Rose Luckless

Rose

The emotions of sadness dissipated as she thought I'm going to the Gala with Twilight! Rose couldn't shake the crooked grin off her face. Radiant sunlight streamed through naked windows, proclaiming a start to her big day. I'm going to the Gala with Twilight! Her mind shouted joyously, spurring her out of bed to prepare for the day. As she sprung out, the cool air caught her fur and she noticed her soaked haunches, the large spot of wetness on her mattress. A blush crept to her cheeks as she thought, I'm going to the Gala with Twilight!

Setting the brush down, Roseluck examined her image. An important distinction from self?

Red streaked with pink, her mane was finally drying from the bath. She gave her reflection a wink and shook her head as she left the room, tossing her hair into a windblown fashion. In her own quarters, she spied a notebook lying on her bedside table. Where did I leave off?

There was a habit she had managed to ingrain in herself, after realizing how sporadic her sleeping could be. She would come to full consciousness, in some part of the store, or some other odd place where she had no recollection of going, yet she would find her head full of thoughts, metaphorical voices which would not quiet. So she had trained herself to take down notes when she could, as she never remembered everything coherently.

Written in her own hoof, yet the contents unknown to her, the notebook boldly declared the imminence of it's knowledge. It said:

Some things to be observed—

— Her coat was like polished marble

— Each product in my life was doubtless handled by or related to countless individuals. This cannot be stressed enough

— Everypony has the same opinion of their own take on life, no matter the conclusion of their worldview

— The graveyards are filled with ponies who thought themselves necessary

She blinked as she consumed the text. A bit morbid, perhaps, but not overtly untrue. She wondered at the source of the half-awake ramblings.

"Ah well," she said to nopony in particular, "there are more important issues at hand." Like meeting up with Twilight Sparkle!

Twilight Sparkle

At Sweet Apple Acres, a purple unicorn pondered her objective. She was responsible for the transportation, by train, of a delicate display that was larger than any train car she had ever seen.

Various possible methods flickered through her agile mind, natural sharpness combined with years of training in order to quicken the neural impulses. She could try teleporting the flower arrangement, but the idea of sustaining the exact form of such a complex array, over the physical distance between Ponyville and Canterlot, was a daunting one. Perhaps it would be possible in short bursts of distance, with plenty of rest in between, but that would hardly save time or effort if they could figure out a method with the train.

Some part of her brain clicked and Twilight remembered a night when Celestia had told her tale from an Age ago, when Discord had wreaked havoc for the first time...

... "The night was black, Twilight Sparkle, when Discord first realized his cantankerous potential."

The purple filly's eyes were wide with fascination as she listened to her princess' tale, ears perked to catch every whispered word.

"Ah, things were different then. Equestria was newly born and had never heard the call of Discord, never conceived of chaos. Perhaps that is why Discord came to being. Perhaps things were a little too perfect. But that is arcane speculation, best saved for another day"...

Twilight remembered herself as a filly, eager to learn everything, even meager speculation about once-in-a-universe phenomena, such as the startling permanent appearance of chaos, manifest. She and Celestia had never gone back to that subject, though...

... "At first he was just another pony, a stranger wandering into Canterlot. The form he takes now is his true one, though that is not how he originally appeared to us. Well, back then there was no modern Equestria, and Canterlot was a rough little village on a mountain. The Everfree forest covered the entire country we cherish today! But again, I digress."

Filly Twilight didn't mind. She just sat admiring the goddess, her teacher, absorbing every syllable.

"He came to us, pretending to be peaceful, and was allowed to enter. But as soon as he got in, things started happening. A random cobblestone on the main road would suddenly take on all the properties of quicksand, or a torch would cast shadow instead of light, or the local critters might grow wild and angry. At first we thought it was some outside enchantment, something foreign, something come-enchanting from out of the great woods."

"Princess?" The filly queried.

"Yes?"

"Why didn't you just stop it? You're Celestia!"

The alicorn paused at the emphasis on her name, then mildly said, "I was not always as I am now."

"But..." Twilight saw the look on Celestia's face and let the question drop, understanding that this was all she would get on the subject.

"Eventually a unicorn, by the name of Sparkles Bright, cast a bubble enclosure spell around the village. Nothing could enter or exit—be it pony magic or matter or mere energy. We became a closed community...

... The story went on for some time, Twilight remembered, and rather like a detective novel, at that. Celestia, Sparkles Bright, and a few others lead the inquisition and unmasking of Discord, who promptly left a chaos shaped hole in the bubble dome, only to be captured and set in stone several generations later. But that was besides the point. She had remembered the shape of the spell she wanted and was certain of her ability to reverse engineer it. At least, to similar specifications. It wouldn't need to be on quite the same scale.

I really should have done this earlier than the day of the Gala. She winced at the guilty thought but demurred, telling herself that everything would be fine as long as she were on time.

For the next part of her plan, she would need to draft somepony good at construction...

