You let out a contented sigh and wipe a bit of sweat from your brow as you take a step back to admire your work. Near the west side of Ponyville, where the houses and businesses start to become a bit more spaced out and the hustle and bustle of everyday life seems calmer, a quaint little pond can be found nestled between a few small hills and some scattered oak trees. The early afternoon air and clear skies mean that it's nice and bright outside. Comfortable, if not a bit warm. You can hear the sound of the water gently stirring thanks to the various animals that live in and around it, and in the distance, you can still hear the faint sounds of ponies going about their day-to-day lives. Meanwhile, in the cool shade beneath a couple of the aforementioned oak trees, you've just finished setting up a decently sized hammock.
Yup, it's going to be a good day.
The only other thing you've brought with you is a small cooler, filled with refreshments to keep you cool during this summer afternoon. With a smile on your face, you reach into the cooler, retrieve a bottle of lemonade, and hop onto the hammock, your smile never leaving your face. You place a pair of sunglasses over your eyes and rest your hands behind your head as you cross your legs and let the gentle breeze wash over you. You haven't had a proper day off in a long time. Usually, even when you don't have work, something is ready to keep you busy. Whether it's your pony friends dragging you into their strange antics or another villain trying to take over Equestria or what have you, a real day off is hard to come by, even in the supposedly quiet town of Ponyville. Knowing that, you're ready to enjoy your do-nothing day.
As time passes and you sip your lemonade, you relish the opportunity to just lay back and listen to the world around you. You never bother to open your eyes, even as you overhear conversations in the distance.
"Scootaloo, are you sure this is a good idea?"
"Trust me! If his special talent really is pyrotechnics, this oughta do the trick!"
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM.
"...We should probably skedaddle."
"Agreed."
Haha! Those kids and their antics. It's refreshing to not have to be the one involved in all of the day's misadventures for a change. This town would make a good setting for a Saturday morning cartoon or something.
"Come now, Spikey-wikey! 350 pounds of fabric isn't that much. We're barely halfway to the train!"
"Hrrrrng! C-coming, Rarity!"
Ah, poor Spike. You really need to have a talk with him about setting boundaries. Or maybe you need to have a talk with Rarity about how she treats the poor guy. Oh well. Today, at least, it's not your problem.
Occasionally you hear a pony trot along the nearby road. You're pretty sure some of them stop for a moment to look at you, but most keep to themselves. You've been living in Ponyville for a few years now, so you know pretty much everypony that lives here, after all. After a while, though, you think you hear a pony walking by as usual, but the sound of hoofsteps along the dirt path turn into the sound of hoofsteps on grass, and they sound like they're getting closer to you. Eventually, although your eyes are closed, your instincts tell you that there is a pony standing over you. Well, "standing over" might be a bit of an exaggeration. Thanks to your human form, you have the hammock set high enough to where you could probably turn your head and meet the pony in question at eye level. Realizing this, you do exactly that, opening your eyes and lowering your sunglasses as you do so.
Before you stands Princess Twilight Sparkle, everyone's favorite bookworm. She was your best friend for some time after arriving in Equestria, and only lost that title because the two of you started dating. It's been pretty great, and you love her with all of your heart, even if she is insanely busy most of the time. Right now, she looks both amused and puzzled.
"Hey, Twi. What's up?"
"Oh, not much. I had the rare opportunity to take the day off, so I'm running a few errands. I just finished dropping a few books off at Fluttershy's place and I was heading back to the castle. What are you doing? Am I interrupting something?"
"You're not interrupting anything. Unless you count 'interrupting nothing' as an interruption, because I'm doing nothing today."
"Nothing? Are you sure? Because it looks to me like you're napping."
"Nope. Taking a nap is an entirely separate process. I'm very specifically doing nothing. Just laying here, enjoying the breeze, sipping my drink, and listening to the world around me."
"While I'm sure that's a pleasant experience, may I ask why you're doing nothing?"
"Do I need a reason? I guess if I had to come up with one, I would say it's because I'm pretty much always doing something. So, today, I want to do nothing. It's as simple as that."
Twilight seems to fiddle for a moment before responding.
"O-oh. I've, um, never really considered that. I just have so much to do every day, it feels like it would be a waste to spend a day doing literally nothing. I try to use my days off to take care of things that I don't normally have time to do. Or, if I do feel like I need to relax, I usually go to the spa with Rarity or read a book that I've had my eyes on. It just makes me feel like I'm still... I don't know, accomplishing something, I guess."
With a smile, you lower your glasses back over your eyes.
"Hey, there's no problem with that. You relax however you see fit. In fact, I'd say most of my days off are like that, too. Today, though, I'd like to do nothing."
"...Um, forgive my asking, but don't you have things that need doing, too? Like, weren't you halfway through that book, 'Stone Ocean?'"
"Technically I'm up to 'Steel Ball Run' now. But yes, I do have things I could be doing today. I just don't want to."
"...Wow. I just... couldn't imagine."
"I think that's your anxiety speaking, Twi."
"H-huh?"
"Like I said, there's nothing wrong with the way you choose to spend your time off. But, if you're doing all that stuff because you feel a compulsive need to be 'accomplishing' something, can you really say that you want to be doing it?"
"I-I do want to be doing those things! I want to sit back and read. I want to spend my free time with our friends."
You shrug and give her a smile.
"That's good! Meanwhile, I want to do nothing today."
You close your eyes once more. There is a moment where neither of you are saying anything, but even with your eyes closed you can tell that Twilight is shuffling awkwardly.
"I... I guess I've never really tried doing... nothing."
"Heh, what do you sound so nervous about?"
"W-well, what do I... do?"
"Nothing."
She rolls her eyes.
"I think I got that much, but how do I-"
"You don't."
"Eh?"
With a chuckle, you lean over onto your side and, using your long human arms, scoop Twilight off of the ground. Her saddlebag falls off as you do so, and she struggles a little bit in surprise as you lift her over yourself.
"A-Anon?! What are you doing?!"
"Stop struggling, Twi, you're gonna make us fall off of the hammock." She slowly stops moving, though she is obviously still very tense. You gently place her on her back next to you, thanking yourself for bringing a hammock big enough to fit both of you at once. Her hooves are folded in front of her, and she looks bewildered. "Just lay back, Twilight."
Taking a deep breath, the tension slowly melts from her body as she lays back onto the hammock, cuddling into your side a bit as she does so. She turns her head to look at you with those big violet eyes of hers.
"So... now what?"
"Just relax. Help yourself to a lemonade if you want."
"And... that's it?"
"That's it."
"...Hm."
"Wait, there is one more thing." You reach into your pocket and pull out your conveniently placed spare pair of sunglasses before placing them onto Twilight's face. She has an adorable look of confusion as you do so, and you can't help but chuckle and give her a quick peck on the cheek before placing your hands behind your head again. "Now you're all set."
A slight blush makes its way to her face as she more or less forces herself to follow your lead and close her eyes.
"T-thank you."
In that comfortable, shady hammock, the two of you spend the rest of your do-nothing day at peace, content to just lay back and enjoy the simple pleasures that life has to offer.
You sigh as you finally return home. The setting sun bathes your house in brilliant orange light, perfect for observing all of the fine details of the still-smoking hole in the wall caused by some stray fireworks.
You wonder if maybe you should have done something about those kids' antics after all.
Author's Note
Sometimes I just want to write Anon and Twilight being cute. That's really all there is to it. 🤷
As always, I appreciate any and all feedback!
