“Hey, those are really nice looking flowers!”

Berry Punch looked up from the clock face she was working on.

“You think so? I haven’t decorated a clock before.”

The two mares were working in Minuette’s living room. Minuette had asked Berry Punch if she wanted to help decorate some clocks as a side gig. She didn’t see anything wrong with it. That and she didn’t mind an excuse to get out of the house. Huh, she thought, normally I’d be wanting the opposite.

“I think they do. I’m sure the client will love it!” Minuette fumbled with one of the gears and dropped it on the ground. “Ah, dang it.” The gear floated back into place with the help of her magic. With a click the mechanism was complete. “There we go.”

Minuette tested the mechanism to make sure a certain section worked before she moved on to the next part.

“So,” Minuette started, “about Roseluck.”

Berry Punch could tell the angle she was going to go for, but she let her finish.

“How do you feel about her, you know, as a friend?”

“I feel like, I like her.” She positioned the clock face she was working on to cover her expression from Minuette.

“Oh? How much?”

Part of her wanted to dodge the question, but another wanted nothing more than to say the words out loud.

“I like her a lot.”

“Like more than friends?” Minuette wanted to confirm.

Berry Punch hesitated.

“Yes.”

Minuette peeked over the clock face with a big grin on her face.

“I thought so, but I didn’t want to assume. How long was it been going on for?”

“Since we visited my parents, I guess, is when it started.”

“Are you going to tell her?”

“I don’t know.”

Surprise crossed Minuette’s face.

“Why not?”

“I don’t want to ruin the friendship we have over my feelings,” Berry Punch admitted. “I feel like if I say something everything will be awkward and strange. I don’t think it’s the right time anyway.”

“Right time? When is there ever a right time? There’s now,” Minuette tuned the clock to the current time, “and later,” she pushed the hour hand forwards, “see? I’ll admit romance and love is not my thing personally, but it’s interesting to watch from the sidelines. Bon-bon and Lyra danced around the subject for waaaay too long before one of them finally admitted how they felt. I don’t know, to me that feels like time wasted on could-have-beens that could have been spent enjoying your time together.” She smiled. “Make sense?”

“It does.” Berry Punch fidgeted. “What if I mess up?”

“It’s okay, I don’t think Lyra had an easy time either.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, we talked when I helped fix her clock. The topic just came around while we were talking. She felt like you did, that she would mess up and ruin her friendship. I gave her my thoughts, but it still took her some time to figure out what she wanted to say. I’m not saying you should tell her immediately, but don’t take forever either. Go at a pace that feels comfortable to you.”

Berry Punch digested her words.

“Thank you, I think I needed to hear something like that.”

“Not a problem! It’s what friends are for after all.” Minuette eyed the clock. “Hey, aren’t you supposed to be meeting Roseluck at three?”

Berry Punch jumped up.

“I almost forgot! Sorry, Minuette, I’ll have some more time to work on the clock faces tomorrow after work.”

“It’s fine, I’ll see you then.”

Berry Punch waved as she wrapped her scarf around her neck and headed out into the chilly fall day.

Sure enough Roseluck was waiting outside Berry Punch’s house when she arrived.

“Sorry! Lost track of time at Minuette’s house.”

Roseluck smiled.

“It’s alright. What’d she wrap you up in?“

“Painting the faces of clocks. I like it. Plus I get out of the house.”

“That’s defiantly a positive,” Roseluck agreed as the two entered. “I’m glad you like it.”

Roseluck set down her saddlebags on the table.

“Did you get everything else on the list?” Roseluck asked.

“Yep.” Berry Punch gestured to the new table at the other side of the room. A pot, a bag of soil, and a small, carved wooden box sat around the table.

“Hmm.” Roseluck looked around the room. “The best spot for it would be nearby the window. Not exactly in front of it, since indirect sunlight works best here.”

Berry Punch helped move the table to a spot near to the door.

“Does this work?”

“Yep! Now we pour the soil in the pot.”

“There’s a lot of rocks in the bag.” Berry Punch eyed the, now open, bag of soil.

“That’s on purpose. We don’t want the roots to get water-logged.”

“Too much water is bad for it?”

“Yes. Only water it when the soil’s dried out, otherwise it could cause problems. Since it’s fall, you won’t have to water it much.”

Berry Punch looked uncertainly at the pot.

“How will I know if it’s dry enough? I don’t want to mess up.”

