//------------------------------// // Rooted // Story: Where Night Meets Day // by _Medicshy //------------------------------// So far so good, Ink Well thought to himself as he walked through the halls of Canterlot Castle behind Princess Celestia. There were few rooms in the castle that the Princess could go to and be alone, particularly on the night of the Grand Galloping Gala, and fewer still that wouldn't raise suspicion if she brought a guest. This, however, was a special matter: he had come before her and asked for an audience. For some reason, she’d agreed. Leaving the hundreds of other ponies to talk and out-snob each other in the gardens and grand rooms below, Celestia took Ink Well past the guards and into the restricted section of the castle. Not a word was spoken in the regal marble halls since even their hoofsteps on the carpet echoed loudly. If they wished to speak in true privacy, they needed to ensure they had it. Eventually the princess stopped in front of a small door, no different from the many others made of ancient, rich wood that lined the hall. She grasped the handle in her magic and, with a gentle twist, it was open, revealing her private study. One wall was nothing but a massive bookshelf, rows upon rows of tomes from the top of its vaulted ceiling to the dark, deep carpeted floor. On the wall across was a map of Equestria taking up the entire surface. Massive gemstones marked the locations of cities and natural landmarks, the rest carved from precious stones by the finest ancient craftsponies and updated fastidiously over the years. Beneath it was a globe made of beautiful gems: sapphire oceans, emerald continents, topaz deserts and diamond poles where naught but snow lay, the borders of countries marked with pure gold lines. Princess Celestia walked calmly behind her grand, pristinely polished mahogany desk, seating herself in a matching plush chair whose back extended past even her lengthy frame. Behind her was a set of three massive stained glass windows. The left one showed the pegasi in their citadel in the sky, crafting the weather, while the one on the right showed earth ponies, tending the fields and making the land bountiful. In the center, the unicorns, weaving magic from their mountain home, with Princess Celestia rising above to make the sun shine down on them. There was undeniable majesty to the room, and even in his frazzled state, with his mane out of place and the bow tie hanging limply from the pocket of his wrinkled suit, Ink Well was forced into a state of awe before the Princess. He only snapped out of it when the door behind him shut silently on well oiled hinges, the Princess's horn going dark as she appraised him. “Sit, Ink Well, and tell me why you wished for an audience.” Ink Well walked up to one of the elegant chairs gestured to by the princess, but stood behind it, his hooves hooked on its back while the bulk of it hid his hind legs' nervous kneading of the ground. The jingling of everything he brought with him in his bag, which he refused to leave at the castle gate, did little to soothe his mind or hide his actions. “Princess Celestia, I have come as a friend and a conscientious objector to request that my draft notice be revoked. I feel there has been a mistake.” The Princess's look didn't change, not even her eyes, which, as he looked in them, were cold and hard. Some gentleness within her had been lost since he first met her so long ago... he wished she would remember it as she went to speak. “Ink Well, the draft is a lottery, and your lot came up. If you would prefer a non-combat role, you may request one once your basic training is complete.” Ink Well's wings twitched on his back, his heart plummeting as he heard the words. “P-princess, I was told I would not be on the list. I cannot be a part of this battle between you and your sister. I refuse to fight in this war, as I have personal stakes in both sides. To ask me to fight for you-” “Is to ask you to defend your country, Ink Well.” Despite the warm lanterns burning in the room and the balmy night outside, Celestia’s voice remained cold. “If your stakes were so high, you had time to leave with the rest when the Republic was formed. If you wish to remain an Equestrian, you must do your duty as a citizen. The matter is not up for discussion.” Ink Well's hooves gripped the chair hard, leaving grooves as they slid upwards. “But you don't understand! I was labeled as an objector, as was my family. I sent request after request to make it so, after sending warning after warning to both you and Princess Twilight that this war would break out!” The Princess nodded gracefully, and for a moment Ink Well thought he may have gotten through to her. “So be it. But one from your family must. If you will not fight, perhaps Roseluck will. Or I believe you have a son at the correct age. Surely he would-” “You leave my family out of this!” Ink Well yelled as he rose