Why, the Apple family, of course. Twilight was sure that the royal coffers would be able to reimburse them generously, patching whatever toll it might take on their expenses, should they leave the farm untended for a morning.

She raced from Rose's workbarn towards the farmhouse proper, and rapped at the front door with a hoof.

"Feel free to step in," came a familiar twang from inside the shelter, "and don't forget to wipe your hooves!"

Inside, she could hear the sound of dishes being done in the kitchen. She didn't forget to wipe her hooves.

"Applejack?" She called, making her way towards the bustling sounds.

"Yeah, come on in Twiligh'. You had any breakfast yet?" Applejack was alone in the kitchen, cleaning the morning's mess.

"I'm fine, thanks. Look, I was actually hoping you could do me a favor... Rather, could I employ your services?"

"Oh, I dunno.... Today's supposed to be the day we clear the West Acres, before all the apples fall and split, or rot."

"Oh," Twilight looked dissapointed, "there would be sufficient reimbursement for your time and your loss of product." She put on a hopeful face.

Applejack gave a hearty laugh, "Well in that case, I can't hardly say no! Whaddya need?"

As Twilight gave the details, AJ's brow furrowed, pondering the easiest way to achieve her objective.

"Well, those are some mighty wide dimensions but it shouldn't be too hard."

"Great! So I'll see you at the station later?"

"You bet. Now get on, you got your own work to do."

A grateful smile flashed from unicorn to earth pony, before Twilight dashed off to her library.

It was 10:30 AM when she arrived, and the train was bound to leave by 1, so she had two and a half hours with which to invent (or re-invent, depending on perspective) a fully functional bubble-shield, capable of protecting the delicate flower display from the speed of the moving train, the wind that would whistle through, tearing petals off their hosts, the roughness of the natural elements.

In the basement was her workshop, and she kept it dimly lit by candle. For some reason, the dull light allowed her to think better, make connections that she wouldn't ordinarily spot in her mind. It was as if the aura of mysticism actually helped her magic.

Enough dilly-dallying. Time for work.

She formed the image of the spell in her mind, concentrating first on the physical manifestation which would appear should she succeed in this endeavor. The bubbles from a bath that she brought forth were too weak, ready to burst at any pressure, so she thought then of a snow globe. The form in her mind complied but she realized that glass wouldn't do, for it would suffocate whatever lay within... Combining the two images, she managed to find the ideal membrane which she was seeking. The structural integrity and toughness of the snow globe remained, combined with the flexability and permeability of a soap bubble. Convenient,she realized, for that had automatically solved the oxygen problem.

An hour had passed since she had started unifying the two types of barriers and she realized she was making good time. One last modification...

The image of a desert appeared before her mind's eye, sun beating upon the grainy sand dunes. She inserted her bubble-glass, letting the hot rays dry off the soft exterior, hardening her spell. She let it age there for a year, speeding up the metaphysical time with another spell.

That should do.

Slowly, she came out of her trance-like state, bringing with her the new spell that she had toiled on. A glance at her mental clock warned her that she had 30 minutes to spare.

Testing time.

Twilight trotted back upstairs to the outdoors, casting the charm around the library. Standing inside it, she noticed that the external world was hazy, as if she were surrounded by fogged glass.

The hardening must have reduced the translucency, but no matter. So long as it holds. And it's a good thing this spell doesn't need to be magic-resilient.

She summoned a damp cloud, ordered it to unleash it's contents over the dome. The water trickled down the sides, not penetrating. Where the rivulets ran, the bubble became clear again, see-through, though it fogged up as soon as it dried.

Next, Twilight hurled a heavy  wind at it and though she felt her energy deplete at the magic, no breeze was felt inside.

Success.

She nullified the barrier around her home, teleported to the train station, and peeked at the sky. A heavy storm was due over the vicinity of Ponyville, so it was a good thing her tests had prevailed.

There was Applejack, standing next to the back of the Ponyville Express, an empty traincar beside her with a huge, newly constructed flatbed. AJ had torn the roof and walls off, adding a huge amount of timber to the floor for length and width.

"Oh Applejack, thank you so much! It looks perfect."

"Not a problem Twi, though I hope I get to see what I just made transportation space for?"

"Of course! Wait a moment."

With a flash, the unicorn was gone, only to reappear a moment later. AJ turned to the traincar and a low, slow, whistle escaped from between her teeth. "I haven't seen that since it was half the size! And I didn't know what it'd look like finished. That Roseluck sure has outdone herself." Another low whistle, and then Applejack bid her friend farewell, heading back home.

Not moments after Twilight cast her new spell around the car, the first droplets of the approaching storm fell.

Five minutes to departure. Twilight trotted out towards the main concourse, looking for Rose.

Yes!

There she was, standing alone and looking forlorn, but brightening immensely upon spotting Twilight. Then they were face-to-face.

Twilight Sparkle looked at her companion, smiling. "Shall we?"