//------------------------------//
// Chapter 5 
// Story: A Bed of Roses 
// by Half the Battle 
//------------------------------//

	Summer was in its final weeks, and Roseluck was now co-owner of Ponyville in Bloom, along with Lily and Daisy. As front salespony, she would be the face of the business and handle inventory while Lily served as manager and Daisy kept the books and used her many town contacts to promote the new flower shop.

One night at dinner, Lily and Daisy chatted happily about work as Rose played quietly with her food. Lily was first to notice. "Something bothering you, hon?"

"Not really, just thinking," Rose said. "I should make more friends. I mean, you two are great and I love us living and working together, but don't you think having only two friends is a little...limiting? I mean, Daisy, you hang out with other ponies and it hasn't caused us to drift apart or anything."

"Well sure, Rose. Go right ahead. You don't need our permission," Daisy said.

Lily gave Rose a nod. "You could use a little variety. You said before you shouldn't rest all your happiness on one or two ponies. You can always have friends no matter what happens to us. In fact, I should probably get out there more myself. Got anypony in mind?"

"Well," Rose said, "Sassaflash seems cheery, and she and Caramel get things for each other all the time, so I already know them from the market."

"They're both really nice," Daisy said. "They used to trot around with a couple who moved all the way to Vanhoover, so they may welcome a new friend or two to spend time with."

Lily noticed Cherry Berry passing by the window. "How about Cherry Berry? She's got the most delightful smile, and I see her around Ponyville all the time."

"The one with the balloon?" Rose asked. "That could be fun. Why, there are all sorts of things we could do together, all of us."

Daisy tapped her hoof to count the suggestions. "So, we expand our little circle from three ponies to six. I like it, and it'll do something to make our free time special so we're not just talking shop the whole time."

Rose looked at Daisy and Lily in turn. "Thank you both for supporting my idea. You know, it'll also give me more ponies to depend on and invest in. If there's ever a time the two of you can't be there, or you need help I can't provide, there will be others to lean on."

Rose spoke to Sassaflash and Caramel the next day, and Lily found Cherry Berry during lunch. The six new friends had dinner together that night at the café. Fun times ensued as they spoke of flower shows, rodeos, and a love of the skies that Cherry Berry and Sassaflash shared. Within a week, Rose's new circle of friends had also met at Sugarcube Corner and received a tour of the flower shop's expanded gardens.

One day at lunch, Cherry Berry said, "Rose, I remember hearing you were in the hospital some time back."

Daisy gave Cherry Berry a sharp nudge and a glare. She retreated. "Um, not that it's any of our business, and a pony would never know it by looking at you."

"It's okay," Rose said. "I know I was the talk of the town a few months back. I'm sure you're curious, and I don't want to keep secrets. I had a bad breakup and some other problems all at once, and I went through a time of depression. For a while I felt like I didn't have anything to live for. But I've come a long way since then."

"And we're proud of you for that," Lily said.

"So what are you living for now, if I may ask?" said Caramel.

"That's still sort of undefined," Rose replied, "but I've learned to be content with my work, my friends, and my family. That reminds me, I'll be visiting my parents in Hollow Shades the same weekend you and Sassy are going up to Fillydelphia. We could take the same train and you could meet them when they come to the station."

"Let's do that," Sassaflash said.

***

A week later, the Friendship Express came to its stop in Hollow Shades, and Roseluck stepped out with Sassaflash and Caramel behind her. Rose took in the familiar scent of the air and looked out at the town, colored by its characteristically purple roofs and surrounded by lush forest. To the southwest in the direction of Ponyville, Foal Mountain formed a backdrop to the scene. Caramel seemed especially taken with the sight.

Rose spotted her parents among the ponies waiting to greet the passengers. "Mom, Dad, I'd like to introduce two of my friends, Sassaflash and Caramel."

"Hello there," Rose's mother said. "I'm Gallica, and this is my husband Topline." Rose's friends returned the greeting. "Now will you be staying with us?" Gallica asked.

Sassaflash shook her head. "No, but thank you. We're taking a short trip to Fillydelphia, and this stop was on the way. Your daughter really is a delight to know." She subtly nudged Caramel, who was still distracted by the surrounding woods, and he quickly voiced his agreement.

The conductor called out, "All aboard! Next stop, Fillydelphia!"

"We'd better get back to the train," Sassaflash said. "It was nice to meet you." Rose's friends re-boarded, leaving her alone with her parents.

"Where would you like to go for dinner?" Rose's father asked.

"Home," Rose said. Her mother responded with the tightest hug a pony could manage.

Over dinner, Rose's parents caught her up on events in Hollow Shades. "Really, there's not much else to tell," her mother concluded. "You told us about your business in your last couple letters, but I'd like to hear more about your recovery. I've seen you happy, but not this...comfortable. Not since you were a filly. You've changed."

"You've grown," her father said. "I know I can't take any credit for it, but I've never been prouder."

"A lot's happened, and I owe it all to my friends," Rose said. "They're helping me find the questions and answers I needed. I'm not living an unexamined life anymore."

Gallica raised an eyebrow. "An unexamined life?"

Rose chuckled. "It's something Carrot Top talked about. I can tell you some of it tonight, and the rest tomorrow while we're out doing things."

"And what would you like to do?" her father asked.

Rose smiled. "How about a carriage ride?"


***

"Could you sign here, please?" Rose overhead a mail pony say. She looked up from the poem she'd been writing in her bedroom. It had been a quiet morning: She had only been back in town a day, and most of the ponies in town were at home, awaiting a particularly severe scheduled storm.

The next voice she heard came about a minute later. It was Daisy's: "Why, that ridgling colt-cribber!"

"Daisy, language!" Lily said.

Daisy's shouting continued. "I'll give him a taste of my rear hooves!"

Rose galloped down the stairs. "What's wrong?"

Daisy showed her the body of the letter:

Sunburst of Appleloosa, formerly of Ponyville, and Lady Slipper of Appleloosa, formerly of Manehattan, have joined to bring suit against Roseluck, Lily Valley, and Daisy Wishes of Ponyville, proprietors of the flower shop Ponyville In Bloom. Sunburst and Lady Slipper are private figures and are neither public figures nor public officials.

Plaintiffs claim that on April 9 of this year, statements were made to numerous residents of Ponyville that were intentionally calculated to be, and were in fact, taken by the residents as affirmative statements that Plaintiff Sunburst was guilty of physical domestic abuse against Defendant Roseluck. Plaintiffs assert that these statements are false and defamatory, and as originally uttered, they constitute slander, in consequence of which Plaintiff Sunburst was denied service by multiple businesses and was forced to relocate his residence to another town.

Plaintiffs will provide evidence that these statements were made with intent to prevent Ponyflora, Inc. from becoming a business competitor, inasmuch as the business is owned by Plaintiff Lady Slipper, who is soon to be married to Plaintiff Sunburst, who also serves as Ponyflora's Vice President of New Business. If it is demonstrated that Defendants have thereby caused substantial material harm to the Plaintiffs, it shall constitute criminal defamation and this civil suit will convert to a criminal case.

You are hereby summoned and required to serve upon Tux & Tails, Plaintiff's Attorney, an answer to the complaint that is hereby served upon you, within twenty days after service is received by you.