The Incredible Storyloom

by Gothic Dreams

Chapter 7: Another Flower Blooms

By the time Rosy Bliss was sixteen, Carbon Skies had returned to his work as chief supervisor of the mill in the “Blight Streets”. The burden of loss that weighed heavy on his heart had lightened greatly over the years he spent with his darling daughter and he knew, to a considerable degree, he owed Brunet Smoke for that. When Quillflower passed away, it felt as if all his years of strenuous work had been for no one. At that point in his life, working towards his mill felt like an empty task. However, when his friend relieved him of his work to return home, it gave him the time to realise he still had someone to care for; that precious little foal that his beloved wife had held the night she was gone.

Carbon Skies had realised that his misery had clouded his judgement. His wife was gone but they had a child, a precious baby daughter who needed her father more than she ever could need him. He had provided for her and supported her.

Also, in a strange way, although Quillflower has passed, she still managed to remain a part of this world. Their daughter now desired to become a writer and he knew that Quillflower had managed to pass that ambition on.

As she turned eighteen, Rosy Bliss began to more closely resemble her own mother. Her fur coat, once creamy when she was a foal, had lightened to the point it was close to the pristine white that her mother was. Also, her mane was just as wavy, although Rosy’s was thicker and was in the vibrant hue that suited her name. Although her eyes that were once a deep green, turned to a shade closer to turquoise. They were similar to Quillflower’s in their intensity, comparable to that of precious stones.

At this point in her life, Bliss had already been avidly working towards her ambition to become a novelist, on occasions scribbling away at a near frantic pace. Her ideas seemed to literally pour forth onto the pages in a manner that almost seemed desperate. Being an Earth Pony however, writing at such speed caused more complications than convenience as segments of a page sometimes became smudged. This frustrated Bliss, especially whenever she remembered how quickly and efficiently Inkwell, being a unicorn, could write by using her magic to levitate her quill. When she was very young, Rosy Bliss wished that she was a unicorn herself. She knew however, that there was little point in dwelling on such a thing and would persuade herself to shift her focus back to writing.

Whenever she took a break from writing her own stories, Rosy Bliss often turned back to reading Quillflower’s manuscript. At this point, she had already read through it to the end at least three times, yet she found herself drawn to it all the same. Eventually, she found herself so engross in her mother’s tale of Little Rose that she was unaware of the fact that she was being called to.

Clean Sweep was standing at the library’s doorway when she called.

‘Miss…’ she became a little worried when she noticed that Rosy Bliss was not responding, or even seemed to show any sign of movement. ‘Miss, are you alright?’ Clean Sweep called again. She walked into the library and quickly approached Bliss and noticed that she was leaning over the desk. Clean Sweep got close enough to put a hoof on to one shoulder, ‘Bliss?’

Rosy Bliss flung herself aside with such a start when she felt Clean Sweep’s touch. In her sigh of relief, Bliss realised how oblivious she and wondered how come this had never happened to her before.

‘Oh Clean Sweep, you gave me such a fright!’ Bliss panted lightly.

‘Begging your pardon miss,’ Clean Sweep bowed her head apologetically, ‘you were so quiet and still… I was worried you were not well!’

‘There is no need for you to be sorry. I just… I…’ her words trailed off as she gently lay her right hoof onto the manuscript.

‘How long had you known about it?’ Clean Sweep asked. Her voice was perfectly calm. In fact, she had suspected that her discovery of the manuscript was most likely inevitable.

‘It’s been almost seven years now. To be honest, I can’t figure out how I truly went about finding it.’ Bliss stood silent for a moment, looking back at the manuscript still under her hoof ‘…And yet, I remember there being this strange, urgent feeling of curiosity…’

‘Well, everypony gets curious miss, especially as a foal.’ Clean Sweep spoke in an assuring tone.

