//------------------------------//
// Chapter 56: The Next Leg of the Journey 
// Story: Rosa 
// by awf 
//------------------------------//

Rosa was humming her little song to herself while sweeping up the living room. The broom was made for humans, but she was used to that. It was easy once she'd figured out the trick of wrapping one foreleg around the handle for balance and using the other to guide the thing around. It was easiest to sweep if she was standing on her hind legs and pushed the broom before her. An exuberant twirl brought Sky Light in Rosa's view. Her friend was standing in the doorway, looking strangely at the bustling activity.

"Oh. Hi Sky Light!" Rosa was relieved to see her faint, little smile.

"You really like doing this stuff, don't you?"

Rosa gazed down at the broom and the small pile of dust she had gathered, then shrugged. "Not particularly, no. It's easy and it passes the time, though, so it's fine."

"You were singing..."

She decided to take it as a compliment, so Rosa lifted her head up high and give the pegasus a bright smile. "Well, I'm happy!"

The comment made Sky Light frown a tiny bit and look around to make sure there were no humans around. There wasn't much risk of that, since Richie was at school, and Ann was at her job. Pavo had left early in the morning. Rosa remembered because the man had come to the guest room to say goodbye and had given her a nice, friendly pat. It really was a most pleasant way to wake up, especially if she didn't have to get out of bed. Rosa thought she could really get used to that. The trucker had promised he would let the mares know about their ride to White Pigeon through his wife. Rosa didn't really like the fact that he was going to be away for the whole week. Meeting his coworker would have been a bit less scary if Pavo was there.

Rosa came back to the present when Sky Light walked up closer and patted her with her wing. "It's nice to see you happy, Rosa," the pegasus murmured. Despite her encouraging words, Rosa couldn't help noticing how Sky kept looking around as if something was about to jump at them.

"Still don't like being inside?" Rosa asked solemnly.

The other mare just shook her head sadly and looked down at her hooves.

"Well, wanna help me with some chores? It'll make the time go faster."

Sky Light gave Rosa a deadpan look and, though she didn't say it, Rosa could practically hear her sarcastic 'Oh, really?' Her mouth quirked as if in amusement, but then both her wings and her ears slumped. "Fine," she said in a defeated tone of voice, "what do you want me to do."

That made Rosa smile hugely. Not because she was getting help with the chores, although that part was nice on its own. Rosa was happier because she just knew Sky would feel better after a bit of work. Maybe she would appreciate being allowed to sleep indoors more if she contributed.

There was one big chore where a pegasus could help out a lot and save Rosa considerable effort. "Actually, I've got the perfect thing. Come..."

Rosa led her friend downstairs to the room opposite their guest bedroom, where the Basilius family kept their appliances. Even from the corridor Rosa could hear that all was silent, which meant the washing machine had finished its job. Pavo and Ann didn't have a clothes dryer, so the laundry had to be taken out to the backyard and put on lines the old fashioned way. Normally, that would involve Rosa moving a chair around, which would include another complication of wiping her hooves clean each time she climbed on. She pushed a plastic basket to the machine and opened it. A gush of warm, moist air blew out and Rosa inhaled the sweet scent of the fabric softener. It was a bit chemical, but not unpleasant. After that she pulled the laundry out of the machine and loaded it into the basket. Sky Light, Rosa noted with approval, had been watching the whole time.

"Okay, now we take it out back," Rosa said, more for Sky's benefit than her own.

The pegasus took a step closer to help, but Rosa was faster and had the load on her back before Sky Light could get there. She balanced it easily and walked around her friend toward the patio.

"So, the trick is to hang all this laundry on those couple of lines, okay?"

Sky followed Rosa's pointing hoof and gave a single nod. "Okay, seems easy enough."

"There's clothespins in that bucket on the ground. It takes some getting used to - you have to hold the cloth in your hooves and the pin in your mouth."

Sky Light shrugged a little and nodded. "Yeah, yeah, I get it. Here, lemme take that." She took the basket from Rosa and set it on the grass under the wires. She was about to reach in, but Rosa put her hoof in the way.

"First, wipe your hooves, or you'll leave grass and mud stains on the laundry" Rosa pointed to the clothespin bucket, where she'd prepared a clean rag just for this purpose. "Oh, and don't put your hooves on the ground after, or you'll have to wipe again."

