The story from the previous night repeated itself. After everyone had gone to bed and the house became dark and quiet, Lillian padded over to Rosa's room, but at least this time she didn't wait outside for god knew how long. Tonight, the girl simply came in the room, walked up to the bed and asked in a whisper: "Are you awake, Rosa?"
Rosa didn't even have to answer. When she lifted up the covers, Lillian quickly slipped in and put her arms around the pony. She wasn't as cold as the previous night, which was good. Rosa had just finished setting up the alarm clock for an appropriately early hour, so she flopped back down and heaved a nice, relaxed sigh. The fingers caressed the fur on her side and in return she give the arm under her head a lick.
"Good night, Rosa."
"Night, sweetheart!"
It was even easier to fall asleep and before long her thoughts jumbled up and Rosa drifted away.
Rosa opened her eyes and looked around her. She had a brief moment of panic as she realized that she wasn't wearing her uniform. Mr. Boone would be mad if he found her out of her room naked! That thought gave way to confusion as Rosa realized that she didn't recognize the room she was in. It was too dark and she couldn't really see the walls, but it was definitely a room. She couldn't spot any stars and the surface beneath her hooves was soft and slightly yielding, like a carpet.
"Hello?"
Why couldn't she remember how she had gotten there?! Rosa swallowed as sudden fear gripped her. Who had taken her and for what reason? She heard hoofsteps behind her and twirled around to face whoever had done this to her.
"S-Show yourself!" she demanded, even while she wasn't quite sure she really wanted to know. Hoofsteps meant pony, right?
She couldn't see them and there was nothing but darkness around her, but as Rosa strained her eyes to pierce it, she felt like there could be a shape there. An impossibly tall shape. Not a pony then. Had she really heard hoofsteps? Maybe it had only been weird shoes.
Eyes opened in the darkness above her and Rosa took a step back. Her legs trembled. A fiercely cyan gaze pinned her down before she could even think of turning and running. Her muscles didn't seem to be obeying her anymore. Rosa still couldn't make out the shape of whoever stood in front of her. They didn't look like human eyes, but they were intelligent and far too tall to be a pony. She didn't know what that creature was. Maybe she should have screamed or cried for help, but right at that moment the only sound Rosa could make was a strangled whimper.
"We do not have much time," a voice said. It was definitely female, but it sounded cold and unyielding. It was used to being obeyed, Rosa felt, and her muzzle clamped shut while it spoke.
"This is a dream," the speaker, definitely female, explained. "Listen closely, Rosa."
Whoever it was, she knew her name and knew how to pronounce it correctly.
Rosa's thoughts ground to a halt. The stranger had said it was a dream? Suddenly Rosa remembered falling asleep with young Lillian in her bed in the Boone household. Her worry overpowered her fear.
"W-Where is Lillian?!" she demanded.
The eyes blinked slowly, as if unsure, but then they refocused on the little mare. A chill ran down her spine under that intense scrutiny.
"The human. She is safe, as are you. Heed my message, Rosa! We do not have much time!"
Rosa was not entirely convinced that the creature was speaking the truth, but she didn't argue. Maybe what it had said, the part about there not being much time, meant Rosa would be allowed to leave soon.
Not leave, wake up, Rosa thought to herself. She was in a dream. "W-What do y-you want?" she stammered.
"Do not trust the humans. They do not have your best interests at heart. You will have a part to play, soon."
Suddenly Rosa was angry. She took a step forward, but the shadow creature just glided backward, as if it was floating in the air. There were no further hoofsteps, making Rosa doubt what she had heard before. "Don't speak in riddles!" she demanded. "Tell me what's going on!"
Anger helped. That... thing had kidnapped her out of her bed and now wanted to give Rosa some vague, foreboding prophecy.
"That is not how this works. The future is fluid, Rosa. Not every word will do, it has to be the right word, at the right time. This is your 'right time'. Be wary of the humans and think for yourself. Watch and listen. Your time will come."
The eyes closed and Rosa took another step forward. "Who are you?!" she demanded.
There was nothing. The darkness was, once again, just darkness. There was no one before her. If it was all a dream, it was a damned odd one.
"How do I wake up?"
Something grabbed Rosa's ear and she gasped and twirled around, ready to kick or bite her assailant. She stared at eyes again, except these weren't the eyes from her dream. These were amber.
"Lillian?"
The girl smiled at her and scratched behind Rosa's ear. It was her hand she had felt and which had brought her out of the dream.
"You were moving," the girl whispered. "And mumbling something."
Rosa looked around the room to assure herself that she was in the right place. The soft light from the garden lamps lit her ceiling, confirming it beyond doubt. If that wasn't proof enough, there was no mistaking the girl patting her head. Rosa inhaled her scent gratefully.
"I'm okay. Just a weird dream," she assured Lillian.
The child leaned closer and planted a quick kiss right on Rosa's nose. "It's okay. I'll be here."
Rosa couldn't help but smile. Such a sweet little girl. She settled back down, but this time so that she was facing her friend. She yawned as she closed her eyes. "Thanks for waking me up, sweetie. I really appreciate it."
