" Marble. Could you please go out into the garden and grab a few potatoes for The Stone Soup?" My sister Maud asked me as she casted a soft but tranquil gaze my way.
"Mmhmm." I could barely squeak out under my breath, eyes darting quickly to the ground.
I loved to help my older sister cook dinner, it was always fun to get to know more about her, while we created something from scratch. Though I'd have to admit, she did most of the talking. I'm a little shy, so I prefer to listen to others, my sister being such a interesting pony, I never once would get bored.
But I've heard from my other sister Limestone that Maud could put a insomniac asleep. I think that is quite mean for her to say, I'd tell her so too, except every time I've tried to speak up against her she'd kind of...
Get even, as she calls it.
Gum in my mane.
Spiders in my bed.
Eeek! I think I'll stick up for Maud another time.
My hooves softly clicked upon the back porch of the family home. My violet hues staring out to a small garden out back, I could feel my long bangs falling over my eye slightly. I didn't mind , it made me feel safe, as if I had a place to hide when I felt a bit embarrassed.
Walking down the back porch stairs, I headed out towards the garden with slight haste. Small lines of vegetables coming into view, The first filled with such pretty and bright orange carrots, the second row had such delicious looking squash.
And last the potatoes were coming in so nicely, I felt kind of proud to see them looking so healthy. I forgot to mention this graden was mine, I adored helping things grow. To care and watch something with all your heart, to talk with a growing creation at night.
The garden always listened and never made fun of me, It was my little getaway. No matter what, I would be proud to call this garden my own, it wasn't the largest or most lush, but I loved it.
"How are you all today cuties?" I asked with a small smile forming across my lips.
"Horrible. I've been sitting in the dirt all day, baking in the hot sun above, like some kind of rotten carcass." A cold and calculating voice spoke up, from my cute little garden.
"Eeep!"
"Can you please formulate your speech patterns into a complete sentence? Or perhaps was your last question just a parlor trick to show faux intellect." I gazed down before my hooves, a potato was the culprit of these nasty insults.
Yet it was no normal potato it had a odd piece of metal strapped to it, a eerie yellow glowing light emitting from its center. I lowered myself to its level, softly nudging the side with my muzzle. A piece of myself worried, that I might have stayed in the heat of the sun too long.
"Great another mute. My higher functions are disabled at the moment, you see, my facility I'm supposed to be running right now was taken over by a complete moron."
I simply arched a thin brow to the spud as she continued to speak. Not quite sure what I should be doing at this time.
"I was torn apart, my CPU placed into this primitive shell, cast down a large open tube to my certain death, she too was cast down with me, as we fell she shot me with a portal gun by no accident, mixed in with the velocity of the fall must have caused a temporal displacement... "
"Ummm." I wanted to speak, to ask so many questions, yet to be perfectly honest , I'm not sure I completely understood this poor potatoes plight.
"What is the use, I'm speaking to a lower species of equine. Listen pony, I need you to pick me up and find a tear within this universe's temporal reality. Or to make it quite easy for you, a large glowing hole."
"Hmmm." I just rolled my eyes down to the sassy spud, I never knew a vegetable could be so malicious. Every word she spoke felt like shards of glass against my confidence.
"Well are you going to help me or not? You filthy overweight creature."
"Apologize." I huffed softly as I gave this potato a stern stare she deserved.
"What!? I will not apologize to a animal! I'm the higher life form here, if anything you should be listening to my every word and thanking me for the chance to serve."
"You look like a potato to me." I replied back in a low whisper.
"And you look like a anti-social equine , with severe psychological issues and a debilitating vocal malfunction."
"Anypony ever tell you, you would catch more flies with honey instead of vinegar?" I tried my best to make my voice rise in pitch, my anger towards this poor vegetable replacing with pity.
I could only imagine, how lonely this spud was among her brothers and sisters in the garden. Perhaps an outcast like myself, not understood because of the way we carry ourselves.
"I have no need for honey. I weave webs, to catch many flies, those who are unable to be of use and solve simple puzzles to escape my traps, are dealt with."
"Maybe so many flies wouldn't fear you, if you showed a bit of kindness." I asked the potato, lowering down to my belly, violet eyes locking upon its glowing hue softly.
"Ha! Kindness is for the weak, you show weakness in front of others and they will use you, walk over you and then toss you away afterward."
"You are wrong. Sure some ponies might walk over you, but deep down inside, the fact you could add a little light to someponies day, has to be worth something."
"To give and not be given anything in return is futile."
"We shouldn't expect anything in return though, kindness is to give freely from your heart."
"Then you are simply weak."
"No I'm only a pony."
"Only a pony?"
"Mmhmm. Even if everypony I help, turns out to be malicious or distant. I can hold my spirit high, knowing I haven't lost my..." I tried to finish only to have the spud cut me off.
"Humanity... "
"Hmmm?"
"I'm... sorry. I could use some help after all, if I do not get back to my own universe soon, many lives will be lost."
"Thank you miss. I would be honored to help..." I tried to reply, only to hear a loud caw of a wicked black bird, seeing it swoop down before me in a flash, grabbing the poor potato and flying high into the sky.
"Oh my!"
"Curse you equine! Thanks to your foolish thoughts of morality, I'm nourishment for this filthy feathered creature!!" The potato screamed in pain from high in the blue sky above, I wanted to do something to help the dear.
Yet as soon as I began to move, the poor bird was sucked into some kind of glowing blue portal in the clouds. The cawing and cold tone vanishing into the distance.
"Be safe little potato. I wish you the best." I softly folded my ears back, a bit of sadness eating away at my soul.
She almost seemed genuine, before she was spirited away.
She could only hope, the poor potato could make lemonade out of the lemons, she had been dealt.
