Young Love

by Amethyst Flower

The Painting

Silver Rose had never really been that into "love" before. Sure, she read love novels and realized it was around her, but she never given it much thought, especially for herself.

But that was all about to change...

One cheery summer morning, the young, artistic unicorn joined her friend, Rarity, on a trip to one of Canterlot's many art galleries.

As they travelled in Rarity's carriage, Silver Rose smiled as she remembered how she first met Rarity. She had seen her around quite a bit, Rarity was quite popular in Ponyville, as were her close friends, Applejack, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, and Twilight Sparkle. But Silver Rose hadn't properly met the fashionable mare until a couple days ago, when she had gone to Carousel Boutique to purchase some silver silk, for a dress she was making for her sister's award ceremony.

"Oh, that color looks so flattering next to your blush colored coat," Rarity had said.

It impressed Silver Rose very much, that Rarity had noticed the color of her coat. So, she introduced herself, and soon the two were talking about art and fashion, and next thing Silver Rose knew, she got invited to accompany Rarity on a trip to the gallery, 'Art from Around Equestria' .

"Thank you so very much again for inviting me," Silver Rose said.

"Oh it's nothing at all," Rarity replied in an off-hoofed manner. She gave Silver Rose a sweet smile. "I know we haven't been friends for very long, but I can guarantee that we will have the best time at the gallery."

Silver Rose fluffed her short rose-red and crimson colored mane. She hoped she looked good enough for Canterlot. She had only been there once, and that was on a business trip with Roseluck, her older sister.

"So, tell me about your cutie mark," Rarity requested, turning from the carriage window. "You mentioned receiving it only a little while ago."

The younger pony blushed, and looked down at the mark on her flank, which was the head of a silver rose. "Well, it's actually been around a year since I got my cutie mark."

Rarity nodded, listening to Silver Rose with a charming smile.

"I have always enjoyed drawing and creating things. Especially little pieces from nature. So, one day my sister, Roseluck, asked me if I could make her a special dress, since I had previously had sewing lessons. It was going to be her very first delivery of flowers for the Princess Celestia, herself. I knew she wanted it of scarlet red material, since that was the color of the roses she was delivering, so I worked with that. Then I decided that it needed an extra flare. I went into my room and stared at my paintings for hours, hoping for a droplet of inspiration. After waiting and sketching for hours, with nothing to show for, I decided to take a walk to clear my brain."

Rarity's blue eyes were wide as she listened in rapture to Silver Rose's tale.

Silver Rose continued, "That's when I saw a beautiful white rose with odd silver edging, just lying on the road in front of me. I picked up the rose, before rushing home. I then molded over it and painted it silver. It was the final touch that the dress needed. It was then that I knew what my talent was. I was to be an artist, whose inspiration came from nature itself." She smiled, her dark green eyes alive. "My cutie mark is pretty simple, just a plain silver rose. But it's mine."

"I think it's unique," Rarity assured Silver Rose. "I like your story very much. I would be pleased if you told it to my younger sister, Sweetie Belle, sometime. She's a few years younger than you, and is struggling with discovering her special talent. She and her two friends are the only ones left in their class without their cutie marks."

Silver Rose nodded. "It would be a pleasure to relate my tale to your sister. I know how it feels to be the only one without a cutie mark. But I've found that it's even more special receiving it later than sooner. Then you're not just "one of the crowd", and often times your talent turns out being even more special than the rest of your class's."

"Oh, Sweetie Belle will be delighted to hear that," Rarity laughed.

Suddenly the carriage lurched, causing Silver Rose to gasp in fright. "What's wrong?!" She asked, spinning around to see out of the small, door windows.

Rarity reached out, from the seat across Silver Rose, and steadied the filly. "Calm down, darling, we've entered Canterlot. We stopped because when you first enter the city, there's some traffic."

Silver Rose sank back into the plush, purple seat, with a relieved sigh. "Oh... I'm sorry..."

"You're not used to travelling are you?" Rarity asked, knowingly.

Silver Rose shook her head. "No, I'm not," she admitted.

"That's all right. There's a first for every pony."

Silver Rose lit the soft, silvery aura around her horn and picked her pink purse up, off the carriage floor and put the contents, that had spilled out during the sudden halt, back inside. "So," she said, as she shut the purse with a nice little snap, "is there anything special I should know? The only time I've been here before was during a rushed business trip with my sister."

"You've never been here during any of the holidays with your family?" Rarity asked.

Silver Rose's lower lip trembled and a knot built up in her already queasy stomach. She didn't like talking about her family. They had a kind of messed up situation, and that was why she lived with her earth pony sister.

