//------------------------------// // 24. Rose Heart // Story: X Steps Through The Portal // by Tennis Match Fan //------------------------------// Rose Heart peered into the art classroom one Thursday afternoon. She was watching a fellow fashionista work, a pale green girl with long indigo hair and yellow sunglasses she always wore on her head. Tell me your secrets, Blueberry Cake, Rose Heart thought to herself. Of course she wasn't jealous of Blueberry Cake. She was the top designer, and when Rose Heart turned her designs in to for the fashion contest in a week she'd finally catch her break. Everyone will respect me, Rose Heart thought. Rose Heart: Youngest Designer in the Fashion World! Yeah, catchy title. Focus! She reminded herself, turning herself back to Blueberry. In order to win, one needed to know her enemy. Or in this case, know her enemy's dresses. Rose Heart stiffened against the wall as Blueberry straightened up. She carefully slid quietly into the next corridor. And not a moment too soon; a second later, Blueberry emerged. She was on her way to go to the bathroom or get a drink of water or call Norman or whatever she needed to do. Rose Heart smirked and slipped into the room. Finally, a clearer view of Blueberry's craftsmanship! Blueberry had three dresses laid out. One was a light brown. The lower half was speckled with cream colored flecks, but the top was patterned with raspberries. It looked just like a- "Raspberry torte!" Rose Heart recognized the dish. "These dresses are inspired by foods!" She grabbed the raspberry dress and clutched it to her chest. It wouldn't hurt to take the dress home, analyze it, and make a replica even better than the first since Rose Heart had designed it, right? Rose Heart ran out of the classroom- and straight into Blueberry Cake. "Rose Heart!" Blueberry gasped. "What are you doing with my dresses?" It took Rose Heart a moment to register her shock. "Out for my way!" She grumbled, shoving Blueberry out of the way and bolting for the door. "Stop! Thief!" Blueberry cried. Various students heard her cry and poked their heads out of various classrooms to see what the commotion was about. "She's got my dresses!" Blueberry yelled. When Rose Heart stole a quick glance over her shoulder, she was shocked to see six or seven girls chasing after her. "What the heck?" She gritted her teeth and ran harder and faster. These kids were not going to sabotage her chances to become the youngest professional fashionista ever! Rose Heart threw open the doors of the school and slammed then shut behind her, running full speed as the doors were thrown open by the students chasing her. "Try and catch me!" She yelled, looking back as she ran. Surprisingly, they all stopped running. "What the-" Rose Heart turned around and found herself inches from the marble statue. Then she was in it the marble. Then- "Help meeeeee!" She shrieked, colors swirling all around her. Purple, pink, green, yellow- she was in a vortex of some sort. "Get mee out of heeeeere Rose Heart screamed as her body was bent out of proportion. "AAAAAAAH!" Suddenly the swirling stopped and Rose Heart was thrust against something hard and cold. "Ooof!" She groaned, opening her eyes. She was in some sort of crystal place. And if she had ran through the mirror... Rose Heart shut her eyes. Please don't let me be a pony, please don't let me be a pony, she prayed. Finally, Rose Heart knew she had no choice. She opened one eye. She was a naked pony, hooves and all. Rose Heart's eyes widened. "I have got to get this on!" She cried, scrambling to pull the dress over her head. No easy feet, considering she had no fingers. Something sharp poked into her hoof. "Ouch!" She yelped. "I suppose I'm a unicorn, then?" Rose Heart glared at her forehead as she wiggled into the dress. Luckily, it had morphed as well and fit nicely on her pony body. Now what do I do? Rose Heart wondered. Go back and face an angry mob? Or start a new life as a fashion designer in this world?Rose Heart rubbed her chin thoughtfully. I suppose Twilight Sparkle could put in a good word for me. But first, she added silently, I need to learn how to walk in this pony body. Rose Heart raised a hoof to the wall a and took several steps. After a couple tries, she managed to stumble over to a staircase in the corner of the room. "Alright, now to find someone that can help me." *~* Rose Heart wasn't exactly sure how she did it, but she managed to drag herself to a quaint town hall an hour later. "This place is so old fashioned," Rose Heart muttered as she passed by several houses. "Why, I-" "Nice outfit!" somebody called to her. Rose Heart turned to see a tan pegasus stallion with a reddish mane waving at her. As he walked over, Rose Heart felt something was familiar about him. "Do you know my marefriend Blueberry Cake?" He asked. Rose Heart straightened up. Normal Norman! "That seems like a dress she might design," he continued. "Uh, no!" Rose Heart exclaimed hastily. "I'm perfectly fine, so bye!" She turned her back on the pony version of Norman and began to walk away, when Norman added, "Rose