A Tyrant's Redemption, a Filly's Life

Chapter Three

-Three Days After Delicate Rose’s Birthday-

Once again, Delicate Rose was galloping down the streets, smiling widely, but not because she planned on visiting Angel Dust or her sister, Lightning Dust. No, this time it was because she had just gotten out of school, and their grades came in. With Delicate Rose’s own tucked safely within her saddle bags, the filly raced home to show Tidal Wave. Her father had promised the filly, if she made straight A’s throughout the school year, he would take her to Ponyville and see Princess Twilight Sparkle’s Friendship Castle.

Delicate Rose’s biggest dream had been to meet the Princess of Friendship and Element of Magic. This single dream had been one of the reasons why she studied so hard in school, despite how difficult the subjects often were at the time. Being the good father, that he was, Tidal Wave gave the filly her incentive the summer prior, in hopes to get her to push even further than the norm.

It took a year, but she had finally done it. “Oh, daddy will be so proud!” She practically squealed, grinning from ear to ear. “I can’t wait to show him!” The filly nearly jumped with excitement.

Though, Delicate Rose came to a skidding halt, noticing that many of the townsfolk had gathered around the train station. There were far too many ponies gathered around for her small size to really see anything. With a grunt, the filly plopped down on to her flank, crossing both forehooves.

“I hate being small…” She grumbled, with narrowed eyes.

“Why is that, Rose?” A familiar, heavenly, voice asked.

This caused her to whip around, seeing Angel Dust walking towards her. “Ms. Dust!” She quickly got up and trotted up to the yellow pegasus mare. “How come you aren’t at the store?”

“I’m letting my sister run it, while I take a break and walk around Sunny Cove.” She replied, smiling down at the filly. “Wanted to enjoy this beautiful day, didn’t expect to run into my favorite silly fill while I was out.”

“Are you sure it is not because you wanted to spy on my Daddy again?”

Angel Dust’s wings sprung open, remembering that she accidently caught him bathing that one time, and blushed from embarrassment. “T-That was one time, and I had a perfectly good reason for popping by! I didn’t know he was bathing at the exact time I decided to show up.” Delicate Rose gave her a playful smirk, as the mare asked her question again. “Anyways, why do you hate being small, Rose? I would give anything to be so adorable, as you, again.”

She kicked a pebble with her hoof, reminded of the frustration. “Because something is going on, and I can’t see over everypony.”

A caring smile appeared on the mare’s muzzle, as she moved next to Delicate Rose and wrapped her in a wing hug. “How about we find somepony to help with that, huh? I’m not big enough to help with that matter, and I’m not going to try and fly up. Wouldn’t be fair to everypony and cause the crowd to practically swarm the place.” With a nod from the filly, Angel Dust began to scan the crowd in front of her.

The mare was dead set on finding somepony that could help with their current situation. Again, Angel Dust could put Delicate Rose on to her back, and hover over the crowd. However, like she told the filly, it would be rude and cause the whole area to become even more crowded than before. So, she was left with trying to find somepony she knew, that could help their little predicament, since asking a total stranger was out of the question.

Her gaze suddenly locked on to a decently sized local surfer. The unicorn stallion had a royal blue coat, with an orange mane and tail, leaning against his pure white surf board. He was currently staring at the train station, both emerald eyes focused one the strange occasion, while flicking his hoof crafted shell necklace. The mare knew him, this local frequented her produce shop and Tidal Wave’s surf shot quite often, both ponies considering him a loyal customer.

“Hey, Long Board! Got a minute?” Angel Dust called out, drawing the stallion’s attention.

He suddenly looked over to the pair, before picking his surfboard up in a blue magical aura and walked over to them. “Heeeeey! Angel, Rosey, what’s happenin’ you two?” Long Board greeted, hoof pumping Delicate Rose. “Sure, I always got time for my two favorite Sunny Cove ponies!”

His actions made the two giggle, the local number one surfer always acting overly friendly. “Think you can help Rose get a better, safe, view of what’s going on?”

“Course I can do that. Anything for Sunny Cove’s most radical filly.” With that, Long Board’s horn started to glow with a blue aura, said filly being lifted off of the ground and placed on to a nearby high stack creates. “There we are. Somewhere high and safe.” The stallion ensured this by pressing his large stature against the crates, trapping them between him and the wall.

