulder. "I do agree though, take some time off." "Alright. I guess we can-" "GREAT!" Rainbow said excitedly as she and Alex began to push him, Xavier following behind. "C'mon, let's go." Later, by Rainbow's home Once the decision was made, everyone decided that the best place to start was Rainbow's place, as she was well known by her friends as laid-back when nothing pressing was happening. All the humans had to do was wait for Rainbow to get finished with preparations, which was bringing down some beach chairs for everyone to use. "Alright, here we are gang." Rainbow announced proudly as she finished putting up the last chair. "Thanks for lending us some chairs Dash." Xavier said as the humans went over to the chairs. "Aahh, this is good." Alex sighed as he fell into a chair, Rainbow and Xavier following suit. It took a bit for Flint to get settled, but he was also settling into his chair. "Hmm, not bad. So now what?" "Nothing." Rainbow said, getting a confused look from the soldier as she reclined. "Nothing?" "Exactly." She said, pulling some shades out and putting them on. "This is the art of 'chilling out' my friend." "You said it." All three laid back and let out a collective sigh, calm in their world. Flint mimicked their actions, even letting out his own sigh. They laid there for a minute, but it wasn't long before Flint began to twitch a bit. It was just his finger at first, but it soon escalated to his foot, then his leg, and before long he sat up. "Soo... how long do we do this for?" "For a long time." Rainbow said, leaving Flint to his own thoughts again. This lasted for another minute, but Flint couldn't sit for long before getting up, alerting the others. "Hey! Why'd you get up?" "I'm sorry, but this isn't working." Flint apologized as the others got up. "I'm not used to sitting around doing nothing." "I guess I can get that." Xavier admitted. "But it is a good time to calm down and relax." "I truly am sorry, but I cannot focus when idle." The group argued lightly for a bit, trying to understand each other. Of course with such debating, it's bound to attract attention, and it so happened that a certain artist was walking by. "Um, is everything okay here?" Huston asked as he walked over, getting everyone's attention. "Oh, hey dude. What brings you here?" Alex greeted. "I was looking for a nice place to do some sketching." He said, holding up a sketchbook. "But what are you guys arguing about?" "We're trying to get Flint to relax from work." Rainbow answered, flying up to Flint. "But the guy is having a hard time sitting still." "...I see." "Hmm... Hey you wouldn't mind if we join ye?" Alex asked, catching everyone's attention. "Ay mean, ye always look so calm when doin' yer paintin' and stuff, so maybe Flint could pick up art as a hobby or somethin'." "I guess I can understand where you're coming from." Huston thought out loud. "But let's not jump the gun here. We can't just make Flint do these things." "It's fine." They heard Flint say. "I'm more or less just playing along, might as well try it." "...A-alright then, would any of you like to join?" Everyone nodded at Huston's question, so Huston sighed and agreed. After a bit of time since he had to grab a couple more sketch books, everyone was now sat in front of the lake, with a tree in view. "We can start simple for now, see if you can draw the view from here. We can check our progress in ten minutes." Huston instructed as he took a seat and began to scribble alongside everyone. They all scribbled in silence, the sound of pencils moving filling the air. It wasn't before long that ten minutes were up, and everyone stretched. "Okay, I'll start the show then." Huston raised his sketchbook, showing a very impressive sketch of a tree, though it was lacking the lake. Nonetheless everyone was impressed and clapped. "Thank you, but what about all of you." "Heh, I'll show you mine." Rainbow said confidently as she showed her sketchbook. The response to hers was laughter from two close friends. "HEY!" "I-I'm sorry, but what is that blob in the sky?" Xavier asked, laughter in the mix. "It's the sun!" "N-no, the other one." "That's a bird!" "That's a bird!? What's that giant mushroom then?!" Alex wheezed, laughing much harder. "That's the tree you jerk!" The two kept laughing, irritating Rainbow. "OH YEAH! LIKE YOU DID ANY BETTER!" "Oh ay know I didn't do better." Alex said proudly as he showed his drawing. Well, it was more like doodles you'd see in a student's notebook. "Ay got bored lookin' at that tree, so ay gave up." "Weren't you the one to suggest this?" Huston deadpanned. "Ay did, never said ay'd take it seriously." Alex admitted with a smile, everyone groaning. "What about you bro, got anything good?" Everyone looked at Xavier's drawing, and were all shocked to see that his was actually pretty good. "Whoa what the-" Rainbow stammered. "How did you do this?!" "I guess drawing up blueprints can do that?" Xavier answered uncertainly. "I'm definitely not on the skill level Huston is though." "Still, this is impressive." Huston commented. "You may have what it takes to be an artist." "No thanks, there are still projects that I need to complete." "Fair enough. For now, the 'main attraction waits' so to speak." Huston and the others went to Flint, who never moved from the spot he sat, his face emotionless. "Let's see what you've done Flint-" Everyone just stopped, all of them staring at Flint's sketchbook. They didn't know what to think when they saw it. It was, just... Well, it was not pretty. It wasn't even Rainbow levels of bad. It was so bad in fact that the image was practically seen with a mosaic over it, and everyone had disturbed faces. It was that bad. "Yeah, it's bad." Flint calmly said, closing the book and pocketing it. "I was never good at art." "Theeennn why did you agree?" Alex asked in discomfort. "It's so that everyone knows and we never have to suggest this again." He replied, standing up. "Don't worry, I'll burn the book later. