//------------------------------// // 1 - Prologue // Story: The Perfect Rose // by tom117z //------------------------------// “Honey!” “Yeah?” “Can I have the baby yet!?” There was a resounding chuckle from upstairs, one the clearly frazzled unicorn mare didn’t appreciate. She paced back and forth, her eyes darting from left to right as individual hairs rapidly popped out of place in her brown coat and darker brown mane. She tried distracting herself by studying her own hoof, admiring how her coat shifted to a lighter near-white colouration below the knee joint, almost like a sock! Oh, how about her cutie mark! A flawless gemstone amidst rough rock, how fascinating! This wasn’t helping. “I want my baby!” She could almost hear the eye roll from upstairs, the mare pouting up at her unseen husband indignantly. “Madam, perhaps you could use a cup of tea?” a white pony, also a unicorn, with a greying blue mane, wearing a suit said as he approached with a silver tray in his hoof. His cutie mark was that of a stopwatch, indicating his extreme affinity for punctuality. “Madam Ebony Rose?” “Right, I’m sorry, Time Catcher,” she apologised sheepishly. “I suppose I am a bit on edge…” “An understatement,” said the stallion as he finally came down, a unicorn much like the others, revealing his deep blue coat, black mane and bit bag cutie mark. His green eyes met his wife’s red, then shifting to Time Catcher’s cyan. “The tea might be a plan, Bulk Hunter.” The butler rolled his eyes. “I do wish you never discovered my birth name, Sir.” “Cash Counter, don’t be so teasing,” Ebony chided. “There is nothing wrong with a pony changing their name to suit their cutie mark. It’s hardly uncommon.” “No… But it’s still fun.” “I’ll make the tea,” Time Catcher deadpanned, though not without a small smile forming afterwards, before heading off to do just that. “So, are you calm yet?” Cash Counter asked as he adjusted his recently adorned suit. Her eye twitched, another hair twanging out of place. “Calm!? We’re still in the house! When we should be… meeting him! Or her! You know, our little foal…” Cash Counter sighed, giving his wife a more subdued smile as he approached for a tender embrace. She accepted gladly, burying her head into his shoulder as she tried to purge some of her rampaging emotions. “Come on, in here…” Cash gently took Ebony’s hoof and brought her into the sizable lounge where they gently found themselves upon one of the couches. “We still have an hour before we need to leave for our appointment. Be patient, it won’t be long now.” “I know, but…” The mare snuffed. “What if it doesn’t work out? If we mess up? If… Oh, Cash. I can’t get everything that could go wrong out of my head! And yet I want it more than anything! I… Ever since we found out I couldn’t give you a foal…” “I don’t blame you, you know that,” he responded earnestly. “But there are plenty of foals out there who never got a chance. So… maybe it’s for the best? How many Canterlot nobles do you know who actually adopt?” “Very few,” Time Catcher remarked as he returned with the tea, passing one to each of them. “Bloodlines are everything, as you well know. Even to families of so-called minor nobility, like this very household, most would scoff at the idea of adoption.” “Thank you for that apt summary,” Cash dryly stated. “But he gets my point. We’re doing a good thing, and you’ll be the best mother.” “And you? Being a father?” “Well…” he started while twirling his hoof, a mischievous smile on his face. “I was planning on pawning off most of my fatherly duties to our dear butler, but if you insist…” “You don’t pay me enough,” said butler scoffed as he exited the room. “I guess that’s out of the question then?” “I think so, yes,” she replied with a titter, nuzzling affectionately into his cheek. “You’re stuck with us.” “Lucky me…” he replied teasingly, pressing his nose against his other half’s happily. “What did I do to deserve you again?” “Our parents encouraged us to ‘join forces’?” “Right. Good thing it turned out so well this time, eh?” “It is…” she agreed. “So, with an hour to go, we still haven’t got a name. Just as a heads up.” “I thought we agreed to wing it?” “I would still like some idea!” “Well, naming him after me or my lot is still out,” he half-joked. “But really, it depends on who it is. Most of the others expect us to adopt a unicorn foal. But what if we defied convention and went pegasus?” “Earth