"Oh, that's right, you said your family was a complicated ordeal," Rarity said with regret. "I am sorry."

Silver Rose shrugged it off, and waited for Rarity to answer her question.

Rarity flipped her perfectly curled royal purple mane behind her withers. "Well, don't feel bad if you get rude looks from ponies who pass by. The citizens of Canterlot can be rather rude and judgemental at times -especially of appearances-."

Silver Rose tried not to look as hurt as she felt. Did Rarity think her appearance wasn't 'Canterlot worthy'? It probably wasn't, but she could have said something before they arrived, if it was so bad.

"Oh, dear, I'm sorry. I did not mean that how it sounds," Rarity hurriedly apologised. "Canterlot ponies are just judgemental no matter what. If you're not near royalty you most probably won't meet their quota."

"Quota?" Silver Rose asked, embarrassed that she didn't know what the word meant.

"You won't meet their standards," Rarity explained without a second thought.

"Oh." Silver Rose nodded, now understanding. How could I not know what that means? Is that Canterlot talk, or am I just stupid? She wondered, already feeling like a simpleton.

"Also, if you don't know what a certain thing is, don't make it publicly known. Someone will most definitely mock you," Rarity advised. "Just whisper whatever question you have in my ear, okay?"

Silver Rose considered the fact that she may have made a mistake coming along with the fancy white unicorn to this big city. She most probably wasn't the Canterlot type. And she wasn't sure she wanted to be, as rude as every pony sounded.

It took them a whole half hour to get to the art gallery, because of traffic, and the entire time Rarity was talking about her Canterlot experiences. The more Rarity talked, the more worried Silver Rose became. She tried to stay positive and tell herself that she'd have fun, but after a while it wasn't working.

Why was Canterlot known for its fine qualities if it was a place of terror? Rude ponies, changeling attacks, thieves, giant monsters... Silver Rose couldn't help but shudder.

Rarity laughed. "Oh, don't worry, darling. Canterlot is a lot of fun on a normal day."

Silver Rose nodded slowly. Sure it is, sure it is, she thought, nervously.

When the carriage stopped in front of a large brick building, Rarity adjusted her large, feathery hat, that Silver Rose personally thought was a bit much, and announced, "We're here!"

Silver Rose gulped, and picked up her purse with her magic.

One of the stallions, who had been pulling the carriage, opened the carriage door and helped Rarity and then Silver Rose out.

"Thank you, darling," Rarity said, using her magic to place a bit in the stallion's hoof.

Silver Rose gasped as she stepped onto the grey cobblestone road. The tall buildings rose taller than any tree she had ever seen in the Everfree Forest, and you could see Celestia's castle and some tall sky scrapers in the distance, from where Silver Rose stood. The colors were so bright and the streets were crowded with top-class, fancily-dressed ponies. Compared to every pony else's outfits, Rarity's plume covered hat was a simple accessory. "Wow..." Silver Rose breathed.

Rarity cleared her throat. "Darling."

Silver Rose jerked her gaze away from her surroundings and turned to the white unicorn. "What?" she asked, confused.

Rarity motioned towards the stallion, who had an odd smile on his face. Silver Rose wasn't sure if he was waiting for her to say something or just really needed a restroom.

"Oh, sorry. Um, thank you," she said, giving him what she hoped was a gracious smile.

He nodded and turned back to Rarity, "What time should we pick you up?"

"In around two hours," Rarity said, adjusting her hat again.

"Okay," he said, with a professional nod.

Rarity smiled at Silver Rose and said, "Shall we go into the art gallery?"

Silver Rose smiled back. "Well shall." She wrapped her one foreleg around Rarity's and the two walked into the art gallery.

Silver Rose's eyes nearly bulged out of her head once the silver doors swung open. They stepped onto a silver and black glassy floor that looked squeaky clean. The walls were a perfect eggshell white, and the ceiling was a brilliant gold with swirls and other intricate designs. Red, velvet barrier ropes, blocked off the entrance.

A prestigious looking guard sat behind a desk that had to be mahogany. "Hello, welcome to Art from Around Equestria ," he greeted. "Do you have a paid reservation or have you come by invitation?"

"Paid reservation," Rarity said.

"Wait, paid.... you paid for this?" Silver Rose gasped, wondering how much a tour of an art gallery like this would cost.

Rarity chuckled. "Why of course darling," she said. Then, lowering her voice to a whisper, she added, with a smile, "And what did I say about whispering your questions?"

Silver Rose blushed, when she noticed the guards amused smile.

The unicorn guard used his magic to pick up a scroll. "Names?" he requested.

