Budding Rose

by RoseluckyCinor

Chapter 1

The best thing about finishing an order, I reflected, was the sense of relaxation that would come immediately afterward. I was busying myself putting the final touches of the last twenty barrels of roses that were destined to ride to Canterlot and be used in the gardens of the Grand Galloping Gala. That thought set my heart pattering ever so lightly in my chest. I almost had to sit down and drop the barrel top that I had in my mouth just to calm myself.

“Just two more barrels, Rose,” I told myself confidently. I wasn’t really confident at all. All the small nicks and tears of the precious rose petals came to mind as I put the second to last top on. Maybe the roses weren’t going to be good enough for the princesses! A small whine made itself heard from the back of my throat as I picked up the very last barrel top and placed it gently on the barrel. I was finally done, I thought. Two weeks of intense gardening was over.

I hobbled over to the small couch I kept on the shop floor for customers who needed to wait and laid down gingerly. I was hobbling because just this morning a barrel had tipped itself over my hind leg, bruising it but nothing serious. It hard hurt an awful lot at the time. My shop wasn’t all that big on the inside. Next to the door was a table and a register. On the wall across from the door was a wall lined with empty buckets, each of them to be filled in the summer. This year’s crop had done a lot of good for me and my two best friends, Lily and Daisy. I hedged a bet that even the Apples had made a tidy profit. I settled myself deeper into the sagging, red cushions and closed my eyes.

My ears perked at the sound of a hoof rapping at the door to the shop. I stretched out and looked to see if anypony was there. Through the clouding window on the door I saw the familiar yellow-gold mane of my good friend Lily.

“It’s open,” I called out to her. She opened the door and walked in. What I hadn’t seen through the window was the beaming grin on her face. It looked like she was having trouble just staying on the ground.

“You’ll never guess what,” she said excitedly. “Never in a million years!” I sat up on the couch a little straighter, leaving room for her if she wanted to sit down but Lily didn’t take it. She continued to pace in front of me, her legs seeming to kick the air away in glee. From her actions there were only a few possible causes that I could think of.

“Does it involve Sugarcube Corner?” I asked. Lily got an annoyed look on her face.

“I knew you’d think that,” she admonished me. A frown creeped over my mouth.

“Well I don’t know, Lily. What’s the big news?” Lily rolled her eyes before speaking.

“I won two tickets to the Grand Galloping Gala, Rose!” She exclaimed. Her voice was filled with bubbling joy and it was making me happy just seeing her like this. “And,” she said again, “I was wondering if you’d like to go as pals.” It felt like somepony had laid a heavy weight on my chest.

“Oh, uh, Lily, I don’t know,” I started to murmur. Lily leapt onto the couch next to me and nudged me over even though I had left plenty of space.

“Don’t even pretend you don’t want to go,” she said. “And I don’t think you’d let little old me go to Canterlot alone, would you?” I shook my head. “Then it’s settled.”

“But what about Daisy?” I asked, not wanting to forget our other friend. I hoped she’d remember Daisy and ask her instead. Instead Lily looked around nonchalantly.

“Originally if I won the two of us, Daisy and I, would have gone, but she and her boyfriend made plans accidentally. So now it’s just the two of us!” She pressed herself into me for a hug. “Maybe we’ll meet some stallions while we’re there,” she hissed playfully. The weight in my chest hadn’t disappeared and was only compounded by Lily laying on me.

“Where did you win these tickets?” I asked. Lily didn’t say anything or release the hug and I knew what she wanted. I put my forehooves around her and returned the hug. Seemingly satisfied she let go and sat back on the opposite end of the couch.

“Well you know that Pon3 always has the raffle and that Daisy and I always enter. This year she picked my number out live on the radio.” She paused for moment to catch her breath. I hadn’t noticed it but she’d been out of breath the whole time. I wondered how she could be this excited. Didn’t she know how many ponies were going to be there? She gave me a sly look. “You aren’t going to try and get out of it are you, Rose?”

“No way, Lily,” I said shaking my head. “I just have to get a dress and some stuff,” I told her, trying to avoid her gaze. Lily reared up, looking ready to pounce again. She looked silly with her flank in the air but I couldn’t tell her that now. She’d have none of it. “I do want to go,” I said as truthfully as I could. Lilly narrowed her eyes.

“You don’t sound nearly as enthusiastic as I am,” she commented.

“I’m in shock?” I asked. Lily took a slow step forward. Her head was above the hooves of my hind legs. I pulled them closer to me.

