//------------------------------// // Chapter 6- Loss // Story: Love Knows No Bounds // by Autum Breeze //------------------------------// A Home for the Homeless Chapter 6 Loss _____________________________________________________________________ “Come on, Mommy!” Rose cried as she flew towards Sweet Apple Acres. “We’re gonna be late!” “I’m coming, I’m coming,” Twilight laughed as she struggled to keep up with Rose. For a small filly she was a lot faster than Twilight would’ve thought possible. Even Rainbow Dash hadn’t been so fast at Rose’s age. It had been a month since Twilight had become Rose’s mother. Things couldn’t be better. Rose was getting along with all the foals at school, everypony in town loved her and what was more, she’d gotten her Cutie Mark. Twilight had been sorting the lasted returns to the library when Scootaloo, Appebloom, Sweetie Belle, Dinky and Rose had come charging in, screaming with glee. When Twilight had inquired as to why, Rose showed her her flank. On it was the image of a golden lightning bolt. Apparently, she’d flown into the air on a dare from Scootaloo about whether Rose could perform a sonic boom. She had and when she’d returned to the ground, she had her Cutie Mark. That last one had happened only yesterday and today was Rose’s Cute-ceañera, which Applejack had offered to host in the Apple Family barn. “Come ON, Mommy!” Rose shouted, going even faster as Sweet Apple Acres came into view. “I can’t be late for my own Cute-ceañera.” Twilight chuckled, a little sad at how fast her little Rose was growing up and she’d only gotten her a short time ago, but happy to see her enjoying herself so much. When they arrived at the barn Pinkie jumped out of nowhere and her party cannon fired, sending confetti and streamers everywhere. The two walked in to see all their friends. The CMC and Dinky all came over with a big present. Rose looked to Twilight, who nodded and she ripped it open wildly to find a blue blanket with her and all her friends stitched on it. She smiled at the fillies and they embraced in a ground hug. “Well, now, don’t that just melt the heart?” Twilight turned to Applejack on her right and nodded. “My little Rose is blooming.” “I’m happy for ya, Twi,” Applejack said, a distant look in her eyes. “Ya have a daughter and things’re going great for her.” Suddenly Applejack sighed, which caught Twilight off-guard. It was a sad sigh. “Applejack?” she asked, putting a wing around her friend. “What’s wrong?” Applejack sighed again and watched as the fillies playing around, pretending Rose was a ghost as she wore her blanket over her head. “I’m happy for Rose, Twi, I really am. It’s jus...” she gave another sigh and said in sad voice, “It makes me wonder if I’ll ever have m’ own li’le filly, ya know?” Twilight nodded. She knew what her friend meant. Though she’d never told anypony, when the Cakes had their twins, she’d wondered if she’d ever have her own children. Now she’d unintentionally done the same thing to Applejack. The farm mare gave a cough then took a deep breath. “Sorry ’bout that, Twi. Don’t ya’ll feel guilty now, ya hear?” Twilight chuckled. Applejack knew her too well. She looked to see Derpy smiling at their children. She made a mental note to plan a day out with Derpy and Dinky, so their daughters could have some more fun together. It was at this moment that there was a huge flash of golden light from the centre of the room, blinding everypony and causing Rose to scream in fright. When the light faded Princess Celestia was standing in the middle of the room. “Princess,” Twilight began, her smile widening, “how nice is to see—” she cut herself off. Celestia was glaring at Rose in a way Twilight had never seen her do so. It was an even darker glare than the one she’d seen her give Discord when she and Luna had turned him to stone. “Um, Princess?” Twilight asked, stepping forward. At that moment a barrier of golden magic appeared around Celestia and expanded til it reached Rose, sealing the two within. _____________________________________________________________________ Rose shrieked when the magical barrier surrounded her. Now she and Celstia were sealed within it. Rose looked to Celestia with fear and confusion. All the kindness she’d felt from the Sun Goddess back on Hearth’s Warming Eve and Hearth’s Warming Day was gone. Now she could only taste hatred. Cold, deep hatred. “I had hoped I was wrong about you, Rose Aphid,” Celestia said, her voice booming. Celestia’s voice made Rose wince and she saw all the others outside the barrier wince as well. “I had hoped the past would not repeat itself,” Rose’s attention was fixed on the princess. “But I was wrong. You are no different than Antumbra.” Despite her fear, Rose paused. That name. She knew that name. She’d heard it before. It was the name of the very first changeling, her ancestor. What did Celestia mean by she was no different...? Her eyes widened in horror. Celestia knew. She knew what Rose was. “I was foolish enough to allow your ancestor to make my sister think she loved her and almost caused her death!” Celestia’s mouth was pulled back in a hiss. Her mane and tail were now a blaze, making Rose shiver despite the intense heat. “I will not allow the same to happen to the pony I consider like my