“You’ll get it eventually. It’s a learning process. I can visit and check on it every so often to see how it’s doing, if that makes you feel better.”

“It does, honestly.”

Roseluck nodded.

“Okay, then, I can come over once a week if that works for you?”

“I’m fine with that.” Berry Punch carefully poured the soil into the pot. The rocks in the loose dirt tapped against the pot as they tumbled out of the bag. “Which day are you thinking?”

“Friday afternoons.”

“I might not be here every Friday, because of work.”

“Do you mind if I check on it still?”

Berry Punch thought over the prospect. Normally she would never allow somepony access to her home when she wasn’t there. It had felt unsafe to do. Now, she took a breath, pushed her thoughts away, and decided to trust her.

“Nope, I’ll leave the door unlocked for you.”

“Alright.” Roseluck watched the level of soil in the pot. “That’s enough for now.”

Berry Punch put the bag to the side, before she brought out the carved wooden box. Inside was a small, round seed. Roseluck had dug a small hole for the seed to rest in. Berry Punch carefully tipped the box over the pot until the seed fell onto the soil. Once done, Roseluck covered the seed with the soil.

“How long will it take to grow?”

“Properly enough to flower? Years. But we’re going to speed things up a bit.”

“How?”

Roseluck looked at her in amusement.

“Have you not done this before?”

“’This’?”

“Earth pony magic, Berry Punch.”

“Oh. Um, no, I haven’t.”

“Here, we’ll do it together. Put your hoof on the soil.”

Berry Punch did as instructed.

“Now focus. Can you feel the ebb and flow from the soil?”

She could, but it felt faint and muted.

“Is it supposed to be so weak?”

“You haven’t done this before, so it’s like a muscle you haven’t used. Try pushing and pulling on that ebb and flow.”

Berry Punch focused, but nothing seemed to happen at first.

“I don’t know if—” A gentle motion tugged back at her hoof and she stopped. “What was that?”

“That’s me.” Roseluck giggled. “I can interact with your magic too. It’s how earth ponies work together to grow large plots of plants. I’ll help you focus your magic.”

Berry Punch nodded and closed her eyes to focus.

She felt the gentle tug again and this time she managed to pull back.

“There you go! That’s a start. Now, the seed is it’s own thread you need to find. Let yourself flow into the soil and it should be the only one there.”

Berry Punch let herself go and felt something tugging at her, and unlike with Roseluck it felt different, more natural. She allowed herself to be pulled along until she could almost hear a gentle tune in her ear.

“I can hear something. Music?”

“It’s the plant singing. Each one is unique. Just listen and relax.”

As Berry Punch relaxed she felt some energy leave her and go into the song, joining in the chorus. She almost lost herself in the strange, meandering melody. So much so she felt like she was dreaming. Time held no meaning. Only the ever present song.

Somepony was shaking her awake.

“What?” She blinked open her bleary eyes.

“I’m sorry! I should have warned you about some of the first time risks.” Roseluck looked her up and down. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, just feel tired. What did I do wrong?”

“Nothing bad, but next time try to be careful how much you listen. The plant doesn’t have a mind of it’s own. It can’t think. It simply is. So, when you pour yourself into it to speed up growth or heal, the plant takes without limit. I’ll have to teach you how to limit yourself. For now, try not to do that without me, okay?”

Berry Punch looked over at the pot. The jade plant had sprouted from beneath the surface with a couple small, green leaves. She noticed she could still hear the faint tune from the plant, though the song seemed altered.

“I can still hear it, is that bad?”

Roseluck shook her head. “Not at all. I can hear it too. You put some of yourself into the plant, now you can hear its song.”

“Is your garden like that too?”

“Yes. It’s like an orchestra. Each plant plays it’s own part in the song, but it’s a song only I can hear. Every garden has its own song unique to the gardener.”

“Is that why the song changed?”

“Good catch. Yes. It has a bit of you and me, and itself. The song changed to reflect that.”

Berry Punch started to notice something else. She and Roseluck were standing closer than before. She didn’t know when it happened. Either during or after they had accelerated the plant’s growth, but she found she didn’t mind.

The two stood in the comfortable quiet of the room. They looked at the small jade flower, and listened to the soft song it played.

Not without hesitation, she leaned towards Roseluck and rested her head on her shoulder. Roseluck didn’t push her away.

Author's Note

A short, transitional chapter that's mostly fluff. Next chapter will be out in a couple days-ish.