“I think you’re nervous,” she said matter of factly. “Nervous about all the ponies that are going to be there.” She was right and she knew it. I’d never liked crowds and the Grand Galloping Gala was destined to be the biggest crowd this side of Equestria. I emitted a low, slow groan. “I knew it.”

“Yes,” I said uselessly, “I’m scared.” Lily sighed and crossed the couch, sitting right next to me, cutie mark to cutie mark.

“It won’t be that bad,” she said softly. If you had just heard that sentence you wouldn’t have ever believed she had just been jumping up and down. Her voice was calm and understanding. “Come on, Rose. You need to get out more. This is the perfect opportunity for us to get out and see the big city life.”

“But I don’t have anything to wear,” I said, “my mane’s terrible, my coat is all knotted and gross. They’ll laugh me out of Canterlot.” I looked away from Lily, but not before I saw her pout.

“I can fix all those things,” she declared.

“You can make dresses now?” Lily smirked.

“No, but I know Rarity can.” I gave her a small laugh.

“Rarity must be at her wit’s end this time of year, making all those Gala dresses.”

“Not this year, Rose. I have it on good authority that she finished last week and she’s been doing next to nothing since then. We can talk to her tomorrow about getting you a dress by this weekend.”

“This weekend?” I asked, panic filling my voice. Today was Wednesday, that left only two days for a dress and everything else. There simply wasn’t enough time in the day. “I don’t know, Lily. There’s just too much to do...” Lily placed a hoof against my mouth, silencing me.

“There’s always time if we start right now,” she said. She took the hoof off my muzzle and started scratching her chin, thinking. “We can go to the spa and get your mane and coat worked on. Then afterwards we can go to Rarity’s. Does that sound okay, Rose?” It felt like the first time in this whole exchange that she’d actually asked me something.

“Yes?” I said questionably.

“Is there anything else we need to take care of?” I frowned.

“I don’t know if it’s important or not...” I said trailing off.

“Rose,” Lily said seriously. “Everything you think of is important to me, okay?” It made me feel good to have a friend like Lily around. I didn’t know what I’d do without her or Daisy.

“It’s just that I... it’s kind of embarrassing really,” I admitted. Lily started to lean into me, begging me to tell her silently. “I don’t know how to dance,” I said softly. She sat back on her end of the couch, leaning against the armrest.

“I’ll teach you to dance later,” she said. I raised an eyebrow.

“Do you know how to dance?” I asked. In all my years of knowing her she’d never danced in front of me. I didn’t quite doubt that she could dance either. Lily had a lot of secret talents, we all did. Daisy could paint pretty well and I tried my hoof at poetry from time to time. I’d even been put into newspapers as far as Manehattan, under a pen-name of course. It wouldn't be completely out of the question to think that Lily could dance. Lilly scoffed.

“Of course I know how to dance, silly,” she said. “We can worry about that later. If you look good enough you don’t need to know how to dance with all the boys.” She noticed me frowning. “Oh come on, Rose. You really don’t want a boyfriend?” I blushed deeply.

“Of course I do!” I said trying to hide my face. Lily and Daisy had been on my back about being single for years. “It’s just I get nervous around a lot of ponies.”

“That’s a given, Rose,” she said. “But I’m sure there’ll be some stallions for you too.” I couldn’t help but focus on the heat growing in my belly. “It will be fine, Rose. I’ll be by your side all night. How about that?”

“I don’t want you to waste your night on me,” I said. Lily, tired of waiting, tackled me, pinning me to the cushions. I struggled to get anywhere but under her. She wasn’t much stronger than me but it was enough.

“You’re so weird sometimes, Rose.”

“You’re the one who tackled me,” I said, straining to move. Lily moved a bit so I could at least breathe. “Why are you still on me?” I could feel the warmth under her soft, pink coat. It felt really strange to have another pony, let alone my best friend, laying on me so casually.

“It’s not wasting my night if I’m hanging around with you,” she said. She put her full weight down on my chest. I could feel her tail swishing on my bruised leg. “We’re friends right?” she asked.

“Yes, Lily,” I said. She let her head rest on the armrest, resting her neck on my muzzle. “Why?” I asked, my words muddled. The best course of action, I imagined, was to act like she wasn’t laying all over me. Even then I could feel her forehooves squeezing around me in a hug.

“I don’t think you know how special you are to me,” she said.