"Rarity and Silver Rose from Ponyville," Rarity said, looking a little irritated as the guard scanned the list. She began to tap her one hind hoof.

As they waited, Silver Rose tried to look past the guard into the gallery. She saw a lot of rich ponies judging beautiful sculptures, statues, and painting. She frowned. The canterlot ponies definitely looked judgmental. Very much so.

"Oh, really, how many 'Rarity's from Ponyville' can there be?" Rarity asked, rolling her eyes as she tried to keep her temper.

"Here it is!" The guard chuckled nervously. "I'm so sorry. I need to see a doctor about my eyes." He cleared his throat, then unhooked one of the velvety hooks and held it open with his magic. "Miss Rarity, Miss Silver Rose," he said, dipping his head slightly.

The two unicorns walked passed the guard and into the gallery room.

Silver Rose's jaw dropped as she looked around the large room. Everything in the room made Silver Rose realize why she had wanted to come in the first place. Canterlot may be filled with danger and rude ponies, but it had the best artwork that she had ever seen. Silver Rose rushed around the room, gasping and exclaiming over every piece. "Oh my Celestia, is this the original Luna Moon statue made by Starlight Fly over a thousand years ago?!" "Wait, is that... yes! Yes, it is! Rarity look! It's Celestia's first ever portrait! Aww! She's so tiny! Who knew Celestia was so cute as a filly!" "This is a copy, right? Tell me this is a copy. If this is the original Mona Lipizzan I'm going to literally die!!"

Rarity couldn't help but let a giggle escape her lips. "Rosey, darling, remember what we talked about!"

Silver Rose looked around and realized that now every pony, except for a select few who were still judging art, were all staring at her in either amusement or disgust. She blushed crimson and stumbled over to Rarity who was still standing near the entrance. "I'm sorry," she said. "I've just never been to an art gallery like this before," she whispered, like Rarity had advised.

Rarity nodded. "I completely understand. But perhaps you would enjoy the art better if you walked around and observed the details, rather than dashing about."

"Yes, of course," Silver Rose said. "Walk with me?"

"Naturally. Now, shall we take a look at that original Mona Lipizzan?" Rarity suggested.

Silver Rose agreed and the two walked along, acting like a part of the crowd. They discussed the pieces in hushed tones and pretended as though they were judging them to see if they were up to their standards.

"I do believe this landscape could use a few more trees," Silver Rose said, turning her chin up, haughtily at a lovely, framed painting. "If you're trying to capture the nature of trees and flowers sharing a field why so little flowers if there are so little trees? Trees block the sunlight, causing less undergrowth; but in this painting it's as if there are no flowers because there are no trees."

Rarity giggled quietly. "I quite agree, darling. More trees! More trees, I say!"

After the two finished judging a few more pieces of art, Silver Rose wandered into another, smaller room, to have a large painting catch her eye. It had an entire wall to itself, though the room was rather tiny, and it was framed in gold. Beneath it a golden plate read 'Le Jacques from Prance: The Story of Love '.

"What are you staring at, darling?" Rarity asked, entering the room, to see Silver Rose's neck crained up.

Silver Rose stared at the painting. It was set on a rainy day, in Prance, by the eiffel tower. The two ponies, who were staring at the glowing tower, shared a large red umbrella to keep from being soaked. They looked so happy and in love. Silver Rose had never known ponies could look so passionate. She had never really witnessed love in person.

Her parents had never even married, and her dad had soon moved out after she was born. Then, several years ago, her mom had left Silver Rose with Roseluck, to go to Dodge Junction and start a cherry ranch. Silver Rose had always wondered what it would be like to have a normal family, like other ponies, but she hadn't thought about the love part. Now she couldn't help but feel that she had missed out on something. Something incredibly important.

As Silver Rose stared into the painting, eyes wide, she suddenly realized that she wanted what those two ponies had.

"Rosey, darling, are you okay?" Rarity asked, shaking the filly gently.

Silver Rose shook herself out of the daze she had fallen into. "Yes, I'm sorry. I was just... thinking... This painting is very inspiring."

Rarity looked up at the romantic painting and smiled. "It is, isn't it. I remember when I first saw it. I've never stopped dreaming of going to Prance, since."

Silver Rose nodded, slowly, unable to avert her eyes from the painting. Something felt different. She wasn't sure if it was fate or magic, or something entirely different, but Silver Rose knew something had changed.

---

Silver Rose and Rarity spent the rest of the day shopping in the colorful city. Rarity took her to a giant art store, where they had nearly every single color of paint and every size of brushes. There, the artistic pony purchased several acrylics: a dark blue, cherry red, and a light yellow.