Her friend rolled her eyes. It was plainly obvious she thought that kind of cleanliness was taking it too far. It figured, especially when Rosa remembered what state the van had been in before she had gotten her hooves on it and done some basic tidying up. "Jeez, should we get some alcohol and disinfect while we're at it?" Sky Light asked.

"Don't be silly. Just wipe your hooves before touching the clean laundry."

This mundane reply made Sky roll her eyes in exasperation. She looked up at the wires. "You were going to do this by yourself?" She glanced over and Rosa nodded at her. "How?!" she asked.

Secrets of the trade! Rosa was tempted to say that, but she just chuckled and told her friend the truth: "I'd get a chair from the kitchen. Of course, that means I'd have to clean my hind hooves too, before stepping on it."

"Holy crap that's a lot of effort," Sky Light mumbled to herself, shaking her head.

"All in a day's work, Sky Light. Welcome to having a home!"

Her miserable expression made Rosa laugh, hard.

"Look, I've got it all in hoof. There's plenty of time for me to do it the slow way. You don't have to help if you don't feel like it," she reassured her friend.

To her credit, Sky Light shook her head and grabbed the cleaning cloth. Her expression was grim, but determined as she wiped her hooves. "No, I said I'd do it. It's no problem."

Rosa smiled proudly at her. A few weeks living indoors under her tutelage and she could make Sky a fantastic house-pony. Maybe, Rosa dared to hope, after she got Maribelle out, the three of them could find a place on some rich guy's mansion staff, especially if he had kids he was too busy to take care of.

Dreaming about it couldn't hurt, right? Even if it was a long shot.

"Thanks! I'll go finish sweeping up the living room and then I'll make all the beds. I'll do another load of laundry after and you can help hang that one too, if you'd like!"

Her ears fell ever further down and Sky Light sighed despondently. "What the buck did I agree to, Rosa?" she asked in a small voice.

Rosa laughed some more and gave the mare a gentle hug. "Aw, it's fine, it really is. You can stop anytime, okay? I can handle it on my own." For good measure she also nuzzled her neck a bit. "You're a good friend, Sky."

That seemed to work and Sky returned the hug with her wings for a moment, then carefully pushed Rosa away. "Okay, okay. I got this. I can do this. Just a bit of flying and stuff, right?" She took a deep breath and gave Rosa half of a smile. "You go do your stuff, I'll be fine here."

As Rosa was walking away, she couldn't help humming again. Even if Sky thoroughly messed up, the worst Rosa might have to do was wash some of the clothes again, and the washing machine did most of the work there anyway. Yeah, it was only a couple of days, but Rosa really liked this temporary return to normality. With a bit more time, she was sure, even Sky Light would learn to love it.





Her name was Rosa and she was lying on her side, sprawled across the Basilius family couch. It was important to hold on to those facts. Her attention was being diverted by something colorful happening on the TV, but Rosa kept losing that thread too as she drifted in and out of consciousness. Maybe it would have been better if she had just given up and gone to bed, but she was far too comfortable right at that moment and she didn't want to dislodge the other two. It was such a rare moment for Sky Light to be relaxed indoors that Rosa didn't have the heart to break it off. Her friend was lying on her back and using Rosa's belly as a pillow so she could see the show on the TV. Beside her lied Richie, flank to flank with the pegasus and with his head on Rosa's barrel. The two of them were effectively pinning the poor mare against the backrest, but Rosa didn't mind the weight. She was an earth pony, after all. On the other hand, they didn't mind being gently lifted and lowered by her breathing, so Rosa guessed it all somehow worked out.

The three of them were using most of the couch so Mrs. Basilius had to sit in the armchair, but she was not complaining either. Rosa shifted her head on the pillow and tried to focus on the show again. The human - she forgot his name - had said something awful to his girlfriend and now they were not seeing each other and he had been agonizing over his mistake for the past half hour. Yeah, it was no wonder Rosa couldn't keep track of it. The audience kept laughing, but she didn't see anything amusing in the situations. Maybe if she were more awake. Ross, yeah, that was the human's name. It was critical to keep it separate from her own, since it sounded so similar. Apparently he had a lot of friends or something.

A small snort woke Rosa up and she jerked a little, realizing that she had fallen asleep again. She swiveled her ear toward Sky Light and Richie, but they didn't seem disturbed. This time, opening her eyes was a real struggle, one Rosa barely managed.