over the chair, throwing it back as he flew onto Celestia's desk. “Rose has a job, a life, and foals depending on her, and my son and his generation are innocent. My family has no place in this silly war!” ”A WAR THAT YOU STARTED!” The Princess rose from her chair, slamming her hooves on her desk and glaring Ink Well down, her eyes glowing with golden radiance of the sun and her royal Canterlot voice resonating through his very bones, causing Ink Well to immediately shrink. Her voice lowered in intensity, but her gaze did not. “Your encouragement is the reason Luna went against my actions as leader. You personally acted as her envoy to give her a powerful international ally in the Gryphons, bringing further instigation for her separation and causing untold bloodshed once her move was made. You kept silent and did nothing to stop her from turning half of my citizens against the other half, and despite your claim, your warnings held no substance and came far too late for any meaningful action.” She continued to glare, the magic leaving her eyes, but not their hardness or the seething rage behind them. “You may object, but for three years Equestria has been at war with a nation that has no right to exist, and you, Ink Well, have hidden behind your words as hundreds of ponies have fallen in a conflict you helped create. It is time you shared their burden.” Ink Well stood behind the desk, struck dumb at what he was hearing. Not only would she deny his request, she was the reason he'd been picked. He didn't know when this princess had appeared, or who was whispering in her ear to make her act as such, but… this was not the Celestia the populace knew and loved. “Princess, you can't possibly-” The temperature in the room fell to freezing, Princess Celestia's glare penetrating deep. “I am your Princess, Ink Well, do not tell me what I can and cannot do. You may have familiarity with my sister, but you do not with me. You are to report to the barracks tomorrow morning. Until then, you may attend the Gala or leave at your leisure.” Ink Well snapped, his wings flaring as he glared down the monarch. “You can't do this to me! You can't just abandon your citizens because you have crazy ideas about-!” Celestia slammed her hoof on her desk again, matching and infinitely surpassing Ink Well's glare in intensity. “You will leave now and report to the barracks tomorrow, or you will be escorted to the dungeons before you can leave this room. Do I make myself clear?” Ink Well's mind went dark, the room swirling around him as the world he knew and loved spun wildly out of his grasp. He was going to lose everything. His wife, his children, his life, for a stupid war he was believed to have started. Even if he went, with that kind of stigma... he'd be on the front lines immediately. He would be dead within days, another casualty nopony would know about... His body grew stiff as his mind screamed out against what this was. It couldn't be happening! He couldn't just accept it and march off to die! It could be stopped, somepony just had to do something. The Princess moved towards him, her intent clear. If she reached him, he would spend his life in the dungeon. His family would be picked to die in his stead, and he would be unable to do anything about it... The war would continue, the bloodshed wouldn't end. He'd never see them again... But another option appeared before him, one with a light glinting at the end of the tunnel. Ink Well rushed towards it, leaping for it wildly. Glass shattered around him as he launched from the Princess's study, the remains of the center window raining down on the horrified ponies below as he launched into the dark of night. Behind him cries went out for the guard, magical lights appearing and crisscrossing across the sky to pinpoint his tiny form. But that was the important part: they were behind him. He would do anything to keep them there. Ink Well pounded his wings against the air, pulling every trick in every book he had even the vaguest hint of as he shot away from the castle, evading the guard, the elite investigators, the hunters, the angry citizens, and all the other countless things pursuing him through the castle, the city, and the country. Never stopping, never hiding, only running, not just from the death behind him, but towards the light of hope that never faded from his eyes. By the end of the night, he was nowhere to be found, except on the front of millions of wanted posters scattered throughout the country. 