Equestrian Celestial Forge

by TheDriderPony

Chapter 16 - Snacks Do A Body Good

Fluttershy's shed was not a structure designed to draw attention. It was small, simple, functional. Meant to blend into the background and perform in its capacity as weather-proofed storage unobtrusively.

But if, for some reason, a stranger happened to decide to intrude upon it regardless, they'd find the interior far less mundane.

To the mycologically uninformed, it looked like some massive nest of spiders had turned Fluttershy's shed into their own personal palace. Thin strands of white covered every surface so completely it appeared as if every table, every shelf, even the very walls and floor had been transformed into fuzzy silk.

In truth, there were several spiders working under Fluttershy's employ, but the expanse of white was not their work. They merely kept the mycelium free from pests and invaders.

For that's what it truly was. Mycelium. A thick and healthy spread of it that plunged deeply beneath the surface into the wood, the soil, and the myriad bags of fertilizer. It filled the room like an early snowfall, leaving clear only a carefully maintained path to the back and the large hole that resided there.

Fluttershy had started her little mushroom farm in a series of four window boxes placed as far away from the sunlight as possible and filled with a rich mix of decaying magical plants.

In three days she realized the boxes weren't going to be enough and transplanted them into a large tub. Two days later, the floor itself. It took three more days for her to really comprehend just how vastly she'd underestimated how much root space these mushrooms needed.

Thus, the hole.

Most mushrooms grew just fine straight through the dirt, but the particular strain that the ideas in her mind insisted upon as a base material for other creations spread most quickly along the surface. The work of expansion had begun with her animal friends who were skilled in digging. The moles, the badgers, the rabbits, and even Angel with a custom tiny hammer she made for him. They dug out tunnels and warrens beneath her shed, linking it up to any old abandoned burrows and also the deep furrows that had been left behind when the plundervines disintegrated. Anything to make more room for the mush.

And yet even that seemed insufficient for the space-hungry mycelium.

Luckily, that was about the time Fluttershy met Discord.

The draconequus' help had been surprisingly easy to acquire. After whipping up a custom seed on her request, he admitted to a passing interest in any other ideas she might have, deeming her "a skosh more interesting than the usual boring pony". A snap of his claws was all it took for the animal-sized tunnels to expand into earthen caves wide and tall enough for a pony to walk through. Though to remain true to his nature, he'd insisted upon a few chaotic concessions, including having the tunnels link up in non-euclidean routes and occasionally shifting of their own accord (as well as a few 'special surprises' that he refused to elaborate on).

The mycelium took to the caves like parasprites to a buffet, quickly subsuming the walls with more roots through which to sup the magical nutrients of the rich soil at the Everfree's edge.

With finally enough room to expand, it wasn't long at all before the first red-and-white speckled caps started to push their way out of the soil.

The farmer had been dutiful and the harvest would be bountiful in response.

Fluttershy, however, was not present to see the first of her crop breach the surface. She was currently otherwise occupied with a task she'd been putting off longer than she'd meant to.

---

"Is this some kind of joke?"

"...No? I don't think so." Fluttershy glanced back at the cart of baked goods and treats she'd brought to the hospital. None of them looked funny at all. But then why did Dr. Horse seem so suspicious of them?

The good doctor eyed her offerings like he had some personal skepticism against the existence of free food. "This has all the markings of a prank. Did Rainbow Dash put you up to this?"

"No."

"Is Pinkie Pie going to jump out of that and proclaim that laughter is the best medicine?"

Fluttershy regarded the completely normal sized cake. "I don't think she would fit in there."

Doctor Horse snorted. "I wouldn't put it past her. I watched that mare crawl out of an air vent once. Body like a cat, that one."

This was true. Fluttershy had once caught her stuck inside a birdhouse, stalwartly determined to give a trio of eggs a zeroth birthday party the instant they hatched.

"There's no prank, really," she insisted as she pulled her cart a little closer to waft the scents in his direction. "I just wanted to do something to help all the poor ponies still recovering from the plunderseed attack."

It had taken a lot of time and effort (not to mention quite a few promised favors in return for borrowing Mr. and Mrs. Cake's kitchens and ovens for the better part of a day) but the finished goods spoke for themselves. Her cart was absolutely brimming with all kinds of tasty treats made from the myriad recipes that had filled her mind after coming across a bag of cake mix.

Decadent three-layer choco cake and rich mousse cake with cream and fresh strawberries. Big cookies filled with berries and small sweet ones shaped like cute lizards. Apple pies, their fruit fresh from Applejack's orchard and still steaming in their pans. A big bowl of hard candies for patients with more sensitive stomachs, in flavors ranging from lemon and lime to spicy and chocolate. But what was a feast without drinks? A wheeled cooler lashed to the back of the cart held all manner of tonics and teas and shakes and sodas galore to help wash it all down.

Dr. Horse's eyes fluttered and his whole body shuddered as the myriad smells washed over him. "Well... alright. Since it's you Miss Fluttershy, I suppose I can accept these in the spirit they were given. I'm sure our patients will appreciate a bit of variety in their meals."

"So long as they don't have any mushroom allergies."

He hesitated and glanced at a pie, a taste of his former wariness returned. "Mushrooms?"

"Just a little," she admitted. "For the protein and to help promote healing."

"Ah, yes. Very well then. Can't say it'll do much on the healing side, but there's a lot of good to be done through raised spirits."

Fluttershy gave him an odd smile. "I think you might be surprised just how healing a few treats baked with love can be."

Comments

[Herald of Opera]

I'm forced to assume that those surprises are paper cutouts enchanted to behave like the source material for the ability. Because that's the sort of thing that Discord would do in this situation.

[Fetch]

Do not let Tank eat any of those mushrooms. Those mushrooms do odd things to tortoises and turtles.

[Comickook]

Again, an excellent job on this latest chapter. Definitely appreciated the effort that went into the dialogue, characterizations and future chapter set-up. The details mentioned in just how the mushroom farming process goes were great as were Fluttershy's reflections on going to talk to Doctor Stable and Discord's help. Also liked the talk to Doctor Stable about the baking project. And, yeah, somebody eating those mushroom-enhanced baked goods might be in for a surprise - such as doubling in strength and durability or healing from the brink of death to the peak of health in a matter of seconds. And I'm sure Fluttershy's friends and the guards might really enjoy having access to Fire Flowers and magic stars when the fight with Tirek arrives. But that's just my imagination running away with me - again. Sorry about that.

VERY certainly looking forward to more of this.

[Moonlight_Mist]

11314541
Remember Fluttershy's mushroom-based toolkit is based on Paper Mario, where Mushrooms are healing items, Super Mushrooms are blue because the red ones are just called Mushrooms, Fire Flowers are planted in the ground and behave like mortar cannons, and magic stars are limited-number Macguffins instead of power-ups.

Now I'm just wondering if Fluttershy's mushroom farming will ever advance to the point that her mushrooms start developing heart-shaped spots. Enemies beware Equestria if that ever happens.

[Moonlight_Mist]

11314530
Nah, turtles get buff from MEAT

[Moproblems Moharmoney]

Fluttershroom at it again!

[Greenhorn]

Most wizards make healing potions, while Fluttershy made healing desserts. Celestia would order them by a ton so nopony would accuse her of eating just an unhealthful treat.