A Rose in the Sand

by Altoid

Rating: teen
Tags: Romance, Adventure, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Roseluck
Length: 5947

Rose visits the San Palomino Desert to find the ultimate florist treasure, the rare Gold Petaled Rose. But she gets lost in the sun drenched expanse and finds something else entirely.

Roseluck visits the San Palomino Desert to find the ultimate florist treasure, the rare Gold Petaled Rose. But she gets lost in the sun drenched expanse and finds something else entirely.

Published 2013-03-04 17:40:01 UTC
Last updated 2013-03-04 17:40:01 UTC

A Rose in the Sand

A Rose in the Sand

Some ponies would say that traveling to the far expanses of the desert just to find a flower is crazy. They would say it is crazy to know everything about flowers but no nothing about relationships. That it is crazy to care for flowers more than breathing creatures. Maybe I am crazy, but at least I’m happy. So when I learned that the gold rose was blooming for the first time in a hundred years my craziness flared up. I packed what I believed I needed, gathered my cousins and boarded a train headed to the San Palomino Desert.

I had no idea what I was doing or where to find the gold rose but I had visited the library and would have plenty of books to read on the subject as the train clattered southward. There were several other ponies on the train with the same goal in mind so I decided that it would be best to join up with them. At least for the time being.

I sat with my cousins deeply enthralled with my book but still trying to stay in the conversation.

“So, when we find one, who gets to keep it?” my younger cousin Daisy asked as she admired her reflection in the train window. “They say that finding one is nearly impossible.”

“Whoever sees it first I guess,” Lily replied. She was wearing the flower that she usually kept in her hair. “Right Rose?”

I looked up from the book. “Sounds about right. And I don’t know about you girls but I intend on finding it first. My name is Rose after all.”

“I know more about flowers though,” Lily shot. “And I’m older than you.”

“I don’t care.” I went back to my book. “If some rare lily pops up and we go looking for it then you can make an argument.”

“Hmm.” Lily rolled her eyes. She had a habit of thinking of herself as the more mature one. Grandma always said I was.

“I wonder if any cute stallions live in Appleloosa,” Daisy sighed dreamily.

‘Oh here we go with this again.’ Talking about stallions was not something I shared with my cousins.

“Oh I sure hope so!” Lilly squealed like a giddy school filly. “I hear they are hard working farm ponies. So strong and knowledgeable on plant life!”

“Oh how I wish one of them would fall in love with me.” My younger cousin stared back through the window, as if she was looking for a stallion out on the desert flats.

“I would let one of them pluck my flower any day.”

“Lily!” I hissed. “That was uncalled for!”

“Oh you are just sad because you don’t have any luck with stallions,” she shot back at me. “Roseluck the luckless.”

Daisy broke out into laughter and Lily just smiled at me. I shook my head in controlled irritation and went back to reading.

“Can we take a look around town before joining back up with the group?” Lily asked in a pleasant tone. I knew it was more like a demand underneath the sweet exterior.

“Sure,” I replied flatly. “But if we get back home and I find out you are pregnant I will tell your mom the reason why.”

“I was actually going to look around the local flower shops,” she deadpanned. “Do you really think that low of me?”

“Sometimes.”

She glared at me for a few seconds before trotting away with Daisy in tow. I decided to find the group that we met and get better acquainted with them. I was too busy with my books to have done it on the train. They were soon found standing around a water pump filling their canteens. There was three of them all together. Two stallions and one mare.

“Hello,” I said cheerfully when I reached them.

“Hello there dear,” a blue mare cooed in a Manehattan accent.

“Oh, it is one of the lovely flower mares.” A green stallion who I guessed was the mares husband walked up to me. “You must be the quiet one of the group.”

I nodded, partially agreeing with him. I had my loud moments though. “My name is Roseluck. But you can just call me Rose.”

