Rose Luckless

Rose

Rain exploded as it crashed against the earth, throwing particles of water up to create a mist, of sorts. Rose looked skywards to the clouds as she walked through the downpour, noting the dark tumbles of water logged fluff. She could hear the impact of falling water but at first couldn't feel it, until raindrops finally pushed fur down onto the skin of her face.

The droplets roared as they pounded the earth. A bright, eerie pink illuminated all of creation, a jagged bolt slashing through the sky domain. A delay, and then the expected rumble rent apart Rose's thoughts, rolling so strongly that even the ground trembled beneath her hooves.

She and Twilight hustled to the train, the clop of their steps trailing them until they reached a private car. As they entered, Rose said, "No wonder the weather was thought to be the work of gods, before the Pegasi learned to control it."

Twilight looked at her cabin-mate, surprised at the esoteric statement. Deciding to play along the conversation, to act as devil's advocate, Twilight Sparkle said, "Who's to say? That was reality, for them. Thousands lived while that was true, that the gods made weather. Everything is relative."

Roseluck bit the bait, "That's completely contrary to the very idea of 'reality'! The whole point is that there is an objective universe beyond any one of us."

"Yet," Twilight responded, "wouldn't you agree that for something as different from us as, let's say, a bat! Yeah. Wouldn't a bat's reality be completely different? We can't even conceive of what maneuvering via sound waves might truly be like. A totally different perception."

"But that's it! That's all it is, a different perception!" Rose surprised herself at the enthusiasm escaping her vocal chords, "Whether or not they have an entirely different sensory apparatus with which they operate within this realm, like the rest of us, they are here and bound by the same laws. I am not saying that we're currently experiencing the 'truest' reality that there is, merely that one exists beyond our own minds, a universe in which all parties operate."

"But Rose! How could you say something called objective reality exists if the universe is constantly in flux? You can state that one-hundred years ago, Appleoosa wasn't real. Certainly, if you went to the indigenous population of that area back then and told them that they lived on an Equestrian frontier town full of ponies, they would laugh and call you crazy."

"Well, objective doesn't mean unchanging. You're looking at two separate paradigms, two differing dichotomies."

The two ponies had been hunching forward as the conversation picked up, leaning closer as if physical proximity influenced the transmission of ideas.

Catching herself, Twilight leaned back, apparently satisfied with the answers. "It at least sounds well thought out," she laughed.

They both understood that it was not a condescending thing to say, rather, a compliment, despite the way that it came out. Twilight had merely been probing. She had already known the answer to her own questions, when her line of inquiry would collapse.

Rose blushed as she snapped back to the situation at hand and away from the murky depths of philosophy. She had just experienced a more sincere discussion with Twilight Sparkle, the mare of her heart, than anypony in recent memory. Were there a sound to describe the feeling that coursed through her body, it would have been the 'yay' of a Fluttershy.

A thing took hold of Twilight, some impulsive emotion, and she spoke, feeling a chilliness in her upper spine, below the neck. Her voice was soft, pleading as she said, "Rose. When I look around at the world, the universe, I feel like some tiny speck of dust. And I see all these other tiny specks floating around, whirling chaotically. But when I address my fellow specks, they respond to me as if they're enormous planets, or clods of dirt to put any speck of dust to shame," she giggled at her own silly metaphor, "but with you it's like we're two specks regarding each other for what they really are, not what they are in their own heads."

With a smile Rose whispered, "Objective reality," but it was a silly quip and Twilight continued past it.

"I don't know why I feel this way, but I really want to spend more time with you. It's fun and it feels right. Friends?"

Rose's heart sped at this pronouncement. Was this the moment to lay it all out? One side of her asserted,  No, It's too early! She won't know what to think! Another, however, was clamoring as well, louder, If you don't do anything now, when she's in such a state of mind, you'll never have a better chance! Make your move!

She stayed paralyzed until her cautious side won out, and said, "I enjoy the presence of your company as well, Twilight. It's not many ponies who would be willing, or even able to talk about this stuff. Friends."

Twilight smiled at the returned sentiment, happy to let that particular issue drop for the moment. She knew there were more feelings to figure out, but she was willing to let them wait.