pony?” “How daring,” he said with a chuckle. “I don’t want to choose by wing or horn,” she said. “Let’s just… meet them. Hopefully find an infant, if at all possible. If not… Well, either way, I think we’ll know the one. It will feel right.” “See? Those maternal instincts are already kicking in!” “Don’t tease me…” “I’m serious! We’ll be fine, you’ll see.” “I hope so, Cash. I really do…” For such a long time, Ebony Rose had really wanted a child of her own. Colt. Filly. It didn’t matter. A child, somepony to care for a raise, to love and cherish. She so wanted to be a mother, and she knew that, beneath his jovial attitude, Cash Counter wanted to be a father. Today was a special, terrifying day. And she had no idea how it would end. Canterlot was busy and bustling with ponies, the majority unicorns, beneath the gaze of Celestia’s sun. The hoof traffic had been less towards the higher end districts of the mountainside city, but as they descended down into the lower districts the volume of ponies increased exponentially. There were ponies going to work, conducting work, a few foals playing in the streets… Part of Ebony Rose became jumpy at the sudden sights, sounds and smells assaulting all of her senses. Part of her was almost endeared to the general hustle and bustle of ordinary city life compared to the mundane silence the nobility tended to prefer. Maybe she was just getting jittery again. They started to pass by a playpark, Ebony stopping in her tracks as she was momentarily distracted by the variety of foals happily playing amongst themselves as their parents proudly watched on. Would she be among those parents someday soon…? And then there was one filly, however, that seemed to be sitting by herself. She was on a swing, sitting silently while seemingly sniffling and trying to hide her features. Ebony almost called out to her husband to see if something was wrong, what if this child had lost her parents? These thoughts, however, were silenced by a most unexpected and rather shocking sight. Two adult ponies and two ponies in their teens approached, and one of them was the unmistakable sight of Princess Mi Amore Cadenza, Celestia’s own niece! “There you are!” one of the adults, a grey mare, said with both fury and relief. “Why did you run off like that?” “Do you have any idea how worried we were?” the blue adult stallion then asked. The filly seemed to sniff, curling up even more. The ponies all glanced at one another, the two teenagers choosing this moment to step forward and sit either side of the swing. “What’s up, Twily?” the white coloured colt asked. “You were so excited for the Entrance Exam.” “What if I mess it up and get banned for life…?” she stressed. “Twilight Sparkle, you are the brightest little filly I’ve ever had the pleasure of foalsitting for,” Cazenza said softly. “You are more than ready for the task.” “Then why can’t you come with me?” “We have school, and you know how important it is now. Especially with our final year coming up,” the colt informed the younger pony. “Mum and Dad will be there. And who knows? You might make some friends.” “Friends are dumb. I don’t need them!” “What about your friends from school? Moondancer, and the others?” The child averted her gaze. “I… I dunno. But they distract me from my reading a lot.” “Either way, you know that you are ready for the exam,” the Princess affirmed. “Now come on. It will be starting soon, you don’t want to miss your name being called.” “Come on, Honey,” the stallion who was clearly her father called out. “We’re right behind you.” “Whatever happens at Celestia’s school, we’re proud of you!” her mother agreed. The filly gave one final sniff, wiping her eyes before jumping off of the swing. “Okay…” “Well, that’s not something you see every day,” Cash Counter commented as the group started to head off up into the richer areas of Canterlot. “The Princess…!” Ebony said in awe. “Think we can get her to foalsit for us?” “I’m sure she has enough on her plate,” Cash Counter said with a chuckle. “Now come on, no more delays.” Ebony hummed in agreement, giving one last glance at the playpark before following on behind her husband. The rest of the trip was made in a brisk, excited silence. They’d waited long enough, years, for this moment. Years of trying and failing to start a family, medical misfortune and heartbreak. But not anymore. This would be the start of that family; nothing could stop that