>You are anon, recently accepting into a program to give homes to ponies visiting your area. >You had been assigned a bat, named Anana Umbra. >Silly name, really. Wasn't that just Pineapple Shadow? >She is a gardener, who mostly worked at nights, and had a massive phobia of blood. >Her first day in your home had been, well, not so good. >You had plastic house plants, and she had pruned and watered them. >Now you had piles of scrap plastic and stagnant water. >You had asked her what she was doing. >"Your plants were dry, Anon. So I watered them!" >That was a paycheck worth of household decorations down the drain. >Now you were taking her to some mega mart, to buy real plants for her to care for. >Fuckingpublictranspot.jpg >"This place smells like an outhouse..." >You tell her that there's no other way to get places yet, aside from walking. >The bat didn't seem to like riding the bus one bit. Maybe it was time to get a bike, with a basket. >At the mega mart, you lead her to the line of carts, grabbing one, and picking her up. >BasketofBat.jpg >You make a beeline for the gardening department, hopefully avoiding a, potential, fiasco in the produce area. >"Aww, Anon, I want to see what fruits they have." >You already have a bunch of fruit. Well...you had fruity cereal. Didn't Anna like those? >You ask, and she sticks out her tongue. >"They taste like shoes." >You ask how she knows. >"My brother told me they tasted like oranges..." >She really fell for that? >You sigh, setting her on the floor, so she can see the fruit displays, and pick some out. >Anna runs about, her hooves tapping off the linoleum floor. >"Oh! Anon! Look!" She points to a display of tropical fruits. >Mangoes, Papayas, Pineapples and more. >The bat pony picks up something oval shaped, red, and covered in green, blade shaped protrusions. "What is that?" >"Dragonfruit! It's my favorite." >She fixes you with a hopeful, fangy smile. >Four dragonfruits have joined the party. >You finally make it to the gardening department, after getting some more affordable fruits. >Apples and oranges for days. >You finally make it to Gardening, and set the bat down on the floor, again. >Anna runs about the gardening department, as you try to follow her, with the cart. >TappyHooves.mp4 >By the end of it all, the cart is full of live plants, seeds, pots, bags of dirt, and all other manner of gardening supplies. >Anna trots along with you, holding a little garden spade in her muzzle. At least she's helping. >You pay for it all, praying it's tax deductible. >Another bus ride, as uneventful and boring as before, until Anna speaks up. >"Anon? Why fake plants?" >You explain that you don't have time to care for them. >"But having plants in a city is like living in the country!" >You've never been to the country before. >"Oh." >Anna nods, sitting on the bus seat beside you, still holding the spade. >You arrive home, and Anna goes right to work, with the plants, as you make dinner. >Salad for you, and a bowl of fruit for her. >You missed meat, but the first night you tried to eat it, the mare had bolted, and hid under the sofa. >She was surprisingly strong, as you found out, while trying to pull her out. >There had been no meat in the house since then, and you had almost learned to like vegetarian burgers. >After dinner, it was off to bed for you. >Anna stays up late, planting seeds, and tending to the few fully grown plants you already bought. >You sleep. >She makes sure everything was well arranged, setting pots up as neat as soldiers, and herself the general, the garden spade her swagger stick. >"Now Anon will know what it's like to live in the country." >You wake up early, to get ready for work. >You find most of the sunny spots in your home have become home to various plants, and dirt filled pots, that hold seeds. >Your bat ward is curled up on the floor, in the middle of the living room, flecked with dirt, and still holding the little shovel you bought her. >You pick her up, and take her to her bed, to tuck her in. She'd probably wake up, as you got home later. >You leave her room, turning the lights out before you go. >Just before you leave, you write her a note. "Anna, Thank you for all the work you did. I can't wait to see the plants grow up. I'll be home at five, and there's fruit in the bowl on the counter." >You think for a moment, before scratching out where the fruit is, and moving the bowl to a chair. "Fruit is on the chair, so you can get to it, easily." >You did not need a repeat of /that/ incident...