Author's Note

Making tea is a special experience for me. It's not just drinking the tea. Making the tea itself is relaxing. It takes my mind off things. And then sitting down, having the sun hit my face as I sip my carefully constructed creation, well, it helps me contemplate on life. I hope this fic captures that feeling.

As always, feedback is welcome and I hope you enjoy the story!

If you want, this is the playlist I listened to while writing: Background Mix

Brewing Tea

Dark clouds covered the skies of Ponyville. The day itself was cold and if you were to go outside, the wind would give you chills. Unlike most dark days, the air was moist, but no water fell. The sun shined bright above the clouds, but little to none of it reached its town.

All except for one small spot, one tiny ray of light peering through a small gap in the clouds. A glimmer of hope for the day to turn bright, instantly closed back up by another cloud being skillfully pushed into place.

"There we go. That's the last cloud," a voice spoke, sighing. It's voice belonged to a rainbow maned pegasus with a cyan coat. Even though she had just achieved her most recent goal, there was no hint of happiness, no feeling of accomplishment in her voice. It was just dull, tired, without emotion.

It was true, the day had been a long one. She had been out for quite a while, working her butt off for a good 12 hours now. And it wasn't just the sky she had been putting her time and effort into, her friends had also needed assistance that day. Pinkie Pie needed help restocking ingredients to the shelves, Applejack needed help bucking her apples before the day got too dark, and Twilight needed help organizing books. Sure, they could've done it themselves, but who was she to say no? They were her best friends after all.

After plugging in the last cloud, she flew backwards, forelegs on her hips, examining her work. With a quick nod of confirmation, she flew past the clouds covering the skies and went to the border of the town.

On days like this, she would move her cloud home away from the little village and place it near the outskirts, as to not get caught up in any misfires or potential storms in the way. Normally, she would've quickly made her way there, but today was an exception. As she flew, her muscles flexed. She felt the wind underneath her wings, pushing against her as she kept herself afloat.

Her wings whined and fought against her, but she pushed through, eventually making her way to the floating house sitting in an open field. Touching down lightly on her doorstep, she whispered quietly to herself, "Home, sweet home."

Eyeing the mailbox, she sluggishly pushed open the front door, muttering to herself, "I'll get it tomorrow." Thankfully, she didn't leave the door locked; she didn't need to, it would only waste time. Besides, the only pegasi that would come around these parts are just her and Derpy, the mailmare.

As she stepped hoof inside, her coat was slightly damp from working on all those clouds. She had sweat stains on her joints connecting her legs to her body, along with her wings, too.

She let out a heaving sigh and closed the door behind her. Her muscles that had been burning from the day finally began to rest, reducing the fiery mess raging in her wings and legs into a slight throbbing of pain. She turned to her left, eyeing a wall with framed posters and trophies on shelves. On them read "Best Young Flyer - Rainbow Dash", "Fastest Flyer - Rainbow Dash", along with others that spoke of similar accomplishments.

She hung her head low, sighing as she spoke softly, "One day."

And instead of heading straight to bed, or collapsing on the nearest couch, she made her way into the kitchen, her movement replicating that of a zombie. She stopped in the middle of the kitchen. In front of her, her stovetop, and to her left and right, basic cooking equipment like a kettle or a spatula or two. She didn't reach for any of them. Instead, she looked up at a drawer above the microwave above the stovetop.

She let out an annoyed sigh and opened her wings. Bringing herself to a slow hover, she opened the cabinet and pulled out a small bag before closing it back up and slowly descending to the floor once more.

Setting the bag down on the counter next to her, she walked over to her left, eyeing a second shelf and taking out a cold mug. Looking inside, it was a basic mug, colored a plain white with brown stains on the bottom, practically impossible to remove. Not that she cared.

She set the mug besides the bag and opened up a drawer below the counter, pulling out a spherical tea strainer. Closing the drawer, she reverted her attention back to the bag. Using her teeth, she ripped open the Ziploc closing on top and peered inside.