“I know you like me, Lily. That’s why we’re friends. But it’s getting hard to breathe.” Lily moved when I said that. This time she rested her head on the crook of my neck. “That’s better,” I said. I still felt strange having her lay on me. Some of her yellow mane was getting in my face, I tried blowing it off to no avail. “Are we going to the spa?” Lily stretched out I could feel her soft belly over mine.

“But I’m so cozy,” she said playfully. I decided there wasn’t much to do but just wait for her to get over her playful mood. It wasn’t every day that you get invited to the Grand Galloping Gala by your best friend. Lily shuffled her weight and slid down between me and the back of the couch. I had to hold on to her to get comfortable. My face was getting awfully red, matching my mane.

“Do you think it will cost a lot at the spa?” I asked her, my mouth was close to her ear and I didn’t want to be too loud so I whispered.

“I don’t think so, we can go halfsies on it,” she assured me.

“But we both have to pay for ourselves...” I trailed off. Lily giggled.

“I can cover you, Rose.”

“You don’t have to do that,” I said indignantly. The least I could do was pay for myself. “Say, shouldn’t we get going? We don’t want them to be too busy.”

“Sure thing,” she said with a disappointed sigh,. She dropped the hug, got up and hopped off the couch like nothing had happened. This time out of all the times Lily had gotten close to me struck me as the most odd, but I wasn’t sure why. I shook my head as if to get rid of the feeling but it stuck around. The clock on the wall said it was only two in the afternoon. The royal guard would be here soon to pick up the roses.

“I don’t suppose I have to be here for that,” I said to myself more than anypony else. Lily turned her head around to face me.

“What’s that, Rose?” she asked. Her voice sounded different, like it had gained a kind of heaviness.

“Oh nothing,” I said quickly, “I’m just thinking of getting all these roses sent out.” Lily smiled.

“All these roses are beautiful,” she said. I flashed a brief smile, it had taken a lot of work to grow only the very best for the Gala. I was sure her lilies were just as good if not better looking. “You really outdid yourself,” she said.

“Thank you, Lily, that’s really sweet.” She beamed at me. “Come on,” I said. I had a modest pouch of bits beneath the register next to the door. I picked them up and stashed them away. “Let’s get to the spa and get ourselves some nice massages.” It was hard not to return Lily’s expression. It felt nice to see her happy. Even the idea of going to the Gala was warming up to me. Of course I couldn’t say no to getting a nice trip down to the spa. It wouldn’t be right to say I’d had a particularly stressful year, but it never hurt to have a little relaxation once it was all said and done.

The Ponyville Spa was owned and operated by two sisters, Aloe and Lotus. They ran a tight ship and whenever a major party was about to go down you could be sure that they were up to the brim in business. It always seemed like the mares never took a break to sleep or eat as the Spa seemed to be open 24/7. Maybe they had hired some help. I wondered what it would be like to work in a spa.

The lobby was crowded with at least twenty frantic mares, all of them twitching in the chairs that occupied the walls and center of the room. Tables lay around with unused fashion magazines, probably already out of style. I was standing by the door while Lily talked with the secretary. Lily was gesturing wildly to the stallion working behind the desk, mostly to herself but sometimes to me.

I tried to see if I could recognize any of the faces in the crowd. None of them looked familiar. Perhaps they weren’t the type to buy flowers or maybe they let their partners do that for them. I wasn’t judging them in either case. Lily had been talking with the stallion at the desk for what felt like an hour. I wasn’t used to standing around in a place like this with a lot of ponies and movement. Twenty or so ponies all packed into a tight room made me feel queasy. All I could think about was walking out the door and counting the roses in the delivery a few more times, just to make sure. Suddenly I felt a warm body at my side. I looked to see Lily staring at me.

“Huh?” I said awkwardly. Lily snickered.

“They’ll take us next,” she said. My jaw dropped.

“But there’s already so many ponies here,” I said, “what in Equestria did you say to her?” Lily looked around nonchalantly.

“I just told her a story of the most dire fashion emergency in the history of Equestria,” she told me, “about a young mare who’s destined to meet her lover at the Gala and is in desperate need of a makeover. The nice stallion said Aloe and Lotus would understand completely.” She motioned me to walk towards the doors that led beyond the waiting room.

“Won’t they get mad that we’re cutting?” I asked hopelessly, but Lily was beyond answering right now, she looked busy trying to find out where to go. The waiting room had led out into a long hallway that must have stretched the entire length of the building. Doors on either side opened into various relaxation rooms. Soft music played from every corner and the smell of incense hung in the air. “This place is nice,” I said aloud. Lily agreed. From one of the rooms a mare trotted out to greet us.