'Ink Well: Public Enemy Number One.' Rumors were abound of his location, and for some time he was searched for, but eventually the war brought more pressing matters. While the bounty for his capture never was, the search was called off, the resources moved to more pressing matters. Nopony expected him to return to Canterlot Castle seven years later, on the night of the Gala, walking calmly in the front gate in the same suit he'd worn when he left. Nopony expected him to still have an invitation, his name never removed from the guest list in all those years. Nopony expected Princess Celestia to agree to an audience with the most wanted criminal in Equestria after his 'attack' seven years prior, nor did they think she'd leave behind her guard and give herself the privacy of her personal study once more. And, due to every single member of the royal guard and every available member of the royal army stationed to create an impenetrable defensive perimeter around her study, the castle, Canterlot, and the surrounding areas, nopony, absolutely nopony, expected him to escape again. He didn't even break another window. A pounding headache worked its way through Rose's head, something she was wholly used to at this time of year. It came from a lack of sleep, always surrounding the Grand Galloping Gala, as nightmares hounded her nighttime hours relentlessly. She had, in the past week, gotten a total of twelve hours of sleep, and while that was a personal record for this time of year, the images of Ink Well flying to Canterlot, Wind Key flying off into the unknown, and Newsprint marching into that inferno over the mountains conjured night after night by her ragged mind were enough to drive a mare mad. Sometimes she was relieved by the arrival of some other image, of wolves snatching away Flora or Equestria simply crumbling around her, and sometimes the images were vague and benign enough that only her startled awakening and pounding heart told her she was afraid, but waking in a cold sweat with damp cheeks and stinging eyes multiple times a night only could be endured for so long. But she would endure, as she did annually, and she would keep up her strongest front. No matter how hard it was to move in the morning, and no matter how much she wished the sun would wink out and everything would just disappear, she knew those thoughts couldn't beat her. If they did, after all this time, then what was the point of any of it? She grabbed her damp pillow in her hooves, pulling it over her head to hopefully stop the heated throbbing in her skull, when she realized the pounding wasn't purely in her mind. It was coming from outside... downstairs, even, and if she perked her ears and kept her breathing calm, she could just barely make out words. “Open this door, in the name of the Royal Guard! This is your final warning!” Rose threw off the pillow and her bedsheets, leaping to her hooves and galloping from her room. In the hall it was much easier to tell that the pounding was at her door, and she knew that tone of voice anywhere. “Coming, officer! Patience, please!” The incessant hoof on her door didn't stop, threatening to leave dents in the wood with its force. “You have ten seconds to comply or we shall break this door in! Ten! Nine!...” The crippling migraine that woke her up wasn't eased at all by the noise, and the adrenaline that began to course through her body as she made an early morning sprint to the front door only made stars appear at the edge of her vision. She had the door open before the voice reached 'three,' but she was practically bowled over by the stream of ponies charging into her house. There were so many that Dot only barked twice before cowering. Even the loyal hound wouldn't dare stand up to that many ponies in gold armor. As Rose wobbled in place and tried to comprehend both gravity and what was going on, she was confronted by a charcoal unicorn, his guard regalia gleaming in the bright morning sunlight. “Mrs. Roseluck Well, are you alone on the premises?” It took Rose a second to fully comprehend the question, and more than a moment of thinking to answer it. She couldn't recall Flora ever coming home the night before, and with how long she'd stayed up, she was sure she would have heard a door or hoofsteps or something... her veins ran with ice at the fleeting thought that something had happened to her daughter, quenching the heat, but doubling the pain in her skull. “I... I think I am. Has something happened?” The unicorn's face was flat and appraising, the only hint of emotion coming off of him the slightest twitch of an eyebrow, as though he didn't believe her answer. “We will conduct a search of the house. Guard, spread out! Leave no stone unturned.” The multitude of ponies around them saluted, breaking into a frenzy of action as they moved into every room of the house, opening drawers, moving books, sweeping things off of tables... The crashing speared through her mind, and Rose wanted to stop them, but she didn't even know where to start. The officer seemed as good a place as any. “What are you doing to my house?! Why are you here?” She got no answer... she'd never gotten an answer the other times, either. “As a citizen of Equestria, I demand to know!” Still, the unicorn was silent, watching as her house got flipped upside down. “What did I do to you?” Rose said, tears starting