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm heading to the-" "Hey wait a minute!" Rainbow shouted, snapping out of the state she was in and snapping everyone else out. "You are not going back to the Everfree yet!" "But I have something to-" "Hey man, don't worry about it." Rainbow interrupted. "Didn't you install all those warding stone things recently?" "Well, yes. But-" "Then we're fine!" She began to push him along. Well, he wasn't moving due to his size. "I've got another idea for you to relax, and it's a good one." Sighing, Flint moved his feet to where she wanted to go, Alex and Xavier following along. "Have fun with that." Huston said as he waved. "I still want to do some sketching, so I'm going to stick around." Giving goodbyes, the group let Rainbow take the wheel to their destination. That destination being the Golden Oaks Library. "Ooh, a good book is a pretty good way to relax." Xavier said with a nod. "I know! C'mon." Everyone entered the tree house with the goal of finding a book for Flint. And who better to help out then Twilight who noticed them enter. "Oh, hello everypony. What brings you here?" "We're here fer a book Flint 'ere would like." Alex answered. "Anythin' come ta mind?" "Well... What do you like Flint?' "I... I'm not sure." Flint admitted with guilt, looking to the side. "I never really had any interests in the past." Everyone just looked at him, both is surprise and slight sympathy. "How about you suggest something?" "Hmm... Alright." Twilight then used her magic to levitate a bunch of books from the shelves and float them around her. "Let's see here, how about this one?" Twilight wondered as she brought a book up to Flint, the cover depicting a knight looking at a tower in the distance. "This one is a story about a hero searching for a long lost friend." "Mmm, I don't know." Flint mumbled, crossing his arms and closing his eyes in thought. "Seems a bit cliche." "Oh, in that case." Twilight brought the story to the side and brought another one up, this one showing a pony surrounded by flowers. "This one is about a florist's journey to find happiness." "Sounds a bit too simple." "Hmm, how about a classic?" Twilight showed him the first book of the Daring Do series. "Daring Do is always a safe choice." "I've been told enough by them about the series." Flint said pointing to the others, mostly at the non-human. "I'm not exactly interested in the concept." (The non-human in question was devastated) "Oh, umm. Well..." Soon the two began a cycle of Twilight showing a book with a short description with Flint giving a reason for not liking it. And as the pile of books grew to a mountain, and Twilight's mane earning a few misplaced hairs. "Well, how about this one? This one is-" "Miss Twilight, perhaps we should stop." Flint interrupted, pushing the book to the side. "I mean no offence, but I don't think that reading will be something I will stick with. I never was one for reading anyway." "Haaahh." Twilight groaned as she went over to the others. "I don't get it, even you were able to agree to read a book eventually." "I know!" Rainbow announced, also irritated. "How could he disrespect Daring Do like that!?" "*Sigh* Well that was a bust." Xavier sighed, looking at the pile of books. "We're gonna need another plan." Alex thought out loud, thinking of some more ideas. "What is the goal anyway?" Twilight asked. "Getting the guy to relax for once." Rainbow answered. "The guy's been pushing himself since day one, he needs a break. He's kinda like you when you get something in your head." "HEY!" "Disregarding others..." Xavier commented. "Even I think he needs something to take his mind off of work every now and then. Unfortunately nothing seems to be working, as you can tell." "I wish I could help, but he's shot down everything I've recommended." "Don't sweat it, pal. Ye've done yer best. We'll just 'ave ta find another option." Alex said, walking to the door. "C'mon gang, we'll think of somethin' yet! In fact I already got an idea, and if this next idea doesn't work, we may as well give up!" "The idea is this place!" "...You know they aren't going to give discounts all the time, right?" Alex's plan was simple, the spa was do or break. After all, the spa was THE place to unwind and relax no matter who you are, at least that's what Alex said. Now they were looking up at the building, ready to enter. "Ay know, but-" "I'm also not paying." "What!?" "Well there's a difference to doing things freely and using your own money for it." "Well it's one time, so it'll be fine bro." "You just want an excuse to have a spa day." The two began to bicker, Rainbow watching them deadpanned. "Can you two stop?" Rainbow said getting in between them. "Can we just focus on getting Flint to relax?" She pointed to the man in question, at least where he was as he was not there. It was then they realized that he wasn't nearby, and with a little looking they saw him walking away. "Hey!" The trio chased after him, aiming to stop him. "Where are you going?" "To the Everfree forest. I've wasted enough time." Flint answered with a bit of coldness in his voice. "But-" "I appreciate your concern, but I have business there." Flint said, continuing to walk. "Wait, what are you even-" "Please, all this has done is distract me from more pressing matters. So please, just let me go." With that, Flint left the three, leaving them feeling guilty. Later After Flint's abrupt departure, the trio were feeling quite down, so they all just walked off. Now they