Icy air bit at Rose’s leg, and she pulled it closer to her. There was warmth under the covers, and only cold beyond. The short hand of her clock on the bedstand almost pointed at the VII; outside her frosted window there was the grey pre-dawn light. Rose closed her eyes tightly, and burrowed deeper into her bed.

Sometime later, there was a knock on her door. “Rosey, it’s time to get up!” Lily called.

I don’t want to! she tried to complain, but it just came out as an indistinct mumbling. The door opened, and Lily looked in, wearing a scarf and sweater.

“Are you alright?” she asked.

“Uh…” Rose blinked, and looked at the clock again. It was at the VIII now, and the early morning sun shone clearly outside, frost glittering on the roofs across the street. “Just let me sleep, Lily, I don’t want to get up.” Both of them knew that wouldn’t be happening, though.

“Daisy and I managed it, and we need your help downstairs.” Lily told her.

“Fine...” sighed Rose. The bitter chill made getting out of bed the worst possible experience there was, and she too saw the wisdom in donning winter gear like her cousin had.

“Why does it have to be so cold?” whined Rose, stumbling down the stairway into the back hall.

“The pegasi cleared out the clouds last evening, if you must know,” Daisy said, popping around the kitchen’s doorframe. “They’ve got to drop the temperature before they can bring in the snow tonight.”

Rose sighed. So it was going to be one of those days. She wished they could drag the oven into the shop, but none of the three wanted to bother with making a new chimney. “I heard Mayor Mare has that new electro-city thing.” Rose said, enjoying the lit oven’s heat.

“Electricity, Rosey.” Daisy corrected her.

“Oh.”

“What is that stuff, anyway?” Lily asked.

“It’s like lightning, I heard.” said Daisy. “Someone said in the newspaper it was going to make light so cheap only the rich would buy candles, but I don’t see the point in it. Aren’t candles and lanterns good enough?”

I wonder if electricity could power a stove? Maybe even a portable one that doesn’t need a chimney? It was certainly a radical thought. Rose frowned to herself as she tried to figure out how such a thing could even work. How exactly did electricity work, anyway? She’d never learned about it in school…

“Look at her frown!” Lily whispered.

“I see it.” said Daisy. “Maybe I’m too hard on her… She really does look sad.”

“Let’s get her to work before we do anything else.”

The two sisters got their chance to act when another pair of sisters came in, Flitter and Cloudchaser. “Good morning, Rose!” they greeted.

“Cold morning…” Rose grumbled, trying to sink deeper into her scarf. “Is this weather really necessary?”

“Of course!” Flitter said with a cheery smile.

“Everyone likes a snowy Hearth’s Warming Eve!” Cloudchaser added.

“But that’s not until next week…” Rose put her head on the counter, ears flat. “Well, how can I help you two?”

“Now’s our chance!” Lily pulled Daisy into the back hall, and pushed her up the stairs.

“The chance for what?”

“I saw her notebook open this morning, she had been writing in it.” said Lily, as they went into Rose’s room.

“Are you sure this is a good idea?” Daisy asked, looking at the books on Rose’s shelf above her desk. “It feels kind of… sneaky, to be snooping around her room like this.”

“It’s for her own good.” Lily stated as firmly as she could. Now what were you writing, Rosey? Her cousin’s writing was clear and elegant, she’d had the best writing of all three, but what she’d written was at total odds with the beauty of her pencraft. “Listen to this, Daisy:

“I can make a true song

about me myself,

tell my travels,

how I often endured

days of struggle.

“How awful!” gasped Lily. “What could have driven her to write this?”

“I wouldn’t call it awful, just dark…” Daisy looked at the notebook with concern. “She circled this part:

“Fettered by cold

were my feet,

bound by frost

in cold clasps,

where then cares seethed

hot about my heart,

a hunger tears from within

the sea-weary soul.”

“Who could have known Rosey was such a poet?” Lily asked herself, her ears drooping. Everything was starting to fit together. Rose’s constant dreariness and complaining about the cold, and now this poetry of hers which bemoaned it so greatly… It made sense! “Why would such a talented mare be so unhappy?” she wondered.

“It is grim.” agreed Daisy. “I think you’re right, Lily. Our Roseluck is troubled, if she felt had to resort to writing how she felt, and we need to help her. But how?”