to fall from her aching, tired eyes. “What have I done to deserve this? Why won't you even tell me what you're looking for?” There was a flicker of an eye towards her, like she was gnat to be swatted aside, but he continued to ignore her. Rage had been boiling under the sadness, as the dreams, the images, and her worries at losing the last member of her family all threw themselves to the front of her mind. It was too much to bear silently any longer. She grabbed the armored stallion by the armor around his neck, shaking with all of her might as she screamed into his face. “What more can you take from me?!” Her one action immediately got the attention of two nearby guards, who nearly trampled Dot as they rushed up and seized Rose's arms, restraining her. The unicorn steadied himself quickly, glaring at his assailant. At least he was paying attention to her. “Take her away! Keep her in a cell until-” “That is quite enough, Iron Hoof.” The leader of the guards went rigid at the voice, stepping out of the doorway immediately and bowing deeply to allow and welcome the entrance to the pony that had spoken. Princess Twilight entered the room, her face stern as she took one look at what was going on and shook her head. “Royal Guard, to me!” Immediately every single guard in the house dropped what they were doing and rushed back to the main room, causing a loud crash to come from the kitchen, the sound of breaking ceramics making the princess wince. When everypony was accounted for and bowing to their leader, Princess Twilight's gaze fell on them, burning them like hot iron. “You were told to investigate the area thoroughly, not tear apart a kind mare's house! You two, let her go, and then everypony wait outside. If anything suspicious happens, be ready for it. Move!” In unison the guards rose and saluted, even the two that were restraining Roseluck. “Yes, Highness!” They all marched out of the house, a whirlwind gone as quickly as it came, leaving Rose and Twilight alone. Twilight walked carefully over to Rose, extending a hoof slowly. When Rose didn't do anything but sit on the floor, hunched over and staring silently at the ground, Twilight got closer, rubbing her friend's back comfortingly. “It's taken care of, Rose. They won't bother you again.” Rose's head lifted, showing the shining trails where her tears continued to flow. “What did I do to deserve this?” Twilight shook her head. “This wasn't your fault. I tried to get here as fast as I could, but I didn't think they'd overreact this badly, or dare to do this to you again.” Rose trembled on the spot. “What happened? Why were they here?” The alicorn's eyes widened. “... You don't know?” Rose shook her head, grabbing Twilight's fur as she pleaded with the princess. “No! Please, just tell me, is Flora okay? Is my daughter alright?” Twilight smiled sadly, pulling Rose into a close hug. “Flora is fine, so far as we know. If you'd like, I can send a guard to make sure while I do my scan.” Rose wiped the tears from her face, hugging Twilight back. Hearing the words meant a lot, and while it didn't put Flora home and safe, she would take the promise in place of having to deal with the guards again. “No. If you say she's alright, I'll believe you.” Twilight pulled herself away from the hug, walking to the center of the room, her horn beginning to glow. As it did, Rose realized the rest of Twilight's last statement. “What scan?” A moment after the words left her mouth, a vertical line of magic rushed out of tip of Twilight's horn, passing straight through Rose and stopping at the wall, where it spread from roof to floor. It then swept around the room, the shimmering ethereal purple membrane sweeping harmlessly over every overturned chair, bumped table, the mess of books on the floor... it shaped perfectly to the stairs, and even, when glimpsed through the door frame to the dining room, passed through walls. It wasn't a stretch to believe it covered the house from rooftop to foundation. The scan did one complete rotation, stopping on Rose again before it slid back into Twilight, who simply relaxed and opened her eyes, turning to the confused earth pony. “A scan to see if anypony else was hidden in the house. And nopony is. As you can see, it was significantly less damaging than a search by the guards... You will be compensated for anything broken by their actions.” Rose was tired and at the end of an emotional thrill ride, not even having the energy to care about whatever was broken. Only curiosity kept her from breaking down then and there. “Twilight, what search? Why did you scan for ponies? What's going on?” Twilight walked towards Rose cautiously, visibly working on the best way to word what she had to say. In the end, it seemed she came to a decision, taking a deep breath and steeling herself for the reaction. “Ink Well has returned.” There was a long silence, Rose staying completely still as the realization smashed