Rose stared intently at the small patch of flowers around the back of the cottage, captivated by their colour. She turned to look at Fluttershy, who couldn't hide her smile. So this was where she made the flowers! Who could have known that it was just outside? Fluttershy probably would have known, but Rose never thought to ask.
It was too bad that Rose couldn't eat the flowers like Fluttershy and the other ponies did. The pink stuff was nice, but it was all she ever ate and was starting to bore her. Learning new words, however, was not boring at all.
"Fluttershy, this?" Rose asked, pointing at a flower that was rounded at the bottom.
"That's a tulip, Rose." Fluttershy replied.
"Too... tulip... this?"
"Pansy."
"This?"
Fluttershy giggled, which was a nice sound.
"Slow down, Rose. We've got plenty of time."
Rose nodded, yes. She had the tendency to get fast. Fast enough that others couldn't keep up. Learning to speak was fascinating to her, even though she had some trouble with certain sounds. She surveyed the flower patch in silence, before pointing out a flower that she really liked.
"And... this?"
"That's a rose."
Rose stopped, confused by Fluttershy's answer. Rose? but Rose was Rose! This flower could not be Rose! Fluttershy, who must have noticed her confusion, laughed again.
"It's the flower you're named after! Lots of ponies are named after things, like Applejack being named after apples. Do you understand?" Fluttershy asked.
Rose thought about it for a moment, before nodding. That did seem to make sense.
One thing that didn't make sense, though, was that she didn't look like a rose at all. her wings were blue, as was the smooth casing that held them. She really wished she was red, like the pretty roses. That would make her really happy.
For now, she was happy to ask Fluttershy about all the other flowers.
Since being let outside every now and again, Rose had taken every opportunity she could to see the sights. You could only see so much from the other side of a window. At least she now knew the word to describe the sun, and the moon as well! Fluttershy and Princess Twilight were very good teachers, and Rose was going to learn as much as she could.
There weren't many ways to pass time while Fluttershy was out doing things. Rose didn't want to go outside and explore alone, and none of the animals were very interesting to talk to. You can't learn new things from a little bird, as pretty as its voice may be. The birds just didn't have the thinking power that ponies had.
Rose instead chose to read. She could read all the books Princess Twilight had left for her at the cottage very easily, which were very basic books on different simple words like 'cat' and 'dog'. She would need to ask the princess for more, because the only more complicated books in Fluttershy's home were about caring for animals, and Rose wasn't very interested in that.
She was reading a book on the different tribes of ponies. There were the earth ponies, the pegasi, the unicorns, and the alicorn princesses, who were a mixture of the other three. There were apparently only 4 alicorns currently living in Equestria right now, Princess Twilight being one of them.
What kept bringing Rose back to this particular book, was the lack of whatever type of pony she was. Rose knew she didn't fit the description of any of these tribes, so what kind of pony was she? She had asked Fluttershy, who didn't really answer, choosing instead to change the subject. Rose had a horn, she knew that, but it was smooth and pointed, unlike the other ponies. Her wings weren't feathery, like a bird, but were more similar to an insect's wings.
She would have to ask Princess Twilight, next time she came to visit. Princess Twilight knew the answer to every question Rose ever had, so this shouldn't be different.
Rose thought back to the flower bed outside. She was still very disappointed that her wings weren't colored Red, like the flower she was named after. So disappointing that she felt she had to do something about it, though she did not know what. What could she do about it? A feeling in the back of her mind told her she could do something about it, so she tried to focus a bit on that feeling.
Suddenly she felt a small tingling all over her body. Even her eyes felt weird. After a second it passed, leaving her confused. It was not something she had felt before, but it felt completely natural. Not something she should be worried about.
The sound of the door signaled Fluttershy's return home, which Rose was very happy for.
"Fluttershy!" Rose exclaimed. Fluttershy returning home from outings was always the best part of any day.
"Hello Rose- Oh?" Fluttershy looked at Rose weirdly once she caught sight of her. She radiated confusion.
Rose was a bit taken aback. Fluttershy had never reacted to her in such a way. Did she do something wrong? Her ears splayed and she shied back a bit, worried that she'd done something terribly bad that would make Fluttershy mad.
Fluttershy saw this and immediately set out to reassure Rose.
"No it's OK Rose, you didn't do anything bad! I was just surprised by your colour change!"
Colour... change? What colour change? Rose looked back at her body, and froze when she noticed something different. Her wing casings were now a bright red! She stared in shock at her back, processing this information. How did this happen? Rose was confused, but also very happy. She had red now! Just like the roses outside! She gave a happy chirp and fluttered in the air for a moment, noting the red tinted hue of her wings.
"Fluttershy! Red!" Rose exclaimed, Looking at Fluttershy excitedly.
Fluttershy smiled at her, "Yes Rose, It looks very nice on you! But how did you do it?"
"Don't know!" Rose replied. She was still too excited to think about how her colour changed in the first place.
Fluttershy had a hard time getting Rose to sleep that night.