“My name is Professor Trottenhill and this is my wife Skyline.” He hugged his companion. “She’s a model.”
I instantly guessed that he was a rich city pony and she was just his trophy wife but I quickly tossed those thoughts out of my head. It was mean of me to think that.

“My name is Sand Dune,” a dusty stallion wearing a wide hat beamed as he approached me. “I was hired by Professor Trottenhill to be his guide.”

That made me curious about something. “Professor, why are you interested in the golden rose?”

“I’m a scientist and the rose is a fine example of something I can study.” He paused and looked at his wife. “And it will also make a wonderful gift for my love.”

“Ah.”

I proceed with filling my own canteens all the while hoping my cousins would arrive soon. Sand Dune kept telling us to drink plenty of water before we left so we wouldn't be drinking our reserves straight away. Lets just say that by the time my relatives arrived I had to use the restroom.

"Hello ladies," Sand Dune purred to my cousins. "I am glad to have such lovely mares joining us in our search."
My relatives were sent into a fit of giggles and I rolled my eyes. This was already proving to be a difficult trip.

We were originally going to leave that day but Sand Dune was set against it. He didn't want to start our journey in the boiling midday sun. So my cousins got to explore more of the town, and undoubtedly the local male population, while I paid for a hotel room and read my books.

"Okay then," Sand Dune huffed. "We will search the wettest parts of the desert first. Seems like the most logical place to start."

I couldn't argue with that reasoning. Though I didn't respect him as much as I did yesterday. After Lily gave me a full description of her "adventures" with him last night. She told me during one of her drunken ramblings.

The sun wasn't even above the horizon as we set out and the eastern sky was a rosy pink. I took this as a good sign. It surprised my how quickly it warmed up when the sun eventually crawled into the sky. I was expecting one of us to start complaining but surprisingly nopony did.

"It reminds me of Las Pegasus." Skyline said as we were passing a rocky ridge. "But without the stylish hotels."

"And regrettable decisions." Lily chuckled.

'Like the ones you do every day?' I thought.

The conversations moved all over a bunch of strange topics that I had no opinion in. I tried to get the conversation switched over to the reason why we were in the desert but to no avail. Lily continued to flirt with Sand Dune, Daisy talked to Skyline about modeling and Trottenhill spouted his scientific research to anypony that would listen.

I wished deeply that I could read and walk simultaneously but only unicorns were that lucky. The sun continued to rise and the conversations died away into silent suffering. This was one of the things that had surprised me about the gold rose. It not only grew once every hundred years but in the middle of summer.

Dune continuously told us to drink our water sparingly but to no avail. Unlike him we weren't used to the heat and our water was quickly expended. It was barely past midday when we returned to Appleloosa for the night with none of us being in a good mood.

The next day we got further before running out of water. We were about to turn back but a small oasis caught our attention.

"This is a good as any place to rest," Dune said as he knelt down by the water and tasted it. "And the water is good. Nothing has died in it and it has yet to dry up."

We refilled our canteens and sat under the shade of the low hanging trees and bushes. I took this moment to read more of my book. I reached the chapter that described the locations where gold roses were found. Rocky canyons, hills or ridges. I looked up from the page at the row of massive boulders set like the bones of a spine in the distance.

Anticipation twisted in my gut and i looked at my companions. They didn't show the desire to move anytime soon. I opened my mouth to tell them where i was going but stopped. I didn't want them finding a rose first. So i quietly gathered my things and slipped away.

It took me a surprisingly long time to reach the spine. What had appeared to be a string of boulders was more like a line of rocky hills. This made me even more excited, my chances of finding a rose increasing. I searched the area, not caring for how much time had passed. A full hour had gone by before deciding to head back to my group.

I was passing a larger boulder when I noticed a split in the rock. From what I could tell when i looked through it there was a thin canyon that led into a previously inaccessible area of the spine. I wouldn't be able to fit with my packs so I removed them and squeezed between the rock.