into her. In her stupor, her mind went on autopilot, very slowly asking, simply, “What?” “Ink Well has returned. He arrived at the Gala last night, was allowed an audience with Princess Celestia, and disappeared from her study without a trace.” She remained calm in her explanation, just the facts, though a closer look would instantly show the puzzlement in Twilight's face. “It is imperative that he be found, and the first place he would be assumed to go would be back to his wife. Since he is not here, if you give me the key to your shop, I will perform a scan there, making sure he isn't there and making sure the guard touch nothing, and then you will be left alone. And you will be notified of any further developments.” “Yes... yes, of course.” Rose walked slowly to where the key hung, almost absentmindedly picking it up and walking it back to Twilight. Before she let it go, she looked the princess in the eyes, trying to analyze their caring gaze. “And you're sure it was him?” Twilight nodded. “I saw him with my own eyes. The first thing he did was ask about you.” She smiled softly. “I told him what I knew.” Her smile faded. “I was honestly hoping he'd be here...” Rose's expression was blank, but her eyes spoke volumes if Twilight was reading them right. Rose let go of the key, taking a step back. “Thank you.” Twilight nodded again, then walked outside, taking flight towards the shop, the guardsponies following underneath her like a shadow. Rose watched them go, a herald of bad news and worse fortune. And yet, she didn't know whether the tears flowing slowly down her cheeks were of joy or sorrow. He was alive. She'd questioned that heavily all these years, waffling between the possibilities, unsure of the best outcome, but slowly losing faith in the one she'd hoped for. Alive, he was hunted, he could be cold or starving or mauled by a wild animal, or fall into despair or... find somepony else... But dead? He would be gone, and she would never see him again. He would be free of so many burdens, miss so many stories... She'd forced herself to always believe he'd lived, as that hope had kept her running for so many years, and now it was rewarded. Yes, she was rewarded, with news that he was being hunted again. With a shattered morning in a broken home. With the knowledge that, for seven years, he had not made contact once... no, he had. Once. A letter, curt, with no signature or address, proclaiming the safety of their wandering child. He left without her, and when he returned, he didn't even come to see her. He marched directly into the lion's den once more, stirring them up and disappearing from their wrath, letting it descend upon her humble home... And she had been foremost in his mind. That simple fact ached the most, and that was what distracted her from the hurried hoofsteps at the door. “Mom! What happened in here? Are you alright? Silver said there were Royal Guards. Were we robbed?” It wasn't until after Flora spoke that Rose realized that she had returned. Rose hadn't even moved, and the house still looked like a disaster zone. Rose wiped her cheeks, standing and looking at her daughter. “I'm fine, dear. Nothing was taken. In fact, it was the guard that did this to the house.” She noticed the matted mane and fur, the dirt and sweat from the field still hanging on Flora's features, and scowled, her fear from earlier flaring back as anger, else it would be lost completely. “Where were you last night? Why would you stay out like that and worry me half to death? Do you know what I thought when the guard came?” Flora took a step back, ready to comfort, not be chastised. She spoke quickly. “I'm sorry! Yesterday we finished bucking the fields, and Jazz refused to let me leave without accepting dinner as payment. That went longer than I thought, and by the time I was ready to come back, it was late and I didn't think I could make the walk, so I slept over.” Rose pulled her in close, giving her daughter a caring hug. “Well, at least you aren't hurt...” She nuzzled against her daughter's mane, putting as much motherly affection as she could into the motion. As she did, she smelled a scent... not the dirt of the fields or the sweat still clinging to Flora's fur, but something subtle... she couldn't quite place it, but thirty plus years of scent crafting meant she had a nose that could detect almost anything. But it didn't matter right now, and Rose filed it in the back of her mind. Flora hugged her mother back, her voice low and gentle. “Of course I not, mom. I'm alright, and I'm not going anywhere.” They held the hug for a long while, long enough for Flora to start fidgeting awkwardly, slowly pulling away. Rose reluctantly let go, and immediately Flora moved to some books scattered across the floor. “So... What did the guard want, mom? Did you send a shipment to somepony you weren't supposed to?” Rose sighed, not sure how to break the news, or if it would