//------------------------------// // Chapter 4: More A-pulls // Story: T, the Tiniest Troll // by Piquo Pie //------------------------------// Dear T, Thank you for your wonder-full letter. I am glad you found friendship with my student and those close to her. I know you are work-king hard to make sure A-pull Jack is doing well at the farm, but it has been a few days since your letter and I am curious to hear the continuation of your story. As no troll, in my recollection, has ever integrated in-to pony society before, I would be honored if you could continue sharing some of your experiences with me. Please ask A-pull Jack if she could give you the day off so you may write me another letter. Have her compensate you with your daily food; I'll take care of what she is owed. Also please tell me what you think of Twilight and her friends; I am interested in a troll’s perspective. With much thanks, Prince S Celestia. Deer Prince S Okay. Your faith-full troll, T Hay-ya Prince S. Hope you enjoyed that prank. I think you liked it, I mean, I didn't get a Pinkie Sense for a silly prank gone horribly, horribly wrong and causing... frowns. I hate when that happens but at least it usually gives me the chance to bring out my super secret emergency gag stash that I keep all over Equestria. I mean, balls for ball emergencies... they really thought I was that crazy. I mean, I'm crazy, but even I can only keep one type of emergency supplies all across Equestria. I got to keep you entertained while you keep track of us. I mean, I assume that’s you. Luna can visit our dreams and who else would be watching us. I chose gag gifts because, well, when you need to stop a giant three headed dog from abandoning tartarus, use a ball. Friend feeling down, grab a pair of crazy eyes and a mustache. The Doctor loses his screwdriver, BAM! Grab a Sonicare, which is also what I use for tartarus emergencies. Gag gifts can be used in so many circumstances. Anyway, have a good day and remember to Smile Smile Smile! Like I do! -Pinkie Pie Deer Prince S, You must really be big boss pony to have A-pull Jack give me the day off. When I got back to village with A-pull Jack's a-pulls I was a very happy troll. I got many punches to make me big and strong. I also got to have the first bit of rain-bow zap-a-pull jam. I had to give the rest to elders but it was very good. Only troll who bring back rain-bow zap-a-pulls are allowed to eat them. I am now allowed to eat them. No-troll can remember such a small troll ever getting rain-bow fruit be-for. I did give some to water lizard on my way back to village. He was very happy and said it was so fab-you-lass that next time I cross I do not need to give him anything. The fish was not very good when I got back. We ate it but now we know not to eat fish that has been out a long time. It keeps us from having kid-knee stones. Some trolls were mad at T. But T had had three pieces as a reward for a good job done. Some other trolls had two but most had one. The mad trolls decided that the three pieces for such a small troll as T was punish-meant enough. This was weird because normally trolls are really mean and call troll sthat make other trolls sick mean names. Sometimes they even have to go away from the village for a long time before coming back. T never remembers this, but it was told to T never to make other troll sick so I do not have to wander around alone and get hurt. The larger trolls, and the trolls who had one piece, did not have bad problem like T so may-be that is why. But T was very happy. Even as I lay on the ground with hurt in my belly other trolls would come by and kick me for thanks and encourage-mint. They even let me lay on the ground in pain the next day, in-stead of making me go for food. We still had some a-pulls left since many troll did not eat them, as they were new food. They also said sometimes red food could be bad, like old fish but worse. I said if pony could eat them, then troll could eat them too. I got many funny looks. They asked how I knew pony ate them. I said I took them from pony. The old trolls were sad I did not bring back pony as they have a strong and you-knee-eek flavor. That word does not look right.Purple Twilight said it is spelled unique. I am confused by this be-cause while T is a smart troll, T is still a small troll and pony is smarter. The day after I felt much better. Many trolls asked if I could bring back more a-pulls. I said I probably could since it was a cloudy day and I had to go where the sun was. With that I picked up my bag and left for the river. Water lizard let me cross, and I promised to bring back more a-pulls. When I was near the cottage I scared a butter colored pony with wings. I did not mean to I just did. She ran to her house and slammed the door after yelling for all the animals to run, be-cause T was a troll, and even the tiniest trolls are scary. As I continued to the path orange pony took me on I wondered why a pony with wings would not fly. It seemed silly to have wings and be unable to use them to fly away. Later I learned that winged butter pony is a pegasus named Flutter Shy, though she intro-deuced her name as “squeek-eek-ee-eek." I could not pronounce it. She can actually fly but when she gets scared she can-not. Later when we became friends, this made me sad. But at the time I did not care be-cause I am T, and T is a troll. I took some time to look a-round the path on the way to the place called a farm. It was very green and there were many flowers. Several animals scam-purred a-round. It made me very un-comfort-able. But if T brought back more a-pulls then T would become bigger stronger troll from