It was pleasantly cool in the shady canyon. The rock hung over me so it felt like I was in an open cave. I breathed a happy sigh and pushed deeper into the spine. The canyon opened up the longer I walked. Soon I could easily see the sky above me.

The desire to see the surrounding countryside pushed me towards a slanted wall of the canyon. I wanted to see how far i had traveled from the rocky area. The first ten feet up the wall was easily done. But the closer i got to the top the more vertical the wall got. As I reached the edge, fifteen feet above the floor, the rock and dirt gave way.
I screamed as I fell but moments later all I knew was darkness.

My eyes opened and at first I thought they were still closed due to the darkness. The stars shimmering above me through the canyon opening told me otherwise. There was a strange wetness on the back of my head. Blood! I tried to sit up but a splitting pain in my head caused me to roll onto my side a vomit what little was left of the water in my stomach. When I had finished I cried myself back to sleep.

The sky was starting to turn a light pink when I awoke that morning. The throbbing pain in my head was still there but greatly reduced. My body felt unbelievably cold and my breathing was strained. Standing increased the hammering in my brain but I found some stability leaning against the walls and headed the way I came. It felt like forever before I reached the entrance to the canyon. I pulled myself through the crack and into the heat of the rising sun.

Quickly I gathered my possession and took a pause to drink some water. I hoped that my companions hadn't left without me as I hurried towards the oasis. When I arrived around midday two things sent me into despair. My cousins along with the rest of the group were gone! But the second thing I noticed was the water. It had mostly dried up in the increasing heat and several dead animals, that had apparently tried to drink from it, now littered the muddy shore. Two vultures hung in the air, waiting for me to leave.

I sat down to think about how I was going to get back to Appleloosa but I didn't even know the direction it was in. Maybe they would come back here to see if I had returned. So I sat down and waited under the thin branches of a dying bush. The heat was slowly wearing away at me but i dared not drink any more of my water. I needed to conserve that for as long as I could.

To pass the time and keep myself calm I read a book.

“I never expected to find somepony reading a book so far out in the desert.”
I looked up in surprise at the stallion that had snuck up on me. He stood across the mud with a sly smile across his face.

“You're not a mirage are you,” he asked with a chuckle.

“No,” I replied flatly. “I’m actually lost.”

“And your first reaction is to sit down and read a book?” He circled the oasis and approached me.

“Better than panicking.” I put my book away. “Was hoping my group would return.”

“Ah, that is understandable.” He had now reached me and he smiled playfully. “The name is Lupine by the way. Who are you?”

“Roseluck, but just call me Rose, please.” I stood on shaky hooves, still slightly dizzy from the recent events.

“Is that blood in your mane?” Lupine’s voice immediately changed to that of concern. He rushed to my side and inspected the wound on the back of my head.

“I’m fine.” I waved my hoof to make him back away. “What I need is for you to help me get back to Appleloosa.”

“Oh, yes of course.” Lupine turned. “Well, follow me Rosey. We can talk on the way.”

I could finally get a good look at my rescuer. He wore a wide hat that covered his rough yet joyful looking face in a dark shadow. His long, unkempt mane was a deep purple and it waved in the dry breeze. Lupine’s coat was a dark brown-yellow but I doubted that was the true color because dust covered most of his body. A brown duster covered up most of his body and his cutie mark.

“So why are you out here anyway?” He asked as we walked.

“Me and my cousins were searching for the gold rose.”

“Really?” Lupine looked back at me. “That’s what I’m doing. Have you had any luck?”

“I’m not known for luck.”

He chuckled. “I can tell.”

I rolled my eyes but laughed as well. His lightheartedness was starting to make me feel better. I took a quick drink from what was left of my water and felt a tinge of despair. I had only a few mouthfuls left!

“How much water do you have?” I asked.

“Three canteens full and one almost empty.” Lupine paused and gave me one of the canteens. “Here, you will need it more than me.”

“Thank you!”