have anywhere near the same effect on Flora. Flora was smiling, inwardly happy. Rose had felt it during the hug, and it had transferred to her, even as they both sat in a ransacked home... It was far too long since Rose had seen a smile that genuine on anypony's face. Something that precious had to be kept safe, for as long as it could. “I'll tell you after we clean up. You take down here, I'll see what's wrong upstairs.” Rose started for the stairs, hoping that what awaited her up there wouldn't be too disastrous, but stopped at the foot of the stairs, turning to Flora with a warning. “I heard something break, and I think it was in the kitchen, so be careful in there. But if you do go in, could you put a kettle on? It would definitely help me relax.” “Of course,” Flora said with a smile, placing the books back on the shelf. While there, the young mare coaxed Dot out of hiding, petting the dog gently and lightly walking towards the kitchen. Rose watched it all with a smile before heading upstairs, thinking about how good a girl Flora was. Her smile faded as she looked through the disarray in the rooms. The study was mostly in place, apart from the books littering the floor, and there didn't seem to have been much done in Flora's room besides her closet being opened and a potted flower being knocked over. Rose set the pot upright and closed the closet door, then walked to her room, hoping for similar treatment. It wasn't to be found. Rose's mattress was against the wall, her bedside lamp was poking out from beneath the empty bed frame, everything in her closet had been flung all over the room, and the small desk she used as both a writing space and a vanity had ink pooling on the top, coming from an upturned ink pot, her few personal perfumes sitting knocked over in the black puddle. One sight hurt more than any of that, though. Her crystal flower was on the floor, out of the small vase it usually stayed in. She rushed over to it, turning it over carefully in the light... One of the petals was cracked. While the rest of the clear pentagonal petals caught the light stunningly, almost making the flower glow with its own light, the damaged one was the visual equivalent of a scream, tearing the glow apart and spilling it back into the room. Luckily, that was its only damage, the flower's triangular stem and perfectly square leaves, both in transparent green left alone. They were suffused with the same glowing quality as the petals, and they kept it held in harmoniously. Rose cradled the crystal flower in her hooves, feeling a crack from on her heart that matched the petal's perfectly. It was hard to imagine that this flower, which looked like a carefully cut gem, had come from a living plant. It had been equally hard to believe when she'd received it as her engagement promise all those years ago. It was her one truly precious possession, and it had been damaged... As Rose knelt over the fractured flower a knock came at the front door. Before she could get moving, she heard Flora call “I'm coming!” and the sound of hurried hooves going towards the door. Unfortunately, with the mess on her desk, she was going to need to get something to soak it, and that was all located downstairs. With a heavy sigh, Rose placed the flower behind her left ear, then walked back into the hall, able to hear voices conversing as she reached the top of the stairs. “...n't find anything in the shop. It has been locked again and here is the key.” Rose stopped at the bottom of the stairs, freezing at the sound of Twilight's voice. Flora took the offered key, bowing slightly to the figure outside. “Thank you, Princess. But... what was it that you were looking for?” There was a pause. “You don't know? Well...” Rose hurried to the door, stopping at Flora's side. “Thank you, Princess, and it is good to know that the shop is clear. Now, if you'll excuse me, we still have some cleaning up from the visit from the Guard, so if you wouldn't mind...” Twilight looked a little ashamed at Rose's words, and doubly so when she saw the crack in the flower. “Of course, I'll leave you be. But, since it was being delivered as I walked up, I thought I'd at least bring you the paper.” She lifted it from behind her with her magic, levitating it in the door so that Rose, and, unfortunately, Flora, could see. The front image was Ink Well's wanted poster, the headline as damning as the image. 