//------------------------------// // A Standing Reservation // Story: Thirty Minute Express Train to Story Town // by Predhack //------------------------------// Thunder crashed outside the small cottage on the outskirts of the everfree. Inside the building was full of light, but lacking the usual liveliness of dozens of critters going about their business and helping the pony that lived there. No, the wilder creatures had chosen, as they usually did, to hide in their holes and homes to wait out the storm, leaving just the pony and a single bunny to watch over the structure at large. The pony in question was alternating between pacing around her living room and streaking to hide under the nearest piece of furniture whenever lightning struck and thunder ripped through the house. The rabbit however appeared to bored with the repeated antics of his ‘owner’ and was instead dividing his attention between kicking her out from under the furniture and watching a stopwatch. “Oh,” Fluttershy moaned, resuming her pacing around her coffee table, “Why isn’t she here yet? She’s always comes home on days like these. What if she had an accident?” Fluttershy turned to her bunny for an answer who just gave her an unpleasant look and pointed at his stopwatch, to Fluttershy’s confusion. He slapped his forehead in exasperation and pointed again, then mimed sipping something from a cup daintily. “Oh, you’re right Angel, if she does show up she’ll probably want something to drink. I’ll get some tea started.” With the pony in the kitchen for at least as long as it took her to put a kettle on Angel rolled his eyes and heaved a sigh. Occaisionally, glancing at the watch, Angel thought Fluttershy was entirely too quick when she reentered the room a moment later. “Was that the door?” she asked, “I thought I heard someone at the door. I wish she’d learn I don’t mind if she just comes in, you will let her in if she knocks right Angel Bunny?” Angel glared at the pegasus and mimed drinking tea again, causing Fluttershy to panic and run back into the kitchen. The rabbit tried to get to a relaxed position but was interrupted as thunder roared outside and loud squeak and the screech of wood on linoleum told him that his pony had found her way under the kitchen table. It took him two minutes to get her out from under there and return to his seat in the living room next to the watch. Behind him Fluttershy finished setting out a pot of a hot nice smelling brew and returned to fret in the living room properly. She was interrupted again by thunder, then by another gesture from Angel that reminded her of some minor preparatory task she could be doing. Each repeated a couple more times before finally Angel looked at the watch and heaved a sigh of relief. Fluttershy had resumed her standing attempt to wear a circle into her floor when he thumped his foot for her attention. “What is it? Do you hear something?” Angel rolled his eyes and held up his watch and three tiny fuzzy digits. Then he lowered one. Then another. As the last digit went down the stopwatched stopped on zero and the front door of Fluttershy’s cottage was knocked on loudly. “Fluttershy? You in there?” a voice called from outside. “Oh, she’s here!” Fluttershy exclaimed in her loudest indoor voice, which amounted to a normal speaking voice for most ponies, “Thank you Angel.” She nuzzled the bunny and after a few seconds it smacked her softly and pointed at the door where their guest was knocking again. “Right, I’ll get it,” Fluttershy straightened herself, casually brushing her back into place where worry had started to worry it out of position, putting on a guise of innocent curiosity she opened the door. A soaking wet ball of blue and spectrum colored pony immediately rolled into the room and Fluttershy closed the door behind it. “Hey Fluttershy,” Rainbow Dash greeted her friend with a wet hoof, “Um… Sorry to do this again but do you mind if I stay at your place til the storm blows over?” “Of course, you know you’re always welcome to stay whenever you want,” Fluttershy pulled a pair of warm towels that Angel had reminded her to set aside from where she’d laid them and handed one to Rainbow to use on her mane and front while Fluttershy helped her dry her back. “Thanks ‘Shy,” Rainbow said through a faceful of towel, she rubbed herself down thoroughly trying to catch the moisture on her before she soaked her friends carpet, “I swear one of these days I’m going to properly weatherproof my house so I can stay in it on storm days.” “Can you weatherproof a cloud?” Fluttershy asked incredulously, wiping off Rainbow’s tail. “Um… Probably. I mean Cloudsdale has weather too but I don’t know if they use the same kind of cloud material I did for my house. I’ll have to try to remember that next time I’m there.” “Alright,” Fluttershy agreed, taking the wet towels to put them away, “I’ve got some fresh tea in the kitchen. And I just put dinner in the oven. Do you need anything while I’m up?” “No, just this usual stuff is fine, thanks,” Rainbow took a seat in the kitchen and poured herself some of the warming brew Fluttershy always seemed to have ready for her visits, then poured Fluttershy one as well. She blew on it and started to drink when she felt a pair of firm hooves move across her shoulders and begin massaging. Rainbow turned to protest but was cut off as soon as she started, the ministrations of Fluttershy’s hoofwork began. “Ooh,” Rainbow groaned as her friend massaged her sore muscles, “You don’t have to do that but PLEASE don’t stop.” Fluttershy smiled quietly and continued, ‘Here at Fluttershy’s we aim to please, isn’t that right Angel?” The bunny scoffed quietly from where it had lain down in a padded basket in the kitchen, the stopwatch forgotten in the other room. Only opening an eye when a loud crash of lightning and thunder suddenly pealed through. He watched the yellow pegasus fail to even flinch as she leaned in close to her friend, the storm forgotten in the face of her company. Seeing all was well he nodded and lay back down for a much deserved nap. At the table Rainbow groaned again, “Oh yeah… Hotel Fluttershy is best Hotel.”