“Daisy, you can start telling everyone to be more considerate of Rosey’s feelings, we don’t want to hurt her any more. And I know a pony who can help us help her.”

It was a while before Lily found an excuse to leave, but she and Daisy managed to convince Rose to watch over the shop alone for a bit. While Daisy did errands, Lily was off to see the one who was ostensibly the happiest pony in town.

Sugarcube Corner was an odd building, Lily always thought it didn’t quite mesh with the rest of the town’s style. The lumpy roof, the faux-frosting edging, that simply bizarre chimney, the giant cupcake on top… It was all just a bit tacky, and not too pleasant to have just down the street from their immaculate flower shop. Not that she’d ever tell the Cakes what she thought of their home.

“Hello, Miss Lily!” Mister Cake said, from behind the counter. “What can we get for you today? We’ve just finished a lovely batch of gingerbread-”

“Oh, no thanks, I’m actually here to see Pinkie Pie.”

“Really? What for?” asked he. “I wouldn’t say there’s anyone in this town who isn’t a friend of Pinkie, but you don’t come around as often as those other five girls…”

Too gaudy of taste for me, Lily thought, but she didn’t say that either.Pinkie really was a nice pony at heart, and she was exactly the one who could help her now. “Well, it has to do with my cousin, Roseluck. She’s not feeling too great recently.”

“Like, the sick kind of feeling, or the sad kind?”

“The sad kind, I fear...” Lily said. “If there’s anyone in town who can get Rose back to her old self, I’d think it would be Pinkie.”

“I’m sorry to hear that, but I think you’ve come to the right place. I’ll go get her.” Mister Cake vanished into the back, and returned not too long after with Pinkie in tow.

“Hi Lily!” the pink one said, bouncing happily around the counter. “How’s it going?”

“I’m doing fine, Pinkie, thank you. But there’s something troubling me.”

“Really?” Pinkie bounced in front of her, staring expectantly. “It must be the kind of trouble that concerns me, then!”

“You’d be right.” sighed Lily, giving a worried look out the window, back at her own family’s shop. “You know my cousin Roseluck, right?”

“Of course! We’ve still got about a hundred and twenty days till her birthday, right?”

“Yes, how did- nevermind.” Lily shook her head. How does she remember all these things? “Well, Roseluck’s been acting a bit strange, lately. Or at least I thought it was strange. But just yesterday I started to realize she wasn’t acting just strange, but… sad!”

“Oh no!” Pinkie was shocked. “Sad?! In the holiday season?! This is serious, Lily! You’d better sit down and tell me everything…”

And so Lily did. She told her about how Rose had been acting, and what she had said, and that awfully grim poetry they’d found in her room this morning. The more she told, the more worked up Lily got. What were they going to do? Was it their fault Rose was slipping away from happiness? Could they have prevented this? Had Daisy been too cross? Had she herself been too unaware? “I just don’t know what to do, Pinkie!” Lily finally confessed. “We need your help, I can’t stand the thought of our Rosey falling into… into… depression!” She could barely whisper it, that was not a nice word. But there was an even darker one lurking in the back of her mind...

“This is bad, Lily.” Pinkie agreed, not a hint of a smile on her face for once. She peered at her with squinted eyes. “What exactly did that poetry of hers say?”

“It was… it was… something about her being fettered by cold, bound by frost, her spirit hungry and torn and weary. Oh, I can’t bear to remember it all!” Lily buried her face in her hooves.

“Don’t you worry, now.” said Pinkie, standing up on her hind legs and striking a pose. “There is one mare yet in Ponyville who still brings smiles!”

Another slow day, Rose thought, tapping her hooves on the floor. Many ponies had already done their Hearth’s Warming Eve preparations weeks ago, but she still got a few coming in for last minute decorations of the botanical nature, and some others just for the usual smalltalk. Sun Streak had said something strange when she left, though: “I hope you feel better, Rose!”

“Uh… thanks?” Whatever she meant by that, Rose wasn’t sure. Did she think she was in full winter gear on account of illness?

Then Sassaflash came in. “Hey Rose, how are you doing?”

“Fine, thank you.” said Rose. “Are you looking for anything in particular today?”

“No, I just wanted to see if you were okay.” The pegasus stood silently for a moment, as if she were expecting Rose to speak in turn.

