Cookies for all who did!
After Maud's carols, it was time for dinner once again. And just like yesterday, Applejack was served a nice big bowl of stone soup. The farm mare was still slightly put off by the unusual Hearthswarming cuisine, but she'd decided to swallow her pride and learn more about the Pie family customs and that was just what she was going to do.
"So...soup with stones in it huh?" She said, more to strike up a conversation than anything else. "Gotta say, I've never heard of it. Or edible rocks."
"It's a rather common dish around here," Maud answered her. "Especially at this time of year. There's actually a legend about it."
"Really?" Applebloom asked and the other Apples looked just as intrigued.
"Oh-oh-oh! You so have to tell them the story!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed excitedly to her sister before turning to the Apples. "It's the best story ever and nopony tells it better than Maud!"
"Well, I certainly wouldn't mind hearing this story ifn' ya don't mind." Applejack offered. Maud didn't say anything at first except sip some of her soup before replying.
"Okay." She said then cleared her throat as the Apples and Pies hunkered down to listen.
Our community wasn't always as tight-knit and friendly as it is now. Legends hold that once we were cold and unfriendly towards our fellow neighbors. Even more so to strangers and travelers. So when two strangers came into town one day, it should come to no surprise that they were treated coldly. They were two mares traveling together, some say they were sisters who were tired and hungry. But the town had no inn and nopony was willing to let them into their home or give them food. Even so, small as a loaf of bread.
With no other option, the duo set themselves in the center of town and pulled out a cooking pot which they used to boil stones. Such an odd action peaked the town's curiosity and after a short time, a young stallion approached to ask what they were doing. The older of the two mares smiled and said that they were making stone soup, the greatest soup ever but it would taste best with some vegetable broth.
Intrigued, the young stallion rushed home to procure the item and as he did, more ponies came up to the pair to as what they were doing and every time it was roughly the same answer with a thinly veiled request for an ingredient. It wasn't long before the entire town was gathering all kinds of ingredients. Potatoes, carrots, onions, tomatoes, cream, kale, different kinds of beans, and even side dishes like salads and bread to go with it. By the time the soup was done, everypony had come together and were enjoying themselves in each other's company for the first time.
It was like a big old party where everypony was invited!
Exactly. There was enough soup for everyone to eat their fill and the next morning, the travelers left our town, leaving it a much better place than it had been before.
"Wow." Applejack said, impressed as she looked down at her soup in a new light. "That's amazing. Who'd have some soup with stones in it would have such an impact. Reminds me of Ponyville's zap apple jam."
"Me too." Applebloom agreed then turned to Maud. "So you all eat this soup to remind you of that day huh?"
"Yes," Maud replied. "The first ponies to partake in that feast kept the spirit and lessons they learned that day and subsequently passed them on to the next generation who passed them on to the next generation and so forth. It has become a tradition ingrain in our community."
"Huh, I wonder whatever happened to those two travelers though." Applebloom pondered and Limestone shrugged.
"Eh, their probably long gone by now." She said before plucking a stone out of her soup and crunching it.
Few Days Later
"Tia, you still have this old thing around?" Luna asked and the addressee looked up from her book to see the soup pot that Luna held in her magical grip. Visually speaking, it wasn't very impressive. It was old, plain and slightly dented,
but Celestia had hung onto it for the past few centuries.
"Of course I did Lulu," Celestia said as she looked at it wistfully as though remembering past meals. "We made such fond memories with this pot."
Luna blinked once before a look of realization crossed her face."You don't mean that time we tried to cook rocks do you?" She asked then groaned. "I still can't believe your ploy worked. At that point, I was ready to eat the rocks straight up. You were the one who suggested we cook in the center of town."
Celestia chuckled. "It worked didn't it." She reminded her lightly. "We had ourselves a decent meal and as an added bonus, we united a community. You know they still tell stories about that day and have made it a tradition to make soup with stones in it around this time of year."
"You're kidding," Luna said with an absolutely gobsmacked look on her face. "Will wonders never cease." There was a long pause as she looked at her sister then at the pot before a small smile spread across her face.
"Care to make another batch with this pot?" She asked as she held the pot up. Her sister had bookmarked her book and was on her hooves faster then she'd seen anyone ever do.
"Would I ever!" She exclaimed then skipped out the door. "I'll go get the stones."
A/N: Sorry I haven't been updating my stories a lot recently. Things have been busy/tiring plus I haven't been getting much inspiration lately. Hopefully, this is a sign that I'll be getting back on the horse. Anyways, hands up if you predicted that twist at the end. Cookies for all who did!