Visitors from an Alternate Depths

by Gunther the Green

The Plant Golem

Stok was a rather simple fellow. He was created to be a servant but he had no master. He was allowed to live as he pleased but he had no desire. He was forbidden to wander away from the town or nearby forest but fate would force his hand.

Stok was a pale white skinned, young male shaped creature with his insides composed entirely of plant matter. He had no actual gender or anything that would signify it. He wore no shirt but did wear brown pants, as he's been told having nothing there disturbs onlookers. His 'hair' was bush-like and reached all the way to the ground. His body was constantly hunched over, but only slightly. In his hair hung several plant life that actually grew from it. These plants were all random but edible.

On this day, Stok had noticed a shift in his environment. He still remained in a forest but it did not feel the same. The soil was different. It felt... emptier. His gaze scanned the horizon but he could not spot the twin towers he had become familiar with. He could feel that outside of the forest was a small settlement but he could not sense any creature he recognized. He wondered where he was but was not distressed or worried. He simply sat there and waited. Like he always does.

"Mommy," he heard a small sniffling voice quietly call. Stok looked over and spotted one of the creatures he sensed. It was a small horse-like creature. A colt. This particular colt was not like what Stok was used to. It was brightly colored with an orange coat and a green mane. "Mommy," the colt sobbed, not noticing Stok's presence. It could apparently talk too. Peculiar. Perhaps it was a part of whatever Ricky was involved in.

Stok tilted his head as the colt walked right in front of him, it's height barely reaching his chest while sitting down. It finally noticed him and made a squeak of fear, running into a nearby bush. Stok made neither a move nor a noise. He simply sat and stared. The colt had reason to fear him. He was bigger. It did not move further than the bush though. "Mommy, save me," the colt quietly begged.

Stok's head tilted the other way. This creature wished to be saved. Perhaps he could assist it in finding it's mother. He listened through the trees and did spot a larger horse-like creature but still smaller than an actual horse. It was a similar shade of orange but it had a red mane instead. It was calling for something named 'Sherbet'. Perhaps it was seeking the colt. Even if it wasn't, it could better lead the colt to its mother.

However, Stok needed to gain the colts trust first. He raised his hand towards the colt, who's shivering increased, and held it there, palm upwards. A vine reached from his hair and at the end of that vine, a single apple quickly grew and matured. When it was fully ripe, it detached from the vine and dropped into his hand. The colt's shivering stopped as it stared in wonder at him. Stok gently placed the fruit down in front of him and pushed it towards the bush. It rolled perfectly, with Stok's guidance, towards the colt and came to a stop just before the bush.

Silence hung in the air as he stared neutral at the apple. Then, as quick as a small mammal, the colt snatched the apple and hid back in the bush. Stok didn't mind. He simply waited as sounds of munching ensued. When the noise stopped, the colt finally stuck its head out of the bush and stared at him in wonderment. He stared back at the small creature with the same expression he always had. It seemed to gain some courage and walked out of the bush and up to him. Stok made no move and continued to stare.

It wished for comfort so it stood on his lap and balanced itself on his chest, staring into his eyes. "Can-can you help me find my mommy?" it asked, tears appearing in it's eyes again.

"I can," Stok answered simply.

It gave a gasp of surprise, "You can talk?"

"I can," he repeated himself.

It's head swung around, looking around them. "Where-where is she?" it asked. Stok raised an arm and pointed a single finger in the direction he could feel the mare. The colt immediately made a run for that direction but slid to a stop before it could go out of natural sight. It hesitated in taking another step forward and glanced back at him. "Can-can you come with me? I don't want to be alone again," it requested.

He tilted his head at the request but did nod soon after. Vines sprouted from his arms and took hold of the ground in front of him. The vines pulled him upwards into a standing position, his bare feet easily carrying his weight without discomfort. He took slow steps forward and began to lead the colt though the forest. The small creature made it's own quick steps behind him and stared at all the vegetation in his hair.

It seemed to spot the apple that was growing there. "Can I have another apple?" it asked.

"You may," he answered. The fruit in question slid down his hair and hung in front of the colt. Rather than take the fruit, however, the colt decided to jump into his hair. The sudden change in weight did not disturb him and he continued his path towards the mare. He ignored the sounds of eating as the colt climbed up it.

Soon, he made it to the area, where the mare was. His presence was immediately spotted from his tall stature. The mare's breath caught in it's throat, but before it could scream, the colt appeared from the top of his head. "Mommy!" it called to the mare.

It gasped in surprise, "Sherbert! Get away from there!" it shouted at the child. It flinched when he reached up and grabbed the colt with his hands. Stok dropped onto his behind, his legs folding underneath him, and gently set the colt down.

The colt turned around and waved to him. The mare quickly ran over and grabbed it, dragging it away from him. "Thank you, Mister," the colt said.

Stok's face remained the same as he waved back to the child, even when the mare screamed, "Help! There's a monster in the woods!" He had done what could be considered a good deed. He wasn't sure how he should feel, but he knew that it would have made some of his friends proud. So maybe he should feel that.

He tilted his head when he heard something crash into the woods. It seemed fate still wanted to push him in a direction. He wondered if that direction was good or bad.

Author's Note:

This one is a little up in the air about what it could become. It's a slice of life thing, for sure, as it follows the daily antics of the bizarrely dull Stok. But I had two ideas for this. Either the crash was a slightly older Princess Flurry Heart who requests he take her home, while learning lessons about life along the way. Or it could be an even bigger mystery where it would have several groups converge on his location. It could be interesting either way.
This is from Stok's point of view and he does not consider ponies as people and thus calls them 'it' instead of 'he' and 'she'. Just so you know.
It's an interesting thought for a dull creature. Hope you enjoyed.

Comments

[Canary In The Coal Mine]

I actually rather liked this one. I feel it could go places, the character is interesting enough perspective wise. While there are a few other plant protagonists, they tend to be transformed bronies, and the alien-ness of the perspective would do well here.

[StarzGecko]

7364981
I agree