“Thank you so much, Long Board. You are always so kind to everypony.” She smiled, causing the unicorn to give an affirming one. “By chance, do you know what is going on?”

“From what I could tell?” Long Board started, trying to remember everything he has overheard thus far. “A big time pony, from Canterlot, just showed up. Some say it is a noble, like that Fancy Pants dude, while others say it is one of the Princesses.”

Angel Dust placed a hoof over her agape muzzle, surpsied to hear that. “What in Equestria could have drawn one, like the Princesses, to our peaceful Sunny Cove?”

“No idea.” Long Board looked towards the train station. “Maybe they wanted to relax and catch a few righteous waves?”

“Not everypony relaxes the way you do, Long Board.” Angel Dust replied, with a giggle.

While the adult ponies continued to talk, about as to why royals were possibly visiting, their attention slipped from a certain curious filly. Her attention had been peaked, when Long Board mentioned that a princess could be in Sunny Cove. This drove her to keep trying to see who it is… Yet, even where the stallion had placed her, Delicate Rose could not quite see who is currently standing on the train station’s platform.

“I need to get higher up…” The filly thought, looking down at Angel Dust and Long Board, who were still deep in their debate. Her eyes looked around, scanning for somewhere higher up, and noticed a gutter drain on the wall next to her. “Up there is perfect!”

Where the gutter drain’s top had extended over the roof, would give her the perfect view of the train station’s platform. Though, it did look rather old, but she was still just a foal, not a full grown pony. Delicate Rose’s young mind processed the whole situation and concluded her facts were sound.

Carefully, and quietly, the filly’s wings started to buzz, lifting her off of the crates. Delicate Rose made sure she did so ever so quietly, so that the two adults did not catch her beforehand. Once she reached the top, she wrapped her forehooves around the gutter drain’s top, while her hind hooves barely touched the building’s roof. From here, she could see the whole train station, not noticing her perch leaning a bit forward.

At the platform, she could make out seven, colorful, figures. The smallest one seemed to be collecting bags, four were busy with the large crowd, while the white pony seemed to be comforting a yellow one. Her gaze suddenly locked on to the lavender pony, noticing her large wings.

“Could that be?”

She leaned forward, the gutter drain creaking.

“Large wings…”

The gutter drain creaked more, leaning over.

“A lavender coat with dark purple mane…”

The rusted bolts started to bend, the nuts slipping out of their holds.

“And a horn! That’s Princess-!”

“Delicate Rose, what in Equestria are you doing up there!?” It had been then, that the adult ponies realized that she disappeared from the crates and noticed where Delicate Rose had gone… Along with the gutter drain snapping completely free. “ROSEY!!!!” Angel Dust screamed.

“Daddy!!!” The filly screamed, the sheer fear of falling making Delicate Rose completely forget she had wings.

Both Angel Dust and Long Board prepared to save her, but they would not be fast enough to do so. A look of utter terror on Angel Dust’s face, as she galloped to where Delicate Rose would fall, Long Board moving to brace the drain’s base… But, another had seen the distressed filly, intervening far faster than the other two could.

A bolt of lavender energy shot over the crowd, instantly striking Delicate Rose! Her entire body became incased within a protective bubble, suspending her in mid-air. The filly had balled herself up, right when the bubble had appeared, not noticing it started to levitate over towards the train station’s platform, gently landing on to the ground with a “pop”.

“Are you alright, my little pony?” A calm, yet concerned, voice asked her…. But Delicate Rose could only let out a whimper of fear.

“Oh, the poor dear must have been scared out of her senses, by that fall.” Another, more cultured, voice noted.

“It’s a good thing Twi spotted her in time.” A more country accented mare said, making Delicate Rose’s ears pop up.

“Yeah, Twilight! She went ‘AH!” the gutter drain went ‘SWOOOSH!’ and you went ‘FZZT!’ and now she is here, safe!” A hyperactive mare shouted, bouncing up and down.

“Tw-Twilight?” The filly whispered, her eyes barely opening up to see several sets of hooves around her.

“The poor thing…” A new voice, timid and barely able to be heard.

“Yeah, great job, Twilight!” The last voice sounded overly confident, raspy. “Though, if I did it, the rescue would have been twenty percent cooler.”

That did it, Delicate Rose finally daring a look up and seeing the lavender alicorn standing before her, smiling. “P-Princess… Tw-Twilight S-Sparkle?” Her tone was filled with awe, Twilight smiling down at her.