Ann was looking at her with a small smile on her face. Rosa gave her half a grin back, since the pillow was hiding part of her muzzle. "Maybe it's time we all went to bed?" the woman suggested, but there were immediately two disappointed groans from Rosa's side.

"Mooom, it's not over yet!" Richie complained.

Rosa strongly suspected the boy didn't much care for the show, but was just enjoying himself so much leaning against two ponies that he didn't want it to end. The first night they had spent in their house, Rosa had lain awake, both hoping and fearing that Richie might come to her bed, like Lillian had done in the past. He hadn't, which was at the same time a relief and a disappointment.

Besides, Rosa had Sky Light to cuddle, so that was okay. It was just that skin felt way different than fur and she still missed Lillian sometimes. It had been for the best that Richie stayed put, though. It wouldn't have done either of them any favors. The memory would have been too vivid and Rosa would probably have ended up crying again. Even thinking about the girl was bringing her near tears and Rosa forcefully pushed it out of her mind.

She suddenly realized that she didn't remember what Ann had said after the two had voiced their reluctance to go to bed. She must have agreed to let them watch until the end of the episode, since all three of them had gone back to looking at the screen. Perhaps it wouldn't be wrong to nod off for a few minutes. They would undoubtedly wake Rosa up when they were done. She had done a full day's work for Mrs. Basilius, so she had probably earned a bit of a rest.

Just as Rosa closed her eyes again, there was a strange, beeping sound from Ann's chair. The mare looked in time to see her pick up her phone and check who was calling her at this late hour. She pushed the button to answer and put the device against her ear even while she got up and walked out of the room. It was probably something private, Rosa thought. Unfortunately for Ann, she didn't realize how well ponies could hear and Rosa easily caught her side of the conversation from the hallway, even with the door closed.

"Hi," Ann said, voice tinged with relief and happiness. "How's the haul? Don't forget you're supposed to cut down on fried foods. Doctor's orders!"

Rosa guessed she was talking to Pavo, even though she couldn't hear his reply. Whom else would Ann speak to like that?

"Okay," Ann interjected, but said nothing more than that single word. Rosa was getting really curious and it was bringing her to full wakefulness. "Good. Yes, I'll tell them."

That could only be about Rosa and Sky Light, there was no doubt about it. Rosa couldn't imagine any other 'them' Pavo would call to talk about. Maybe it was news about their upcoming journey to White Pigeon? Rosa felt the pressure on her belly go away and saw Sky Light sitting up to listen as well. The pegasus had probably reached the same conclusion as her, judging from the way she was staring at the door and focusing her ears.

"I don't know if I can... how about I drop them off before work and they wait around? It'll only be an hour." There was silence for a minute, then Ann said more firmly: "Well, that'd mean I come in to work, sit down for five minutes and then I'd have to leave. You know how the traffic is in the morning!"

Rosa almost winced. It sounded like the woman wasn't too happy and there were some problems with the plan to take the two mares. Hopefully she and Pavo could work it out.

"Okay. You call him and ask. Let me know." That sounded a bit better and Rosa relaxed again. "Okay. Okay. Remember, no fried foods!" Ann insisted, then laughed a little at whatever Pavo had said in reply. She finished with: "Love you too!" and then Rosa heard the beep as she hung up. Moments later she opened the door and glanced at her and Sky Light, both looking at her inquisitively.

"Well, good news and bad news," Ann says.

"Oh?" Rosa found it best not to tell people she had effectively been eavesdropping on their private conversations and she was relieved that Sky Light hadn't given it away either. Richie sat up and put an arm around the pegasus, as if sensing they were about to be parted. His other hand went back to twirl the fluff on Rosa's barrel.

"Tim can take you to White Pigeon on Wednesday, but he won't leave until ten in the morning. I have to be at work at nine and I can't come back."

Sky Light immediately had an idea: "We can walk!"

The woman shook her head and Rosa did the same. It had felt pretty far away that night Pavo had taken them from the truck to his home.

"No, it's too far," Ann confirmed Rosa's thoughts. "I'll drive you at eight and drop you at the firm. You'll just have to wait. There's a grill across the road, so you should be fine."

Rosa agreed with her assessment and smiled warmly at the woman. "Of course. We waited there before, when, um, Pavo did his paperwork. It'll be fine."

The woman relaxed a bit and Rosa felt Sky Light also settle back against her. It sounded like the crisis had been averted.