Heart?" Thinking quickly, Rose Heart tried not to freeze up. That would be a dead giveaway he had guessed her identity. Instead, Rose Heart causally turned back around, "You know my cousin?" She asked casually. "I'm Rosey Hearts." "Really?" Norman asked, surprise evident on his face. "You two look almost identical! Hairstyle and everything! Even your voices are similar!" Right. She would have do something about her voice, wouldn't she? "Do you know Cloudy Kicks and Cloudkicker?" She asked pointedly. Norman nodded. "I see your point," he admitted sheepishly. "I"ll see you around, Rosey Hearts." "Bye!" Rose Heart waved as he flapped his wings and flew away, a sickly sweet smile on his face. Once he was out of sight, however, she dropped the act. "I'll probably have to take out this ponytail," she muttered, "to make myself more distinguishable." I could use my magic, was her first thought, followed by, You don't know how to use magic. I'll find someone, she decided. Spotting a mint green unicorn standing by a carrot stall, Rose Heart called out to her. "Excuse me! Can I talk to you?" Rose Heart cantered over to the mare. She grinned widely. "Sure! I'm Lyra, what can I do for you?" She asked. Rose Heart groaned internally. This was Lyra Heartstrings, another student from CHS. "I was wondering if you could-" Rose Heart hesitated. For the first time, she was unsure about her plan. Was a teenage unicorn supposed to know magic? Would Lyra question her? "Yes?" Lyra prompted. "If you could teach me how to do a basic movement spell," Rose Heart finished. "I need to get this scrunchie out, and I haven' used my magic in a while, so I'd rather learn than get somepony else to take it out for me." Lyra smiled. "So, why haven't you used magic in a while?" She asked. "Uhh..." Think, Rose Heart, think! "Let's just say where I've been, there's no need for magic." Lyra shrugged. "I can accept that," she answered. "Sp, here's what you do-" Lyra went on to explain how unicorn magic filtered through the horn and yada yada yada. Rose Heart stopped listening after a while, although surprised Lyra knew so much about this stuff. The Lyra back in her own world was pretty laid back. Then again, the Lyra in her own world had been obsessed with mythical beings to an extent. I wonder if this Lyra has heard of humans, Rose Heart thought as Lyra finished her speech. "Did you get all that?' Lyra asked. "Uh, sure," Rose Heart lied. Taking a wild guess, she asked, "So I just tell myself to perform a telekinesis spell, and it will happen?" "More or less," Lyra answered, watching her expectantly. Rose Heart nodded. Please telekeniseses, or however it's called, the scrunchie off my hair, she thought, keeping her gaze on her horn. To Rose Heart's amazement and delight, her horn lit up in a reddish glow, same color as her eyes. She could feel the scrunchie being pulled into a magical aura. Like she had an extra hand- or, hoof- Rose Heart pulled the scrunchie out of her mane, which fell down limply. She brought it back around so she could look at in triumph. "Uh, thanks," she told Lyra. "Anytime!" Lyra answered amiably. She waved to Rose Heart as she trotted off down the road. Rose Heart waved back. As soon as turned around, however, she was met by another pony. This one, a light pink earth pony, had magenta eyes and striped green hair. She looked like a watermelon, and she bore a striking resemblance to a girl at school, Drama Letter. "I have heard how thou has been stealing from Fair Blueberry Cake," she said. Rose Heart tried not to face palm. This pony was obviously Drama Letter; they both spoke in the same broken archaic style. "Listen, I didn't steal anything," Rose Heart assured. "I borrowed this dress from a... a friend back home. Nothing to do with your Blueberry Cake." This wasn't a lie, except for Blueberry Cake being a friend. Drama Letter still eyed her suspiciously. "If thou has nothing to fear, thou must come with me," she told Rose Heart. For a moment, Rose Heart wondered if she should try to run back to school. But that would make her look a coward, right? "Alright," she agreed. *~* 10 days later *~* "Thank you all," Rose Heart told the six mares standing in front of her. "If it weren't for you, I would still be a friendless jerk." "It was no trouble at all, Rosey," Starlight told her, smiling. "So, what are you gonna do now?" Tennis Match asked. "I know exactly what I'm gonna do," Rose Heart told them. "I'd love to stay, but I need to leave to seek my fortune in the fashion industry." This earned her a hug from Blueberry, to which Rose Heart hugged back. "Remember,"Mystery Mint added, "you can visit us anytime!" "I'll take you up on that offer," Rose Heart promised. "Good bye, you guys." "Bye!" Blueberry Cake, Starlight, Cherry Crash, Drama Letter, Mystery, and Tennis Match waved as Rose Heart walked off in the direction of the train station. 10 days earlier Rose Heart stood before a mirror in Twilight Sparkle's castle. She took a deep breath and stepped into it. When she got up, she was in a place she had never see before. It looked like... a high school.