“That’s right, my little pony.” She leaned down, a look of concern appearing on the alicorn. “Now, are you alright? That was quite a fall.”

Delicate Rose tried to answer her, but could not find the voice to do so, the filly not believing who now stood in front of her. Who had saved her from a dangerous fall. The filly’s idol was now right in front of her!

“Rose!” Angel Dust’s voice called out, snapping said filly out of her trance enough to turn around, in time to see the mare hug her. “Oh, thank Celestia, you are alright! I do not know what I’d do, if a single hair was harmed on your precious little head!” Her concern made evident by the mare’s tight hug.

Long Board had been next to arrive, his adrenaline still going. “Thanks for the save, Princess. We both had no idea she flew up there.” He bowed his head, respectively.

“It is quite alright, always happy to help.” Twilight said, smiling at the two. “Am I to assume you two are this filly’s mother and father?”

Angel Dust’s eyes snapped open, looking up at the alicorn and shaking her head. “N-No, Princess! We are both good friends of her father. We watch her from time to time!” She gave a nervous giggle, slightly glancing off to the side a few times, a blush evident on her cheeks.

“You are; I am just his number one customer.” Long Board noted, smirking a bit. “Enough to where Rosey, here, is already like your own daughter.”

Her blush grew even brighter, making Delicate Rose giggle. “Anyways! I’m sure Tidal Wave would want to thank you himself! Delicate Rose means the world to him, and he will want to repay you in some way.”

The reaction caused all six mares to giggle, before Twilight spoke up. “I’m sure he would, but we are here to search for a particular pony and need to also find a place to stay, while we are here.”

“Oh! Oh! You could stay with us, Princess! Daddy always says we have way too much room!” Delicate Rose noted, smiling widely.

Angel Dust nodded, also smiling. “And if Tidal Wave doesn’t have enough room for you all, my sister and I would not mind the extra company at my place.”

Twilight looked at her friends. “What do you girls think?”

“Ah’m not one fer havin’ somepony indebted to me, but this is yer call, Twi.” Applejack noted, the other mares nodding.

“It would save us on bits, darling.” Rarity noted.

The alicorn thought about this idea, weighing her option, before nodding. “Alright, we will accept the offer.” Twilight said, with a smile.

“Yay!” Delicate Rose chirped, rushing up next to her. “Follow me, Princess! I’ll show you my room and everything! Daddy is going to be so excited to actually meet you!” Twilight could not help but giggle at the filly’s antics, following her down the quite small town street, the townsfolk moving out of their way, and the others right behind the two.

-Tidal Wave’s Surf Shop-

A chill suddenly went down Tidal Wave’s spine, making him shake his head and lower the newspaper. “Why does it feel like my daughter got in trouble again…” He blurted out, looking around and eyeing the clock. “And why do I have this strange feeling, that I’m about to have one bad day?”

The feeling was a curious one, making Tidal Wave tap his chin a few times before shrugging his shoulders. This must be one of those “Daddy Senses” Delicate Rose constantly says he has, and simply pulled he newspaper back up. Whatever she has gotten herself into, this time, he’ll just have to handle it when it comes.

-Not Far from Sunny Cove-

A bolt of lightning struck the ground, causing the entire area to be lit up! To those nowhere near the impact point, the display looked like a rogue lightning bolt strike… Unable to see the three ponies that appeared from within the flash of light. There was a brown earth pony stallion with a black drench coat and sunglasses, a gray pegasus mare with a Liberian style glasses, and a tall pitch black unicorn stallion with red streaks in his mane at their center.

The unicorn’s crimson eyes locked on to the small town of Sunny Cove, and grinned. “Well then, that was easier than I thought it would be.” He noted, a pleased look about him.

“You do realize, in your condition, this is pushing things, right?” The earth pony stallion said, allowing his sunglasses to drop down his muzzle. “Seriously, ‘Black Blade’, you need to be resting, not gallivanting around like this.”

The pegasus mare rolled her eyes. “That is what I keep telling him, ‘Shadow Step’, but you know how stubborn he gets.” She blew some of the dark brown banes out of her eyes. “Though, this look is rather cute on me.”

“Really, you two worry far too much.” Black Blade stepped forward, his steps rather weak and caused the two other ponies to rush on to both sides of him, afraid that he is going to fall down. “I just want to see how things are going, then we will leave, promise.”

With that, the three headed towards Sunny Cove.