‘No. No, it wasn’t like that. I seemed to start on an impulse but when I searched this desk, it was almost as if I knew something was hidden here… and here it is.’ Rosy Bliss had trailed off on that last line and continued to stare at the manuscript. The room fell into silence once again as Bliss seemed to be lost in thought before she quickly turned her head to Clean Sweep and spoke so suddenly that the maid was almost startled.

‘Do you think father knows?’

Clean Sweep looked as though she was going to shake her head and then, unsure, resigned to simply bow her head slightly and shrug. Bliss lifted her hoof off the manuscript and briefly put it to her shoulder. ‘I guess I… I have never really been sure myself.’ Bliss thought aloud. ‘He’s never been too afraid to mention mother and yet, she still feels like such a secret to me.’ She looked back at the manuscript, ‘She created it for herself. Her own private story… I guess a part of me felt that this might help me understand… just what was like when she was alive…’

Rosy Bliss and Clean Sweep stood silently in the library for a few minutes. The hue of the sunset was glaring softly though the window and against Bliss’ face as she stared towards it. At first, Clean Sweep didn’t feel there was anything she could say to help. But then, a thought entered her mind that she felt was worth sharing, ‘Perhaps, miss, that the answer is easier to find than you believe it to be.’

Bliss turned to Clean Sweep, her eyes gave a somewhat stunned look. She knew exactly what the kindly meant… and she felt like such a fool for taking so long to realise for herself. Clean Sweep simply gave her a smile.

‘Pardon me miss, will you be all right if I leave you here to sort the desk? Master Carbon Skies should be coming home shortly.’

‘That will be fine, thank you.’ Rosy Bliss nodded. Just as Clean Sweep walked up to the doorway, she turned back to Rosy Bliss and said, ‘Of all the stories Lady Quillflower wrote, your father said that one had always been his favourite.’

Clean Sweep bowed again and left the library to Bliss, who was still looking out the window and had only her thoughts to keep her company.

Two days after her little talk with Clean Sweep, Rosy Bliss decided that it was best to let her thoughts be known to her father.

The two had just finished dinner together and Clean Sweep was there to clear the table. When she came to pick up Rosy Bliss’ plate, they both briefly shared a glance to each other and in that moment, Clean Sweep knew what Bliss planned to do. After everything had been taken off the table, Clean Sweep stopped just at the doorway to the dining room, out of Carbon Skies’ field of vision, and gave Rosy Bliss a nod in acknowledgment. She knew the two would be best left alone for this discussion so once she left Clean Sweep informed the other house servants that Carbon Skies and Rosy Bliss did not wish to be disturbed and should wait until they are called for.

As per custom, Rosy Bliss and her father would spend an hour together in the living room after dinner. This was normally followed by Bliss spending another hour in the library to review the drafts to her stories before going to bed. This time however, Bliss was willing to spend the whole night to get the answers that she wanted. She waited for her father to be seated and sat down on the chair opposite. Both of them were enveloped in the warm glow coming from the fireplace, Carbon Skies picked up a newspaper to read through while Rosy Bliss remained still and silent. As determined as she was, she still needed to compose herself. Briefly, Bliss looked to a book she had left on the small table beside her chair but she refused to touch it, as she felt it could only become a distraction at this moment.

Finally, Rosy took a deep breath and spoke up. ‘Father, can I ask you a question?’

Carbon Skies looked up from his newspaper and set it down beside. Smiling, he said ‘Why of course, dear. What is on your mind?’ He looked to her, waiting patiently.

‘Well, it’s something that I have been wondering for some time now…’ Bliss began to stammer and Carbon Skies’ expression changed slightly.

‘I just wanted to know… what was mother really like?’

Carbon Skies remained still for a moment. Eventually, he looked into Rosy Bliss’ eyes with a smile on his face, yet had a solemn appearance about him. ‘My little Rose…’ he said, ‘how thoughtless I must be to have not spoken to you about this before! Of course! Come, sit closer to me.’ Carbon Skies indicated the chair that was beside him. Bliss got up from her chair and set herself beside her father.

‘Now, I can tell you everything you could ever need to know about your mother, the mare who I loved dearly…’