We started to walk again and soon reached a relatively flat area with low, rolling dunes. A wind picked up and It would have felt nice if it wasn't for the sand that pelted our faces. His duster flapped around and I could finally see his mark. It was a violet flower.

“What is your special talent?”

“Oh, I'm a florist.” He blushed slightly and I didn’t know why. “Not a very amazing talent I know.”

“I think it is,” I replied without thinking. “Well, because I’m a florist too of course.”

“My father didn’t think of it that way.”

“Why?”

He sighed. “My father was a blacksmith from a long line of metalworkers. I was his only son and he expected me to follow in his hoofsteps. But my love was for the things that grew, not red hot metal.”

“Thats understandable.”

“What were your family’s talents?” He asked, eager to move the topic to me.

“We were all florist,” I chuckled. “All of us. Not much there.”

The wind picked up again and we stopped talking to keep the sand out of our mouths. I found myself drinking more water despite the need to reserve it. But I was a simple girl from Ponyville. When I got thirsty I drank water instinctively without meaning to. But judging by how far we had walked I guessed that we were nearing Appleloosa.

But as the sun started to go down there was no sign of Appleloosa and I was on my last mouthful of water. The surrounding countryside didn't even look familiar. It was completely flat where as the land around the town was rocky with great spires. The only bright side was the slowly cooling air and the fact that Lupine knew where he was going.

“You do know where you're going, right?” I asked in a joking tone. Of course he knew. I think he knew.

“Uh, well, uh.” Lupine stuttered.

I groaned loudly. He didn't know and I had been following him the whole time!

“I was actually lost as well when I found you,” He admitted. “I just didn't want to make you panic.”

“Well I’m panicking now!” I glared at him before my mouth curled up into a smile. I couldn't help but laugh.

I didn't know why I wasn't upset about this news. Maybe when you get to a certain point of hopelessness it becomes the only reaction your mind can come to in such ridiculous situations. He started to laugh too, a sweet and soothing sound to my frayed nerves. We continued to walk until the sun set. It was amazing how quickly the desert goes from boiling heat to freezing cold after the sky turns to stars. The nearest landmark I could see was a line of mountains in the distance.

“We are going to have to find somewhere to rest,” he said after I tripped a few times in the dark.

“Agreed.”

A small boulder became our protection from the icy wind as we laid down for the night. At first we remained a space from each other, trying to stay warm with on our own. But that proved hopeless as I shivered uncontrollably. I looked at
Lupine and he wasn't faring any better. His teeth clattered as the cold sank in. I took a deep breath.

“You can lay beside me to stay warm.”

He looked at me with a surprised and embarrassed expression. “Oh, I, uh. Thanks.”

He awkwardly edged closer to me and I chuckled at his reluctance to touch me.

“I won’t bite.” I moved his direction to close the distance. I couldn’t help but joke at his uncomfort. “I won’t bite as hard as the cold at least.”

The warmth of his body instantly leached into mine and I could finally relax. Looking up into the sky I started up a conversation.

“The stars are very beautiful out here.”

Lupine looked up as well. “They sure are.”

I looked into his skyward facing eyes and admired how they shimmered in the starlight. He noticed me staring at him and he looked into mine.

“What?”

“Where are you from?” I asked before the conversation could take an uncomfortable turn.

“I was born in Manehattan but I do not consider that my home.” He sighed and said the next part to himself. “Don’t think I actually have a home.”

“That’s sad. You are always welcome in Ponyville.” I was feeling drowsy so I pressed myself further against him and leaned my head on his neck. His warmth wrapped around me like a blanket. “See you tomorrow Lupine.”

“Goodnight Rose.”

I quickly drifted off into a peaceful sleep.

The sky was already a light blue when he woke me. I was curled up in a ball against his side so I pushed myself onto my hooves and took a deep breath. He stood up with me and both of us stretched our sore muscles.

“Should we keep heading towards the mountains?” He asked.

