Walking home from work, Rose is tired, stressed, and a little lonely. After the break-up with her boyfriend a week previous, she’s just not had much time for herself, her family demanding more time spent working on chores around the house and the rest of the time being spent in school or at work.

“I can’t even sleep without dreaming about finances or tests... working those extra shifts isn’t helping much either.”

She sighs, and continues walking past some of the houses on her way home, a light catches her eye. The light shimmering in dozens of colors, like a rainbow. Looking into the short alleyway between houses, she sees a large orb, glassy and shimmering, on the ground.

She cocks a brow and steps closer, hitching her bag to a more comfortable position.

“Huh, never seen anything like that on Garbage Hill before...”

Rose shifts on her heels in the direction of the hill, taking a better look at the orb. It was strangely pretty, but still, the Garbage Hill was known for broken glass, left over drug needles, and God knows what else.

“It’s probably just a large marble or something,”

She turns back to the direction of her home, hearing the screams of her mother a block away.

“Bro’s broken something again...”

She let out a large sigh before glancing back at the ball. It wouldn’t hurt to see what the object was- anything that kept her from entering the hellhole she called home. Stepping carefully onto a wooden board sitting on the mound of trash, Rose sidles over to the glowing orb. From up close, she sees that it’s actually glowing on its own, like a crystal ball from a cheesy movie.

In fact, from the way it’s pressing down on the trash, it’s probably really heavy, might be actually worth something, if only on Ebay. Reaching out for it, her fingers make contact with the ball, its smooth, cool surface soothing after the heat of the day.

Rolling it towards her, Rose gets it to where she can pick it up, and does, resting it in her palms. The orb stops glowing, and she can see right through it, with barely any distortion. There’s no ‘made in’ stamp, and the glass is almost unnaturally smooth.

“Huh... well, if it’s not worth anything I could always just use it as a decoration.”

She frowned at the thought of her room, it mostly empty due to the fact that she had to sell most of her possessions online or at one of the many garage sales to pay for food or her car, which was a piece of shit anyways.

Rose said to the glass ball.

“Stupid peice of shit.”

She muttered to the white, rusted car parked in front of the driveway. It’s seen better days and reeked of smoke from it’s previous owners. Not to mention the seats were stained with sticky residue of soda and other flavored drinks from the many take out places it was guilty of driving though.

Sighing, she carefully sets the orb into her bag and carries it into the house.

Cringing at the sight of her mother shouting at her brother for his stupidity she quickly retreats to her room, a routine she does quite often due to the hostility in the home.

Setting down her bag, she pulls out the mysterious globe. Looking it over again, Rose realizes that it’s actually still glowing, ever so softly, in her hands.

A loud slam shakes the walls down the hall. her brother managed to run to his room and slam the door behind him before her mother was able to take away his phone.

“Open this door!”

Her mother is shouting as she banged on the door with her palm.

“Fuck you!”

“OPEN THIS FUCKING DOOR!”

The woman screamed again, this time banging on the door with the soft side of her fist.

“Another peaceful day,”

Rose speaks sarcastically to herself.

“Wish I could just get away from it all...”

She looked up at her wall where a picture of a forgotten time was frozen, her and a friend smiling. Back then things weren’t so complicated.

As if to answer her, the orb in her hands begins glowing. She looks down at the glass ball as a painful shock of electricity or something runs up form it, rainbow-colored arcs of energy wrapping around her arms as it crawls to her.

She screams, or tries to, as the world goes sideways, then is overcome by a rainbow swirl...

Slowly, Rose wakes up, her whole body aching slightly.

“Ugh...”

She groans, rubbing her head.

“What the hell happened?”

Slowly opening her eyes, a soft light greets them, a beam of moonlight falling in through an open window.

“Wha...? This isn’t... my... room.”

She quickly tries to get up and scope the area only to be stopped by her non cooperative limbs. Falling with a crash, she finds herself on a floor of oddly soft wood, a thin layer of dirt, or perhaps fine wood shavings coating it. The whole thing smells of pine wood.

As she contemplates this sudden development, she hears a door open on one side of the room.

