//------------------------------//
// For Whom the Heart Speaks 
// Story: Roses and thorns 
// by LunaMint 
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Sudden darkness, utter and complete darkness, was all I could feel. Not even a pinch of light was left in me. Or so I thought. I covered my cutie mark with the pink paint the others had painted the garden fence. I'd rather have been a blank flank without any talent including happiness, than have the need to spread it without feeling any myself. 
No longer did I spend nights with the willow trees, now I didn't even leave a candle on at night. I slept in full darkness. 
That morning, I stood up, let my head hang, and got to work. When I appeared outside, Master was waiting, I lifted my head to face him. 
"Joy, my wife and I would like to invite you on a trip. You're the hardest working slave we have, and we will need you to do our chores while we are vacationing. Come, you must help my wife with packing."
He worded that weird, and I noticed it clearly. I had a few questions.
"Master, if I may speak out of turn, where are we going exactly, and what would I be doing" 
"We are going to the most beautiful and serine kingdom there is, Mount Aris. You, shall be our housemare,"
I laughed wearily in my head, I would rather stay at work in the work yard, than travel such a long ways past Equestria.
We continued walking until I arrived at Misses's room, I then began to pack her bags.



When we arrived at the train station, I had 3 bags on my back. Two of them for Misses, and one for Master. I set them down for the ponies loading luggage into the train, and went to stand behind Master and Misses. As we stepped onto the train, I was escorted to a different car, with a few other slaves. I sat down quickly as the train began to move and sighed as it went quicker. 
The car I was in, had no seats and the walls were docked full with barrels of apples. This was probably the supply room, where the slaves were meant to wait. 
"Hello, who are you?" 
I looked to see a filly, she had a blue main and tail, and yellow fur. 
"My name is Joy"
She looked at my flank and wings.
"Why don't you have a cutie mark?"
I opened my wings and rubbed away the paint with my hoof.
"I do"
"What happened to your wings?"
That was not my favorite memory, and a filly so young shouldn't know about the pain Misses inflicted on me.
"I clipped them on a rose bush by accident. I've never been the best flyer"
"Oh, well, my name is Summer Penny, I'm still a blank flank," 
"Don't worry, you'll get it soon enough,"
I didn't realize how long it had really been, the train had stopped. We had arrived at Mount Aris. 



As I stepped outside, my eyes dilated in wonder. It was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen. The marvel of wonder I experienced did not last however, as the three bags were dropped onto my back. We walked on a long path, all the way up the mountain. Never before did I feel so weak afterwards. 
Inside the hotel suite, I set down the bags and was ushered to my room. Of course, my room was the smallest, but I didn't mind, it reminded me of "home". 
I was staring off the balcony edge when Misses walked into the room. 
"Joy, go into town and get groceries, you're cooking dinner tonight. Go on now,"
I turned around and walked outside the room. I left the suite and walked to the stairs. 
I went down, and walked outside the building, it was absolutely amazing.
The sky was clear of any clouds, the grass was full of life, and the town had small cottages dotted along the streets. I walked forward and headed strait for the market.

When I arrived in the market, there were less ponies than I had ever seen, maybe two or three, but about fifty hippogriffs. I trotted over to the first fruit and vegetable stand I saw. 
Before I reached the stall I bumped into a hippogriff. 
He stood up and put out his claw.
"I'm so sorry, are you okay"
When my vision came into focus, I saw the most handsome stallion ever. Even if he wasn't a stallion, he made me feel giddy the moment I saw him. It was love at first sight.

He was the one that made my heart speak.