I nodded. “Seems like the best option. We might get a good view of the surrounding desert.”

“Exactly what I was thinking,” Lupine replied. He looked at me just as I was taking a drink from my canteen. “How much water do you have left?”

“Probably enough to reach the mountains,” I lied. “Don’t worry.”

He looked at me with doubt filled eyes. I smiled at him and we started to walk. Outwardly I appeared happy and carefree, but inside my mind was a place of panic. Half a canteen left and I was going to die because I was too stupid to prevent myself from drinking. What would Lupine think of me when he found out?

Why was I suddenly worried about his opinion of me? Dying of dehydration was far more important. Though, there was something about Lupine that made me want to impress him. Perhaps I was already becoming dehydrated and it was all in my head. Though, it felt like it was in my heart.

‘No way,’ I thought to myself. ‘I can’t be having a little school filly crush on a stallion I just met in the desert. It must be the heat. Yeah, it’ has to be the heat.’

I dismissed the feeling from my mind and proceeded to follow a few paces away from him. We walked for several hours straight but the mountains never looked closer. All the while it grew hotter. I dared not drink any more of my water and chose to struggle through the thirst as long as I could.

“I bet there is some nice shade in those mountains,” I said dully. My mind was becoming sluggish and my vision blurred.

“There should be,” Lupine replied. He looked at me with concerned eyes but I just smiled.

I could no longer take it. With two happy gulps I swallowed what was left of my water when he wasn't looking. I instantly felt slightly better and drastically more guilty. The mountains didn't look any closer and my hopes for surviving this was almost gone. Yet we trudged on and on with no end in sight.

“Is there anypony in your life,” I asked, trying to pass the time. I didn't know why I chose that topic.

“What do you mean?”

I told myself to shut up, but still I talked. “You know, do you have a special somepony?”

“Oh, um no.” Lupine glanced back at me slightly but quickly returned his attention to the mountains. “Why do you ask?”

“Just curios.”

“Right,” he chuckled. “Thinking about asking me out on a date?”

I sighed. “This is a terrible first date you brought me on!”

“Ha!” His cheerful eyes appeared over his shoulders. “Well, I‘ll take you to a movie when this is over.”

“That would be nice. But no kisses until the third date,” I said without thinking once again. “But don’t think that you can get anything more from me until we are married.”

He broke into laughter. “Rose, I think our relationship is going too fast. We might need to see other ponies for a while. No hard feelings?”

I laughed as well and stuck my tongue out of my dry mouth at him. “But I don’t want to say goodbye to that nice stallion flank!”

He shook his head, a wide smile on his face. “This conversation and trip has indeed taken a strange turn. It’s a good thing I’m stuck in it with a lovely mare like you.”

My cheeks turned red. “Thanks. I’m happy to be stuck with such a nice stallion such as yourself.”

That was a good note to end the conversation. To prevent myself from saying anything else I resorted to staring at the ground, watching it pass under my hooves. Tan and white sand filled my steadily blurring vision for a good three hours. Then the land started to become increasingly rocky once again. I looked up and was surprised to see the mountains looming over me. As I looked up towards their peaks I was filled with a mix of dizziness and nausea.

“Are you alright?” Lupine asked as I leaned against a boulder. “You look very pale.”

“I-I am fine.” I sat down heavily and closed my eyes. I was so sleepy and a headache hammered between my eyes. “No, I don’t think I’m fine.”

“You are out of water aren't you?” He faced me with a stern yet compassionately worried expression.

“Have been for a while.”

“Why didn't you tell me? I have water left.” He sat down next to me and held a canteen to me lips.

I took a long drink before coughing. “I don’t know.”

He stared into my half closed eyes. “We’ll rest here for the night and then go up the mountain when it is nice and cool tomorrow morning.”

I nodded and then unexpectedly started to cry. My eyes too dry to form tears. “Lupine, I don’t want to die.”