“Miss, are you alright? I heard a noise.”

The voice is masculine, and oddly soothing, somewhere between ‘buff voice actor’ and ‘butler’. It’s also rather quiet.

“Wh-where am I? Who are you?”

Her questions were direct and quick, unsure whether or not to be scared.

“My deepest apologies, miss, the master found you outside during a rainstorm, and brought you back here, to his estate. I know that most Earths prefer to live closer to the ground, but he wasn’t sure where you lived. It is a fair distance to the nearest town.”

Her brow creased in confusion.

“What are you talking about? I was in my room and it wasn’t raining and- and-!”

Her head began to hurt and she put a hand to her head only to be greeted by a hard object, like a chunk of soft plastic.

“Ow!”

“Ah, sorry, allow me to help you up, miss.”

A pair of strong limbs settle under her arms as she tries to puzzle out what hit her. As she’s carefully placed on the bed, she looks around, seeing no-one until an equine shape, with a pair of large, brown wings flutters to the ground in front of her.

The creature appears to be a pony, smooth brown fur, striped with darker brown and a mane even darker brown than that. The wings, mildly insectile, like a moth or butterfly’s, settle onto his back.

“Are you alright miss?”

It’s a talking horse, a voice in Rose’s mind states firmly. A talking, mildly cartoonish horse. Looking down as she thinks to herself, she sees that, instead of arms or anything else human, she also seems to be a horse.

A rather fancy looking one, too. A smooth, velvety-soft looking mint-green sea of fur covers her belly and arms. Shifting her head slightly, she can see strands of metallic silver hair, fading to black part-way down the length of it.

“Wh- WHAT THE HELL! WHAT HAPPENED TO ME!?”

Rose closed her eyes and shook her head viciously.

“I’m dreaming! I hit my head and got a concussion and now I’m having a really weird dream- yeah that’s it!... A really fucking weird dream.”

“Miss? Miss! Please calm down! You are alright, just calm down, please!”

She opened her eyes hoping her vision would be fixed but grunted at the unchanged scenery.

“No, no, no! Wake up! Just wake up!”

She’s pleading with herself, and the moth-pony thing takes a tentative step forward.

“Miss? Please- Just calm down. You’re not in any danger here.”

The guy is sounding a little shaken, but Rose is more than a little freaked out still. She looked up at the pony, seeing his reaction to her outbursts. He seemed sincere... and slightly frightened. Maybe she could trust him?

“How did I get here? I was in my room and then- and then... then...”

“I’m not sure, miss, but when the master found you, you were in smoking crater, wearing fine garments like he’d never seen before. It looked as though you had been struck by lightning.”

Rose’s eyes opened at the mentioning of her clothes and quickly looked down, trailing from the fur of her- hooves, and training down the length of her arm and below. No form of garments were present. At. All.

“Ah! WHAT THE FUCK! I’M NAKED!”

She quickly covered herself with her hooves and tried to run, only ending with her tripping over her own hooves and crashing down to the floor again. Still embarrassed she continued to scream, covering her flank with her hooves, trying to shimmy her way into a corner or somewhere where she could hide her exposed flesh.

“Miss? Are you alright? Your clothes are simply being washed. They were a bit filthy from the mud and rain.”

“WHY DID YOU TAKE THEM OFF ME IN THE FIRST PLACE YOU PERVERT! I KNEW IT! I WAS KIDNAPPED! GODDAMN IT MOM! I TOLD YOU THAT NEIGHBORHOOD WAS A BAD IDEA!”

She sits there, panicked and nearly hyperventilating, as the butler just stares for a moment, his expression a deadpan of unamused sincerity.

“Oh. You’re from one of those families.”

The butler pony sighs and rolls his eyes, turning around.

“Fine, take the bedsheet, if you must, though I’ll never understand what the point of all that frippery and extra fabric is about.”

Rose quickly stopped screaming at the butler’s rude comment and shot him a glare.

“What you talkin ‘bout Willis?”

“My name is Cedar Bark, miss, not Willis.”

The mare only slapped her hoof to her forehead before speaking again.

