Wilting Rose

“And… finished! How’s it look, Rarity?”

Walking over to the sewing machine table, Rarity peered over her red-rimmed glasses and looked over the dress her assistant had just finished. “Hmm… overlock stitches look fine. Trim is lined up correctly. No wrinkles or faded spots. Yes, looks perfect as usual, darling. Good job!”

Patting her helper on the back, Rarity lifted up the completed dress with her magic and hung it on a nearby rack. Counting the clothes in front of her, Rarity nodded in satisfaction. “Fabulous, I do believe that completes the order. Thank you so much for all your help, darling. You’ve been an absolute lifesaver and helper. I don’t think I could have finished this order all by myself.”

The crimson red mare sitting at the workbench turned to Rarity and smiled, brushing her forest green mane in slight embarrassment. “Anytime, Miss Rarity. If you have any more work I’m more than glad to help.” Rose Petal said.

Rarity nodded. “Of course you know I would, darling. I just wish I had more work for you. Business always slows down once the end of summer sale ends, and ponies just don’t seem to have as much fashion sense during the winter. But if I have any big orders come in, you know that I’ll be sure to call you immediately.”

The mare’s ears drooped slightly in disappointment but she managed to get them back up to hide her depression. “Don’t worry, I’m happy I had the opportunity to work with you. And yes, please do, I’d love to work on more dresses with you again!”

It only took a matter of minutes for the two ponies to clean up the scraps of cloth and loose string. Having completed the last few chores, Rarity retrieved a bag of bits from the cash register and gave it to Rose Petal. “Here’s your pay, plus a little extra for finishing your tasks ahead of time.” she said gratefully. “I do hope that things get better for you soon, dear.”

Rose Petal gratefully accepted the bag of bits, feeling that it was considerably heavier than she expected. A peek inside the bag proved her right; there was over a hundred extra bits inside. With absolute shock Rose Petal looked up at Rarity and opened her mouth to protest, but the white unicorn shushed her with her hoof.

“You very well earned that little bonus, darling. I won’t take no for an answer, so take care of yourself. And please, dear, do not hesitate to come back here if you need anything. Anything at all.” Rarity said caringly.

Rarity opened her hooves and Rose Petal eagerly and gratefully accepted the friendly gesture. Both ponies embraced the other tightly as they both had tears welling in their eyes, though once they finally separated they didn’t bother trying to hide their emotions. Rarity offered a kiss on the cheek as one last sign of her friendship before Rose Petal left, the mare walking out into the night, headed home.

Rarity watched the crimson red mare leave, a few tears managing to fall down her face. “Stay safe, Rose Petal.” she said before silently closing her door.

Walking through the sleeping town, Rose Petal made her way to the Ponyville Train Station. She wasn’t there to catch a late night train, though. Instead, the crimson mare made her way under the train platform, pushing open a crude wooden door that was unknown to everypony in Equestria except her.

“I’m home.” she announced to herself, the daily ritual always helping quell the overbearing loneliness she felt almost every day. The crude makeshift shelter was inhabited only by her and was where she currently called home. The space she had was barely the same size as the average bedroom, but for her it was more than enough for her needs. She had a discarded mattress for her bed in one corner and a wobbly dresser against the other wall while a single cracked firefly lantern lit the small space. All her possessions lay on top of the dresser with plenty of room to spare, and though there was no place for her to store or cook any food there was no need; she could never afford to buy more than a day’s worth of food, if any at all, as she usually begged for food or rummaged through other pony’s trash for her meals.

Carefully clearing a spot on the wobbly furniture, Rose Petal counted out the bits that Rarity had given her. The white unicorn had given her more than Rose had originally thought; the bag contained five hundred bits, almost double the amount Rarity had said she would pay her to help with her creations. Rose couldn’t help but shed a few tears at the unicorns amazing generosity. “Thank you, Rarity. I truly appreciate it.” she managed to sob out.

Despite having such a large sum of bits, Rose carefully placed every single one back into the bag and placed it in one of the dresser drawers. She then retrieved a piece of charcoal from the drawer and rubbed away a number scrawled on the dresser, replacing it with the number ‘514’. Dropping the charcoal back in the drawer, she smiled almost ear to ear as she saw how many bits she now had. It was by far nowhere near to improve her living conditions, especially with winter coming up. The 514 bits would buy her food every two or three days, meaning she would have to search or beg as usual, but the large sum gave her hope that maybe this winter would be easier than the others.

Opening the drawer below where her bits were stored, she looked at the brand new set of clothes that Rarity had made her a few days ago. Though it was only one outfit, it was specially made for her and would be just enough to keep the cold out once winter came. She quickly closed the drawer, not wanting to risk getting the clothes dirty too soon before wiping away another tear.

Though Rose had been living in Ponyville for almost two months, Rarity was the only pony that knew about her living conditions. The unicorn nearly had a heart attack after Rose finally opened up and told her about her past; from growing up in an orphanage in Baltimare, to moving across Equestria to Manehattan and working in a strip club, to being forced into prostitution to simply afford food. She had managed to escape by saving any bits she could and bought the cheapest train ticket she could to anywhere away from the city, and it just so happened that tickets to Ponyville were discounted the day she ran away. As soon as Rose had finished her tale, Rarity put her hoof down and demanded that she move in immediately, but Rose Petal refused, not wanting to burden any other pony with her troubles or misfortune. To counter Rose’s stubbornness Rarity tried to keep her working late as much as possible, then forced her to stay over at it was too unsafe for a mare to walk back home so late at night. Of course Rarity would also make a hot home-cooked meal for her and insist that Rose take a long, hot shower before retiring for the night in the guest bedroom.

Rarity had hoped that she would start to move in after a while, but Rose couldn't bring herself to drag another pony down alongside herself. She truly appreciated everything Rarity did for her and offered to do but she knew that Rarity had her own life to live and bills to pay. Like Rarity said, winter was always a slow time for sales, and the fashionable mare was always close to going under every winter just on her own; taking care of her would surely cause her to go bankrupt.

“Well, it looks like I’m out of a job again.” Rose Petal sighed. Though she liked the small town, there were hardly any job opportunities for her now that fall had arrived and winter would soon be here. She couldn’t fill any jobs meant only for pegasi and unicorns, and for an earth pony she was rather weak. The floral shop that had employed her for a few weeks was closed for the winter, but at least they had referred her to work for Rarity once they let her go. No other businesses could afford to hire another employee right now, so finding an actual job in town was out of the question. Added that she couldn’t afford to move to some other city and start all over she had very few options open to her… but there was one job she saw that nopony else in town was doing.

Ignoring the twisted knot that had formed in her stomach, she looked over at a rusted can that was tucked away in the corner. Looking inside, she grimaced as she looked down at a dirty plastic baggie with a dozen or so white pills inside, each of them stamped with the letter ‘H’. She had hoped to have never had to use these horrid drugs again, but they did help dull the pain and humiliation of when she used to sell her body to anypony willing to pay, especially with those who had strange or extreme fetishes and could pay to fulfill their fantasies. However, at least doing so meant a warm room and a soft bed for the night.

Sighing, Rose Petal turned away from the evil can and made her way over to her dirty mattress. Settling down on it, she nestled her head down on her forehooves and pulled her meager blanket over her body. A rogue blast of wind penetrated the makeshift walls and door, causing Rose to shiver slightly as she was hit by the cool fall air. ‘Hopefully this winter isn’t too cold.’ she thought before falling asleep.