so many punches. So I walked down the road to the farm. I knew when I was there be-cause the trees suddenly had a-pulls. But A-pull Jack had said they were not ripe. There were many trees. Many, many trees that made T think he had been tricked in-to being lost in what Twilight once called a maze. But I did not know what mazes were then be-cause I had not met Twilight. Eventually I found a big wooden house, though I did not know what houses were then. It looked very strange to me. Kind of like butter pony's home but with more sharp lines. It made me scared, like the poisonous blue flowers in the Ever Free. Some-thing about it was wrong. But I saw a small green pony that was made of wrinkles and smelled old. I wanted to approach her and ask is she knew A-pull Jack. I walked out of trees and she screamed, she screamed so loud, about trolls and walked to the house like she was a very old and very slow troll would walk, except on four legs. She was yelling about lights and whistles which made T nervous. I did not know what whistles were but I knew lights made me cranky and un-happy be-cause they gave me head-aches and my-grains. I asked for her to wait, and said I came to talk to A-pull Jack. She did not hear me and kept going very slowly, eventually making it in-to the house where a small, angrily colored yell-low small pony began yelling for her big mac and complaining very loudly and sharply about the thing they talked about scaring Gran-knee-Smith. Soon after a red, big for a pony, pony appeared and asked very strongly for me to wait away from the house. I did not know what he talked about but I wanted a-pulls so I stepped back from the large straight wooden place. I waited with my hand over my eyes to block the light that was there, even with clouds in the sky. I still do not know how you ponies stand the light. Soon the orange pony A-pull Jack appeared, and asked what I did to scare Gran-knee Smith. I said I tried to ask about you. Then she began yelling. A-pull Jack said that was what she thought. Then she asked if I would like to work for some a-pulls. I said yes please, and she led me off in-to the rows of trees. It occurs to me that rows of tree's are not normal. I just realized I should have been scared, but at least it was not so bright. Now that I think about it, T is scared of the orchard, which is a fancy word for forest, known to trolls as tree place. A-pull Jack said that she was taking a chance on me. I did not know what that meant back in then. She said that she had a few things that she either need-dead a unicorn or some-pony big and strong with hands. She had a few unicorn friends but decided to let me try first. She told me that a few of the trees over the years had died. Some were sick, some were damaged and did not live long. She also had trees that need-dead to be chopped up for fire-wood place be-cause they did not make many a-pulls. She wanted me to begin with the dead trees. By the time we were done talking, we had arrived at an obvious dead looking tree. She said she would be working near-by and to yell when I had dug it up so she could walk me to the place to put it. As she walked away I went over to the tree. I put my hands on either side of the trunk and squeezed. The tree began to crack. I did not squeeze hard, this told me the tree need-dead to be dug out. I got down on my knees and checked the ground. It was hard and flattened, but was also somewhat wet making it heavy, but a little bit loose. I think. Either way I took my fingers and carved a whole line in-to the ground. Twilight says it's called a trench. So I carved the trench in-to the ground a-round the tree. It took a long time be-cause I kept finding roots which I had to break. So I did, and kept digging. At some point I decided the trench was deep enough and began digging up dirt with-in the trench and tossing it into a pile next to the hole. Twilight just asked why I dug the trench then. I said so I knew how far I need-dead to go. I also stopped running into big roots that need-dead breaking. After I got a lot of dirt to the side I grabbed the base of the tree, just lower than the ground use to be, and pulled. The tree came up with many of the roots, but many were left behind. I thought that might make A-pull Jack angry but I was not sure and I had the tree. The roots I could work on later. A-pull Jack came by shortly after this and said I did a good job of digging out the tree. I even got enough of the roots so that she could plant a new one with-out Fuss. I did not know who Fuss was, or why she did not want him to help but I did not say anything. She had me carry the tree a fair ways away and put it in what she called a small can-yon . She said be-cause the tree was infected it need-dead to stay away from the other trees. Even if the tree had been cleaned so all the fungus on the out-side was dead. I then helped with two more young dead trees that had been killed and burned by lightning and fire. Then she had me do the same to a tree that died from damage rabbits did to the roots recently. This meant the tree was strong and safe enough for me to pull up after I broke only a few roots as the trunk was still strong. She had me put it be-side what she called a barn. To me it looked just like her house but bigger in-side and more natural. So I did not feel as nervous. She asked for me to break the branches off and put them in a pile. I did so, and she smiled. Apparently I did things right be-cause she decided I could be trusted to dig up the live trees. Hands were very useful, and mine worked better even than a shovel be-cause T is a troll and can use his hands like shovels any-way. Be-for