Ann had kept talking, however: "Pavo will call Tim and tell him where to drop you off. I'll let you know what they decide." Rosa nodded silently so as not to interrupt the woman, who had more to say: "White Pigeon is north, so Tim will probably turn the other way from the grill. You'll have to go down the road - I think there's a bus stop a few blocks away where you can wait for him to pick you up."

It was starting to sound complicated and the woman caught Rosa's worried gaze. "I'll drop you off there so you know where it is, okay? Sorry, but if Tim goes past the grill he'll have to drive right through the town with a big rig and that's not easy, especially in the morning traffic."

"It'll be fine, Mrs. Basilius! We'll wait at the bus stop!" Rosa offered quickly. These people were doing her and Sky Light a huge favor, so it was the least they could do to make their lives easier. The buzz of excitement had pushed all thoughts of sleep from her mind. One more day with Richie and Ann in their house and then the two friends would be on their way again. She glanced at Sky Light and saw that she felt the same. There was a faint little smile on her muzzle and she was quite tense as she stared at the wall, apparently lost in thought.

Rosa prodded Richie's arm with her muzzle and jerked her head up when he looked. The boy understood and leaned closer to hear her. "I think Sky Light is really nervous about going," Rosa whispered to the boy. "Why don't you give her a hug to help her relax?"

The kid was only too happy to obey and threw his arms around the poor, surprised pegasus who could only respond with a strangled squeak.

"I'll miss you when you're gone, Sky!" Richie trilled and pressed his face against the pegasus' fluff. "Will you write to me?"

Her nervousness only lasted a moment, then the mare gave a slight chuckle and wrapped the boy up in her wing. "Of course I will, Richie," she promised, "if I can find some paper and a pen somewhere."

"Will you visit sometime?" the boy went on to ask.

Rosa looked to Ann, who gave her a slight nod. She had a bittersweet smile on her lips.

"Sure we will, sweetie!" Rosa confirmed happily. "We'll come see you whenever we're traveling through here, right Sky?"

Sky Light didn't look too sure, but she forced a grin and bobbed her head. "Yup!"

This promise seemed to be acceptable to Richie and it looked like there wouldn't be too much drama with their leaving. That was good. The last thing Rosa needed was more heartbreak, especially in a young child.

That reminded her of another thing. "Oh, I almost forgot! Richie, we have to show Sky Light that picture of her we found!"

The pegasus perked up her ears as she looked first to Rosa, then to the boy. "Oh really?" she asked, voice measured and careful. "What kind of picture?"

"The one Pavo took the first time he met you. You know, 'trucker pony' and so on."

The mare brightened up a little bit. "Oh, that thing! Yeah, he didn't have a phone camera yet - you know, the kind where you can see pictures right away. I never got to see that one." She grinned a little to herself. "You know, he promised he'd bring me a copy the next time he came around and he never did. Guess it must've slipped his mind." Sky barked a laugh. "Certainly slipped mine."

The show on the TV was quickly forgotten as both Richie and the pegasus jumped from the couch. Rosa was a bit sad to lose their body heat against her belly, but it was time to have a shower and go to bed anyway. She was going to miss living in an actual house. For now she slid to the floor and stretched out her stiff legs.

"Not too long, you three," Ann cautioned, but Sky Light and Richie were already beyond hearing. It was up to Rosa to promise. "Of course, Mrs. Basilius. I'll shoo Sky Light out in a few minutes. Tomorrow is school day."

The woman just gave her a grateful nod, then took out her phone to start typing a message. Rosa wondered if she was writing to Pavo or to Tim. It was none of her business anyway. Accidentally overhearing because humans didn't realize how sharp her ears were was one thing. Outright trying to sneak a glance at the screen was quite another. Rosa went out to the hall and followed her excited friends to Richie's room. By the time she poked her snout in, the boy was already sitting on the bed with the photo album in his lap and Sky Light was standing next to him, watching with curiosity, her tail swishing around. Richie was expertly leafing through the pages until he stopped and pointed. "Here!"

Rosa was not sure what exactly Sky thought and her friend's faint smile didn't tell her anything. "Oh, wow. That was ages ago," Sky says quietly, at last.

"Yeah, four years," Rosa confirmed, walking up to have another look herself.

"Take a load of how much younger I look. Wow."