'Ink Well's Return: Princesses at Risk.' Rose grabbed the paper solemnly, folding it up and placing it to the side while Twilight gave her a sympathetic look. “They exagerated the story, as the news is wont to do. You may want to stay inside for a few days, in case the neighbors get any ideas.” Rose sighed, feeling the tension immediately appear in Flora and knowing full well how dangerous the town rumor mill was. “Thank you, Twilight. I will take that into consideration.” Twilight took off, hovering just off of the ground. “It's still beautiful, Rose.” She nodded to the flower in Rose's mane, then flew away, her retinue of guards making their own way back to Canterlot or wherever they were stationed. Rose smiled to herself and closed the door on them, turning to see Flora reading through the story, dead silent, eyes transfixed on the page. As Rose walked towards the kitchen and the roll of paper towels, Flora put down the paper, looking wide-eyed at her mother. “Is... is this true? Is dad back?” Rose stopped, looking back with a blank face. A lot of things stood at the tip of her tongue, jostling to be said, but she held them in, considering what she wanted to do. After a long pause, she sighed. “Let's finish cleaning up. We can talk about it over tea.” With that she entered the kitchen, the matter solved for now. It took a few hours for everything to be put back in place, but eventually Rose's house looked like a home again, allowing Rose and Flora some time alone in the kitchen. They had tried to sit in the dining room, but a nosy member of some sort of paparazzi started to make too much noise at the window, even with the curtains drawn, so they moved deeper into the house. Both of them had a small mug of tea, brewed lovingly by Flora with leaves from her own greenhouse. Luckily, she kept a small store of them in the house, because neither of them were too willing to brave outside right now. Flora had been good, cleaning diligently and not bringing up the paper once, even as they sat and enjoyed the soothing tea, but Rose knew it couldn't last forever. Instead of letting Flora explode, Rose sprung the first question. “Flora, do you know why your father hasn't come back since he left all those years ago?” Flora gazed into her cup for a moment, not really ready for the question. Eventually, though, she had an answer. “I think it was to protect us. If he came home, after all the trouble he'd caused, it would just have spread to the rest of us.” Rose nodded slowly. “Yes, I think so too, but... if he really wanted to protect us, wouldn't he have joined up with the military? It would have solved the problem immediately, and the trouble found us anyway...” “You're talking like Newsprint,” Flora said coldly. She took another sip of her tea. “He thought dad was a fool for running off and expecting nothing bad to happen to us. We all knew dad left because he didn't believe in the war... Newsy was the only one who thought he was wrong.” Rose sighed. “Your brother wasn't wrong, Flora, and neither was you father. Ink Well was always a bit of an idealist... Sometimes cynical, and he knew the world far too well to believe his own visions, but he was always picturing some kind of perfect, peaceful world.” She looked into her mug. Only a very thin layer of amber liquid remained. With the white of the ceramic beneath, the bottom of the cup appeared the precise tone of Ink Well's fur... She grabbed the tea kettle, filling her cup once more. “When he left all those years ago, I'll admit I had no idea how he could break that promise to me. 'Til death do us part...'” That night, almost twenty six years ago, still was clear in Rose's mind. The full moon shining over the gardens of Canterlot, their vows completed at midnight precisely, the true start of the new day. They had each gotten their ear pierced with a copy of the other's cutie mark. Hers sat there now, beneath the crystal flower: His golden ink pot, in her left ear, above her heart, where everypony could see it, and where it could never be removed. They had met in passing, fallen for each other beneath the silvery moonlight, in the icy cold of the cloudy sky... and, until seven years ago, they'd barely been apart since. Rose could still see the moonbow they had almost kissed under... The wisps of steam from her cup were no replacement. “... but, as much as I wondered before, I think I finally understand.” Flora had stayed respectfully silent as Rose had drifted into her memories, and she remained so now, intently focused on her mother. Rose could feel the eyes upon her as the thoughts bubbled up. They'd been simmering beneath the surface for so long... perhaps it was finally time to let them out. “Ink Well loves us. All of us. And he would never have left if he thought he could have avoided it. I don't know what possessed him to crash through that window seven years ago, but he had a reason. He has been doing something for all those years. What, I couldn't begin to fathom, but he's working on something.” She remembered that single little letter, received after her little one ran away... Rose closed her eyes, blowing away the steam. “Some return he'll have... Half his family won't be here to greet him.” Flora finally spoke up at that point, her mug held gently before her. “Wind Key left to go searching for him. Who knows? Maybe they found each other. Maybe they're waiting for you in the Republic.” Rose opened her eyes, looking into Flora's. Her