we began work on the trees A-pull Jack said it was lunch time. This confused me. Why eat in the middle of the day when I could be working or playing. Trolls save time by eating at the end of the day when it is dark and there is nothing else to do. A-pull Jack seemed to appreciate what she called my hard working attitude. I know this be-cause she told me. She still did not want me to be a-round her family and scare them. She decided I could start working and she would just give me more food later. I said that would work. By the time A-pull Jack returned I had already pulled up the trees that were healthy but made no a-pulls. She wanted them with the tree hurt by rabbits. I pulled the branches off and she had me break the tree in-to smaller pieces. By the time we were done the sun was thank-fully beginning to set. A-pull Jack decided I had done enough work to fill my bag and also let me have a slice of a-pull pie. It was the best thing I have ever tasted. Even better than the zap a-pull rain-bow a-pull jam. It was dark be-for I even made it to the river, but the water lizard was still awake and let me cross. By the time I made it to the village all the other trolls had stopped. So I stopped knowing that we could all have a-pulls the next day be-cause they do not go bad like fish. Twilight is asking me what stopped is. I said it was when trolls stop moving, almost always at night, and it helps trolls become strong. Trolls who do not stop become mean, and have trouble moving. Twilight said it was like sleeping. She told me what sleeping was but trolls do not sleep. We stop. She is asking how it was different than sleeping. She is also asking that I write after we talk and said I am being dis-respect- Sorry prince S. I apologized to Twilight and explained that trolls do not sleep, we stop. It is different from sleeping be-cause we are a-wake. Twilight head hit the table at this. It make Spike laugh but then Twilight glared at him and he left be-for Twilight could put him in a line, or some-thing. I did not under-stand. Twilight asked how long trolls stopped. I said it depends how old the troll is and how strong they are. Apparently this makes sense to Twilight. As ponies get older they tend to sleep more if they are not in good health, but sleep less if they are in good health. This is the opposite of popular belief and stereo-types. I do not know what a stereo is by it sounds the opposite of troll stopping. Trolls stop loger if they are healthy. When she asked how long I stop a night I said I tend to stop for a-round four to six hours. But only be-cause all the other trolls are stopped. I only really wanted to stop for two to three. When she asked how long the oldest trolls stopped for and I answered she did not believe me. Apparently six months is a long time to not move for a pony. But I-con is very old. When asked how old I replied just older than the longest night. Twilight thinks I should explain what the longest night was. It was when it was night for what was normally four days and five nights. Trolls tell the tale of that glorious period, where the sun did not burn and the birds did not chirp. The moon was full the whole night, and trolls did not stop once. Even old trolls stopped stopping. In-stead they told their entire history, which was shorter then compared to now. Twilight is confused when I said the trolls did not stop. I had to explain stopping is a choice. It makes trolls calmer and more functional during the day hours. T was also told that if T stops stopping than T would die, which means he would never stop or go again. Twilight has asked a lot of questions. When spike came down to make break-fast he told Twilight to go to sleep. Spike also said I just summarize my answers so I can leave to help A-pull Jack today. Here are my answers. Troll do not need to stop. We choose to stop. It makes us calmer and keeps us from hurting each-other. We stop during the night when we can-not see. Our eyes are not good in the dark but the day can be very bright and pain-full. The bigger trolls, like I-con, could kill me with one care-less step. But he is so old that he only moves for one day and one night every six months. If he did not he would be very angry. I-con is about as big as Twilight's library. When he eats, he eats all the food we have saved and some-times more. But he does go in-to the forest and brings back big food. Some big food is basilisk, ogre, other non rock troll, and even a drag-on. He has only hunted three times that I know of. He brought back a basilisk, two manticore, and a griffin. One time he came back with nothing. There are other trolls that do not go any-more. They are about as big as I-con but have stopped forever. Occasionally one will move but they will never go again. Twilight was confused that they could move. I did not know what to say. When troll get to big, they stop forever. Spike asked if they are dead. They were not dead but they are no longer alive. It is these trolls that other trolls go and punch as hard as they can once a year. If a piece breaks off we bury it until it be-comes a new troll. I was the last troll to be-come. That was four cold weathers ago. Trolls that die can never break off. Also trolls do not have to eat very much and can go long times between eating. When I explained it Twilight said it was called a slow met-ab-oil-ism. We also use magic to move which caused Twilight to try and bring me to her basement for testing. For-tune-ate-ley (T thinks he spelled that wrong and will ask A-pull Jack when I go to work) T is a smart troll and would not fall for the same trick twice. Your faith-full troll, T, the tiniest troll.