Now that Rosa had the mare and the picture both in sight, she could spot it too. The mare in the photo did look a little younger. Although, Sky's extra wrinkle here and there didn't make her look bad. "For what it's worth, you look more... distinguished now."

"Distinguished?!" the pegasus asked, snorting a little as she tried to hold back laughter. "Holy crap, now there's a word!"

Rosa gasped a little at her language and looked imploringly at Richie, hoping no permanent damage had been done. "You mustn't use that word, okay Richie? It's a bad word and if your mother finds out you learned it from Sky we won't be able to visit again."

The boy grabbed her around the neck as if afraid she would disappear any second. "I won't tell, I promise!" he whispered urgently.

"Good boy."

Sky Light gave Rosa an apologetic grin and Rosa nodded her head to the exit. She took one last look at the photo and turned to leave.

"Say good night now, Richie. We'll play some more tomorrow after school, okay?"

The boy nodded against Rosa's fur. "Okay. G'night Sky! G'night Rosa!"

"Sweet dreams!"

He freed her and went to return the album to its place on the shelf while Rosa followed her pegasus friend out. Mrs. Basilius passed between them and idly reached down both hands to give each mare a light pat. Rosa couldn't help noticing that Sky Light leaned into the touch a little, even if she would never admit it.

Rosa so hoped she could find a home like this after their adventure was over. It would be her best chance at a comfortable life. More importantly, it would be her best chance to be useful and help some people. Despite Rosa's misgivings about the school and what had happened with Mr. Boone, she realized that she still wanted to do that.

"You're really good with that sort of thing," Sky Light said and Rosa thought she sensed just a touch of awe in her voice.

"What thing?"

"Kids. I almost can't believe a pony can be this patient. He kept asking question after question about ponies and you-" the mare pointed a hoof, "-you just kept answering like it was no big deal."

"Well, it wasn't," Rosa explained.

"I'd have given up and told him to stop after 'why do ponies have fur?'" Sky admitted.

"I was training for this sort of thing. It's fun. Kids are adorable."

The mare actually shivered a little, but then cracked a smile. "Better you than me. So what's the plan for tomorrow?"

Weird, Rosa thought, how Sky had been confidently giving orders out on the streets, but in a house she naturally deferred to the younger mare. It was good Sky could admit when she was out of her depth. "Lemme think... I'd like to dust Mrs. Basilius' shelves with fine china. Then there's the dishes - I wanted to do them today, but I was tired."

"I guess I could do that," Sky volunteered, half hoping that Rosa would say no. She was tempted, if for no other reason to see the gratitude in her face, but if Rosa was being honest with herself, she wouldn't have minded some help.

"How about you make a start on them and just stack them out for me to dry and put back?"

That brought out a smile and the pegasus nodded happily. They had made their way to the guest room and now Sky Light jumped up on the bed. Rosa, on the other hand, rummaged in her bag for her toothbrush and headed out. Sky Light watched her friend for a few seconds, then looked away, blushing a little. Rosa glanced back just in time to see it and smiled smugly to herself. She knew Sky felt guilty for not taking proper care of herself! Still, they were both in a good mood and Rosa didn't want to spoil that. She would drag her to Rachelle's clinic after they had freed Maribelle and then she would babysit the pegasus as long as it took for her to develop habits of cleanliness. Someone once told Rosa that she had to repeat an action seventy times for it to become ingrained. That meant dragging Sky out and having her brush and wash for two months straight. She would do it, too! Rosa liked that mare and didn't want her teeth to fall out in the next couple of years, or for her to catch leprosy or something!

The thoughts were distracting enough that Rosa hardly paid attention to her own hygiene. That was okay, though, since her own habits were doing fine and she could brush on automatic. After that she would have be a nice, relaxing hot shower and then she would join her friend in the bed. It felt really good to have someone warm to cuddle, even if it was summer and the nights weren't particularly cold.

Well, it would have been better if it were a cute colt, someone like Paolo, maybe.

Rosa couldn't help giggling at the way she was blushing in the mirror. Hopefully, when all this craziness was done, she would be able to see the colt again. She didn't have the faintest idea how, but then again she hadn't had a clue about where they'd taken Maribelle either, and there she was, going to her. That reminded Rosa. Weird how she hadn't dreamed that weird dream lately. Was it because she was going there, or because something had happened to her mysterious, night-time friend?

More likely, it had been nothing but a ghost even before and now it had faded completely.

Rosa just hoped Maribelle was alive and well...