The Album

by Peregrine Caged

Blossomforth -- Goddess Pose

Written by: Earl Grey
Rated Everyone

Back when she suggested the idea, she was laughed out of the staff room. Everypony seemed to think that Yoga was a waste of time.

Blossomforth didn't let it get to her though. Yoga was a great way to keep your muscles limber and your body flexible, so you would expect a room full of pegasus ponies to understand how useful that was. Perhaps they had all become lax from the recent summer spell of calm skies.

Ponyville had a scheduled summer shower every now and then, but even during those shifts the work wasn't too much to handle. The town was just small enough for a sizeable group of weather ponies to set up a curtain of rain without too much trouble, so many pegasi treated it like a joke. Blossomforth had never been one of those ponies however.

Winter is coming, she thought. They'll get their wake-up call soon enough.

Despite her lofty position in the weather patrol, Blossomforth had forgone a cloud home reminiscent of the Pegasus capital of Cloudsdale. Instead she had opted to live in a regular house made of bricks and mortar. She was an Earth-born Pegasus, so nopony really quizzed her too much about her decision.

And even if they did, it'd be none of their darn business.

Blossomforth's morning routine had her eating a bowl of plain porridge with a small spoonful of sugar sprinkled on top. Not much attention was paid to her appearance however; not that she was slovenly or uncaring, but she had learned to accept the futility of brushing one's mane when one works as a weather pony. More often than not, her pink and green mane lay unattended to as she ate her breakfast. It was a messy tangle at the moment, but it usually straightened itself out mid-flight.

After her breakfast, she walked over to the nearest mirror and scrutinised her reflection. Not to check if she looked good, no... having a white coat had an unfortunate downside. If you spilled something on yourself, it was going to show. Even something as blandly coloured as porridge would glow against a pearly white coat like hers. She wasn't obsessed with cleanliness (something Blossomforth was eternally grateful for), but getting laughed at in the staff room because you have porridge on your flank isn't something one forgets easily.

Once she was certain that her coat was porridge free, Blossomforth trotted happily into a small gym she had constructed. It had taken a few years to get the necessary spare funds together, but collecting the equipment little by little had been almost as therapeutic as the exercise itself. Her life existed to serve the needs of Ponyville's weather, morning, noon or night, whenever she was needed. This left very few stable timeslots for Blossomforth to fix her outside-of-work time into.

Friendships had suffered due to inattention, appointments had been missed due to freak Everfree storms and this lead to a spinning nosedive in her social interactions with other ponies. Sure, she had her job, but it was hard to make friends at work. You never knew if you were actually connecting or whether they were just using you as a way to pass the time. She certainly knew she was guilty of the latter herself.

Amongst all of this however, Blossomforth had always made time for one thing in her life. The one thing she felt that she could truly control - her own body. She ate well, she tried her best to stay healthy and, most of all, she exercised. Ever since learning all about it from a guru who had stopped in the town during a pilgrimage, Blossomforth had been enamoured with Yoga. She had checked out all of the books Golden Oaks Library had on the subject and, she had set about creating a routine for herself, testing out each of the poses and incorporating them into a fluid cycle of body movements designed to stretch out her body equally.

It never took more than thirty minutes to do a complete set, and it always left her feeling energised for a day of work. She honestly didn't know why ponies weren't doing this. Her body had become physically stronger, more agile, and her flight endurance had vastly improved. Blossomforth had often heard the local apple farmer complaining about aches and pains after a long day in the fields, so she had even told her all about the benefits of Yoga. All she had gotten in return was a funny look and an honest sounding, “No thanks, ma'am.”

Her gym was situated in a spare room on the ground level. It had originally been a second bedroom, but she had never had a roommate, so she never needed it. There was a small rack of varying weights sitting against the back wall, but it was the mat in the middle of the room that drew her eye today. It was a simple piece of blue rectangular fabric, specially designed to grip the hooves and prevent slipping. It was facing a rather wide mirror mounted low on a side wall and as Blossomforth took her position on the mat, she could see herself reflected easily in it.

She started off by doing a quick on the spot canter, just to get the blood pumping around her body, but she soon settled into a spread leg stance to keep her body balanced. Moving slowly, she bent her forelegs down and rested her weight on them before moving back up and doing the same for her back legs. She bent her forehooves down again and snapped her back legs straight, keeping her rump high in the air and her head as close to the ground as possible.