own daughter!” Celestia’s horn flared with golden light. As everything turned white, Rose could hear her mother crying out, but could not tell what she’d said. All she heard were Celestia’s last words. “You are hereby banished, Rose Aphid. You will wander the Waste Lands for the rest of your horrible existence, just like your accursed ancestor. Ever return to my kingdom again and you will not be spared.” And the world became nothing but white. _____________________________________________________________________ When the light faded everypony stared at Celstia as she stood in the middle of the room. Rose was nowhere to be seen. “Rose?” Twilight cried, looking around frantically. She ran over to a hay bale and started sifting through it like a madpony. “Rose, where’d you go?” Her voice became hysterical. “If this is a joke you wanted to play with mommy it isn’t funny!” “Twilight.” The soft voice made Twilight freeze. She slowly turned around to see Celestia with a sad look on her face. “I’m sorry—” “Where is she?” Twilight rushed at Celestia and almost slammed into her, in not for Applejack and Rainbow Dash, who’d gotten to her just in time to hold her back; though they were giving the princess glares as dark as Twilight’s. “Twilight, I—” “Where is she?” Twilight shrieked, her eyes filled with a rage no pony had ever seen in her before. "Return my daughter, Celestia, now!" The fillies were so scared they were all huddled with Derpy, who was holding them all, trying to comfort them as best she could, while giving her our cross-eyed glare at the princess. “What did you do to her? Why did you do that to her?” Twilight’s rage did not falter, but tears were streaming down her face. Celestia had just sent her daughter away. Her own mentor had just taken her daughter away from her. Why? What possible reason could Celestia have, for taking Rose from her? Celestia seemed to know these were the questions in Twilight’s mind, because she sighed and said, “I swear, I did not want to cause you any pain, Twilight.” “Bit late fer that, I reckon,” Applejack snarled. She’d always been on Celestia’s side and was ready to die if it meant saving Equestria, but what she’d just seen made Celestia seem worth no more than a beaten old rug in the farm pony’s eyes. Celestia’s horn glowed and a moving image of Rose appeared before them all. It showed her diving through the air, heading the ground. “That was yesterday,” Apple Bloom squeaked. They all watched what the girls had told Twilight play out. When it ended, Celestia rewound it to just after Rose had made a sonic boom and the other fillies had been shielding their eyes from the winds it had created. But as they watched, they saw a green magical aura appear above Rose’s head, the place where, on a unicorn, the horn would be, and her Cutie mark appeared on her flank in a green flash. The image faded away and there was silence for a few minutes. “What... was that suppose to show?” Twilight’s voice was low and menacing. Had Celestia just banished her daughter for faking a Cutie Mark? Was that what this was all about? Celestia looked to Twilight sadness on her face. “Rose was a changeling, Twilight.” Silence fell once again as everypony took in what those words implied. “So... she wasn’t a pony?” Sweetie Belle asked, her voice quivering. Celestia nodded. “She did not truly love Twilight, nor did she want to be your friend, Sweetie Belle. She only wanted to feed—” “That’s a lie!” Everypony turned to Twilight. Her horn was blazing, ready for a spell. Which spell, no pony knew nor were they sure they wanted to know. Celestia blinked, staring at Twilight with shock. “Twilight, I promise you, that changeling only wanted to—” “That changeling is my daughter!” Twilight spat, cutting Celestia off. Celestia faltered for a second, then her face became firm. “Twilight, she did not—” “Love me?” Twilight practically screamed. “How would you know, Celestia?! How would you know how she felt about me? Did you care for her? were you the one who packed her lunch and watched her go to school? Were you the one that slept by her side when she had nightmares?! Were you the one who saved her from freezing to death in a snowstorm?!” Applejack and Rainbow had backed away. Twilight was bristling, her wings out, her horn glowing even brighter than before. “Now I know what Luna was trying to tell me a month ago.” Everypony, including Celestia’s eyes widened. “She was trying to warn me,” Twilight took a step toward Celestia and the Sun Goddess actually flinched. “I heard you. You said my daughter was no different than Antumbra—” Celestia’s eyes filled with fear at the name “— that you hoped the past wouldn’t repeat itself! It took me a second to understand, but now I do. Now I know why history never says Luna had a daughter. You banished Antumbra, just like you did to Rose, just now! You were the reason Luna became Nightmare Moon! You stole her daughter from her, just like you stole Rose from me!” All eyes were on the princess and not one showed even the smallest shred of respect. “Twilight—” “You said you didn’t want history to repeat itself?” Twilight asked coldly, her body glowing with the aura of her magic. “Nice job. You repeated it.” “Twilight—” There was a flash of lavender light and Twilight was gone.