After awhile, the rain pattered to a halt and they passed the rest of the train ride in conversation about simpler topics, or in their own thoughts. All in all it was a bonding experience in which they were both happy to share.

After the train arrived, Twilight had quickly transferred Rose's display to the palace via magic, then teleported back to the Canterlot station to accompany Rose. When Twilight had discovered that it was Roseluck's first time to the capitol, the unicorn insisted on taking her new friend to the center of the city.

Veritably soaked in the glow of thriving ponity, the market square swarmed with industry abound, productive and wholesome determination as the motive power, the driving force; to thrive and see others thrive was the fundamental principle holding it all together. It was a free place open to all. No restrictions existed on the exchanging goods. Required was merely that all parties involved were satisfied with the transfer of wares.

Golden bits flashed from hoof to hoof, traded for a vase of fine ceramic glazed in deep red with a gold leafing, or a basket of assorted fruits—apples and grapes, oranges and tomatoes. Or else ponies were simply browsing, exclaiming at good deals or surprising discoveries, or else exotic foreign objects brought into Canterlot by weary hoof.

Bright banners hung lazily in the enclosed city, the occasional draft of countryside air allowing them to fill their original purpose, to billow brightly, advertising some particular shop or ware.

Roseluck couldn't imagine the patronage one might receive from a stall in this district, for it was immense beyond reckoning as compared to her Ponyville experience. The number of prospective clients wandering the Canterlot streets in one hour were probably a greater number than she would see in a whole business day of Ponyville, even with the excellent location she rented.

While Rose drifted in her own machinations and the general stream of ponies, Twilight Sparkle had vanished from her shoulder. Rose craned her neck left and right, trying to spot a familiar mane or horn, but the blur of motion from so many colored equines, as well as the steadily increasing feeling of anxiety fought for control of her senses.

She felt herself being tugged downstream, as if the crowd were merely a river—a blind current with no sense of purpose—and couldn't help being distracted and slightly amused by the notion, despite her predicament.

Fighting the crowd, forcing her will against the conscious and unconscious wills which obstructed her, Rose managed to squeeze into a side ally, dark, between two buildings.

Here, the sight was far different than the bright celebration a few feet behind her. Piles of rubbish lay strewn across dirty cobbles, speckled with equine and rat waste, poured out of windows with buckets. Amid a heap of rotting fruit, there was a homeless pony who decayed with the rest of the filth, tumbled down in a drunken haze, a half-awake stupor.

Flankwards were joyous cries and bright colors, happy spirits and voluntary interaction. Before her was putrid decay, waste and horror. It was as if the city were infected and had no idea, as if she could see the internal structure crumbling, poison in the veins, before any outside dysfunction was apparent.

The hobo pony stirred at the clopping of her hooves, turning his mangy head towards her. His mane was matted with unknown dirt, knotting awkwardly around his ears.They were penetrating eyes which observed her, a sharp blue, though milky, as if their owner were blind. Yet that was the most catching part of him, the only aspect of his state which aroused any notion of strength. His lips were split, the fur of his face patched, the area around his muzzle a mess.

He grinned a wide, cracked-tooth grin, yellow and rank, before addressing her. In solemn tones, the dirty, wasting pony hissed at the youthful and vibrant one,

"The last free place, a desolate waste.

It's the only place I'll always go.

The crust is a mile and a half thick there.

... I do not wish to be polished."

He turned and stumbled off, disappearing around a corner. Rose ogled after him.

A bright flash dazzled the walls around her, source overhead, and Twilight Sparkle dropped out of the sky, landing smoothly on her hooves. She cast her gaze about and wrinkled her nostrils at the sight of the disgusting, filth-ridden alley. What in Celestia's name are you doing here Rose? It's a good thing that Starswirl the Bearded fancied a flower vendor at one point during the second era, else I wouldn't have been able to find you, 'the flower vendor I know best'. Anyways, lets get out of here, there's a schedule we need to keep."

Despite the abruptness of the unicorn, despite it being just an inane comment, Rose felt her heart swell at the phrase, 'the flower vendor I know best'. It was absolutely silly, perhaps a bit pathetic, but she couldn't do anything about it. The magic gathered around Rose, compressing her person down until she was a mere point of reality, less than a speck.

Then, she was in another place entirely, Twilight still at her side, as they exploded into mass and existence.