“You aren’t going to die,” he lifted my chin and looked into me averted eyes. “Understand? You will be fine.”

I wanted to believe him but I could bring myself to reply so I looked into his eyes for any hope that I could claim for myself. I calmed down and felt even more exhausted.

That night I dreamed that Lupine was walking in the desert in front of me, always out of reach. I would call for him but he would only walk faster. Finally he stopped walking and stood like a stone. I ran towards him but to my horror he started to turn into dust. By the time I reached him he was nothing more than a pile of sand. My body suddenly felt empty and I looked at my hooves. They were turning to dust as well! I let out a scream before blowing away in the wind.

I woke up that morning screaming at the top of my lungs. No, the screaming was only in my head. My mouth was open but silent, to dry to form sounds other than a pained squeak. Yet Lupine still heard me and he woke as well.

“Rose,” his voice was raspy from lack of water as well. It was more like a whisper. “What is wrong?”

I tried to reply but my words were nothing more than a hissing sound. I was starting to panic but Lupine didn't let me. He gave me a canteen but my mouth was too dry for me to swallow very much and any water that went down I just coughed back up. I felt so cold.

“We must go now,” he helped my to me hooves. “It is starting to get brighter out.”

I nodded and was about to pick up my pack but he stopped me. “You're going to have to leave them. I’m sorry.”
I hoped Twilight would understand why I didn't bring home her books. If I ever saw her again. We started up the steep, rocky slope. My shaky legs and dizzy head causing me to trip with every step. Walking in a straight line was nearly impossible. I fell many times and was bleeding but I couldn't feel it. Everything hurt already.

The sun was finally up and the air was beginning to warm. I had stopped being able to sweat long before then. My eyes felt like they were sinking into my skull. Every single thought I had was blurry and mixed up. I started to see things that weren't there.

My cousins sat on rocks, waving at me as I passed. When I looked into the desert below us I could see trees and the town of Ponyville. A waterfall cascaded to my left and I ambled over to it, eager for a drink. It ended up being nothing more than sand blowing down the boulders and Lupine had to pull me away.

It surprised me how fast I was turning for the worst. The only thing keeping me going was Lupine. He walked in front of me, helping my every step. Then I fell and was unable to get back up. I closed my eyes and waited for the darkness that I believed would come with death. The feeling of somepony lifting me up onto their back snapped me back into consciousness. I opened my eyes but all I could see was the dusty ground passing below me and Lupines legs struggling under our weight. I quickly fell back into obscure dreams.

He put me onto the ground softly but I still woke with a jolt. We were on top of the mountains, and the land played out before my blurry vision. I looked up at Lupine but could barely make out his shape in the painful light.

“I see a cave over there,” he said in a labored breath. I hoped he was fine. “There might be water.”
He was silent for a good while. I guessed that he was looking for any sign of civilization. Suddenly his dry yet joyful voice cheered out.

“I see a buffalo camp in the distance! They are less than five miles away!”

He lifted me up again and continued down the mountain. He was going to kill himself carrying me through this heat. He should just leave me. But then again, I wouldn't have left him.

My heart would have leaped for joy from the news of the buffalo camp if it wasn't beating so slowly. The sluggish thump of each pulse scared me. But my fears faded as I went back into the darkness.

All I remember after that was the cool, moist cave. Lupine speaks but I didn't hear his words. Loneliness. Nightmares and panic. More voices. Taken from the cool air. Light, so much light and heat. Running? Who was carrying me? Water appeared before my lips! I choked down the warm liquid. Water, voices, water, more voices. Lupine! Sleep.

The first thing I noticed when my eyes opened was the familiar ceiling of the train. Confusion filled my mind and I sat up quickly, ignoring the small headache that quickly formed. Sitting across from me, obviously surprised by my sudden movement, was my cousins.

"What happened?" I remanded in a sharper tone than I intended. "How did I get here?"

