//------------------------------// // Fruit Shift // Story: A Few Fruit Short of a Salad // by BludgeonWarrior //------------------------------// "This can't be real..." Fruit sat at a table opposite her Aunt Cup, half-listening to what she's saying. "Well it is Fruit dearie..." Mrs. Cake replied, "Your Uncle needs to go make another special delivery, and I have to take the twins to get their check-up. That's why we need you to watch the store." "Sweet! You can totally count on me Auntie Cup!" "Now, there are some orders in the back, and there'll be ponies coming by to pick them up, and I've labeled each box so you shouldn't get the orders mixed up, sand I've also-" "Auntie! Relax!" Fruit interrupted, "I got this Auntie! Have some faith in me!" Mrs. Cake sighed, "You're right Fruit..." She got up from the table and picked up Pound and Pumpkin, "Could you give me a hoof, Fruit dearie?" Fruit smiled and got up to help her Aunt get the twins in the saddle-harness. "Wheee! Hehe!" Fruit messed around with the two before getting them fastened. "They getting any...'pointis'?" "A couple, yes..." Mrs. Cake whispered. "Slag, I hate 'pointies', just ask my parents..." "But if they're good, they'll be getting a special surprise." "Nice! Oh! Oh! Can I get something? If I do an awesome job? Please?" Fruit fell to Mrs. Cake's hooves, "Pweeease?!?" "We'll see Fruit..." Mrs. Cake smiled, "I better be off now, I'll be back at around dinner!" "Bye Auntie! Be brave Pound, Pumpkin!" The twins looked at each other oddly, wondering what she was talking about as Mrs. Cake went out the door. "Okay then! Now what do I do?" Fruit walked around to the other side of the counter and tapped the bell a couple times. "Hmm... What to do...?" Fruit climbed onto the counter and laid down on her back and looked at the ceiling. She stared at it for a minute until some squeaking came from her mane. "Hehe.. hey Jinjo..." Fruit reached into her mane and let Jinjo crawl onto her hoof. She pulled her out and held Jinjo above her face. Fruit sighed, "Well..., it's just you and me Jinjo..." Jinjo squeaked and nuzzled himself in his reddish pink wings. "Heh... I guess you're right...." Fruit thought for a second... "Jinjo?" Jinjo looked down at Fruit's face. "Ya think it's weird that you're the same color as my mane?" Jinjo opened his wings and compared his body to Fruit's mane. "It even has the same pinkish patches. What's up with that?" Jinjo shrugged a squeak. Fruit nodded. "Yeah, it's probably just coincidence..., or maybe we were destined to be together...?" Another shrug from Jinjo. "Heh, yeah...." She gets up and off the counter, Jinjo still hanging off of her hoof, "Lets get a snack! I still have some candy that BonBon gave me left!" Jinjo flew off and squeaked a bit by Fruit. "I don't know why she just gave them to me, maybe I'm just an awesome pony! Hehehe..." The duo went up to Fruit's room real quick and she got her candy and decided to get some other stuff before she went back down, specifically, her banjo and a couple of books. She shoved the books into her mane and carried her banjo and had Jinjo carry the candy. Fruit came down to find a mint green pony with a light teal mane by the counter. "Hi there!" Fruit greeted as she came up to her. "Hey, um... are the Cakes home?" "Yes, I'm Fruit Cake! I'm their niece!" "Oh yeah, I heard about you from Bonnie. She's my best friend." "Cool. So... uhhh.. you hear for your order I'm guessing?" "Mm-hmm," The mare nodded, "It's Lyra, Lyra Heartstrings." Fruit started to think of puppet surgery, but then saw Lyra's cutie mark. "Oh..." "Hmm?" "Hehe...... nothing." Fruit giggled, "I'll go get your order." Fruit put her banjo behind the counter and went to the kitchen. There were three boxes with names on each one. "I wonder which it is...?" Fruit sarcastically said to herself and giggled. She grabbed the box with Lyra's name and brought it out to her. "Lets see..." Fruit looked at a list Mrs. Cake gave her, "That will be... five bits!" Lyra gets out her bits and pays. "Thank you!" Lyra grabbed the box and went out the door. "Sweet! I totally rocked that sale!" Fruit bounced around merrily and Jinjo cheered with happy squeaks. The two then celebrated with candy and soda. Two hours later... Fruit was now reading, a hobby of hers that anypony that would meet her would be surprised by. "Aw...." She sighed, "That wasn't a very happy ending..." She closed the book and shoved it into her mane, where her record, her toys, her banana shoes, her weird gemstone, her secret box, her banjo, and even her binkie when she was a foal! Unlike anypony else who would be very interested after seeing her pull out her colossal record collection and then her record player out of her mane, Fruit never questioned how. It's been her personal storage unit ever since she was a young filly. Whenever somepony would ask her about it, Fruit just respond with an 'I dunno," and then ask where the sun and moon go when they're not in the sky. The conversation would then end and the other pony would never talks to her again. Jinjo was eating some fruit-flavored candies, all except the licorice. Fruit snatched all of it away before he could eat it. "All of licorice belong to us!" Licorice is to Fruit as a ball of yarn is to a kitten. She loved licorice. It's her absolutely favorite candy and treat. Though someponies may say she loves licorice too much... "Hello?" Fruit looked and saw a pale yellow filly coming in the store. She was an older filly around thirteen and she was taller than most fillies. Her mane and tail were a cascade of blue and light blue, and her eyes were like windows looking out to the sea. "Hey kid!" The filly came up to the counter. "I'm here to get my dad's order?" Fruit