eyes were so much like Ink Well's... seeing more than just what was in front of her. Rose knew, in her heart, that her years of putting up a strong front had failed her. She knew that Flora had been watching, and been supporting her, the whole time. And now she could see it in her eyes. She was urging Rose to follow her heart, ever the hopeful, ever the optimist, just like her father. Unfortunately, Rose already was. “Even if they are, it's too late for me to go looking for them now.” Flora frowned. “No, it's not. If anything, now is the perfect time to go. You have complained about the princesses, the guards, and the unwanted attention, and it has only escalated. You could leave it, right now, and find the stallion you know is safe and missing you somewhere beyond our country's borders. You could see your other daughter, and ask them both yourself why they left.” Rose shook her head slowly. A small smile spread across her face. “I notice your plans don't have you coming along. Don't you wish to see your sister, too? We could all be together.” The widening of Flora's eyes was all the answer Rose needed, but the subtle shift in her seat spoke volumes more. “Well... I could take care of the house while you're gone. Make sure the shop stays running, keep the gardens growing... Somepony has to.” “That pony could be me. You could leave, run off, join your sister...” Rose remembered the days before Wind Key left. It was just after she had lost Newsprint, and she could barely function without bursting into tears. Wind Key had hurt too, but she channeled it into anger at everything around her. How could Equestria have abandoned him like that? How could they have arrested all those protesting pegasi in Canterlot? And how could Rose just sit there and let it happen? Rose couldn't begin to explain herself at the time, but Flora had defended her. Flora had defended her country. She defended the princess that had led Equestria out of turmoil and saved it from chaos and eternal darkness. She even defended the thought of one nation, united in harmony, that all soldiers fought for. That Newsprint had fought for. She'd asked if Newsprint had died in vain. Rose still couldn't answer that question, but Wind Key could. Yes, she screamed, he had, and then she'd stormed up to her room. They hadn't checked on her for hours, to let her cool off. When they did, she was long gone. But there had been more to her anger, a restlessness, a feeling of being so out of place... Rose could see it, looking back. Everything was so visible, looking back. “She wanted you to come along when she left initially, remember? But you defended your country. It broke her heart.” Flora looked pained. “Mom, she was twelve! We all were in pain after Newsprint's loss, but she was just being hurtful... If I'd have known she meant it, I wouldn't have yelled at her like I did.” Rose looked into her daughter's thoughtful eyes. A hint of that mystery scent floated to her again, the one she couldn't place, but she pushed it aside for the moment. “Do you regret your choice?” Flora immediately shook her head. “No. I never gave up hope about my home, and I never will. If we just go on a little longer, something good will come. We are so close... I can feel it. I couldn't possibly leave now.” Rose nodded sagely, smiling sadly. She took a sip of her tea, thinking as she did. Her mind traveled back to that scent she'd caught on Flora... She knew it. It came from Sweet Apple Acres. Flora spent so much time there, just about every moment she didn't spend in her greenhouse. She'd even given them some of her saplings, just to watch them grow. Rose had gone out there once or twice to watch Flora do her thing. She was so natural there, so at home. Rose remembered being like that at her age. Ponyville was home, always had been, always would be. “You've transplanted plants before, right?” Flora looked at her flatly, not even giving such a silly question a response, but Rose continued, undaunted. “Most plants you can take just about anywhere and they would learn to live. Some, so long as the soil is good, grow and flourish with no trouble. And new shoots and saplings move and adapt with ease. But some plants... the roots run deep, and after all the trimming and snipping and cutting and hacking, removing the leaves and finally getting the old things ready to go... if they don't just wither up and die, they sometimes never bloom again.” Rose drank the last of her tea, placed the mug down softly on the counter, and took the crystal flower from her mane, looking at it carefully. Flora had managed to grow something even from this, but... Rose had yet to see another blossom grow. “Sometimes, when all the work is done, you can't help but wonder if you're tending to a dying plant.” She placed the flower back in her mane, then left the room, tiredly walking back upstairs. Flora watched her go, drinking her tea in contemplative silence.