now. They hoped. And then the building came into sight. The Canterlot Orphanage was sat in the middle of a fenced-off plot of green grass filled with playground equipment and discarded hoofballs. Some of the children had scribbled all along the outside of the building with chalk, a few of said children out and about just as the couple made their approach. Several stopped at the sight of two unknown grownups sliding in through the gate. Some did so with hope in their eyes, some with resignation. The rest who didn’t look towards them seemed to no longer care all that much. Suddenly Ebony and Cash both felt quite self-conscious and bad for all these foals in equal measure. The children were a variety of ages, some looking to be five or six while others looked to be rapidly approaching their teenage years. Ebony Rose made sure to get a good look at them all as they made their way across the pathway, finally reaching the front door and pressing the doorbell. There was a momentary commotion from inside, the door then opening to reveal a plump purple mare in an apron. “Oh! Hello dearies!” the mare greeted enthusiastically, moving to shake their hooves. “You must be Ebony Rose and Cash Counter, a pleasure! Oh! Should I call your Sir and Ma’am, considering your nobility and all?” “You needn’t bother, we’re just here as prospecting parents today,” Cash Counter answered. “You are Sweet Nurture, I assume?” The mare nodded. “Aye! That’s me! Apologies for the messy apron, I was making dinner for some of the little ones. Do come in! Come!” Sweet Nurture moved aside to allow their passage, the duo walking forth to find themselves in a well-lit space with several branching corridors and a set of stairs leading upwards to a second floor. “Well, it looks nicer than the horror stories I’ve heard about places like this…” Ebony muttered. “Oh, for sure! Princess Celestia makes personal donations to the orphanage quite regularly. Those royal bits do wonders to keep the place running!” Sweet Nurture explained. “Now, before you get deciding and sign any paperwork, I assume you want to meet some of the youngsters?” “We met a couple outside. Quite the age variety,” Cash noted. “Yes, well, it is a sad state when a young one doesn’t find a family before he is too old to really have a chance, but it happens to too many of them,” she said sadly. “Too few families looking to adopt, so we’re all most of them will ever have for such things. But like I said, the royal funding helps wonders.” “Are… there any other parents looking to adopt right now aside from us?” “One other. A family from up the road, no less,” she explained. “They’re thinking of collecting this adorable little three-year-old colt who took a shine to them when they were last here. They went home just a short while ago to think things over.” Ebony bit her lip. She felt so horrible that, with all these children here, they came for just one. And, at that… “Well, we were wondering if you have any infants left with you. We… were wanting to start from scratch,” Cash Counter explained. Yes, that. “So I recall from our correspondence,” Sweet Nurture recounted. “Aye, it is a common thing. Especially for parents in your position, my condolences. However…” “However?” The mare, for some reason, suddenly looked a little nervous. “We only have a single infant, mere weeks old, just over a month we think, among us here right now. The poor dear was brought in by a kind-hearted bystander nary two weeks ago.” “Abandoned?” Ebony asked in shock. “Afraid so. No chance of finding the parents now.” “Why not?” “Yes… that’s… Perhaps you would like to meet her?” Cash Counter frowned. “Are you alright?” She coughed into a hoof. “Y-yes! Fine! Just… You’ll see, come!” She turned and started to head upstairs, the couple glancing curiously at one another before moving to follow. Just what had gotten this seemingly cheerful nurturing mare so worked up? Something seemed odd about this, and Ebony and Cash were both getting shivers down their spines. Sweet Nurture kept going, leading the way until they came across a dorm room at the very end of one of the orphanage’s long corridors. They passed a couple more foals on the way, each giving the group a curious look before scurrying along on their way. The purple mare stopped here, turning to give the two a strained smile as she prepared to open the door. “Now, she might not be what you’re looking for… but…” She seemed to