//------------------------------//
// Chapter 81: Mother 
// Story: Rosa 
// by awf 
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Rosa left Lillian with Starlight Glimmer and the others in an empty office. There was a little kitchen nearby and Amethyst quickly busied herself with making tea for them all. That had been a good idea and hopefully it would calm Lillian's nerves. Meanwhile Rosa followed the hallway, wondering how she was supposed to find the way down, when she spotted Sapphire Lightning standing guard.

"Oh, is it this way?"

The stallion nodded and stepped aside. He had been waiting at a nondescript door in a part of the building where ponies weren't allowed. A tiny part of Rosa felt a little guilty, which was a remnant of her upbringing in the place, but she pushed it down. Beyond the door was a stairway and she headed for the basement. Already she could hear some voices, but couldn't make out the words.

Now that the moment was so close Rosa found herself incredibly nervous and her steps faltered. It took a concentrated effort of will to put one hoof in front of the other. She barely registered her surroundings, so focused was Rosa on the sound of talking up ahead. There was a hallway with more doors and fluorescent lights buzzing overhead. The walls were white and the floor was just linoleum. She had been expecting something like a dungeon, but it looked just like any other office building. In fact, it reminded Rosa a bit of that military facility.

"... wait for them, and then I will begin opening a Bore." Luna finished saying.

Then a new voice spoke: "We never expected to see you again, Princess. How did you know to find us?"

It was a stallion's voice and Rosa thought it sounded familiar. Maybe it was one of the cleaning staff?

Luna answered: "It was actually Rosa. She told us where to find you all. She was a student here before she ran away."

"Oooh," some other mare answered, "I remember. Mind you, there was nothing but rumors, but I was glad to hear she got away. I'll have to thank her properly when she comes."

By now Rosa had completely stopped moving just outside the door. She cowardly stayed hidden just out of sight so she could listen some more.

Another mare spoke up, her voice melodic and gentle. It made something flutter in Rosa's heart: "Oh, I simply can't wait! Martha has told me a little about her, but I wasn't allowed to see her."

She sounded both excited and sad at the same time, and Rosa had no doubt who she was. Fresh tears began to flow down her muzzle, unheeded. She had heard that voice before, but she hadn't remembered until now. That was the voice that sang to her, the one Rosa was always trying to imitate in her own singing.

Mother.

Stepping around the door, Rosa opened her mouth to say something, but all that came out was a soft sob.

"Oh, there she is. Rosa, come meet Fluttershy!" Luna said, but fell silent when she saw her expression. There was a group of ponies around a couch in the middle of the room and they silently parted to open a path.

Fluttershy was a soft, yellow color. Rosa had imagined wrong, but that was okay. She was even more beautiful this way. She really did have her eyes! It was like looking into a tinted mirror. A pink mane flowed down, obscuring part of her face as if she was always hiding from the world a little. It couldn't hide the smile, though. There was love in it and it shined through. Boy did it shine through!

Even before she spoke Rosa started moving.

"Morning Dew!" Fluttershy held her hooves open and Rosa slammed against her barrel a bit too hard. She had taken a leap and Fluttershy had deftly caught her.

Everything was okay with the world. Rosa closed her eyes and pressed her muzzle against that wonderful pegasus fluff. For a while, no one spoke. Rosa was dimly aware of a tongue licking away her tears, and of hooves keeping her firmly in place. All she could do was weep and hold on.

Then Fluttershy started humming. The melody was so much more refined and detailed! All Rosa had remembered was a faint echo, a mockery, but this was the real thing. She let the sound wash over her and take her someplace else. Someplace safe.

Home. It was not somewhere, it was someone.





At long last Rosa was able to relax her grip, just a tad, so she could look at Fluttershy. There was a gray hair here and there on her face, and a few wrinkles around her eyebrows. The smile was still young and vibrant, though. The joy, dancing in her eyes still beautiful, only made more exquisite through the filter of age.

"There you are," she said. "I missed you too, my little filly!"

What could Rosa even say in this situation?!

Ah, of course. "I love you mom!"

Her reward was seeing that smile widen and getting another quick nuzzle. "I love you too, Morning Dew! I never thought I'd see you again!"

"W-Why are you calling me Morning Dew? That's what Instructor Martha..."

Rosa fell silent at the implication and Fluttershy nodded. "Yes, that's what I named you and I asked her to keep it, but she said she couldn't give you an Equestrian name."

"So she called me 'Morning Dew', but in her own language!" Rosa finished.

"Yes. She's always been nice to me and I asked her to make sure you're okay."

Luna finally spoke up and Rosa remembered that there were other ponies around them. A lot of them had wet eyes and a few of the older mares were pressing tissues to their muzzles. "I apologize for cutting this short, Fluttershy, but we should leave as soon as we can. Are there any other ponies kept down here?"

One of the stallions stepped up to answer instead: "Just us. They have us clean and- I'm not sure I understand it completely, something about keeping the mares' spirits up."

A different mare explained: "They keep an eye our children and tell us how they're doing. Before that, a few of the mares... well, it was bad."

She didn't want to say anything more and Rosa was grateful for that. Her words had seemed ominous and she probably didn't want to know the details.

"All the ponies in the School came from your four?" Luna asked.

The same mare who had spoken shook her head. "No, Princess. They don't want to kill us. We each only have two or three foals in the School. Some of the students are orphans, but most of them are given up for adoption by humans who won't let their... servants raise a foal."

