//------------------------------// // Feeder (Slightly edited) // Story: Equestria's Garden // by PinkiePieFox //------------------------------// It has been a day or so since the late night visitor of unknown origin; I had decided to buy me something from the nearby shop which I had hoped would bring in some actual birds this time around. A Birdfeeder! Nothing can possibly go wrong, nope, nothing… By this point, I am bound and determined to get some sort of normal, non-pony animal to hang around my garden if it kills me. Now, not to say it's not entertaining watching herds of pegasi or random Earth ponies showing up out of nowhere and doing…. Whatever they were doing with their buts in the air… I was just hoping for some songbirds or something….So yes a birdfeeder! Well, I got home that day and found a little grey pegasus mare sitting on my front porch with a clipboard with a parchment attached to it and a pen. I took the pen and wrote my name down upon the parchment before she give it a critical look and smiled with a nod and few off. I went inside to make my nightly coffee when another knock came to the door. I opened to door to find two strong looking earth pony with a box so large it took both to carry it. They came inside and sit the box down. I made to say something, but the earth ponies interrupted by telling me to have a nice day and left. “This is not a bird feeder…..” I said to myself looking at the box that was as tall as me laying on the floor. I was wrong; so very wrong. It was a bird feeder; it was just a very big bird feeder! And it took me the better part of two days to put it into place. It hung from what looked like a telephone pole and came with the first shipment of seed I’d need. After putting the seed into the feeder, I went inside for the night. I figured the birds would show up tomorrow morning. That night the sound of insects could be heard through the open window of my bedroom; it was quite pleasant and lulled me to a peaceful sleep. That was the best sleep I had in a long time I must admit, and after making my coffee and stepping out the back door to my home I seen a pegasus floating around in the bath, but she flew off as soon as she had spotted me. I looked over at the bird feeder with a smile and a slightly scrunched forehead. “Sup!” I raised my coffee “YO!” Came the voice. I just stood there and took a drink of my coffee. “So uh, you're new.” A rustling sound from a new creature as they stuck their head into the bird feeder and eat some of the seed in there and then pulling back out looking at me before swallowing. “Yeah, I’m new in town, just dropped by to see Dash. Then totally seen the cool digs and dropped in for a bite, really digging the hole theme you got going here.” I rubbed my forehead. “So you're one of Dashes friends?” I asked though the sounds of crushing birdseed. Pulling her head out from the inside of the feeder, her cheeks bulging out full of seed and cocking her head to the side slightly before swallowing. “Yeah! names Gilda! Coolest Gryphen around!” She puffs her chest out and strikes an impressive pose. “Gryphon's; I should have known.” I thought to myself with a smirk and a shake of my head. “Well, make yourself at home I guess. “Thanks, dude, you know you're pretty cool,” she stated before I nodded and turned to go back into the house she replayed again. “Nice place other than that Ant Hill, though.” “Ant Hill?” I turned around and she pointed over her shoulder to the corner of my property, a large mound of dirt piled taller than me stood at the far end of the yard. “How did I not see that?” I told Gilda thanks for the heads up and walked through the garden to a small shaded area under a large oak tree. I took a drink of my coffee just looking at the large mound of dirt before reaching up and knocking on the side of the mound. I heard a buzzing and stepped back away from it thinking it might be a massive hornets nest or something, I was not expecting a reply. “Who is it?” “Umm.” “I’m sorry we don't know any Umm’s, you must have the wrong hive please try the everfree forest.” There was a long pause. “Ok, no, this is my land what's-” “OH!” A small black head popped out of the top of the mound, it had a small horn on its head and large blue eyes. “it's you! Thanks for the place to stay, the hive thanks you for your help in relocating!” You know, after all this time, I really didn't think I’d be seeing anything new happen, but this made my brain shut down. “What?” I said staring at the strange pony, bug thing. “Well, we came the other night, and our Queen spoke with you,” it tilted its head to the side. “Oh dont tell me we landed in the wrong place, The Queen will be furiosus!” “Wait, I...The other night?” he remembers back to the night when the unknown figure was in the bath and then remembers some of what he said in his tired state; and how it could be misconstrued as a welcome to stay forever. He slapped his hand over his face. “You know what, yes… okay, just do me a favor!” The little creature nodded its head at me and I went on. “Could you make this.” I wave my hand at the large mound of dirt in the corner of my hard. “Not! look like a giant pile of, well dirt?” I really wanted to say something else, but I held back, and just drank what was left of my now cold coffee with a grimace. There were a buzzing and a few clicking sounds before the creature shifted its eyes to the side and then back to me before nodding. “We can do that.” It then disappeared back down the hole where it came from. I let out a sigh and went back inside, I had to get ready for work. I had dragged myself home that night, I was so tired, but I was hearing sounds coming from the back yard and just had to take a look. The mound was gone, that was a good thing. in its place was a large square platform with a figure standing atop it. I went out and stood next to the bath. “I’m not one for exterior design, but I think you could have done better with your choice of a garden statue; Changeling Queens are so overrated.” I jumped at the sound of the voice, sloshing my coffee in the flower bed as I looked over into two large eyes with a starfield surrounding it. She gives me a kind smile and I sighed “Hi, Luna.”