wouldn't respond. "Um.....?" "Well?" "Well what? "Are you going to introduce yourself?" The filly backed away a little. "Why? I don't know you...?" "That's why you introduce yourself silly!" Fruit smacked her forehead. The filly smiled a bit; she thought Fruit was a bit weird, but not dangerous. So the filly decided to tell her. "It's Shellsong..." The filly said, "My name's Shellsong, but my friends call me Shelly." "See? Was that so super-hard now? Fruit Cake, at your service." She bows but hits her head on the counter, "Ow..." "Hehe...., well, um, Ms. Fruit... I'm here to pick up an order for my dad, Blue Tides?" "Yeah... ow...., I'll go get it... ow..." Fruit walked back into the kitchen, holding her head. She soon came back out with a medium sized box and set it on the counter. "Okay then...., that's.... seven bits!" Shellsong reached into her saddle-bag and took out the bits and gave them to Fruit, who managed to catch a look a Shelly's cutie mark. "Hey, that's a cool cutie mark!" Fruit pointed to Shelly's flank. "Hehe... thanks..." Shellsong blushed and picked up the box. "Bye!" Shellsong then left, leaving Fruit to wonder what her cutie mark meant. Jinjo flew over to Fruit and landed of her mane. "Hehe! You tired Jinjo?" Fruit giggled as Jinjo yawned. Jinjo shook his head and squeaked lazily. Oh, I see..." Fruit giggled, "You're just stuffed!" Jinjo let out a little burp. Fruit giggled again and reached into her mane and pulled out two odd little toys and started playing on the counter. In only a few minutes, however, a purple stallion with a brownish mane with black tips walked in and saw Fruit's imagination at work. "You'll never win Slimux!" "Blearrgh! You can't stop me Death Hood!" The stallion puzzled as he watched Fruit play with her two small plastic pony toys. The "Death Hood" one was completely black and had a black hood on it, giving a slight show of a solid black horn. The other, "Slimux," was green and looked like it was made of slime. It had somewhat sad-looking red eyes and had a curved horn. Fruit was too into her play to notice the stallion walking up to the counter and tap the bell. She jumped and noticed the stallion. "Oh, hi!" Fruit smiled as she stuffed the toys back into her mane, "What can I do for you...?" Fruit looked at the list, "Mr. Historic, right?" The stallion nodded slowly. "Err...., yes..., Historic Knowledge..." Fruit yawned. "Tired?" He asked. "Nah, that's just a reaction to anything related to history..." She yawned again, "See?" "I suppose...?" Historic oddly raised his eyebrow. "So, I'm guessing you here for your order then?" Fruit asked as she reached into her mane and pulled out the last box, which was around the size of her head. ".....................How did-?" "Where does the sun go?" Fruit interrupted him. Historic yawned and decided to just ignore it, considering the other odd pony who lived here... "Yes... it's my order..." He takes and opens it, releasing a horrid smell to which he gagged. Fruit's eyes watered up and she covered her nose. "Peeeeeyeeew!!" "Perfect..." Historic winced and then put the cover back on the box. "Yeah... if you like sweaty socks that just hatched from rotten skunk eggs!" Fruit yelled, "Why the slag did you order something so slagging stinky?!?!" Historic was trying to shake off the smell off. "Well..., this... fine dish... is the only thing that attracts the Sluzard out of a friend of mine's house..." "Sluz-whuh?" "Imagine a large lizard with slug-like skin that consistently excretes a noxious sweat that-" "Okay! Okay! I get it! Just stop! Stop!" Fruit yelled. "Sorry...." Jinjo crawled out of Fruit's mane to see what the screaming was about and was startled by Historic, who was leaning over the counter and looking at him. "A fruit bat?! What an odd colorization, and is that fuzz? I've never seen a species like it!" "Uhh.... okay...?" Jinjo looked himself over again. Why were these ponies so up in hoof about his colors anyway? "I've seen every single species of fruit bat from strawberry to kiwi, and I've never seen one like this..." Historic looked closer. "Yeah... you said that..." "It must be a new species!" "Um....cool...?" Fruit just got more and more uncomfortable, "His name's Jinjo..." Jinjo waved nervously, then retreated back into Fruit's mane with a flurry of squeaks. "Fascinating..." The clocktower's bell rung. "Ah! I need to get going! Or the Sluzard will ruin the house!" Historic tosses a large bag of bits to Fruit and bolts out with his smelly box. Fruit blinked twice and then got her toys back out and played. "Fruit... Fruuuuuit.... Wake up Tooty Fruity..." Fruit awoke to the sound of a familiar voice (She had fallen asleep). "Hiya sleepy-pants!" "Ughh.... who....?" Fruit's groggy vision began to clear and she jumped and hugged the pony once she recognized the bouncing pink mare... "PINKIE!!!" Fruit hugged tightly, giving Pinkie a taste of her own hugs were like for others for a moment. "Yeppereenie!" Pinkie smiled. Mrs. Cake then came out of the kitchen. "Hello Fruit." "Auntie! Look who's back!" Fruit squeed and turned Pinkie to her. "Yes dearie, she came and met me by the door just a few moments ago." Fruit didn't hear, as she was hopping, smiling, bouncing and squeezing around the shop. Pinkie smiled, "Hey Fruit. I got you these too!" Fruit turned and her eyes widened when she saw what Pinkie was holding. "Lets say they're your reward for doing such a good job watching the store..." Mrs. Cake smiled. "These can't be real..." Fruit took them and put them on. "I saw how much you liked it, so I asked my friend Rarity to make these for you!" Fruit smiled and showed off her legs; each on had red cloth on them and a darker red swirl going around. She squeed. "LICORICE SOCKS!!!!"