Rose Luckless

Rose

Fragmented whorls spiraled: from the smallest observable point to an eagle’s eye view of the arrangement, the fractal design maintained itself. Red and white intertwined themselves inextricably together, repeating the same complex pattern over and again; flowers within flowers within flowers.

A rose is a rose is a rose thought Roseluck, as she nitpicked flaws that only she could spot on her latest floral arrangement. It was by far the largest order she had thus received, and from a shocking and prestigious source at that. The subtly off-white pony had been requested to form a large display for the opening ceremony of the Grand Galloping Gala and she had exhausted nearly her entire supply of red and whites.

For two months she had been clipping and trimming, arranging and relocating, shifting and rotating stems and petals until she was satisfied. To her, it was unbelievable that Royalty from Canterlot would purchase the small town services of a flower vendor from Ponyville. Yet, the day after tomorrow was the big day and she was nearly finished.

Inhale, exhale... Steady now.

Holding her forehoof aloft, she felt it tremble in anticipation for the biggest event of her life. It still felt surreal, unbelievable. She trotted out from her recently erected workbarn towards her small shop, in order to read the commission letter once more.

As she stepped outside, Luna's moon hung huge and yellow in the night banner, providing enough light to make out individual blades of grass beneath her hooves. She silently thanked the goddess of night, one of the great protectors of the realm that she claimed as her home. Rose offered more silent thanks to the Apple family, falling into a memory of the day she had received a letter bearing the Celestial seal.

The register slid open with a chime and Roseluck morosely eyed the few bits that remained to her name. Winter had been tough and her blue snow lilies hadn't sold well at all. Now, most of that stock was wilting and dying, as well as the fact that half of her springtime seedlings had been destroyed. A hole in the roof had let snow in, melting over a crateful of preserved seeds, causing an attempted early germination.

When the doorbell rang and the gray mailmare delivered a letter bearing the Royal crest, Rose didn't know it immediately, but her lifeline was delivered. She peered at the order and saw the sheer scale of it— yet relief was not what coursed through her body. The payoff opportunity was magnificent, it would sustain her for two or three years, but she hadn't the supplies or workspace to make something on such a grand scale.

For the rest of that day, she had moped around the town, ignoring halloos from other ponies, paying no attention to where she was walking. It had taken the Element of Honesty to get her to spill the beans on her mood. The flower pony would have been stuck in such a state for who knows how long, were it not for Applejack's stubborn refusal to let somepony so obviously depressed walk past her.

After a lengthy attempt to draw out a reluctant Roseluck, the cowpony discovered the dilemma. Within a week, Rose had found her dwindling food supply stocked to the brim with apples. Not only that, but a large workspace had been thrown up on Sweet Apple Acres in her honor, so that she could work on a grand design that would never have fit in her small shop.

Snapping out of her trance, the red maned pony realized that she had already reached her residence. The door swung open at her touch, gliding on smooth hinges..

Clip-clop, clip-clop

Her steps thudded on the narrow stairway, trailing her as she clambered from the display room to her private quarters. The decor was modest: bare floorboards scuffed from long use, a few paintings of different breeds of flowers, a simple bed of stuffed hay covered with a pleated quilt, and a small, worn dresser from her foalhood days.

She slid open the top drawer and peered at a sketch she had drawn. It was of a mare- a unicorn to be specific. Though it was just a simple charcoal picture, her mind filled in the colors: The purple and pink mane tousled attractively against the lighter lavender coat, the bright eyes sparkling like the namesake of the pony who bore them.

The paper fluttered back into its compartment and it slammed as Rose hung her head dejectedly. She was almost certain that her feelings would come to nothing. Twilight Sparkle was an amazing and beautiful mare, but she was certainly not one to have feelings for females. Wouldn't someone as open with her sexuality, as good of friends with the unicorn as Rainbow Dash have snagged such a gem by now?

Being a lesbian in Equestria was acceptable, and almost normal, but Rose was still conflicted in her feelings about it. Her parents had certainly made their opinion known to her as she had grown up.

"Roseluck! Someday we want a grandfoal, and you're our only hope for that, as we can't have any more children ourselves. I hope we aren't disappointed"

They hadn't overtly disapproved of the alternate lifestyle, but the implications were there.

She lay on the bed, feeling the rough cushioning poke her through the sheets, itching against her skin as it brushed past her fur. She had never been able to replace the cheap mattress, but it had never registered as extremely important.

Twilight was still on the surface of her mind but also deeper within her, the thought of the other pony was physically affecting her body. She could feel the longing beneath her tail yet when she touched a hoof down there, she sighed in disappointment, Too tired to satiate her desire, she was also too indifferent to the moment, too depressed to bother.

Sleep closed in slowly, as the pony struggled to empty her mind.