The hand patted her nose and Rosa gave it a light lick. She didn't think she would sleep very soon, but she was determined to try, despite the storm of thoughts raging through her mind. What had the dream meant? Strange how Rosa had known it was a dream. A mare in her final year had told her about 'lucid dreaming' a few years back. It sounded interesting and Rosa had tried to do it a couple of times, but could never actually achieve it. In the end she had decided it had just been a fanciful tale and gave up.
Except tonight she had known it was a dream. She was supposed to be able to control it, right? Too bad she hadn't thought of that. At least she could have shone some light at the tall, cyan-eyed creature, to see what it was. Rosa distinctly remembered a hoofstep, but when it had moved later there was nothing. As if the thing was floating, or immaterial. Also, she had never heard about a pony being that big. It had to have been a human, or at least human shaped!
It was all just so confusing!
Rosa hoped she wouldn't have more of those dreams. There was enough weirdness with the change of scenery already, she didn't need any more! Besides, the thing had talked cryptically about foreboding and prophecy and fate and so on. A load of nonsense. Maybe it really had just been a weird dream? Rosa opened her eyes and assured herself that the girl was sleeping once more. Then she looked at her new bedside clock. Two in the morning.
She decided to forget about a silly dream and focus on getting back to sleep. A little less than four hours and then she would have to take Lillian back to her own bed. Not to mention she would have to struggle back into her panties and get dressed in her maid's uniform. Most importantly, Rosa had to take the letter she and Lillian had written and give it to Mr. Boone before he left for work. With luck, they would get a reply from her friends in a couple of days! She had asked them to send pictures and Rosa hoped Instructor Martha would be kind enough to take them with her phone and print them out. It would be really nice to show Lillian her friends. For that matter, Rosa had even asked for Paolo to be in the picture. She wanted to see that colt again, even if it was just a photograph.
She leaned in and gave Lillian a light kiss on her forehead, She didn't wake up, but Rosa could have sworn she smiled in her sleep. Then she closed her eyes again.
In the morning Rosa went back to what was quickly becoming her new routine. She hurried Lillian back to her room, then slipped into the bathroom before anyone else, so she was ready in case the humans needed her. It didn't take her very long in either case. She splashed some water on her face, toweled it off, quickly brushed her teeth and the young mare was done. Only then did she remember that she was under-dressed in just her nightie, and ran back to her room to fix that. The panties were a struggle, as always, but Rosa wrestled them into submission and followed them up with the maid's uniform.
She was barely in time, too! Mr. Boone came by to check on her just as Rosa finished the last shoe.
"Oh! Good morning, Mr. Boone!" she said cheerfully, then reached to her desk. "I wrote that letter, if- uh, if you could send it!" She brought it over to him and he took it from her mouth.
"Do you know the address?" he asked.
That had her stumped. "Umm..."
"Don't worry, I can look it up."
"Thank you!" There wasn't anything else to say, so Rosa decided to show some initiative. "I'll bring the children down for breakfast shortly."
He was just about to say that and she couldn't help feeling a little bit smug to have guessed it. "Oh. Very good, Rosa."
She followed the man out of her room and turned first to Lillian's door. She made a show of knocking before going in, even though the girl was probably eagerly expecting the mare. She was sitting in her bed and Rosa went straight to her for a quick head pat and ear scratch.
"Morning, sweetheart!" she said, even if she had already whispered it to her when they woke up. Then Rosa went and opened Lillian's closet to help her pick a nice dress for school.
"That's a pretty song!" the girl commented. "What is it?"
Rosa realized she had been humming her melody again. "Umm, I dunno. Just a little something I've always known. I'm not sure where it's from."
"Well, I like it!" Lillian tried to imitate the humming, but the notes weren't exactly right yet. Rosa sang it again for her and Lillian dutifully repeated.
Then she spotted the son staring at them both from the door.
"Hi Benjamin! Good morning!"
He didn't answer the greeting, but rather said: "You both sound stupid," before turning and walking downstairs.
Lillian pouted and Rosa felt like glaring too. If he didn't like the song, he could have just stayed quiet! No sense in letting him get her down, though. Rosa brought her smile back for the little girl. "What does he know, huh? It's a lovely little tune!"
Despite her assurances, Lillian didn't try singing it anymore, so Rosa picked up the slack and hummed the rest of it while she laid out Lillian's clothes and fetched her shoes. The mare wondered what the day would be like. Some chores, probably. Dishes were a safe bet and then perhaps sweeping and laundry. Maybe even Mrs. Boone was warming up to her, now that she was 'pulling her weight', as Mr. Boone had called it the previous evening.
That was right! Rosa remembered what she was going to say to the lady of the house! She had decided that today was the day to ask her if she'd like Rosa to help with her flowers. She hadn't tended a garden before, other than a few potted plants when the ponies were learning about them in biology, but Rosa was sure she could do a good job with some minimal instruction!
If not - well, she still had most of 'Minnow on the Say' to read. A glance from her huge bedroom window earlier had told her that it would be another beautiful, sunny day. Going out to the garden and reading sounded absolutely heavenly! In particular the smell of grass and spring were invigorating, and the sun, even if a bit too warm, felt nice after the winter.