Rosa could see Luna's mouth tighten, but she kept her anger in check. "I will bring this news to Celestia. In fact, you will explain it to her personally. She will need to step up her diplomacy, or else I will take more direct action!"

Another of the older mares raised a hoof: "Um, P-Princess? Could we get our children when we leave? I can't leave them behind..."

Now the Princess looked incredibly sad. "I'm very sorry, Minty, but it is too risky and the time is running out. I will open a Bore and we must leave. It's imperative that we reunite Fluttershy with the other Elements. Equestria needs the Elements of Harmony!"

The lime-green mare, Minty, looked like she was about to argue, but then she closed her mouth and nodded. She refused to look at Luna and Rosa saw some of the other ponies giving the alicorn a sad or angry stare.

That reminded her of the situation upstairs. "Um, Princess? Lillian was here at the School."

Luna twirled around, eyes wide in surprise. "The girl?! How? Why?!"

"She ran away and came here to look for me. I told her about my roommates and she sought them out and they hid her in the attic. We have to get her home."

Already the Princess was shaking her head, but Rosa forestalled her refusal: "I a-actually have a plan, Princess," she told her.

She stopped and watches Rosa for a moment. The stare made Fluttershy tighten her grip comfortingly around Rosa's midriff and her muzzle nuzzled her neck in encouragement.

"Tell me."

"Just b-before we leave, we can call 911 and tell them to come here. The police will get Lillian home. It will take them some time, so we'll have... um, time to leave."

The Princess considered the proposal, but Rosa was not done yet. "A-Actually, there's one more thing..."

"More?"

Rosa swallowed a lump and wondered how she could broach the subject, when Fluttershy put her muzzle right in her ear and whispered: "It's okay, sweetheart, I got you."

It was absolutely incredible how much that helped! Rosa was able to look Luna firmly in the eye and tell her. "We have to take my roommates with us. They were helping Lillian. We can't expect a young girl to lie about it and they'd all get into very serious trouble. M-Maybe even k-k-killed. They're waiting upstairs with Lillian."

Shockingly, Luna inclined her head. "Very well. Since they are already here, we will take them."

Some of the other ponies started clamoring to get their kids as well, but Luna repeated her arguments about the danger and the lack of time. More sullen looks were cast in Rosa's direction and she couldn't meet any of their gazes. She would have whimpered and ran away at all the hostility, were it not for Fluttershy's hooves around her. She sensed her trembling a little and added her wings to make it a full hug.

The feathers were even softer than her fluff! Rosa sighed in comfort and closed her eyes, cocooned against the harsh world.

"Very well," Luna finally said, right above her. Rosa looked up and saw her fierce, determined expression. "I will begin preparing the Bore here. It will be open in five minutes. Rosa, go and call that ninety-one police, or whatever it is, then bring your friends here. I will wait for you."

Rosa looked at Fluttershy and felt incredibly sad that she would have to get out of her lap, but she took a deep breath and pushed herself away and down from the couch.

"I'll also wait for you, Morning Dew. I'm not leaving without you."

Another weird thought struck Rosa. "Um, mom, did you have any... do I have... Um..."

Luckily, she understood and gave her a smile. "Yes, you have a younger brother and a sister, sweetheart. Maven is an earth pony and Lacey is a pegasus, like me, and she has my mane. Martha showed me pictures, but they were both..."

A lone sob wracked Fluttershy's body and Rosa quickly reared up and put her hooves around her for emotional support. One of the other mares finished for the pegasus: "-taken away before she could even meet them. That's why they only have human names."

"B-But we're leaving them behind? Why am I so special?!"

It really didn't sound fair. Somewhere up in that dorm building were a younger filly and a colt. Rosa probably even knew them, at least casually!

Now that was a completely weird thought.

Fluttershy slipped from the couch and draped a wing around Rosa's withers. "I love both of them, but Princess Luna is right. We need to put the Elements back together. Equestria is more important, t-than me..."

Her eyes are filling up with tears, but the mare was determined. Gentle or not, there was a hidden core of strength in Fluttershy, one that Rosa hadn't seen even in Cadence's camp. Maybe Sky Light would come close, and possibly Luna, but in Rosa's mind Fluttershy outshone them both.

"We'll come back for them, Luna promised," Rosa's mother continued, making herself believe it. "At least you're here now. I have you and-"

She fell silent once more and looked at Luna, who shook her head sadly.

"What? What were you going to say?" Rosa asked fearfully.

Her mother took a deep breath and closed her eyes as if concentrating on some internal picture. "You have an older brother, out there somewhere, Rosa. His name is Dawn Star. He was born before- before all this. Before the war. We were separated when they took me and I haven't seen him since."

"Perhaps he had found his way to Equestria, Fluttershy," Luna pointed out.

"Yeah," the mare replied, but her heart obviously wasn't in it. "I just hope he's okay. Right now we have to focus on you!" That last she said to Rosa and some of her previous determination came back.

"Why am I special?" Rosa repeated. "Why did you name me and not them?"

"You were born two weeks too early, Morning Dew," Fluttershy told her. "The humans weren't expecting it, so I got to hold you and sing to you all night before they came and took you away. You'll always be my special little filly!"

Rosa couldn't stand it and threw her hooves around Fluttershy for another quick hug. Luna was already casting her Bore spell, so they didn't have a lot of time, but Rosa was taking a moment for a hug!

Fluttershy nuzzled her urgently, but then let her go. "You should go get your friends now," she said. "I'll wait here."

Rosa gave Fluttershy a nod and headed to the door. Of course she looked back every few steps and her mother never stopped smiling encouragingly at her.