“Well, here I am, Sassaflash.” she said, awkwardness coming over her. “I’m not dead from this cold yet, am I?” Rose tried to laugh, but it fell flat.

“Alright...” And with that, she left.

“Weird…” Rose muttered. Another hour passed in empty silence, she just read from one of her botany books to pass the time. I need to see Twilight after closing, Rose reminded herself.

Then, the shop door chimed as someone stepped through. Aha, another customer- Rose began to think, looking up from the counter. But when she saw who it was, she could only groan internally. Oh Celestia… It was none other than Time Turner, her least favorite pony in the whole town.

“Good afternoon.” said Rose, forcing herself to smile. What does he want this time?

“Rose!” exclaimed Time Turner, panting heavily, as if he had just ran all the way here from Canterlot. “You gotta come with me!”

“Please, call me Roseluck.” she said. That smile was already starting to slip; it wasn’t easy to not grit her teeth when he called her that. Rose had many friends who called her Rose; Time Turner wasn’t one of them.

“This is no time for games!” he said. “The whole world is in danger!”

“What is it now?” Rose asked. Time Turner had dragged her off into the Everfree Forest once, claiming he’d seen an uncommon flower he knew she wanted to collect for her garden. They’d run around for three hours before Rose realized he had made the whole thing up. Then there were the times he’d ambush her on the street and start babbling about some kind of monster being loose in the town; but of course, when he finally pressured her into following him, there was absolutely nothing of the sort. Rose wasn’t an unfriendly or mean pony, and she didn’t want to hurt his feelings, but...

“We need to go to my time machine, Rose, we have to go back!”

There was only so much nonsense a pony could take! Rose twitched her ears, and tried not to let them fall all the way back. “You can’t time travel, Time Turner.”

“I’m not Time Turner, I’m Doctor Hooves!” he whined.

“And I’m Roseluck.” Rose was trying to keep that smile up, she really was! “I’m sorry, but I don’t have the time for this. I’ve got a job, Time Turner, and I can’t close up shop to follow you around town.” That was about as nicely as she could put it. Even if he was annoying, Rose didn’t want to be mean to a stallion who wasn’t right in the head.

“This is really important Rose-”

Then she heard hoofsteps on the staircase in the back hall, and out came Daisy. Rescue! “Hey, you! Stop bothering my cousin!” Daisy barked. Luckily, she had no qualms about swiftly dealing with hopelessly delusional ponies.

“But-”

Daisy didn’t give him time to speak, and started scooting him out of the shop. “Don’t you know she’s got problems of her own? It’s very inconsiderate to harass her like this. Now go find someone else to bother, Time Turner.”

“I’m not Time Turner, I’m Doctor Hoo-” Daisy slammed the door on him, and Rose let out a sigh of relief.

“Why doesn’t he just go play with Ditzy Doo? She enjoys it.” Daisy wondered, frowning. “Troublesome little colt...”

“Thanks, Daisy. I really didn’t want to deal with that today.”

Suddenly, Daisy hugged her tightly. “I know it’s a rough time for you, Rosey, but remember, we’re all here for you. We’ll do whatever we can to help you get through this.”

“Um, okay..?” Rose gingerly hugged her back, and tried to squirm free, to no avail. This is kinda weird, she thought. Did someone die and I didn’t hear about it?

“If you need anything, just ask me or Lily, alright? We both care about you, don’t think you’re alone.” said Daisy, face so close to hers their noses almost touched.

“Sure?” That was enough for the other mare; Rose was released.

“Lily will make dinner tonight, so don’t you worry about that. Take all the time off you need.” Daisy went up the stairs behind the counter, but turned around before she reached the landing. “I’m going out to the flea market soon, you can close up shop and come along if you’d like.”

This was definitely weird now; Daisy never invited anyone to come with her on her flea market trips. “Oh, thanks, but no thanks. It’s poinsettia season after all, and mistletoe too, you know.” And wreaths, and boughs, and all things Hearth’s Warming… “Best to keep the shop open.”

For a while, Rose was nervous that Time Turner would come back, but he never did, thankfully. No one else came by either, and finally, after sunset, Rose flipped the “open” sign to the “closed” side. At last, it’s the weekend! Most shops would be closed tomorrow, including theirs, on account of a Sunday. She wouldn’t have to go anywhere or do anything at all.