On their way back to Ponyville, the two unicorns discussed all they had seen in Canterlot. Silver Rose was having such a good time with Rarity, that she was sad when the older mare dropped her off at the cottage she shared with Roseluck.

Once Silver Rose went inside of the simple Ponyville house, she immediately smelled the mouth watering aroma of Sunflower soup. She walked into the kitchen, that was connected to the living room, to see Roseluck standing over the stove stirring a large pot full of soup.

Roseluck looked a lot like Silver Rose, with her light yellow coat, dark raspberry and light raspberry colored mane and tail, and green eyes. She even had a rose cutie mark too. The only primary difference was that Roseluck was an earth pony, not a unicorn.

"Hi, Lucky," Silver Rose said, as she set her bags down on the cedar table.

Roseluck smiled. "Hi, Rosey. How was your day with Rarity?" she asked, as she opened the oven. "Oh, would you mind handing me that oven mitt there by you?"

Silver Rose inhaled deeply. Mm, she thought, Poppy seed muffins. "It was great," she said, lighting her aura. She transported the red and white checkered oven mitt over to her sister. "I saw one painting at the art gallery that I especially liked. It was 'The Story of Love' by Le Jacques from Prance."

"Sounds familiar," Roseluck said, as she took the first tray of muffins out of the oven. "Two ponies under the red umbrella?"

"Yeah," Silver Rose said with a nod. She sighed thoughtfully. "Hey, do you think Mom and Dad will ever get back together?" she asked suddenly.

The second tray of muffins clattered to tile floor. When Roseluck reached out with her uncovered hoof to pick up the tray she jerked back with a yelp. "Where did that come from?" she asked, as she waved her front hoof around to try and cool it off.

"I'll get you an ice pack," Silver Rose said quickly. She opened the freezer with her magic, and hovered the pack over Roseluck's burnt hoof.

"Well?" Roseluck asked, waiting for an answer as she applied the ice pack.

"I-I don't know... I guess I was just thinking..." Silver Rose said, with a shrug.

"Try thinking a little less," Roseluck joked. She shut the oven with her mitt covered hoof then sat on the one kitchen chair. "Look, we talked about this before. Mom and Dad are never getting back together, and even if they would fall in love again, they'd be too selfish to go back. Dad is a prestigious unicorn that's a major part of Canterlot's society, and Mom runs Cherry Hill Ranch. They have their dreams, and unfortunately neither of those dreams includes the other one."

"But... what about true love?" Silver Rose asked.

Roseluck shrugged. "I don't know. That could be real or true love could be something that lonely ponies make up."

Silver Rose stared down at the blue and yellow tile floor. She didn't know why, but for some reason, she really hoped true love was real. Her sudden thoughts may have had something to do with the painting she had seen, or it could have been a coincidence. Whatever the case, Silver Rose just couldn't seem to let it go.

"Now," Roseluck said. "Can you help me clean up this mess? Lily and Daisy are coming over."

Silver Rose helped pick up the hot tray and scattered muffins and then carried her bags up to her room, with the promise that she would be down in time for dinner.

Once Silver Rose got to her room, she flung her bags onto her pink and white bed and turned to her canvas covered dresser. She looked through the paintings that she needed to hang up, a painting for each flower themed room in the house. A large sunflower for the kitchen, a painting of a water lily afloat, on top of blue water, for the bathroom, A large bouquet of red roses for the living room, a field of yellow tulips for Roseluck's room, and a beautiful pink carnation for Silver Rose's room.

Silver Rose took the carnation painting off the dresser, to make room for the new painting that was to come, and used her magic to hang it above her white bed headboard. Then, with a burst of energy, she performed a spell to make the painting stay on the wall.

Next she took out her palette, brushes, and new paints. Then she placed a large canvas on her easel that stood by her window seat, and began to sketch out what she wanted to paint, with a piece of graphite.

She wasn't entirely sure what had driven her to create this exact painting, but it felt right so she kept sketching.

Once she was finished with the sketch, she began to mix paint. As soon as her brush hit the canvas, it was like a little burst of magic. The paint glided effortlessly onto the canvas and she didn't make a single mistake. The painting, of the light yellow earth pony mare with cherry colored mane and tail and the white unicorn stallion with dark blue mane and tail, would be done in no time at all.

Author's Note:

If you have stumbled upon this story and have read it all the way to here, I thank you. I hope you enjoy this story and if you have any suggestions on how to improve it feel free to let me know. I'm always looking on how to improve my writing.

And on that note... let the Fancy Pants + Cherry Jubilee shipping begin!

Comments

[Prince Mythrodak]

cherry pants

[Prince Mythrodak]

fancy jubilee