She was a nice looking mare with a light pink coat, almost as bright as a calla lily. Her mane was a sky blue, like her sister’s coat. I couldn’t get over how piercing her eyes were when she looked us up and down.

“Hello,” she said, “I’m Aloe. I’m told you have a very serious problem indeed.” Her voice was strangely deep for a mare, and had the accent of somepony from outside Equestria. I hadn’t had many words with the two but I’d never noticed it before. It was oddly enticing and I would have loved to hear her talk some more, but she turned around and lead us back to the room she had just left.

Inside the room were two tables, between them a smaller table with oils and other things whose use I couldn’t even imagine. Two stallions were standing around and stretching next to the tables. The outfits they wore did nothing to hide the toned muscles they had underneath their coats. I swallowed reflexively. Lily sent me a funny look.

“Please lie on your bellies,” Aloe said to us. Lily took no time at all to get comfortable on the table. I sidled over and got on slowly. The stallions were a bit intimidating. The only ponies who’d given me massages were the mares who worked here a few times and Lily on occasion. One stallion walked to where Lily was and I couldn’t see him anymore with my head pointed firmly towards the ground. The other stallion, I assumed, was meant for me. He had a deep crimson coat, his mane was cut short and kept beneath a hat, so I wasn’t sure what it was. He and the other stallion stopped by the smaller table to pick up several vials and cups and brought them over to the table. He laid them against my side. I wasn’t sure if it was supposed to make me feel better or not of if he even thought about that. Several of the jars were warm next to my flank and side.

I couldn’t hear what he was doing over the sound of my own breathing, but I felt one of the jars being lifted up and a spreading warmth over the small of my back. It was reflex more than anything that made me tense up and nearly knock the oils over. A strong hoof was pressed onto my shoulder, telling me to calm down.

The hoof was moved and then two strong hooves pushed into my lower back. A tingling mixture of pain and pleasure shot up my spine and lingered around my neck and throat. I stifled a small cry from the pain. The hooves were taken back.

“I’m fine,” I said without the stallion asking, and he resumed pressing and rubbing. The sensations were incredible. A combination of warmth and pressure soon found itself coursing through my whole body. The pushing got lower, and lower until it reached the base of my tail. I let out a small yelp. Luckily the hooves started moving up, further and further along my back until it was over my ribs. I contented myself to relax in the bliss of the massage. As the hooves even then moved up towards my shoulder and forelegs I felt myself turn to putty underneath the experienced hooves of the stallion on top of me.

Beneath my coat and skin the tense muscles gave way to the pushing of the hooves. Slight moans of pleasure started to build in my throat as I started to relax more and more. There was a heat in my body that the pressing and pulling seemed to awaken in my core. I wondered if mares frequently started feeling this good on the table. Did stallions also feel this way with just a massage? I tried to hide whatever form of arousal I might have been showing, keeping my tail down, moans to a minimum.
Yet as suddenly as it had started I felt the hooves leave my back. I looked up to see both stallions wiping their hooves off and Lily getting off her table.

“It’s over?” I asked sadly. Lily strode up to the side of me.

“It was a ten minute massage, Rose,” she said. I was shocked, there was no way that had felt like two minutes, let alone ten. But my back did feel surprisingly strong and limber. I saw Aloe outside the room waiting for us. I wondered if she did anything but lead ponies around. She probably did when it wasn’t as busy as it was now.

She took us out of the room and led us two doors down where there was a large room filled with individual pools, each with a pony and an attendant. The room wasn’t that large by any means. It had five pools in a pentagon shape with a supply table in the middle.

“This way please,” Aloe said. She dropped Lily off at a pool next to the door and then lead me to one towards the back of the room. “Please step into the pool,” she said, “you will be helped soon,” and departed. The water was hot to the touch, and I was reluctant to get in. I twisted my head and saw Lily already relaxed and happy in it, talking to the mare that was assisting her. There wasn’t any chance that I was going to disappoint Lily by not having a good time so I grit my teeth and got into the steaming water.

I hoped nopony had heard the ‘squeak’ that I made when the water enveloped me up to the neck. Even laying in the water I could small flecks of dirt coming out of my coat and being whisked away by a magical current. If anything, now that I was in the heat from the water made my muscles relax even more. I rested my back against the stony wall of the pool and waited for my attendant, probably another stallion. A soft voice spoke out behind me. I turned to see a tall mare that had placed a basket next to my head without me even realizing.

