PiE/HiE Short Stories - The Earth/Equus Treaties

Canterlot, Equestria | The Morning Flower Reserve

Blowing a raspberry, Graham grunts as he leans down into the flowerbed, rummaging around for his scoop. Replanting these Pemerillions were proving to be an annoyance, but they were certainly pretty. Another one of those weird plant-mix-breeds that wormed it's way out of an errant Unicorn's laboratory. Or was it an Earth Pony? The only time those two species actually looked like the other was the odd individual with the audacity to try and ay pony-god with the local flora, usually by combining different types. Graham never thought he'd be managing Pony gene-projects, but here he was. At least the Pemerillions were pretty, with their purple petals and long, winding stems.

Couldn't remember where they came from, but not his problem. Beyond planting and watering these things, his realm of knowledge and general responsibilities lay in the next greenhouse over. Hired as the resident expert for all plants imported from Earth, Graham worked alongside other Ponies to upkeep and maintain a cute little corner of the Equestrian capital. Pay was pretty good, considering it was in solid gold coins, though bringing that kind of stuff back to Earth was pretty difficult. Lot's of embargoes and stipulations to make sure nobody nuked the others economy or anything, and those rules were something Graham was very familiar with, given his station. While he managed as many Earth plants as he could, both for Pony interest in the pretty flowers, and the scientific and magical approaches to foreign flora, he had to be very picky about what kind of plants could be permitted to grow on this side. Nothing that would cause a hassle by growing out of proportion or being a nuisance to handle, so only simple, easily controllable options for now. There were talks of sectioning off another part of Canterlot's hills for a dedicated, more in-depth garden, but that was all future talk. For now, Graham had the garden, and the full run of the human side of it.

He's enjoying the quiet day and the smell of wet dirt, as something thumps against the brim of his sizable sun hat, alerting him that he's not alone. He already knows exactly who the culprit is, tossing his tool aside and leaning back against his heels as he stays knelt, a smile forming on his lips.

"You again, huh?" Graham holds his palm up to the brim of his hat, feeling a little form hop down onto it. He lowers his hand down to get a better look, finding exactly what he expected.

A little, almost entirely green, Breezy. Her antenna twitchbwith her nose as she looks at him, smiling.

He'd call her the resident stowaway of his little garden, but she's made herself pretty at home in one of his old hanging plsnt baskets that he's got strung up around the place, and she's been crashing here for so long, it wouldn't quite feel the same without her buzzing about the flowers. That, and her presence was generally harmless, if not actually beneficial to the garden. After observing her for some time, originally worried that she might be causing a problem, Graham found that Bean Sprout kind of had the same effect as a bee might have. Probably some kind of Breezy magic, promoting good health and leaving the flowers looking quite... well, at the risk of sounding redundant, healthy.

"If it isn't my favorite little intruder. How are you, Bean Sprout?" Graham asks, setting her down on one of the larger flowers.

She giggles, hiding her face behind her hooves, back legs kicking as she's unable to contain her excitement. The other ponies that work in the garden have assumed she was one of the other workers, and Graham just doesn't have the heart to oust her. By this point, he honestly looks forward to her little visits.

"Graham!" Sprout seems almost unable to sit still, brimming with an excitement that can't be contained. Her adorable little face is outright beaming with cheer, patting his palm with her itty-bitty hooves.
"Found you!"

At first, he thought she was a little Fairy or something, or a consequence of smelling too many flowers. Nope, turns out there's an entire species of tiny little horses that could fit in his palm, though Bean Sprout was the only one he knew.

"Not exactly hiding here, Bean Sprout." Graham tries to argue, but Sprout's endless optimism is unmatched in facing down any objections.

"Quit being such a pooper of parties, Graham!" She objects loudly, throwing her hooves up in the air.
"What plants are you taking care of today?!"

The correct answer is 'All of them', but that's not the fun answer. Graham learned the hard way that when dealing with Bean Sprout, you want to pick the fun answer.

"Those bell-shape ones that try to eat you."

"Those ones?! But they smell so gooooood." She pouts, crossing her hooves in a huff. Bean Sprout knows she isn't allowed in the carnivorous plants section... then again, almost nobody else is on account of their unique care requirements.
"Do those ones last! Spend time with me!"