Lily came back from her day out not long after. “How was your day, Rosey?” she asked, seeming genuinely interested for once.

“I don’t know, Lily, some strange things were going on. And that Time Turner fellow came around and started bugging me again; Daisy chased him off.” said Rose.

“We can ban him from the premises if you’d like.” Lily offered, with an almost apologetic smile.

“Uh… I don’t think that will be necessary. He hasn’t done anything wrong, he’s just annoying.”

“Whatever you want, dear. Just tell Daisy or I if you change your mind.”

What was going on today? Why was everyone being so nice to her all of a sudden? Confusion came over her. “Since you’re here now, I’m going to run some books over to the library. I’ll be back in a bit, okay?”

“Take your time, I’m making dinner tonight. But do tell Daisy to hurry back if you see her.” said Lily. Usually, she said something like “Don’t take too long, I’m hungry.” This really was a weird day.

Rose went upstairs and got her two books in question; Traditional Folk Songs of Frithland, which needed to be returned, and Historia Plantarum, which needed to be fixed. It was dark and cold outside, and the clouds were already rolling in. If she wasn’t careful, she might get caught in the first snow of December.

“You’re just in time, Roseluck,” Twilight said, opening the library door for her, “I was about to close everything up. Public buildings close at six in the evening, you know.”

“Yes, I was cutting it close. Anyways, I brought back the folk songs book. I actually really liked it.” she said, dropping it in the returns box.

“Yeah, I noticed I accidentally checked that out to you. I didn’t think you’d like it, though.” Twilight looked down at the cover, tilting her head. “Those griffons sure are a grim lot, huh?”

“I didn’t mind it. But before I go, I have a favor to ask. I know I don’t really know you, but I know that you know about books. Right?”

“Definitely.” nodded Twilight.

“Well, I have this old thing here…” Rose put Historia Plantarum on a table so that Twilight could see it better. Her horn lit up and she opened it, and then gasped.

“A first edition of Historia Plantarum?!” Twilight squeaked, her eyes lighting up. “Where did you get this?”

“My grandmother gave it to me, actually-”

“Oh, look at this beautiful sixth-century typeface! All these hoof-made illustrations! Everything is in classical Alicornic! Verum peculiare in illis capitulis est, ut matura deorsum inflectantur...” The unicorn was about to explode. She really is excitable, Rose thought. “This has to be worth more than half of Ponyville! There’s only a few dozen in the whole realm!”

“Wow.” Rose blinked once, and then twice. “Well, it won’t be worth much soon, the binding is starting to fall apart. I was hoping you could fix it.”

“Let’s see…” Twilight levitated the book up, looking at that space between the pages and the spin that Rose didn’t know the word for. “Hmm. Looks like the binding’s been completely replaced once already. It must have been a while ago if it’s falling apart. But yes, I could fix this… For a price.”

“Fair enough. What is it?”

Twilight smirked, and rubbed her hooves together. “A week-long loan should suffice, so I have time to study it.”

“Deal.” agreed Rose. They made for the exit, but paused. “Just remember, this book means a lot. Daisy and Lily think it’s just a silly old book full of plants, but it’s a lot more to me. I want you to take good care of it, okay?”

“Of course, you have my word.”

As soon as Rose was a safe distance away, Daisy emerged from her hiding spot. Had she heard what she thought she just heard? Rose had just given away her favorite book in the whole world! Was she going somewhere? Was she going to do something? A very disturbing notion stirred on the edge of Daisy’s mind.

It wasn’t that she had meant to spy on her cousin, but she’d seen Rose walking to the library with that big old book of hers, she couldn’t help but follow. And now she had heard this.

I want you to take good care of it… Rose had said that like she was going away. Maybe… forever. A horrible chill came into Daisy’s heart. Sad, depressed ponies often did things they would never do otherwise. She had an idea of what Rose might be planning.

“I need to find Pinkie, right now!” Daisy whispered aloud. She dashed off down the street.

Twilight, who still stood at the front door, could only shake her head. “There’s some crazy ponies in this town...”

Author's Note

The journey continues. Wait, this isn't one of my adventure fics, I can't say that here... Anyways, the more observant of you should have a sense for our time frame by now.

I forgot to mention I was stealing Latin for the ancient Alicorn language, because modern English is one of the weakest tongues of men.