Rose Petal stepped into the cool pre-dawn air and glanced to the Eastern horizon. She was setting out a little later than she hoped, but knew she could still make the city’s edge before Princess Celestia raised the sun if she hurried. With a slight shoulder jiggle, she settled her saddlepacks and struck out, weaving though the shadowed pathways of the royal garden.
She passed the well-kept hedges and flowerbeds, but paused when she noticed a few hidden weeds beginning to take root. She stared for a moment and scowled. Frost Lily seeds could only be harvested in the first few days of Spring and she wouldn't make it high enough into the mountains if she wasted time here.
“Soon,” she whispered menacingly before reluctantly walking on.
As she left the safety of the gardens for the main road, she activated her “mind quieting spell”; a special trick she’d learned long ago that made most ponies unable to notice her. Even though there would be fewer ponies out this early and she was far from the timid filly she used to be, she still preferred to move unhindered.
In the safety of her spell, she quickly navigated the streets and neared the city gates where guardponies stood watchful as ever. In preparation, she dropped her spell, and not just as a courtesy. She’d learned the hard way how just how much resentment the guard felt when they were bypassed so easily.
When her naturally soft hoof-falls were close enough to be heard, the closest one gave a slight smile and a nod ; a gesture she returned before walking through. She felt fortunate that a little consideration on her part and a few years passage had gone a long way towards earning their forgiveness.
A few minutes later, she forked onto the narrow mountain road just as the sun started to rise behind her. She took a moment to take in the scenery of the valley below; the shadows slowly giving way to the light. Dew sparkled brightly on the flowers and a gentle breeze danced through the grassy fields.
Rose smiled. Today was going to be perfect.
*******************
As the sun lazily began its descent into afternoon, Rose was already winding her way back down into the foothills above the city. The harvest had gone much better than expected and she was finding it hard to contain her excitement. As she ticked off the list of things she’d need to do once she got back, she began to hum in spite of herself.
“Oof…” came a voice from the silence.
Rose froze. Instantly alert and not the type of pony to take chances, she took stock: her spell was still active, but even if she were to meet a dangerous pony or animal that was unaffected, she was well within the guards’ patrol range. Though the skies were clear as from what she could see, they flew in a thirty minute circuit and would not easily miss a pony in trouble should the worst occur. Slightly more at ease, she started back through the woods again; a little more cautiously this time.
“OOF!” Again, but more insistently this time. The voice was high and a little musical; definitely belonging to a younger mare or perhaps a filly. Judging it safe, Rose headed into the clearing for a better look.
*Grunt* Flop “aw…” said the voice as Rose walked into view.
In the clearing her eyes were drawn first to a mighty oak standing protectively over a crystal-clear mountain pool. Beautiful to be sure, but Rose was most interested in locating the source of the commotion. Glancing around slightly, Rose’s eyes locked on a white shape rising from the knee-high grass near the tree.
It stood fully just as a light breeze blew whipped by. Smiling widely, a white unicorn closed her eyes and turned to let the wind caress her long mane. Rose’s jaw dropped slightly in surprise.
Her well-groomed coat and hair were pure white and so glossy as to be almost reflective. Her impossibly sky-colored blue eyes were framed by jet-black lashes. Her mane and tail were both so long that they dragged on the ground even when she stood full height. Put simply, she was very pretty; almost certainly a noblepony.
But few nobles would risk their “perfect look” to the brambles and dirt of the wilderness. Even less would venture this far and none of those alone. While Rose stood dumbstruck by the absurdity of it, the wind had died and the white mare began moving again. With a resolute expression, she took a step… and then fell to the ground.
“Oof!” she exclaimed.
Shocked, Rose wondered if she were hurt. A part of her said, Don’t get involved, the patrol can handle this, but Rose quickly buried that thought. This pony was far out of her element and could put herself in even greater danger long before she was found. Rose dropped her spell and trotted over, being sure to stay in the mare’s line of sight so as not to startle her.
Even still, with the combination of long grass, Rose’s light step, and the fact that the mare seemed content to lie in the grass for the moment, Rose was quite close by the time their eyes met.
“Are you o…kay?…” Rose offered weakly as she noticed something even stranger: no cutie mark. Feeling overwhelmed, Rose sat to collect her thoughts as the mare mirrored her pose.
“Hi!” smiled the mare as they now stood face to face, a few feet apart. Rose stayed silent as she tried to reconcile the encounter. She realized she must be looking quite confused when the mare smiled even bigger and giggled musically.
Rose suddenly remembered once hearing how ponies who weren’t right in the head would often move and respond in unusual ways. In fact, several ponies had suspected the same of Rose when she was younger due to her extremely quiet and anti-social behavior.
Rose had grown out of it of course, but if a pony didn’t, could that prevent them from earning their cutie mark? She supposed it must be possible. After all, only a few feet away sat a full-grown mare with no cutie mark; completely out of her element high in the mountains and yet still smiling innocently at her.
Rose decided to try again. “My name is Rose Petal. What’s yours?”
The mare frowned and cocked her head to the side slightly. Rose waited politely, but no answer came. Even a daft pony would know her own name, she thought. Maybe she took a blow to the head?
That had to be it! Noble families would hide daft offspring, not groom them within an inch of their life. This pony must have lost her memory… though would that have caused her cutie mark to disappear? Would that keep her from being able to walk?
Rose closed her eyes and raised a hoof to her forehead. The complexity of the situation was causing her a headache. Her eyes turned longingly to her saddlepacks ash she wistfully thought of her carefully laid plans for the afternoon. Clearly, this mare needed help and not the kind that Rose could offer. If she could just get her back to the city…
“Can you stand?” Rose asked instead.
“Yes!”
The mare smiled and stood in response. She had still been considering Rose’s last question, but seemed relieved to be asked something she could answer. Rose stood as well.
“Can you walk?”
The mare frowned again. “That’s harder…”
Rose began to circle the mare to look for injuries when she noticed the mare staring intently at her; studying her movement. Rose paused while the mare attempted to mimic what she’d seen, though quite a bit more wobbly and with less coordination.
Rose walked again, moving deliberately to allow the mare the chance to observe. Again, the mare copied the movement. After a few tries, they were walking at nearly a normal pace side by side. Rose was relieved. First because the mare was ok, but also because she didn’t want to have to send up an emergency spark for the guard. Waiting for the guard and explaining the situation would have taken longer than just walking back to the city at this point.
Rose watched curiously as the mare stared at her own hooves, smiling open-mouthed as if in wonder at the simple workings of walking through a forest. Soon enough she tired of that and instead looked at her surroundings. She grinned at blooming flowers; her eyes sparkled as she listened to the singing birds; chattering squirrels made her giggle. She said nothing, seeming content to follow Rose for the moment.
That suited Rose fine. She preferred the silence and would rather leave the strange mare in more capable hooves. Fortunately, she knew just the pony with the talent for things like this. Seeing the city walls in the distance, she thoughtlessly picked up the pace and began to trot.
“OOF!” responded the mare from behind her.
Rose stopped, looked back at the mare grinning sheepishly from the ground, and sighed. Maybe I should have waited for the guard, she thought.