“What do you mean by one of those families, hmm?”

Her tone was strung with annoyance, her fear and confusion quickly forgotten for the moment.

“I’m simply saying, that I have never understood the faction of the nobility that sees the need to drape themselves in fabric that would be better being set aside for a banquet.”

He’s still facing away from her, and she slowly reaches for the blanket on the bed, only to realize she can’t grab anything with her hoof.

“Agh! Damn it!”

She muttered to herself, fumbling with the blanket, not used to her absence of fingers and thumbs.

“Is something the matter now, miss?”

“How am I supposed to grab things without any thumbs!?”

Rose held up her hooves in annoyance.

“I’m sure I have no idea how I would do so with thumbs, miss, I’m no dragon or griffin.”

“You’re not- ugh, never mind.”

She muttered vehemently, using her mouth to grab the blanket and toss it on her back. With rough movements and by catching the fabric on her hooves, she was able to wrap it mostly around herself.

“May I turn around, yet, miss? Or do you require still more time? I suppose lunch will be ready soon, and your clothes will be clean by the time we’re done with that, but I will state, simply for the record, that I still don’t understand the earth pony nobility’s fascination with clothing.”

“Just-! Stop talking!”

Rose growled between her teeth, finally setting the cloth in place to where she was covered. At least the movements were helping her figure out how to move the legs, they’re way more flexible than human arms, which is odd, because she’s a pony now.

Sighing, the butler-like moth pony slowly starts for the door.

“If miss is hungry, perhaps she would accompany me to the dining room for lunch?”

With a questioning glance out the window, at the moon still high in the dark sky, Rose bit her lip. She never got to eat anything during her lunch break and her arrival home was not greeted with a meal either, so by now she could feel her stomach eating itself in starvation.

“Yeah...”

Rose carefully got to her fee-hooves, cautiously stepping forward one shaky leg at a time. Wobbling after the butler, she had to stop numerous times to re-adjust her bedspread toga, gazing around as she did at magnificent wood walls and smooth wooden floors. Fine, gold-leaf patterns decorate the wood with pictures of ponies of all sorts doing various things.

A large painting, of a distinguished-looking mothpony and a pony with feathered wings, like a pegasus, sat next to each other, a small, almost murderously cute foal sitting on the ground in front of them, playing with blocks.

“So... What is this place exactly? And who are they?”

“This is the Herald Estate, and those are the current master Twilight Herald, and his late wife, Storm Front. The little one at their feet is young master Moon Herald, who is the one who brought you here after discovering you. He’s grown a bit since the portrait was painted though, just to warn you.”

“Okay? So... fill me in a bit. I’m not in a brothel or sex trade-”

“Miss! The implications of that statement are extremely rude! The Herald estate would never stoop to such base practices, even if it weren’t illegal!”

“Hey! Can you blame me? Over where I live- well, things like that happen a lot! And I don’t wanna end up as another Breaking News at Five.”

“What kind of barbaric lands are you from? And what nonsense babbling is this about destroying news?”

“Welcome to America.”

“Actually, this is the dining room. Please take a seat near the middle of the table, if you will, and some dinings will be brought along shortly. I believe young master Moon Herald would like to speak with you.”

“Good, I’d like to talk guy as well, maybe he can answer some of my questions.”

The butler bows, rolling his eyes, and backs away, rather suddenly fading from view as he turned away from Rose, leaving her in front of a pair of double-doors made from solid slabs of wood.

“Well, here goes everything.”

Carefully opening the doors, Rose steps inside, the doors themselves making no noise as they swing open effortlessly. Upon stepping through, they swing smoothly shut as well. In front of Rose is a large banquet table, almost devoid of anything, save for a set of triple-candle holders.

The oddest part of the table was that it appeared to be a part of the floor, the legs blending seamlessly with the polished brown wood and vanishing under the thin layer of wood shavings. sitting at one end is another male pony, a muted brown with ash-gray and black stripes, forming an intriguing tiger-stripes pattern along his back. A pair of similarly-colored wings lay folded at his sides.

Rose only let out a whistle at the sheer beauty of it.

