Inflorescence

by Reptilicus

Catch this flight flow

The bathrooms at the Canterlot Bed & Breakfast Royale were as fancy as the rest of the establishment. Silk washcloths, hot towels, multiple showerheads, and particularly fluffy bath mats decorated the pearly white walls and tile floor. Several bottles of Flax & Wheatgrass brand haircare products sat on the edge of the tub, next to a loofah so fresh from the sea it might still be alive. For a moment Twilight and Spike simply stood in shock at how nice it all was. Not even when the two had lived in Canterlot within Celestia's own palace, had they seen such stately class for something like a bathroom. Even the toilet was guilded. For a minute the two forgot how exhausted they were as they gazed around the bathroom. What little energy kept Spike standing upright near his guardian gave way and the tiny dragon stumbled into Twilight's foreleg, making the alicorn smile fondly at her ward and pick him up gently with her magic, depositing him in the tub.

Spike smiled sheepishly. "You don't have to help me, Twilight. I've gotten pretty good at washing myself up."

"I know." Twilight said as she rubbed some of the fancy soap onto the nearby loofah. "And even though I should be relaxing, I want to do this. You deserve a break as much as I do, Spike. Plus it's been a really long time since we've gotten to do this, huh?"

Spike giggled a bit as the soapy loofah rubbed his face, splashing his flat barbed tail in the warm soapy water. It had been a long time since Twilight had cleaned him. Probably before he could read. Although Spike had the demeanor and size of a small child, by dragon standards he was still considered an infant, which meant Twilight used to enjoy babying him. He didn't mind, he quite enjoyed the attention.

"Plus I wanted to talk to you." Twilight continued, clearing her throat as her voice dropping in octave. "I'm very proud of how you acted today, Spike."

Spike wiped some bubbles from his face before raising an eyebrow. "How come?"

"Fluttershy and I were too scared to talk to Celestia about what happened, Spike. Despite everything she's done for us, I didn't have the courage to speak with her. I was ready to run away. You weren't, though. You marched right up there and asked for her to forgive me. That was very brave of you, Spike. You did the right thing."

"It's...ok, Twi." Spike blushed at the praise. "You were just really scared and out of it. I just didn't want us to get sent away."

"I was out of it because I let my problems eat away at me for months, Spike. Which is what I wanted to talk to you about."

Twilight lifted the tiny squirming reptile out of the tub, drying his soft scaly form with one of the hot towels and holding him closely in her arms. Spike's large green eyes roved over Twilight's face in confusion.

"You know, Spike, ever since I was little, Celestia was like a second mother to me. I spent so much time at the castle it became like another home. I love Celestia, and I think my love and respect for her is what made me so frightened to really tell her about my problems. I let all the stress and fear stay inside of me, Spike. And it just got worse and worse and then just...all exploded out at once. I said things I wish I hadn't and made myself look foolish in front of Celestia. All because I was too scared to admit I couldn't handle my responsibilities. Because I was afraid of disappointing someone who was like a second mother to me."

Twilight sighed and nuzzled Spike affectionately.

"I don't want us to be like that, Spike. I know you see me as sort of a mother at times." Twilight noted how Spike averted his eyes, still uncomfortable about this subject. "But it's ok, Spike. If you want to see me in that light, if you want me to be your mom, I would be more than honored to be addressed as such."

"You aren't weirded out?" Spike asked innocently, his eyes full of hope.

"Of course not, Spike." Twilight hugged the bundle close. "But I want you to be honest with me always. If you ever feel frustrated, if you ever feel like...I've been unfair or hurt you in some way...made you feel neglected, I want you to tell me. I don't want you to keep that stuff inside of you. I want to be the best parent figure I can for you. Alright?"

Spike sniffled a bit before burying his snout into Twilight's wing. "I love you, tw...mom...Twilight."

"I love you too, Spike."

