A Rose by Any Other Name Would Look Just as Strange

Rosebug hadn’t realized how long she’d slept until she groggily opened her eyes to find the Ponyville train station just beyond the window. Peeling herself from the comfort of the cool glass, she peered down the aisle to find the majority of the train completely empty. Those who were still on board the train were either hastily grabbing their luggage, or already in the process of filing out. All except Cheer, who stood unhurried in the section of aisle adjacent to her seat, stretching out her sore muscles after the lengthy ride. Rosebug stifled a yawn, staggering slightly as her tired hooves hit the ground, before righting herself with a hasty flutter of her wings. Cheer cast the drowsy filly a well meaning smirk.

“How was your nap?” She asked genuinely.

“Good.” Rosebug rubbed the sleep from her eyes.

Their banter was interrupted by a booming announcement of the trains imminent departure. The two scampered off the train in haste, pausing on the platform as Rosebug enjoyed her first true look at Ponyville. The simple, unimpressive architecture of the train station paled in comparison to the size and grandeur of Equestria’s cities, and Rosebug loved it. She was enthralled that Ponyville had wholly lived up to her vision of an idealistic country town. Cheer gave the filly a gentle nudge, and gestured loosely to what Rosebug assumed was the location of Ponyville’s orphanage. The two took off at a brisk trot as Rosebug familiarize herself with her new environment. Simple, but seemingly well kept, dirt roads criss-crossed throughout the town, connecting homes and businesses on a semi-organized grid. The homes themselves all seemed to share the major staples of earth-pony architecture, neutral toned walls with obvious wooden reinforcements and thatched rooves. A few structures stuck out as having more modern, or even simply peculiar, designs, but most were simple and inoffensive. As Rosebug scanned her surroundings, she couldn’t help but notice a fair few stares from Ponyville’s residence. She was pleasantly surprised to find most ponies simply seemed curious, though she couldn’t ignore the hoof-full of less than welcoming glares levied her way. She managed to simply shrug those off though, as her eyes were drawn to a piece of architecture that left her speechless. Standing steadfast amongst the otherwise normal surrounding buildings was an oak tree, but it was clear from a single glance it was no normal tree. Tinted windows and balconies jutted from the tree’s trunk, littered with decorative lanterns and hanging ivy. A sign close by the front door denoted this building as Ponyville’s public library. As her cutie mark would attest, Rosebug was a lover of all things related to nature, so she could only stare in awe at the structure that laid before her.

“It’s definitely one of the more interesting buildings in Ponyville.” Cheer commented, chuckling slightly at the filly’s astonishment

Rosebug nodded in response, eyes firmly fixed to the amazing structure. She wouldn’t have minded admiring the structure longer, she was even tempted to ask if they could go inside, but the stares her presence warranted made her decided against that. Rosebug didn’t have much time to dwell on that though, as Cheer was already briskly trotting towards the now visible silhouette of the orphanage. Just past the library, edged by a sizable patch of trees, was just the building Rosebug had been waiting all day to see.

The two story home stood shrouded slightly by the broad leaves of the surrounding trees, noticeably detached from any surrounding homes or other buildings. It shared a similar facade to the majority of local buildings, with the caveat of it’s noticeably darker palette. The moody colors didn’t detract from it's appeal in Rosebug’s opinion, to her the subdued palette actually made it homier. A scattering of small shrubs and flowers littered the property, both on ground level and hanging from window boxes. The windows themselves were darken by curtain hung from the inside, preventing Rosebug from gleaming anything about it from the outside. By all accounts, it looked like a perfectly average house, save for one detail. A wooden sign not dissimilar to the one in front of the library stood against the stretch of wall besides the door, decorated with bold, golden lettering.

“Chocolate Cheer’s Orphanage for Hybrid and Crossbreed Foals,” Rosebug mouthed the written words to herself in surprise.

“I’ll take it that nobody informed you of this?” Cheer asked, catching on to the filly’s confusion. “Well, surprise!”

Rosebug cast the mare a lopsided smile, overwhelmed by the sudden revelation. She had honestly never humored the idea of anything being made with hybrids in mind, since they were such a niche minority of the population.

“C’mon, I bet the others are dying to met you!” Cheer pushed open the front door easily.

“O-Others?” Rosebug couldn’t help but splutter.

Cheer simply cast her a mischievous smirk in response, stepping inside as Rosebug swiftly followed.