“Rose?” she asked. Her voice was husky like Aloe’s. She had a fine yellow coat and a darker mane. She wore a plain white shirt and shorts that stopped just above the joint. All I could do was nod. Her mane was so perfect, her coat so clean. Jealousy flooded inside me and I sank lower into the pool. The unicorn mare moved the box closer to the water line and asked me to sit up straighter. Begrudgingly I did so.

The chill of the liquid she poured onto the top of my mane made me shiver even through the warmth of the water, and just like the stallions before her she started to work it in with her hooves. Cold, soapy bubbles started running down my face. The mare pressed exceedingly hard on the top of me head. I struggled briefly under the pressure before succumbing to the force and fell under the water. The hoof held me under for three, four, five seconds, briskly rubbing my mane and neck. When it was removed I raised my head grasping for air.

“You’re trying to kill me!” I yelped through breaths of air. The mare looked at me strangely.

“I was washing your mane, ma’am.” She started to rub more of the goop into my hair. The process repeated itself three more times, except she warned me before dunking me down. After the third time she started to get into the water herself. I pulled myself closer to the wall.

“What are you doing?” I squeaked, my voice rising in pitch as she got into the water. It wasn’t like she could see anything she hadn’t before, and the water was now a darker shade, hiding anything worth hiding. She kept a bemused expression.

“I need to wash your coat and then you’re all done,” she said. She stepped through the pool of water towards me I did my best to relax my body. Lily had been kind enough to get us this ‘appointment’ I didn’t want to ruin it. The mare got close enough to touch and had me stand up in the water with just the tip of my back and my neck and head above the water. I hadn’t realized how tall the attendant was, she was out of the water up to her haunches. She started to pour another liquid on me, this time it was warm like the water. Carefully she started to rub in the shampoo like she had for my mane. After the shampoo, she had me step out of the water, the air in the room seemed freezing, and she rubbed me down with oils.

I saw Lily walk up to me as the attendant finished with the oil wash. She gleamed in the lights of the room, she looked amazing and incredibly happy. Lily beamed when she saw me looking better than I normally do, happier too probably.

“You look great, Rose,” she said, “A pony would be crazy not to fall in love with you.” I couldn’t help but blush again.

“Thanks, Lily. You look great too!” I tried to match the enthusiasm she normally had. Lily turned scarlet under her pink coat.

“Rose...,” she muttered. Her next words were cut off by Aloe coming back to meet us. She led us to the door to the waiting room, thanking us profusely for coming to the spa and choosing them for their services. As we left I realized I hadn’t paid for anything at all. I told Lily just that. She laughed it off. “I took care of it, Rose. Don’t be silly, it was my treat.” My jaw dropped.

“Lily no,” I said pleadingly, “let me pay you back. You didn’t have to do that.” She waved me off.

“You can get the cost of the dress,” she said. Lily looked up at the gleaming sun. I couldn’t do anything else but take a glance as well. The sun was just starting its descent towards the horizon. Already the thick, dark grey clouds of Winter clung to the sky, threatening to blot out the sun once and for all. The pegasi had kept the clouds away until into September, which was a welcome change. Against my slick coat the warmth of the sun made me feel like I was queen of the world. It honestly felt really good, I thought, to be a girly-mare even if it was just for a few days. Spa trip, getting a nice dress made, even going to the Gala in Canterlot. Everything felt so nice and clean right then. I giggled in the street at nothing more than feeling happy, feeling like nothing could go wrong at all.

Comments

[Baree]

First chapter is promising. I'll be here for chapter two. As far as I can tell its pretty straightforward where everypony stands in the story and where things are heading, but its written well enough.

[Delicious]

I giggled in the street at nothing more than feeling happy, feeling like nothing could go wrong at all.

Don't tempt Murphy's law, things go bad fast when you do.

[elmago02]

Could you add some space between paragraphs?

[RoseluckyCinor]

3440418

I'll make sure to do that next time. Thanks for the feedback.

[reikun]

So far the story's promising, and really sweet

I've not read nearly enough Roseluck fics, and there needs to be more of them. I have seen Rose characterised like this before, like she can't be confident if she's not working her magic on her flowers, and I'm looking forward to someone (preferably Lily) bringing her out of her shell a bit

[Bryan Luna]

I've got two words for you, Love it!