Too Many Cooks (RGRE Flower Sisters)

>You are Anon, and you’re currently walking to Roseluck’s house.
>She invited you over for dinner with her sisters.
>You were told to bring something, so you brought dessert.

>When you reached the house you rang the doorbell.
>Before the chime stopped Roseluck was already shoving you inside, chattering up a storm.
>”I’m so glad you’re here! We’ve got the table set, and Daisy’s brewing the tea right now, and Lily’s tending the soup, and I’ve been keeping watch for you, and we’ve been so excited, and we’re turning right down this hall, and the kitchen’s just past the dining room, and here we are!“

“I think I only caught part of that.”

>”D-doesn’t matter, then, we’re just happy you’re here!” Roseluck stammered.

“D’aaaaw, I’m happy to be here, too. Do you guys know you’re the first to invite me over like this since I got to Equestria?”

>”Really?” She blushed. “I kinda thought Bon Bon would have asked you already.”

“Nah, I pester her enough at work. I don’t think she’s too keen on bringing my shenanigans home with her.”

>”That’s her loss, then.” Roseluck smiled. It was a tender smile, like how you smiled at your puppy when you were littlenon. “Dinner’s almost ready, so you should go see Lily. Show her what you brought. I’ll be getting things ready while you talk.”

>You nodded and walked over to the stove.
>The soup had a couple of flower petals floating on the top.
>You’d be alarmed, except you learned months ago that nothing in this new world could stand up to the might of your Earth-hardened stomach.
>You could eat Equestrian hemlock and be totally fine.

“It smells good.”

>Lily nodded at you and continued to stir.
>She tapped her spoon on the edge of the pot to shake away the liquid, then set it down on a towel.
>”It’s our family’s recipe.” She gave you a look you think was supposed to be meaningful. “Last generation our moms added ginger and lime, and our daddy served it over rice.”

“This reminds me of some dishes I used to make back home.”

>Lily smiled. It wasn’t a big smile, but it was enough to make her shy away from you and return to her cooking.
>”What did you make?”

“I don’t think we ever made it the right way, but my mom and dad really liked this noodle dish called phad thai. He’d make it for our birthdays every year, and sometimes I’d make it for them. There were a couple of others, like tom yum and chi-- I mean --tikka masala, but phad thai was our favorite.”

>”Can I see what you brought?”

“Sure.”
>You set your tupperware down on the counter and popped the top.
>Inside were chocolate covered peanut butter balls.
>They were like Reese’s, but bigger and the chocolate shell was harder.
“Since candy’s what I spend most of my days making these days, I figured I’d bring dessert.”

>Lily’s smile evaporated when she saw what you brought.
>”...oh. I had thought you were… Nevermind, it was dumb.”

>You were now confused.
”What’s dumb? What was I?”

>”It doesn’t matter.” She was now turned away from you and focusing on the soup again. “Daisy’s in the dining room if you want to see her.”

“Alright, then… I guess we can talk later if you like.”

>She nodded and continued stirring.
>So you backtracked to the dining room where Daisy was pouring tea into pony-sized teacups.
>This world was too small for you.

“Howdy.”

>”Anon! Rosie told me you were here! How’d it go with Lily?”

“I’m not sure. She seemed kind of down.”

>”W-well, that’s just Lily sometimes. Don’t let her spoil the mood, y’know?”
>She returned to her work.
>She set a tiny mint leaf floating in  each cup.
>It looked classy.

“She seemed like something was bothering her… Though I guess it’s none of my business.”

>”I suppose not... How’ve you been?” She smiled, but unlike the other two her smile seemed forced.

“I’ve finally started getting used to pulling the taffy at the candy shop. The first couple weeks doing that made me feel like death, but now I’m doing a lot better!”

>”I can tell, you’re looking more buff than you were a month ago.”

“I know, right? You wouldn’t think a candy shop would be a place to get in shape, but here I am. Doesn’t hurt that being around candy so much makes you lose your taste for it, either.”

>”You don’t like candy anymore?”

>You blow out a stream of air.
“I don’t dislike it, but it stops being special when you can literally taste it in the air all day.”
>You chuckle.
“The taste is kind of stuck in my mouth, even now. It just won’t go away.”

>”So you and Bon Bon don’t give each other candy then?”

>You raise your eyebrow.
“If that’s your way of asking if we’re a couple, then no, we don’t.” You tap your fingers together for a moment.
“Rose was asking about Bonnie, too. Do lots of ponies think we’re a couple?”

>”You two seem to get along well, and you’ve been a popular topic in the rumor mill for ages.” She grinned. “Some ponies have even been saying you and Screw Loose are a thing.”

“Screw Loose? Has she even been out of the hospital since Discord was reformed?”

>”That’s what makes it so saucy. Ponies have been seeing a tall, dark shadow move around her side of the building, climb the parapets, storm the battlements, and breach the sanctum!”
>She clapped her hooves together.
>”Every time I hear the story it gets more embellished.”

“You know it’s not true, right?”

>”I mean, of course. What stallion in his right mind would let his heart be taken by her? She’s got no herd prospects.”

“I… That’s right, yeah, you guys do that.”

>”Do what?”

“The whole herding thing. That’s not how it works back home.”

>Around this time Lily and Roseluck wandered into the dining room.
>Lily brought the soup, and Roseluck was carrying your dessert.
>Lily was still down, and it looked like her mood had infected Roseluck, too.

>”Hold up, are you telling me humans don’t herd?” asked Daisy.
>Lily and Roseluck looked at each other in surprise.

“I mean, harems are a thing sometimes, but it’s usually just a man and a woman.”

>Lily spoke up.
>”Then how do you make any kind of decent food?”

>wat
“wat”

>”You didn’t know?” Roseluck said.

>You scratched your head.
>Did you miss something obvious?
“I think you guys have me at a loss.”

>Lily started laughing.
>”When you showed me those chocolates I thought for sure you and Bon Bon were trying to let us down easy.”

“Bonnie and I aren’t a couple. We don’t even talk outside of work. What’s going on?”

>”Well, we’re making soup.” said Daisy.
>”It’s how earth ponies form herds.” said Lily.
>”We were trying to invite you to join us.” said Roseluck.

“Wha-really?”

>”Ah-huh. We thought… We figured since humans don’t have magic or wings that you’d be like us.” said Daisy.

“You’ll have to forgive me, then. Twilight never taught me about pony courtship, and I never figured I’d need to know about it myself, so I don’t know how any of this works.”

>”I’ll give you a quick rundown, then.” said Daisy.
>“Pegasi see herds like big wings. It’s why they fly in V-formations, and it’s why they share feathers. They want to show everyone they’re all part of the same wingspan, and they’ll fly together forever.”
>”Unicorns do… They do something with magic, I couldn’t tell you what. They call it a soul bond, but that’s as much as I know.”
>”Earth ponies offer the fruits of their labors and make food together. Everypony brings something personal to the whole, and if everypony likes the food we become a bigger and better recipe.”

>You chuckle.
“I think… I think that’s the most adorable explanation of polygamy I’ve ever heard.”

>”So… If you’re not like us, then how do humans do it?” asked Roseluck.

>You rub your chin.
“I suppose what we do sounds like what I imagine a “soul bond” might be.” You made the air quotes when you said that.
“We… At least where I come from we see ourselves as incomplete beings. We spend our lives looking for our other halves, our soulmates.”

“When we find each other we stop being two parts and we become one whole person.”

>The sisters look at each other for a moment.
>They look back at you.
>Then at each other again.
>”I think Screw Loose counts as half a pony.”

>Fucking ponies.