“Man, we don’t have anything like this at home.”

The guy at the end of the table continues to look at her, his gaze unwavering since she had stepped in. He blinks, and smiles at Rose.

“That makes me very sad, not having a dining area of your own at your home. Please, sit down, I hear that lunch will be served momentarily.”

His voice is... oddly alluring. There’s nothing about it that should be interesting, but something about it is anyways. The candlelight and the moonlight streaming in through the large, clear glass panes running along the wall parallel to the length of the table illuminates everything quite well.

The male at the end of the table however, overshone the light.

He was... very attractive for a horse. Judging from the veins and shifting muscles underneath the skin she could tell he was very well kept, his coat was shiny and reminded her of dark coffee, striped with silver and black hues. The mane consisted of another brown, this one more chocolate and sweet looking.The eyes however, struck her the most with their vibrant hints of greens and golden yellows. Though she’s always seen horses as beautiful animals, shes never seen one as gorgeous as he.

“Are you alright, madame?”

“Uh, yeah, umm....”

She shook her head, shaking the thought of his striking features.

“What happened to me? All I remember is being in my room and then, I’m here.”

“I’m not sure exactly, but I found you in the forest, not too far away, while returning before a thunderstorm rolled through. If I hadn’t been late and caught up in the rain, I doubt I would’ve seen you. Whatever happened to you, you were laying in some sort of crater, such as what happens when a lightning bolt strikes the ground.”

“S-seriously? But how? I mean- What?”

“Well, I’m not sure myself. Again, I only happened to find you. Ah, and lunch has arrived!”

Rose simply turned her head to the door where the food was arriving from the kitchen doors. A group of ponies, most of them moth ponies, though a pony with extra limbs and and spider-like features also came in, each of them carrying platters, the metallic dishes silvery and brightly polished.

The mare simply watched the ponies set the table with the shiny silverware. While no actual utensils are set out, the platters are set down, including a large cake in dark brown, a small frosting moth on the top of it.

“Ah, I had been expecting to have this later in the evening, but perhaps it’s better to get this over with while there’s still moonlight out. Please, madame, sit down.”

The spider-pony pulls out a chair for Rose and gestures to it.

Rose bites her lip as she sits down, trying not to make any sudden movements to otherwise offend the spider creature.

The creature backed away slowly afterwards, as she settles into the chair. The first platter is opened up, revealing a fine plate of greens, large leafy plants within. The second is opened, revealing a small selection of fruits, including grapes, apples, and pears. The third has a pile of steaming veggies, and the fourth has a quartet of baked potatoes, split open with pats of butter melting into them.

Rose’s eyes light up at the sight of healthy foods. Ever since she started working late nights and going to school full time her diet has been along the lines of take out and McNasties.

“Yum...”

She licked her lips, trying her hardest not to lunge at the food. The working staff carefully moves the platters close to her, waiting for a nod or headshake, receiving nothing but nods, the food piling onto the plate set before her.

At last, there’s a mound of food. Looking over at her host, to make sure it’s alright to dive in, and see he’s practically face-planted in the food.

Rose looked back at her food and hesitated before placing her muzzle onto the plate. Opening her mouth she took the grapes first, using her tongue to pick up individual ones from its stem.

The grapes were juicy, and tart, and contrast very nicely to the very sweet tasting pear. The apple was very sweet-tasting, too.

The only sounds that escaped her mouth were the moans of delight she let slip from her slurping and crunching of the fruits. They tasted so delicious in comparison to all the crap she’d been forced to eat that she’d forgotten how to eat properly.

She only stops when a low, hearty chuckle passes over the table, and she looks up to see the guy at the end of the table smiling.

Realizing that she has some baked potato on her nose, she tries to wipe it off, carefully.

“It’s um, good.”

She didn’t know what exactly to say, her mouth still somewhat full of chewed food. He just chuckles and motions for her to continue.

“That’s alright, I just haven’t seen a mare with such an appetite in a long time.”

Rose opened her mouth to say something but quickly swallowed the remains of her food before actually speaking.