were sitting at a table with drinks, with Xavier leaning on his arm and the others face down. "As if our relationship wasn't strained enough..." Rainbow moaned. "He probably hates us." Alex added with a grumble. Xavier simply sighed in response, not feeling like responding. The three sat there in silence for a while, at least until they were approached by someone. "Are you okay?" Looking up, they saw Jasmine looking at them with a tilted head and a concerned face. "Not really..." Alex responded, prompting Jasmine to sit with them. "We were with Flint all day tryin' ta distract him from work, but all we did was annoy him." "You can't really blame us when his work keeps sending him to the Everfree forest after all." Rainbow defended, but this caught the newcomer's attention. "Huh?" "It's just he's been working out or working his job since coming here." Xavier explained. "Even me and Twilight don't work all the time." "Yes, but-" "An' besides, we've barely had the time ta just talk ta him!" Alex said with a raised voice, lifting his head up and stretching his arms out. "Not ta sound desperate, but I'd want ta get ta know a guy and make things right after gettin' in his way!" "Yeah, why does he think he can take this by himself!" Rainbow joined in with an equally raised voice. "We're the ones who saved Equestria multiple times! If anything he should have told us to get help!" This boisterous tone died quite quickly, as the two put their heads onto their arm/hoof and sighed. "...I don't think he's going there to work." "What?!" The three immediately jumped up and leaned over to Jasmine, causing her to panic and swing her arms about. "Too close, too close!" "What is he doing there!?" Looking at the three, Jasmine took a breath and got up. "I think it would be best to show you." Everfree Forest, near Fluttershy's cottage After Jasmine's info drop, she began to lead her friends to the Everfree forest where Flint is. What confused them is that they were approaching Fluttershy's cottage, as calm as ever. "I-is Flint doing some guard work here?" Rainbow asked, flying next to Jasmine. "Not quite." She replied with a weary smile. As they got close to the front door, they began to hear a lot of noises from animals nearby, and they way they sounded made it sound like they were cheering. "What in the hell's goin' on around 'ere?" Alex questioned, walking around the cottage to investigate, the others following behind. When they got to the backyard, everyone besides Jasmine was shocked and surprised to see Flint surrounded by animals of all sizes, but what was more surprising was what he was doing. On the ground, Flint was doing pushups red-faced as he worked with a bunch of small animals on his back. He managed to finish two before tapping out, the animals getting off of his lying body as he got up. "*huff* Hooh, what a workout..." He huffed, taking a breather as he took a water bottle and towel from Harry, using both. "Thank you Harry, in a bit we should start some sit-up reps, alright?" Harry gave a nod and a smile, but when the bear looked up he saw the others, Jasmine waving at him. This of course got Flint's attention, and the soldier stood up. "I see you've found out where I've been." "Sorry, Flint. It kind of slipped out." "It's fine miss Jasmine." Flint said as he stepped closer. "We can talk about this soon. She should almost be done." "She?" "Flint? Are you done already?" They heard Fluttershy, and looking over they saw her coming over. "Oh! H-hello everyone." "Relax, miss Fluttershy. I was just about to invite them to tea." "Tea?" "That's what he's been coming here for." Jasmine answered, walking up to Flint. "I found out when I came here one day to play with the animals." "We can talk after some tea, it's going to get cold." Flint waved for the three to come along, to which they obliged. They were soon sitting at a table with teacups and tea snacks, Flint pouring tea from a teapot. Once he sat down and took a sip of tea, Flint began to explain. "To put it simply, I come here when I'm not on the job for tea with Fluttershy and the animals here. Never would have thought that animals would be so interested in tea parties, especially you Harry." The bear looked at him as he lifted a tea cup to his maw. "No offence, just saying." Harry nodded and went back to his tea. "Okay, but why were ye workin' out?" Alex asked. "Yeah, that seems kinda contradictory." Xavier added, eyebrow raised. "...Couldn't tell you." The response was confusing to the three, as evidence by their blank stares. "It's just that it's hard to explain. I guess... it's something that diverts my attention." "...Really?" Rainbow asked, not really understanding. "W-well... it's kind of like how you all those activities calming." Flint said, clicking a few things in place. "Huston paints as a way to express himself, you two play those sports with each other, you work on your gizmos, or even Fluttershy caring for her animals." "I think he's trying to say that this is how he relaxes." Jasmine said, helping Flint speak. "...Yeah, I guess it is." Xavier said with guilt. "And yet we've dragged you all around town thinking you were overworking yourself with no breaks." "We're sorry." Alex, Xavier, and Rainbow apologized with a seated bow. "It's okay, I should apologize as well." Flint said, putting his tea cup down. "I haven't been very open with any of you, and I was not very friendly when I confronted you. So could we move on from that incident and start over as friends?" Everyone looked at him with surprise, but they eventually smiled at him. "Yeah, that sounds like a plan." With a old grudge buried and a flower of friendship growing from the mound, the group enjoyed a tea party with their worries leaving for the moment.