**************************************************************************

On most nights Spike would sleep at the foot of Twilight's bed at the library, in a small wicker oval basket. Just large enough for him to curl up comfortably in with a large downy pillow lining the bottom. At the moment Twilight had placed him onto one of the many pink cushions the inn had laying around, making sure he was sleeping well before retiring to the room Rarity had given her. She stretched painfully, a few audible pops and cracks coming from her weary body. Fluttershy gently grabbed the tips of Twilight's wings, spreading them akimbo to her form on the bed, making the alicorn wince in pain at her sore torso joints. The dainty hooves of the yellow pegasus began to softly massage the areas where wings met spine on Twilight's back, easing away the bunched up cramped muscles and general stresses of the day.

"You don't need to do that, Shy." Twilight grunted. "You've been through enough today as it is."

"Celestia's orders were that you need to relax, Twilight. And I want to be sure you do." Fluttershy tried to sound as formal as she could. "Besides I think your day was quite a lot worse than mine ended up being, if ...you don't mind me saying so."

After a few minutes, Fluttershy gently lay next to Twilight, listening to the alicorn's ragged breath. It had been a long and horrible day. This entire trip to Canterlot had been the opposite of what she and Twilight had hoped for. But at least tomorrow they would be going home. Fluttershy already knew what she would do when she got back to Ponyville, she had it all planned in advance. She'd pick Twilight up onto her back and carry her to her cottage by the river. Keeping Twilight away from the library would prevent any urges to do paperwork or studying when she needed to be resting. The alicorn would complain at first of course, insisting that she needed to be at the library, insisting she felt fine. But Fluttershy had already made up her mind not to believe any of that. The two of them were going to spend some peaceful days just trying to enjoy the weather and general activities of the town. No worries or troubles to interrupt them.

"Since you're my official consultant on relaxation now..." Twilight began, a smile creeping onto her face as she shifted her body to snuggle with Fluttershy. "What will we be doing when we get back to Ponyville? I've never really been forced to take a holiday before. So I think it's best if I leave it all up to you."

"Oh my...well. I think for starters, you should stay with me for a while, Twilight. If...if you want to that is." Fluttershy blushed as she noticed Twilight nod approvingly. "After that maybe we could hike through the forest some more....the parts that aren't dangerous of course. We could go to the beach and lay in the sun. I could show you where all the really cute animals live around town. Or go to the spa with Rarity. I know you like the spa. We could help Applejack bake turnovers for the homegrown food festival in a few weeks. There's all sorts of things we can do besides working."

"As long as it's with you, I'm all for it. Good night Fluttershy. And thank you again. I love you." Twilight yawned and leaned against Fluttershy, her eyes fluttering closed as sleep finally took her.

Fluttershy watched Twilight's body rise and fall gently as she breathed. She looked around the room and where she was, the importance of all that had happened finally hitting her, making her shiver a bit. Ever since she had been a small filly, and first decided to live in Ponyville after falling from the lofty sky haven of Cloudsdale, Fluttershy had always assumed she'd be alone. And for a long time, she was alone. But she never felt angry or bitter about it. She had just assumed this is what life had in store for her, and she would make the best of it however she could. But now here she was years later, saving the life of the ruler of Equestria. And laying in a bed next to Celestia's protege. A pony who was now not only her best friend, but something more. Her lover, her marefriend, her confidant. Fluttershy had always been a humble pony, but here in the quiet stillness of the room, she felt truly proud of herself, and all that her life had surmounted to.

Gently she leaned forward and gave the purple pony at her side a gentle kiss on the cheek, before laying her head down amongst the violet and magenta lochs of hair and falling gently to sleep, still thinking of all the fun activities she and Twilight could do when they got to town. Like the seasons, the list was endless and ever changing.

***********************************************

Not far from the inn, up on one of the windowsills near the top of one of the many ornate bailey towers of Canterlot Castle, the Pyrola Lunata Borealis was blooming. Being a flower it couldn't quite understand concepts such as happiness or forgiveness. And it certainly had no idea what was going on when the creature whose hair it had been folded inside of had fallen over. Or started vomiting hours later, for that matter. These were of little concern to the flower. But there was one thing it understood. It understood the significance of when it had been handed over to the darker creature. Though it did not know Luna's name, and never would since it was a flower and thus didn't have much of a memory, it knew it had been made for her. Deep inside its flowery core, it knew this had been the moment the flower had waited for.

