//------------------------------// // Flora // Story: Flora // by SilentWanderer //------------------------------// “Wake up, sleepyhead! The sun is already shining!” I open my mouth and let out a long yawn. Keeping my eyes closed, I stretch my hooves, one by one. I unfold my wings, and flap them twice before folding them again. I take a deep breath, and open my eyes. My name is Flora. I'm a young pegasus. I was born here at Ponyville a few years ago. With a small jump to the floor, I get out of my bed. A pair of squirrels and a ferret are waiting to greet me. “Good morning to you too,” I answer. I walk to the dresser and hop on a chair. I take my brush in my hooves, and carefully brush my mane. After I'm satisfied that my mane is free of tangles, I hop out of the chair and go down the stairs, greeting each one of the small animals I meet. As soon as I arrive at the ground floor, I see my favorite pet, Angel the bunny. He runs to my side and nuzzles my face. He's so gentle, and so polite. “Good morning, Flora. Breakfast is ready. Did you sleep well?” “Yes, Mom!” This is my mother, Spring Egg. She takes care of the town's animals. She's kind and caring. I walk to the table, carrying Angel on my back, and climb on a chair. There are four plates of food waiting for us. One of them is for me. Another one is for Mom, and the third one is for Dad. The last plate of food, the smallest one, is for Angel. Angel jumps onto the table, and Mom recoils. I don't get why Mom is so afraid of him. He's not going to bite her. “Good morning, my little angel.” “Good morning, Dad!” This is my father, Script Letter. He's a writer. He's smart and calm. I love Mom and Dad! He takes off his glasses, and sits at the table. Mom sits next to him, eyeing Angel with suspicion the whole time. My pet ignores her and continues to eat. I grab my fork and knife, and look at my plate to decide what I'll eat first. Angel gets a spare fork, and picks a piece of carrot from my plate with it. He holds the fork in front of my face. I open my mouth, move forward a bit, and bite into the carrot. “What are the plans for today, dear?” asks Dad. “Today we'll go to the spa with Rarity,” answers Mom. “Then we'll have lunch. I'll take Flora to the library, Twilight said there is a new book she'll like. While she's there, I have to go to the market. I think I miscalculated something, we're almost out of food again.” -*-*-*- We leave our home. I'm wearing a nice large hat which Rarity gave to me. I wave at the birds as we cross the bridge over the stream in front of our house. The warm morning sun is nice. The sky is almost cloudless. We walk slowly, and I stop often to smell the flowers next to the path, or to talk to some of the many animals who come to see us. “Hey, Spring Egg!” We look up. We see an unmistakable rainbow-colored mane, dangling from a small fluffy white cloud. “Wanna race?” She looks down from the cloud at us. Mom immediately jumps into the air and flies towards her. “Sure!” “Mom! We were going to the spa with Rarity! Mooom!” It's too late. They are already too far to listen to me. I can only run after them. -*-*-*- When we finally arrive at the spa, Rarity is already there, waiting for us in front of it. She looks at Mom with a face of disapproval. “Listen darling, I know that Rainbow Dash is a genius flyer. I agree that you can learn a lot by flying with her. But you should not try to copy everything that she does.” I stifle a laugh, looking at Mom's fur covered in mud, with a few leaves sticking out. We enter the spa. Lotus and Aloe welcome us warmly. They immediately help clean Mom, as if a pony entering their spa covered in mud was the most natural thing in the universe. Rarity asks Lotus to prepare a hot bath for us three, giving her a complicated and detailed set of instructions. Lotus happily agrees, and soon we're in front of a steamy tub of water. I jump into the water, ignoring Mom's complaints. The water is nice and relaxing. Rarity and Mom walk into the tub after me. While they chat, I let the water soak into my coat and mane, feeling the soothing sensation on my skin. I spread my wings, letting the water drip from them, before pushing them again under the water. The bath is so good that I don't want to leave it. But Mom grabs me and lifts me out of the water. She rubs a dry towel all over my body, before using it to dry herself. Lotus helps me brush my mane and tail. -*-*-*- After leaving the spa and having lunch with Rarity, Mom takes me to Twilight's library. The library is also her home. It's a large house carved within a single tree. Mom knocks on the door. “Oh, hi, Spring Egg. Hi, Flora!” says Twilight after opening the door. “Hi, Twilight!” I answer before entering. Twilight turns to talk to me. “The book I told you about yesterday arrived this morning. It's the latest book of the Daring Do series: Daring Do and the Ocean of Storms.” I run to the Daring Do shelf, where I know I'll find the new book. While I eagerly open to the first page of the story, Mom talks to Twilight through the door. “I know it's a bit early this month, but...” “...you are out of food and need next month's money to buy more, right? Like every month?” Mom giggles. “Yeah, I think I counted some supplies twice last week.” Twilight giggles too. “It seems Celestia guessed correctly again. Here.” She gives it to Mom. “Try to get it right this time.” “Thanks, Twilight. Flora, Mom is going to buy a few things, so you will have to go back home by yourself. Take care!” I nod, and flip to the next page. Twilight closes the door. “If you need me for anything, Flora, I'll be in the lab downstairs.” Many pages later, the outside door opens. It's Spike, the small dragon. “Hey, Flora! How are things going?” I stop my reading and smile at him. “Just fine!” He closes the door, and puts the sack he was carrying on the floor. “Just a few more quills and inkwells.” He comes near me, and takes a look at the title. “I see. It's the new book that arrived in the mail!” “Yes, and it's exciting!” “I'll read it later.” I look directly at him. “Spike?” “Yes, Flora?” “Could you show me... that again?” He sighs. “You know I'll get in trouble if Twilight finds out I'm showing that to you.” “Pleeease?” I make my best cute face. He sighs again. “How could I possibly say no to you?” We go to a corner of the room, where there is a large box completely covered by an ornate piece of fabric. He removes the fabric, and folds it neatly. Within the glass box, there are six pieces of jewelry. Five collars and a crown, each encrusted with a beautiful colored gem. I love watching them. They are so pretty, so shiny. Something in them resonates with me. When I look at them, I feel as if I was living my own adventures, as exciting as Daring Do's. We hear hoofsteps coming up from the stairs. Spike quickly covers the box again, while I run back to the book. Spike grabs a broom and pretends to be cleaning the floor. -*-*-*- The sun is almost going down as I make my way home, singing a happy tune to myself. As I turn a corner of the path, I see a strange stone statue, which was not there this morning. It's as if the sculptor had taken parts of many different animals and mashed them together into a confusing whole, with little thought to coherence. I walk to it to take a closer look. While I try to identify which animal each piece came from, I notice the statue is changing its color. Slowly at first, then faster, each part changes from gray to something else. I take a step back as the statue moves, stretching and yawning. The mismatched creature which was a statue floats into a circle, before turning to me. “Good afternoon!” “G-good afternoon,” I reply. “What is your name, little pony?” I gather my courage and answer. “Flora.” “What a beautiful name!“ He laughs and snaps his fingers. A flower appears in his hand, and he places it on my mane. “A flower for another flower!” He puts his hand behind his back and takes out a small mirror. I look at my reflection on it. I think Rarity would approve of the way the flower matches my hat. I look at him. “What's your name?” He smiles widely, and bows. “I'm Discord.” He raises again. “Would you be my friend?”