Going For A Swim

>Nature is such a marvellous thing
>The wind whistling through the trees
>The birds rousing from their sleep to harmonize with the gentle breeze
>The sun rise bathing Equestria in its orange and golden light
>All of which work to make a fantastic alarm clock you might add
>You, being Tree Hugger
>You had chosen to make camp beneath the boughs of an oak tree just on the outskirts of a grove
>Slowly cracking your eyes open you gaze out into the currently orange sky dotted with clouds
>Allowing yourself a few more moments of rest you watched as the sun climbed higher and higher as Celestia pulled it across the sky as she did everyday
>Breathing a sigh you stretch out your body allowing a tingling shiver to run down your spine
>Shaking yourself slightly to remove some of the dirt from your coat, mane and tail you find something off
>Your bandana is missing
>Glancing around the forest floor you spot your headgear slightly buried amongst the leaves
>Thankfully autumn had just started so the leaves were still a lush green, contrasting to your gold and white bandana
>Wrapping it around your head you begin to trot deeper into the grove
>Your pace was slow and you stumbled more than once along the way since, your limbs were still groggy from your sleep
>You had dreamt you were a butterfly
>Letting out a yawn your attention is drawn to the sound of rustling leaves
>Looking to the side you spot a small mound with leaves softly falling to the ground
>After a while of standing there you spot a pair of ears pop up from the other side of the mound
>Laying against the ground once more you give the critter a little more time to catch your scent
>After a while the ears rise over the mound and reveal a dusty brown and white baby rabbit
>Holding in the urge to wrap it in a hug you continue to lay there and give it a small smile
>Slowly it begins to approach you, stopping suddenly to size you up and sniff at you after every few steps
>Eventually getting within a hoof reach of you, it stares up at you with curiosity in its eyes
>Slowly you rotate your hoof so that its frog faces the rabbit
>Taking several steps back at your sudden movement it soon stops when it realizes what you were doing
>Approaching your hoof tentatively it reaches out and places its paw flat against your frog
>Rubbing its paw into your frog it looks up at you cautiously
>You return the look with another smile, you could never get mad at something as adorable as one of these things
>Smiling back at you the rabbit pulls it paw away from your hoof and sits in front of you
>Slowly moving your hoof you see a hint of fear flash in the rabbit's eyes
>Holding your hoof still you slowly bring it onto the rabbit's head and begin softly stroking it
>Visibly relaxing, it begins to push into your hoof as you stroke down it's back and rub its chin
>For a while you stay like that, carefully grooming it
>Hearing a rapid succession of thumps coming from the mound again you glance over to see a fully grown rabbit looking from side to side and out of breath
>As it's eyes settle on you and your small companion it relaxes and rushes over to you
>Pulling your hoof away and shuffling back a bit you allow who you assume to be the mother to check over its child
>Nuzzling it the mother turns to you, looking you over
>Smiling gently at you it gives you a small nod before beckoning it's child to follow it, most likely back to the burrow
>Following behind its mother the rabbit slows down about half way to the mound
>Looking up at it's mother and then to you it rushes back to you
>Before you're even able to react the small critter has wrapped it's paws around your hoof in an attempt to hug you
>You can't help but giggle at the display of affection
>Leaning down you nuzzle it's head before ushering it back to its mother
>Hurrying back to its mother's side they both look back at you before waving goodbye, disappearing behind the mound
>It's at times like these you really envy your friend Fluttershy, what you wouldn't give to speak with animals, to talk with them, to hear them
>You should visit her again soon
>Heading through the grove once more you begin to let your legs guide you as you begin to tune into the nature around you
>Having fully risen now, the yellow glow from the morning sun seemingly cascades through the gaps in the treetops
>The soind of birds singing their songs is brought to your ears by a genlte breeze, a gentle melody to help stave off the persistent tiredness in your limbs
>The fallen leaves swirling and skittering across the ground as the animals rush through the forest
>Some pay you no mind, whilst others stop briefly to stare as you pass
>Spotting the opening of a clearing ahead, you begin to hear the gentle trickle of water off to the side as you get closer
>Following the sound you spot a small riverbed running through the forest and out through the trees
>The initial trickle grows in volume as you approach the treeline
>As the trees thin and open up you are met with the sight of a sweeping landscape before you
>Standing atop a cliff you look out to see trees spreading across out below you like an endless rolling plain
>Glancing to the source of the original trickling you are met with a large waterfall that ends in a large lake at the bottom
>Feeling the dirt from last night still clinging to your coat you slowly step into the rushing riverbed
>Careful not to get swept away you glance over the cliff once more
>Taking a deep breath you undo your bandana and tighten it around your foreleg
>Shaking the nerves from your body you take the dive
>Time seems to slow around you as you take off from the edge
>The cold wind whips past you and shocks your nerves into straightening out your body further
>The cool water licks at your stomach and chest
>Then as quickly as it came the biref slowing of time ends and seems to start up at again at twice the speed, bringing the lake straight to you before it engulfs you
>Allowing yourself to float under the water for a while you begin to kick your legs to propel yourself upwards
>As you go up the water gently rolls over you body, wrapping around you snugly but flowing past you without resistance
>Finally breaching the surface you allow the air to fill your lungs once more
>Your mane, now untangled from its usual state hangs lowly over your eyes
>Chuckling at how silly you must look you bring your hoof up and smooth it back and out of your eyes
>Paddling to the waterfall you pass through it and lean you back against the cliff face
>Relaxing your body completely, you allow the water to gently raise and lower your body up and down as the ripples pass you
>Still feeling the tiredness in your limbs and body you glance out of the waterfall one last time
>Seeing the sun shine through the waterfall brilliantly, the light turns each drop golden as it falls
>Gently closing your eyes you finally give in to the tiredness of your body and allow it to rest and wake up on its own
>As the gentle caress of the water massaging you and the heat of the sun warming you rocks your body into a peaceful nap you can't help but think
>Nature really is a marvellous thing