There was a gentle tick-tock of the clock on the wall of the main chamber of the Friendship Palace. In the centre, around the great table, sat the seven friends. Twilight Sparkle, Spike, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Rarity and Pinkie Pie. None of them said anything, and right now, they didn't even look at each other. Instead, they sat quietly, sipping tea from the small cups that had been placed before them. They drank, sometimes giving a smile and a nod as they did so, and, though rare, would even cast a glance to their comrades. But again, they said nothing, and in this silence, only the tick and the tock of the clock could be heard. But then, when it was all done, Twilight was the one to break that silence.
"Nice weather today."
There was a murmur of agreement amongst her friends, with Spike looking up to her and speaking soon afterwards.
"If it's okay, could I go out and play with Apple Bloom and the others?"
Twilight looked down to him, raising an eyebrow.
"Have you finished your chores?"
Spike nodded, prompting Twilight to continue.
"Even the re-stacking of the bookshelves?"
Another nod.
"Even the categorization of your comics?"
Another nod. This time, Twilight considered, before then offering her assistant a small smile, patting him gently on the head.
"Then sure, go ahead and play."
Spike smiled wider, but as he got back to his tea, it was then Applejack's turn to speak.
"Ah gotta say, ever since Bloom and those fillies got their marks, things have been way less troublesome round town."
Rarity giggled, adding her own voice to things.
"Indeed, Darling. Without the need to try everything under the sun, I dare say those girls are being far more restrained nowadays."
Another round of agreeing nods followed that statement, as well as a few more sips of their tea. After a few more minutes of silence, Fluttershy meekly looked over to Rainbow, briefly hesitating, before finally getting some words out.
"Um...Rainbow?"
The cyan pegasus turned to her childhood friend.
"Yeah, Flutters?"
Fluttershy nervously poked her hooves against one another, before then starting to speak once more.
"Um...if it's not too much trouble...could you come over and help me feed some of my animals today?"
Rainbow raised an eyebrow.
"Really? You don't normally need anypony's help."
Fluttershy nodded.
"Oh, I know, it's just...I've been rescuing so many lately that, well...there's a little more than I'm used to."
Rainbow cracked a smile, placing her hoof upon her friend's shoulder.
"Sure thing, Flutters. I'll be along after Wonderbolt practise."
The yellow mare smiled, appreciating her friend's acceptance. But, before she had the chance to say anything to that effect, Pinkie spoke up instead.
"Ooooh! Anything new and flashy today, Dashy?"
Rainbow chuckled.
"Nah, not today. Just some standard formations and routines. Awesome stuff, but nothing out of the ordinary."
For a moment, Pinkie looked disappointed, but then, she immediately perked up soon afterwards, clapping her hooves together in a happy fashion.
"Can I come and watch? I mean, getting to see my friend doing some real Wonderbolt stuff would be great!"
Rainbow cracked a cocky smile.
"Sure, I could handle an admiring audience."
As expected, Pinkie let out a happy squeal at that, and everypony else also smiled at the display going on here. As for Twilight, she sipped her tea over and over, looking very much like she was enjoying the peace of the moment. And when she looked up from her cup, she glanced around the room, taking in every one of her friends. In the end, she bore a small smile, letting out a sigh of contentment before finally speaking.
"This...this is nice."
As before, there was a round of agreeing looks, ending when Rarity spoke up in response to that.
"Indeed. We always get so mired in exciting things that, frankly, it's a wonder that any of us have any time whatsoever for just...just..."
Applejack looked to her with a smirk.
"Just relaxin and slowin down every once in a while?"
The alabaster unicorn glanced over at her friend, a knowing smile passing between them, before giving a nod of her own.
"I couldn't have said it better myself, Applejack."
Rainbow rolled her eyes.
"Well, peace and quiet is all well and good for you girls, but for me, I prefer the fast lane!"
Pinkie looked to her with confusion.
"Really? Because I thought you said you were really looking forward to just hanging out and doing nothing today?"
Immediately, all eyes were on Rainbow, and the latter started chuckling nervously, as well as casting a dark scowl at Pinkie, who, naturally, didn't understand what she did wrong. As for the others, they giggled amongst themselves, and Fluttershy, who had largely been quiet through it all, reached over and patted Rainbow on the shoulder in a similar manner to how she'd been treated not so long ago.
"It's okay, Rainbow. I like quiet moments too. Just being with your friends is nice. It's all we need sometimes."
Rainbow looked to her, pulling back from her sense of embarrassment, and smiled.
"Yeah...I guess a few moments of nothing are pretty cool every now and then."
Looking over to her, Twilight's own smile widened, and as she looked down to her still-half-full cup of tea, she pondered for a moment. At the end of it, she let out a brief chuckle., before raising her cup to her friends.
"In that case...here's to doing nothing."
The other mares and Spike smiled back to her, raising their own cups in a similar toast and speaking in unison.
"To nothing!"