“I- I don’t eat very well...”

She trailed off, using her hoof to roll a grape to the other side of her plate as she began to think of all the unhealthy food she’s engorged in the past few weeks.

“While I find that very odd for any earth pony, I must say that you certainly don’t look very malnourished. Quite stately, in fact.”

“Well, I just don’t eat very... healthy.”

“Again, I hope you won’t take offense at this, but you seem to be at all unhealthy. I can truly only state my appreciation of your form.”

His voice was calm, and charming. It was also very difficult for Rose not to want to listen to it, and did happily.

“Th-thanks. That’s very... kind of you to say.”

She lifted a hoof and attempted to brush her hair back like she normally would do in these awkward moments, but failed miserably, forgetting her pony form.

“Well, I try to only speak the truth. It is, rather unfortunate what night this is, in the end.”

He looks sadly down at the cake set before him. Rose cocks a brow.

“Why’s that?”

“Well, after finishing this lovely cake, I am to be expelled from these grounds. I may be the eldest, well, only, child of Twilight Harald, but that makes no difference.”

“Expelled? What do you mean by that?”

“It’s tradition, that at the end of the night of a noble-born moth-wing’ coming of age day, they must leave their home and seek their life elsewhere. It’s supposedly to prevent the stagnation of noble blood, but I think it’s just the Living Gods preventing any of us from consolidating power in a family.”

“That sounds familiar. Kinda have the same situation back home. But, it’s a load of crap to be honest. Just because it’s said to happen, doesn’t mean it has to. Especially if the situation says otherwise.”

“I suppose I must agree, though not with such, ah, colorful terms. Shall we partake in the cake, then? Also, I realize I never asked your name, madame, might I ask what it is?”

The mare bit her lip. Guess she forgot her manners again, but can you blame her?

“It’s ah... Rose.”

“Rose? What a fitting name. A beautiful title for a beautiful mare.”

“B-beautiful?”

“Well, I could go into great detail about comparing you to things like flowers or fancy rock formations or the moon itself, but I believe a simple statement of fact to work better.”

“Y-yeah.”

At this point the female was completely lost. In a strange world where horses could talk and have traditions and have rude butlers? She finally shook her head and creased her brows, putting a hoof on the table.

“Look, I enjoy the food and the... compliments, but I really must be getting home. Thanks for your generosity, but I really must be going now.”

“I understand. Please, at least wait for your garments, though. They should be done shortly.”

He looks back down at the cake sadly, holding his silence.

“But I-”

She sees the sadness in his eyes and lets out a sigh.

“Alright, I’ll stay for the cake, but after that I really have to go home... However that is.”

“Indeed. If it would be alright, might I accompany you at least out of the forest? It can be a bit dangerous for those without as good of night vision.”

“Night vision? Can’t you just give me a flashlight?”

“A what?”

“A fl- nevermind. Alright, I’ll let you guide me through forest... but you’re leading.”

“Uhm... Alright. But isn’t it the mare’s job to be protective? I simply wished to make sure you got out safely.”

“I’ll be right behind you.”

“Riiight...”

He doesn’t seem very enthused by this as he began to eat the slice of cake set before him, nibbling away at the small slice.

A more considerable slice was set before Rose, and she looked at it curiously before eating. There was two layers of different-colored chocolate cake, with a coffee-scented icing coating it and separating the layers.

Though she didn’t quite like the taste of coffee unless it was in the morning to wake her up, she took a bite anyways, trying to endure the bitterness of the flavoring. To her surprise, its entirely sweet, the coffee icing counterpointed by a creamy chocolate flavor, the swirls in the icing becoming apparent as white chocolate.

“Wow, this is the best tasting cake I’ve ever had!”

She took another bite, not hesitating to take in a large mouthful, leaving frosting all over her muzzle.

“I’m glad you enjoy it. This is my favorite flavoring, personally.”

As the cake was finished off, The two sat in companionable silence for a minute or so.

Author's Note

So, this is the second fic in the series! I hope you enjoy this, it'll be updating every Monday!

If you should see any typos, issues, or any problems that need correcting, please say so!