falter, instead opting to open the door and heading straight on inside. The two followed, quietly, entering a rather sparse room that held some seemingly empty drawers and a single foal’s crib in the corner. Some subtle breathing, or snoring perhaps, could be heard radiating from that crib. Sweet Nurture, expectantly, nodded them to go forward. And so, they did, creeping their way along the wooden floorboards until they were finally able to peer into the cot. And what they saw was the most beautiful sight they had ever been witness to. The babe within was sleeping soundly, her chest silently rising and falling along with her breaths. She had the rear of a lion, the fur as black in colour as the eagle-like proportions and feathers that dominated the top half of the child. The exceptions being the odd feathers and fur around her head, being more a dusty grey colour, leading on to a yellow beak. She shuffled in her sleep, giving a tiny little yawn as she stretched out her minuscule talons and wings. The red highlights up the front of her chest seemed to almost shimmer in the sunlight coming in through the window. As unexpected as it was, there was only one conclusion. She was a griffon! “I didn’t realise you had non-ponies here…” Cash Counter muttered with a small hint of bewilderment. “W-we don’t. Not usually. She is all there is,” Sweet Nurture explained. “The guard ran some checks, but there are no records of griffon visitors to the city since she arrived here. The theory is that either a pony brought her in or, more likely, her parents flew in to dump her here and then departed just as quickly.” “Why would anypo- anyone do that?” Ebony asked, appalled. “I dare not speculate. I don’t know the minds of those griffons.” Ebony dropped, turning back to stare at the poor thing that was resting blissfully unaware in her crib. It was hard enough for a pony to be adopted in Canterlot, apparently, what chance did a sweet little girl like her have? And then the chick’s eyes opened up. Rose’s red eyes met ones equally so, the child’s lighting up with immediate excitement as she let off a sweet mix of a chirp and a baby babble. She held out her claws, both grasping thin air as her legs, tail and wings all twitched happily. It was like she wanted Ebony to pick her up…? Her horn lit up, the baby giving a squeal of joy as she levitated into the air and into Ebony Rose’s waiting hooves. The child instantly made herself comfortable, burying herself into the mare’s fur and rapidly drifting off again. “Well, I’d say she has a soft spot for you,” Sweet Nurture suggested. “She does…” Cash Counter agreed cautiously. “Honey…?” “I love her!” Ebony proclaimed, clearly smitten as she nuzzled the top of the young griffon’s head as tears of joy threatened to breach her eyes. “Look at her, Cash. She’s perfect! So small, innocent and capable of anything!” “I know we were talking about earth ponies, but this is a fair bit different. A griffon in a noble house is… unheard of.” “Cash…” Ebony said seriously. “Look at her. Just look at her.” He did, coming closer and sitting down onto his haunches to study the infant. She was resting so contently in his wife’s grasp. She was innocent, completely unknowing of nobility or expectations or… anything. Just a lonely babe, in the grasp of her… of her Mother. He sighed, gently stroking the top of her head. “She is something, isn’t she?” “You think so?” Sweet Nurture said exuberantly. “Oh, I was so worried for her. I thought for sure she’d never leave here! And a griffon in this city… I wasn’t certain how well she would do.” “She will be fine. With us,” Cash Counter said confidently. “I think we have decided.” “We have. We have our baby…” Ebony muttered emotionally, holding onto the young chick for dear life. It was everything she’d hoped for… “Then we can begin the boring official bits,” Nurture agreed, starting to turn to leave before, suddenly, she turned to them with a curious look. “What of a name? Any ideas? I can’t say I am an expert on how griffons handle such things.” “She doesn’t have one yet, then?” Ebony asked. “No. We have yet to do so.” “Well…” Cash began. “She has your eyes, dear. Plus, those highlights.” “A Rose, then?” she asked hopefully. “Hey, name them after your side all you want. Just not mine!” “Rose it is then. And…” Ebony looked down at her child with adoration, studying her perfect little form… That was it! “Hello, Perfect Rose.”