Corpse Flower

Far below, Sprout saw a red pony lying facedown on a blood-drenched rock.

That's me! he realized.

It took him a while to remember, but Sprout recalled what had happened: he had fallen off the cliff. Surrounded by rain, he hovered in midair, fascinated with the body he had left behind.

He spotted a rose on his body—he wondered how the heck that got there—and moved closer to the strangely alluring flower.

Sprout followed it as it rode his body through the churning waves and reached the beach. He hated the ponies who whispered gossip as they eyed his lifeless flesh and bones. They couldn't care less about him or his weeping mother. At least Hitch tried to comfort her. They were the only ones who seemed genuinely sad, unlike the others.

His mother found the damaged rose pinned under his forelegs and took it home, mournfully cradling it to her chest. She cried for the rest of the day, struggling to get it to regrow the parts it had lost, surrounded by wadded-up tissues and old foalhood photos of Sprout.

Don't cry, Mommy! I'm right here! Sprout tried to tell her. The hug he gave her only made her shiver.

Sprout quickly learned three things about his current state: he couldn't speak to anypony, nopony could see him, and to his shock, he could feel every sensation the rose felt. Voiceless, he was unable to tell her that it needed more of her magic, or any earth pony's magic, to heal itself. Slowly it wilted in her hooves.

She brought the rose with her to his funeral and gave it to Posey. Sprout watched her plant it at her house. Although she didn't look too thrilled, she fed the flower enough magic for it to get better.

He happily accompanied the rose when it was returned to his mother. The flower thrived once it took root in her garden. Whenever Posey came to visit, she weeded, watered, trimmed, and kept the garden beautiful as spring faded into summer.

Sprout was content to watch the world go by as the rose easily grew larger and larger, its growth aided by Posey's magic. Its gigantic size always caught the attention of neighbors and passerbys. Before long, all of Maretime Bay clambered to see it up close. Soon they were joined by unicorns and pegasi from Bridlewood Forest and Zephyr Heights. Enthusiastic ponies posed with it to take selfies, or tried to snip off a leaf or pluck a petal as a souvenir when Phyllis and Posey weren't looking. There was no plant more famous than Sprout's rose.

But then there was a problem.

It had grown so large that the magic that it was given wasn't sufficient to keep it healthy. The rose temporarily survived on sunshine, water, and nutrients from the soil, but it was earth pony magic that it ached for.

Panicked, Sprout didn't understand why nopony, not even Posey or his mother, had noticed that something was wrong. Didn't they see that it was drooping more each day?

This just had to happen right when I find out I can control it! lamented Sprout. What'll happen to me if it dies? What if I never see Mommy again?!

Sprout's reasoning was simple. I need to get more ponies to give it their magic before it's too late!

There was no way he could communicate this to anypony, though. He had no choice—he would have to take magic by force.

Late at night, when everypony was asleep, Sprout willed the roots out of the ground and practiced maneuvering them around. It'll be easy… I'll do what that scary alicorn did when she stole cutie marks with the roots of the Together Tree, only I'll steal earth pony magic.

Sprout was ready.

One summer evening, as stars were appearing in the pink and purple sky, a blue ball bounced into Phyllis' garden and rolled to a stop underneath a rose bush. A skinny colt galloped into view. Seeing that his ball was out of reach, he scampered over to the gate and tried to open it, but it was locked.

Biting his lip, he glanced around before he squeezed himself in between the metal bars of the fence. He slipped in and hurried over to the ball, but the spectacular rose caught his attention first. Tilting his head back to get a glimpse of the very top, he eyed it as if it were made out of candy.

"Wow!" he gasped, forgetting for a moment where he was. He took a deep breath and smiled, his eyes sparkling. "And it smells so pretty!"

The colt stepped closer.

Nopony's around…

He took a few more steps closer.

C'mon, Sprout, you can do this. Now's your chance!

A sudden breeze ruffled the colt's fur and his tuft of mane. Blinking, he shook his head and spun around to get his ball. He kicked it towards the fence. Finding that he couldn't push it out between the bars, he kicked it over to the other side.

He shrieked when roots shot out of the ground directly next to him. Screaming, he zigzagged as he ran across the garden.

Hold still!

The roots snatched him and lifted him up in the air. With all his might, the colt pounded the roots with his tiny hooves, but his blows did little damage. Then he sank his teeth into the root nearest to his mouth; immediately it released its grip. He bit another, and then another, until he could wriggle free.

Ow! Oww! Stupid little brat!

The colt cried out when he hit the ground, but wincing he stood up and raced for the fence as the roots chased after him. Galloping as fast as he could, he leaped into a gap—but he was caught by his hindlegs and whisked away.

Muzzled and securely bound by roots, the colt's magic was free for the taking.

This time you're not getting away, brat! The roots squeezed tighter and tighter.

Pure, nourishing energy pulsed through the rose, causing it to shimmer. The colt's squirming and kicking slowly ceased. Blood trickled from a corner of his mouth.

Finally revitalized, Sprout released the colt and he collapsed to the ground. Sprout expected him to get up and hightail it out of the garden, but he lay still, like he was asleep.

From afar, he heard a mare calling out to her son to come out from wherever he was hiding.

Oh no…

Thinking fast, he pulled the colt's body underground and shifted the dirt to fill in noticable holes that had been made.

"Where are you?" called out the worried mare. Her eyes fell on the colt's blue ball. Picking it up, she approached the fence and gazed in, her blonde curls pushing up against the bars. "Turnip?"

She reminded Sprout of his own mother. Knowing how much she would suffer if she found out her child was dead, he decided to spare her that misery.

The earth beneath her opened up like a hungry mouth and a tongue of writhing roots swept her underground before she could even scream.

Another dose of magic surged through the rose.

From a window in her house, Phyllis watched the nightmare unfolding in her garden with a blank face.

Sprout saw her watching. Now you know my secret, Mommy…