Blossomforth kept at this, keeping her breathing as slow and steady as her movements, for several more minutes. She would settle into a sitting stance and perform a variety of stretches and holds and at some points she seemed almost upside down and back to front.

When she settled onto her back after a particularly painful looking crab manoeuvre, she took a moment to rest. Her mind drifted back to one of the books she had read when she first began her journey into Yoga. It was entitled, Master Your Body: Unlocking The Goddess Within, and it wasn't much help when it came to learning about Yoga. It was more akin to a self-help book, something somepony might read when they want to improve their outlook on life through the power of exercise and positive thinking.

She had read it all the same and was pleasantly surprised to find that it wasn't such a waste of time. The book had insisted that she pick a mantra and use it during her daily exercises; it was suggested to say the mantra aloud, but doing it in your head was just as good. Today will be a better day. Blossomforth spread her forelegs out alongside her wings, keeping them nice and straight. The most difficult part came next, stretching her back legs and pinning them as close to the ground as she could on either side of her body before connecting her hooves in the middle, forming a small circle with her legs. This was the Goddess Pose, she found it fitting for the moment.

“Today will be a better day!” she chanted, just loud enough that she didn't hear her front door opening or the small shout of her name from down the hall.

Hold it for a few more seconds.

She was concentrating so hard, she couldn't sense the soft padding of hooves on the carpet outside of the room.

Not long now. Her thighs were beginning to burn, the pain filling her mind with a dull throbbing.

“Blossomforth, you in here--woah! What in Celestia's name...!”

Blossomforth's eyes snapped open. Her back legs snapped closed. “Oh, it's just you, Rainbow. What brings you to my humble abode?”

Her rainbow-maned colleague looked flushed and she stammered for a few seconds before shaking her head and putting on a serious expression. “There's a meeting tonight at the Golden Oaks Library, all pegasi have to be there.”

“Okay then, thanks for telling me.” Blossomforth smiled pleasantly but, despite delivering her news, Rainbow Dash didn't seem to be leaving. Her smile faded a little as she looked at the cyan pegasus.

“So, what's going on in here?” she asked finally, although her eyes seemed determined not to meet Blossomforth's.

“Yoga. Just some exercises I do in the morning. Why, are you interested in learning?” Blossomforth sat up and walked over to the door where Dash still stood, looking sheepish.

“No, no,” she said, a little too quickly. “I think I'm good... I have exercises of my own. Don't want to ruin my flight training, you know.” She laughed nervously.

“Ooh, can you tell me about your exercise regime? Perhaps over some tea?” Blossomforth smiled eagerly, always looking for a way to add to her exercise routine.

Dash balked, but recovered quickly enough. “I really should get this message around Ponyville, there are a lot of pegasi to talk to. Gotta run!” She zipped down the hall and flew out of the front door quick as a flash.

Wonder what that's all about? Her eyes fell upon a clock on the wall as she stared down the hall where Dash had gone. Better get ready for work.

Comments

[Midnight herald]

New-age Blossomforth is delightful. I love how she just doesn't understand how other ponies could conceivably not want to do yoga with her, and the interaction with Dash hints at exactly how long she's been trying to interest the rest of the town in this. Quirky, but subtle enough to tickle my fancy and leave room for speculation. Great job.

[shutaro]

There are few things in life more annoying that a fanboy (-girl or -pony) on a mission of conversion.
Even fewer are as pitiful and lonely.

[wubstep pony]

Unlocking The Goddess Within? Hmm, makes me think of another fic . . .

[Themaskedferret]

*giggles* I love this Blossom, I hope we hear more of her from you.

[By123445]

This is quite interesting.
You wrote this fic in short paragraphs. When I was reading, I felt calm. The way you write and express is soothing to my mind, and how you structured the fic helped greatly. Blossom talks in a calm, paced manner, always relaxed in the morning, like in some sort of perpetual yoga, and every paragraph is a space and time by itself, every paragraph describes some minutes of Blossom's life.
Well done Earl, you are my favourite tea, by the way.

[Blue_Paladin42]

That pose hurts just thinking about it. I never understood yoga really, but then again, I am about as flexible as a brick.

[TwlightFire]

1551283
Oh yeah.