My cousins immediately rushed to my side and crushed me in a hug.

"Oh Rose!" Lily sobbed. "You're awake!"

"We thought you were going to die." Daisy added, also crying.

"So did I." I said with a hint of humor.

"Buffalo brought you to the town five days ago. You were almost dead!" My eldest relative filled me in. "The town doctor struggled to find your heartbeat!"

"When you started to improve we put you on the train to take you to the hospital in Ponyville." Daisy wasn't crying anymore. She just smiled happily at me.

I could barely remember the past few days. It all was a long blur. But there was one thing that I did recall.

"Lupine. What happened to Lupine?"

The look that formed on my cousins' faces worried me but their replies were more along the lies of confusing.

"Lupine?" Lily tilted her head like a bewildered puppy. "Who is Lupine?"

My mind raced. Did he die after saving me?

"He was the stallion that rescued me."

Daisy shook her head. "A bunch of buffalo saved you."

"No no." I believed more and more that he had died. "He found me at the oasis."

"Are you sure you weren't imagining him?" Lily asked.

"I didn't imagine him." I tried to remember the past few days. "He, he led me and we both got lost and-and he kept me warm at night then he carried me up a mountain. He left me in a cave to get help."

The more I said the less he seemed real. But he had to be. How could I have survived without him?

"He was real! He was real. He was." Who was I trying to convince? My cousins or myself.

My relatives just stared at me with sad and worried eyes. I sat in silence for the rest of the trip.

We arrived at Ponyville and I did spend some time at the hospital. After that my life went back to normal. Twilight was very understanding about me losing her books. Though she did try to give me a book about mirages that I declined. I eventually accepted that Lupine was a hallucination. Primarily because it was easier to think that than to believe he had died.

Several months passed and my supposed rescuer slowly faded from my already blurry memory of him. Everypony thought it best for me to forget about it but occasionally I laid awake thinking about the stallion who appeared to save me from the desert. I thought about how I knew him for only a short time but he meant more to me than anyone else.

One pleasant morning I had just eaten breakfast and was getting freshened up before heading to my flower stand. Life was just like how it had been before the trip. I looked at myself in the mirror and practiced my best salespony smile. Finally content, I headed into town.

It was a very slow day. Nopony wanted to buy flowers. I was about to pack up and call it quits when a stallion approached me. A hat covered his face but I didn't care who it was. A potential customer is potential customer no matter what.

"I would like to trade a rose for a rose," he said in a strangely familiar voice.
His request confused me. First of all, I didn't have any roses for sale. Secondly, who would trade something for the same thing?

I decided to stay polite to the mysterious stallion. "I am sorry sir but I don't have any roses for sale."
He turned and pulled a small box from a pack on his side and gave it to me. I opened it and my heart skipped a beat. In the box, wrapped in a cloth, was a golden rose.

"I was hoping the Rose that I want more would like to see a movie with me tonight."

I looked into his eyes, his cheerful and reassuring eyes. Joyful tears started to well up.

“I went and retrieved the gold rose for you when you were in the hospital. I found it outside the cave where I left you. I would have stayed by your side but the room was too small to fit me and your cousins. I thought giving you the rose would be the ext best thing. But when I returned to Appleloosa you were gone.” He shuffled his hoof uncomfortably in the dirt. “Rose, I missed you.”

I said the only thing that popped in my mind. “Are you a mirage?”

He opened his mouth to answer right when I leaned forward and kissed him.

Some ponies think that I'm crazy for getting lost in a desert just to find a flower. They say it's crazy that I fell in love with the mysterious stallion who saved me from that adventure. Maybe I am crazy, but at least I'm happy.

Author's Note

Note: I wrote this story from my cell phone and then fixed it from my computer. Also, my pre-reader is Polish and English is not his first language. He was more along the lines of a content observer, telling me how the plot line was going, (Thank you Abrams for your help). If you saw any more mistakes feel free to tell me.