"Whu--hey. Come on." Graham mock-groans, as her little green form bounds up his arm, scrambles up the front of his overalls, awkwardly scrambles up his face, and wriggles in underneath his hat, disappearing out of view. He can feel her little hooves tap on his head as she buries herself in his hair, giggling all the way. When she got in there, she wasn't coming out.

Relenting to his fate of the giggling stowaway, Graham ties the dangling straps of his big hat under his chin, ensuring that she can't slip out from underneath and become the gardens first casualty. That'd be quite the incident.

...

"Graham?" Green Hoof perks up as he passes, holding a receipt in their mouth. He's ninety percent sure their name is supposed to be some ploy about having a Green Thumb, but it doesn't exactly translate for a species with no fingers.

"Yeah, what's up?" He pauses, setting his bucket and the various tools inside it down for the moment, jostling loudly.

Green Hoof leans forward, urging him to take the receipt, which is promptly plucked from their teeth.

Probably doesn't taste very good, the way Green Hoof is smacking their lips, but better than getting it all dirty with the hooves that have been digging through the dirt for the last hour.
"Got an order for a flower arrangement, and half of them are in your section. Meant to serve as a centerpiece for one of the nobles parties, they're starting a little garden around their fountain. You mind handling it?"

"Consider it done." Graham tucks thw receipt into his overalls front pocket, giving a short wave as he scoops his bucket up again, leaving Green Hoof to their own devices.

There's a notable lack of giggling or shuffling underneath his hat, and plucking it off his heat, peering inside affirms his suspicions. No Bean Sprout. He's already got a feeling where she might be, and it doesn't take long for him to find her again when he gets back to the Human section of the gardens.

She's protectively posted up in front of the various shrubbery, puffed up and buzzing her wings like a weary little kitten. It'd be endearing, if she wasn't in the way.

"No! Not these ones." She shakes her head vehemently, antennae flailing around as she splays herself out, laying across the top of the flower.

"Bean Sprout, a Pony bought these for their garden. They're going somewhere new, and we'll plant more seeds so more can grow. But you've gotta let me do my job." Graham tries to reason with the little pixie-sized pony, but no dice. She's as stubborn as she is mischievous for such a little thing.

She sticks her tongue out at him, refusing to budge, even as he pokes at her a few times. He doesn't want to hurt her by just scooping her up without warning, so that leaves Graham with only one option left.

"Well... if you're gonna stay here and guard the flowers, I guess I'll just have to go take..." He speaks slower, letting the tension build towards the final statement.

One of her eyes squints open, watching him.

"...Lunch."

"W-Without me?!" She sputters. The revelation nearly shatters her will, but she shakes her head, holding firm.

"Yep. Guess I'll have nobody to help me eat my... delectable, mouth-watering peanut butter and jelly sandwich... oh, I even made one with hazelnut spread instead..." Graham helps himself to a loud, exaggerated sigh, resting a sad face on a sad hand, bottom lip wobbling.

Her face scrunches as her pious self is challenged by the temptation of food, but her frown can only manage for so long before it breaks, distracted from her self-chosen guard duty. She flutters up to his face, hugging his nose.
"Fine! I will help you then, since silly Graham always overpacks food."

Sacrificial sandwiches were a good way to let Graham keep getting his work done. He always packed a spare.

"Banks." Graham nasally honks, having difficulty speaking with a Breezie squishing his nose shut.

...

"...And there. That should be everything for the day." Graham locks the shed door, wiping his hands on his pantlegs and tucking the keys away.
"Now, where did..."

Graham sighs, looking down into his overalls pocket, holding it open with a finger. A snoring, leg-twitching Bean Sprout has made herself quite comfortable, and his attempts to poke her awake are met with disgruntled noises and a little hoof that pushes his finger away.

Oh well, not like she hasn't done this before.

By the time he gets home, she's still out cold, still quietly snoring in her little voice. He scoops her carefully out of his pocket, walking over to the dresser at the end of his bed. There's a blanket, and the smallest pet-bed he could purchase, all tucked up underneath a little makeshift tent from a stick he found, and a hand towel. She passes out under his hat or in one of his pockets often enough that this kind of became a necessity. He got tired of walking back to the gardens to deposit her.

He tucks her inside, wrapping her up in the little bedding as she snuggles in, sighing contently and sinking further in. Cute thing.

Graham enjoys the rest of his evening for about fifteen more minutes, before she's awake and full of energy again.