Almost instantly, an aroma shot up her nose and she breathed in the fresh smell of tea leaves. This one being a type of oolong, her favorite kind of tea. Grabbing the tea strainer in her mouth, she scooped up the leaves into the strainer before setting it down and examining it.

It was filled to the brim with tea leaves. She frowned.

She grabbed the strainer again and shook out a couple of leaves until she set it back down on the counter and examined it again.

Filled halfway. Perfect.

She grabbed the strainer and put it in the mug, closing the bag and placing it back where she found it. Then, she reached to her right and grabbed a kettle, one with a built in thermometer. She smiled as she remembered the day she bought it. It was a worthy investment. Sure, it was expensive, but it saved her a lot of time compared to her other kettle which was currently acquiring dust in the back corner of the room.

Kettle in-mouth, she walked over to her fridge and opened it, pulling out a cloud that was embedded into the back of the fridge. Setting her kettle down, she squeezed the cloud tightly and rainwater came pouring out, slowly filling up the boiler.

Once the water amount was to her liking, she put the cloud back in the fridge and brought the kettle to the stove, turning on the gas stove as fire burned brightly, heating up the container. She rested her head on the counter nearby and stared at the thermometer as it slowly increased in temperature.

65... 75... 85... A few moments later it read: 205. Quickly, she took the kettle off the stove and poured it straight into her mug, filling it up slightly below the top. She set the kettle back down onto the stove and turned off the fire before reverting her attention back to the mug.

She didn't have a stopwatch or an egg timer to keep track of the time, so she just stared and counted in her head. 1... 2... 3... 4... 5...

265... 266... 267... 268... 269... 270! She pulled out the tea strainer and threw it in the sink, grabbing a spoon from a nearby drawer and stirring the newfound tea sitting in her mug.

After stirring, she looked at her creation and took in the smell. It was bold and earthy, a nice relaxing smell. Almost therapeutic. She grabbed the mug and blew over the top, taking a small sip after.

Sloshing the hot liquid in her mouth, she thought to herself. ... Earthy... Bold... A little fruity... ... Needs some honey. She swallowed and opened up a drawer above her, grabbing a small container of honey and squeezing it into the cup. Not a lot! That would ruin the flavor. Just a little bit. Two and a half circles around the cup... she reminded herself.

She mixed the tea again and tasted it. She furrowed her eyebrows. It's missing something. She flew over to the fridge and pulled out a pitcher of milk, flying back over to the tea and pouring in a splash. And only a splash! Nothing more. Nothing less. Carefully, with practiced precision, she poured the perfect amount and swirled it around, turning the tea into a milky caramel color.

She tasted it again and smiled.

Quickly, she put everything back and grabbed the mug, making her way out of the kitchen. She strolled past her trophies and her room. Past her reminders of home and past reminders of her friends and family. Instead, she made her way to a glass door, sliding it open and stepping out into her backyard.

It stretched out even farther than her front yard and even had a rainbow waterfall on the side, draining into a small pond before recycling back up to the waterfall to fall down once more. And in the middle of her backyard was a small table and a couple of chairs. She took a seat on one and set her mug down on the table, looking at the view centered in front of her.

And Celestia, was it beautiful.

The sun set over the hills in the distance, the trees lost the sun shining on them. In the open fields and forests, she could spot deer running around, playing with their siblings, their parents just watching and sitting with each other in their partner's company.

She looked to her right and saw an empty chair. Maybe one day.

She grabbed her mug and took a slow sip. The smell filled her nostrils and hot liquid flowed down her throat. It was cool enough to drink normally, but she wanted to enjoy this. To extend this moment on for as long as possible. She let her face rest above the cup as she watched the animals play and harmony take place as steam hit her face. It was relaxing, adding on to the sights she was seeing before her.

Slowly, she took small sips, just watching the scene play out before her until her cup was empty. Disappointed, she looked into her cup and saw only a couple drops left. She flipped the cup upside down and shook the last few drops into her mouth before taking one last look at the trees and the resting sun before standing up and heading inside, taking the mug with her.

Y'know, this almost makes it worth it. She chuckled to herself, before putting her mug in the sink and heading to her bedroom to retire for the night.