//------------------------------// // First Chance // Story: Calm and Storm // by Fiddlesticks //------------------------------// Roseluck sighed, gently freeing a gust of her breath and watching as it parted the rising steam. She pressed her hooves into the sides of her cup harder, a frown tugging at the side of her lips. “More tea?” Roseluck recoiled violently, a shudder sprinting down her spine. “N-no thank you, Miss Cheerilee.” Cheerilee laughed at that, sitting down across from her. “Please, only my students call me Miss. Cheerilee is fine.” “O-okay,” Roseluck answered through chattering teeth. Cheerilee sipped daintily at her own tea, watching Roseluck with a cautious interest. “Roseluck, what in Equestria were you doing out there at a time like this?” Roseluck frowned, her ears folding down against the side of her head. “I… had to tend to my g-garden.” “Your garden?” echoed Cheerilee. “I understand flowers are important to you, but surely they’re not so important for you to risk your life for it!” “I’m fine!” Roseluck protested, holding a shaky hoof up in protest. “R-really!” Cheerilee didn’t answer, but she really didn’t need to. The almost audible chattering of Roseluck’s teeth ripped into the massive holes in her words. Roseluck’s eyes sank into her tea cup, watching as the liquid splashed about unevenly in her trembling hooves. “Roseluck,” Cheerilee sighed, holding a hoof to her forehead. “I may not be Applejack, but being a teacher has taught me to pick up on lies.” Her chin sank lower until she was completely slouched over, her teacup blocking her shameful face from Cheerilee’s eyes. The teacher snorted in amusement. “Roseluck! You’re acting like one of my students right now! Please, just tell me the truth. What were you doing in that storm?” Roseluck sighed and squeezed her eyes shut, as if that subtle movement would wake her from this nightmare. “I had to pick a flower.” “A flower?” “Yeah,” Roseluck muttered. “It only blooms at a certain time. I wanted to get it right.” Her friend was silent, and Roseluck almost risked opening her eyes. Instead, she removed her right hoof from her teacup, lowering it to her jacket pocket. She felt the stem poke her hoof and pulled out the entire flower, not daring to look at it. “It… This is for you.” The flower was in a sorry state. Over half of the petals were lost somewhere in the snow outside, and the bottom of the stem was jagged and ruined. She should have used her cutters, but those were in the shed that was currently buried beneath a few feet of snow. It had taken her almost half an hour to dig out the flower bed, where she had planted it. But it was her own fault for mixing up the weather schedule. Her fault for panicking when she couldn’t pull it out, her fault for resorting to just yanking on it with her teeth until it snapped. Her own fault for ruining her first chance. “For me?” Roseluck sighed, not feeling the strength to move. “Yeah. It’s a new breed I made. It’s called an Arctic Cherry. It’s supposed to have these pure white petals and beautiful red center… but I messed it all up. I’m sorry, Cheerilee.” “But… why for me?” asked Cheerilee. Roseluck opened an eye, staring at her distorted reflection in her teacup. “...it’s for your birthday.” When there was no response, Roseluck finally resorted to opening her eyes fully, albeit with a bated breath.  Cheerilee was holding the flower in both hooves, eyes wide. She handled it gracefully and cautiously, as if she were holding a dangerous artifact. “So… you went all this way to make a flower just for me?” “The first of its kind,” Roseluck said lamely.  “But why?” she asked again. Roseluck lifted her head, “Because you’re my friend, Cheerilee. And I remember you being so upset when those foals trampled over your garden… I thought it was the least I could do. It’s supposed to be beautiful. I’m sorry.” “Supposed to be?” Cheerilee stood, taking the flower into the kitchen. “Why, Roseluck, it is beautiful.” “But it’s not!” protested Roseluck. “It’s broken! Doesn’t have all the petals on it!” Cheerilee laughed, returning with a vase balanced on her back. She set the vase on the table, then inserted the flower. “But it’s from you, Roseluck. And that makes it beautiful in my eyes.” A flush of heat rushed through Roseluck’s cheeks as she fumbled for words. Cheerilee smiled, putting a hoof on her shoulder. “Rose, seriously,” she giggled. “Sometimes you worry too much. This is beautiful, and I’m so happy for it. But next time maybe you can plant something that… won’t put you at risk of hypothermia?” “Heh,” Roseluck responded, rubbing the back of her neck sheepishly. “Sorry.” “You have nothing to be sorry for,” Cheerilee answered before heading for the kitchen again. “But while you’re here, stay awhile! Big Mac gave me this excellent cake that I really can’t finish by myself.” As Cheerilee rummaged around, Roseluck stared at the ugly flower sitting in Cheerilee’s vase. “She liked it,” Roseluck whispered. “She liked it. Well… not bad for a first try, I guess.”  The flower didn’t reply. Roseluck laughed, sipping from her now cold tea. “Not bad at all… Hey Cheerilee, can you put another pot on?”