Rose Luckless

Rose

Whistling loudly, a kettle of lilac and daisy tea announced itself ready for consumption. Rose stepped from her salesroom into the small kitchenette to stop the screeching. The room could barely be called that— closet might, perhaps, be more appropriate.

Besides a sink and a stove, there was only one small cabinet, three open-air shelves, and just barely enough room to turn around. She gripped the handle of the teapot in her mouth and carried it back out front, setting it on the checkout counter and sighing in relief as she poured a cup for herself and took the first sip. The warmth seeped through her innards, spreading a glow of comfort around the limbs of the pony.

Another few minutes, then I'll go apply the finishing touches... She cast her gaze around the storefront, examining what she had made for herself. Ordinarily it was far more cluttered, with all sorts of odds and ends. Currently though, it was mostly empty, with only a few bouquets set up for display—mainly the strong surviving snow lilies, which hadn't yet wilted. Other than that, her seed buckets were empty and gathering dust.

Ordinarily they were brimming and needed to be constantly filled, for ponies loved to munch on seedlings; far fewer actually planted them. Now they stood vacant, loaning a look of disrepair to her shop that was apparent, for she had spent very little time in it lately.

Her gaze wandered back to the teapot, and for a moment, she had a feeling for which she could find no sufficient words. She could only describe it as an experience with 'bizarre'- there was literally no more sufficient way to put it.

It came on as she realized how wonderful it was, to be born into a society full of useful techniques, simple things like having a handle on a hot kettle, weaving, just about EVERYTHING that she or anypony knew. To think, how strong of a will must have possessed the first ponies, utilizing trial and error until some for of order emerged. She imagined being of the first generation, appearing out of nowhere into sheer existence, without knowledge of how anything worked.

To have a reaction like that at something so banal! Mundane turned bizarre turned insane and then back to mundane.

The thought lingered with her but the impact did not, for which she was grateful. A mind in permanent connection with such a strange state probably wouldn't last for long.

She put her mug down and trotted out the door, making sure the sign said "closed" and locking it behind her. The morning air tasted wonderful and was exactly what she needed, still moist from the nighttime with dew hanging on the grass.

Now she had passed the sign for Sweet Apple Acres and her workbarn was in sight. Over the rolling hills of the beautiful farm, she thought she could hear the faint thuds of the Apple family already at work. She smiled at the thought of them, for they were some of the kindest, hardest working, and most generous ponies in all of Equestria. Roseluck was certainly in their debt.

The Apple's too, had been shocked at the scope of the commission, so it had taken a little while to figure out exactly how to solve the problem of limited work-space. The barn part was simple enough, but Rose wouldn't have been able to get a good look at what she was creating, only small portions of it at a time. After they sat around being stumped for an hour or so, the filly of the family had come home from school, and upon hearing the dilemma, had immediately drawn up a schematic for a folding roof. Within a few more hours, Applejack and Macintosh had it built and working perfectly. She also marveled at their ingenuity, though in this case, specifically Applebloom's. This way, Rose could give her flowers their needed exposure to the elements as well as view her design from afar (they had also provided a tall set of stairs for her to climb).

The pale pony opened her roof and climbed her stairs, looking down at the almost complete design. It was huge—filling a work-space nearly 10 times as large as the floor of her own shop. And she was proud. From afar it resembled the top of one large pink rose, each petal's curve perfectly conformed to the others, yet each petal was made of hundreds of individual roses, alternating red and white.

She descended  the ladder and entered the work-space in order to perform the feat which was her special talent—that which made her flowers superior to most others. It was intensely private, for it manifested in such a way that earth ponies were thought incapable of. She closed her eyes, focusing on the cluster nearest her and sent all her thoughts towards them, feeling the power channel through her hooves into the ground, through the earth and up the stems, cascading into the petals.

Everything felt right. She cracked an eyelid to sneak a peek at her results and was rewarded with a sparkling sight. While her previous applications of power had preserved the flowers and allowed them to bloom lusciously and deeper in color than ordinary, she had never tried quite what she was doing now.

It worked with spectacular success, causing the patch she had modified to glitter in the sunlight in such a way to make even a pony like Rarity jealous.

A shadow loomed over her head and a voice rang out, "Why it looks magnificent. I knew I made the right choice in hiring you for this."

Shocked out of her reverie, Rose looked up to see the regal form of Celestia descending, her sun mimicking a halo of fiery gold behind her. She dropped to a knee before her liege, murmuring her surprise.

"Rise, my little pony, and tell me. What was it that you were just doing, to make that patch sparkle so?"

Rose was nearly too stunned to speak, a visit from the princess herself? She barely got the words out, stammering, "T-that was my special talent, Princess. As an earth pony, I have an innate connection with life that thrives from the soil. S-somehow, for me, it manifests in such a way... that it is similar to unicorn magic."

Celestia’s face was twisted thoughtfully, but she did not comment.

"I-is something wrong Princess, that you needed to come here yourself?"

Snapping out of thought, the goddess of the sun replied calmly, "Why, no. I merely wanted to check on how you were progressing. Oh—and Twilight Sparkle shall be escorting you to Canterlot"-

Butterflies erupted in Rose's stomach

-"she has your ticket with her. Honestly, I am surprised she is not here, as she was going to let me know if she was comfortable with the situation thus far. It is of no import though, she has everything necessary and is perfectly capable of handling herself. When you see her, do tell her to send a letter confirming the schedule tomorrow, could you?”

“And I shall say again, it truly looks splendid. I do look forward to the Gala. See you tomorrow!" With that casual farewell, Rose watched her liege take wing. This was the first time she had met her in person instead of just seeing her from afar, and she felt the aura of greatness recede as the white alicorn faded to a fleck in the distance.

Over the course of the day, Celestia’s luminescent orb peaked it’s arc and descended steadily until Roseluck realized that she had nothing left to do. Her project was as complete as she could ever hope for and staying up all night perfecting details that would remain unseen was pointless.

That night, though she didn't consciously choose so, Roseluck's dreams featured more than just Twilight Sparkle.