Thousands of years had passed since the flower had first peeped its head out of its seed, growing into the beauty it was today. But it had always felt hollow and empty. Like something was missing from its life. Some would define it as loneliness, another concept the flower would never understand. The only times things felt right, was on those particularly windy nights, when the gusts would move the boughs of the trees and the canopy of the Everfree Forest would give way. And there the moon would be, the eternal orb of light and life, its beams piercing the darkness of the forest and landing upon the Pyrola. And from there it would bloom towards the light, trying to reach it.

Things had changed so much in the last few days, and the flower now stood on the window of one of the highest towers in the land. And next to it, gazing at it with respect and admiration, was Princess Luna. And although the flower did not know her name, it knew what she was. It knew she was the one thing it had been made for, designed for. And so, filled with the closest thing to joy a flower could experience, the Pyrola Lunata Borealis bloomed, encased in the light given off by the Princess. Its red and periwinkle tendrils waving as its yellow sparkles of pollen spread into the air. This was it's silent song, a hymn to sing for the night after arriving home after a long and perilous journey.

And Luna was more than content to sit and listen.

Author's Note:

That's all, folks.
Remember to tip your bus driver and put the cat outside.

Comments

[Hunter Kye]

This is a beautiful story, thank you for posting it.

[TheN0tSoNice]

So far I've only read the story description and already find it hilarious,I'm sure the actually is going to going to be so scrumptious

[Reptilicus]

4564090

dankeschön, comrade
i thought your avatar was a V at first

[Reptilicus]

4571584
cheers m8

[Doctor Proctal]

Hey look, a new description.
static.comicvine.com/uploads/original/11112/111120804/3815653-tumblr_inline_n1j1u2mb421qcymq4.gif

[Reptilicus]

4654215
I'll be honest if there was an [IMG] tag for story descriptions I'd probably throw that right on up there.

[Justy]

This is a really underappreciated story.
Plus I can be, like, a cool hipster guy for liking a story with less than 50 overall votes and all that shit.

[Reptilicus]

5387661

I hope you have a cool frothy mug of craft beer and some vinyl records lying around.
These are must-haves for the modern hipster ensemble!

[Justy]

5404337

Well, last night I got shitfaced on this really obscure Czech semi-dark IPA and got the brilliant idea to pull the bullets from surplus Bulgarian light ball x54r ammo, salvage the cases and reload them with .311 174gr Sierra MatchKings for shits and giggles, does that count?

[Reptilicus]

5406062
that sounds like a fantastic way to spend a night, honestly.

[Reptilicus]

5428998
I like your username.

[Featherflutter]

Its over. It's done. I read the entire story. It was a journey, a journey I would love to take again. This is such a wonderful story. I wish more people knew about this gem. Congratulations on making such a beautiful story

[Reptilicus]

6143105
¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[Reptilicus]

6601604 Thank you!
It's partly inspired by the short novel Roadside Picnic if you've ever read that.
Where thieves travel through a landscape that's been physically warped by an alien invasion quite some time prior to the books settings.

[Mare Imbrium]

6603694
I have not. Though, reading a stub summary, I've played some of the games it seems to have inspired. "Everfree is The Zone" is perfect.

To be real honest, I wish there was more in that same vein here. A lot of important things happened, but it still feels like the latter half of the story dragged on a bit, and a substantial part of it is the high bar you set with those chapters. After that, you launch into several different stories at once and lose a lot of the focus that, up to that point, was aimed squarely at Fluttershy and Twilight Sparkle.

And that's a shame, too; you hit on some good stuff. The relationship between Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo, Pinkie Pie's more serious moments, and coming to terms with Discord all received good treatment. (Sorta neutral on Rarity and Applejack. They sort ended feeling like a bit of an afterthought, even though you built up AJ pining on the hill far in advance.)

[Reptilicus]

6605833
Yeah there's actually quite a few games now that take some inspiration from that short novel, even besides the obvious STALKER series, which are far and away the best.
Unfortunately only a very small few of the rest are really good. But at least the Tartovsky film exists and it's quite wonderful even if the world has mostly forgotten about it, like the rest of his films.

[killermidget42]

Wow, great story!!

[Reptilicus]

7664440 I really need to get to writing the new one I've had in my thoughts. Thanks!

[PaulAsaran]

You can has review!