A Rose's Journey

by VioletRose13

I Dreamed a Dream

“Wow, that is REALLY impressive.” Sunset Shimmer commented as she and Starlight Glimmer looked at the crystals Violet Rose had just grown.

“Thanks.” Violet said.

“Pretty much anypony can do it. Please, make yourselves comfortable.” Snow Diamond said as she brewed some more tea at a nearby stove.

“Thank you so much for being so kind to us, Miss Diamond.” Ocellus said politely.

“Yeah, we thought we were gonna freeze to death out there.” Gallus added.

“Don’t worry about it.” Snow Diamond replied before walking back to the group with a tray of teacups and a kettle; she started to pour the freshly brewed tea into the cups and offered them to her guests. “Here, have some tea. It’s hibiscus.”

“Thanks.” Capper said before he took a sip from his cup.

“Yes, thank you very much.” Discord added, doing the same as Capper.

“No problem. So, if you don’t mind… what are you all doing out here?” Snow Diamond asked, taking a seat next to Violet. “Violet here has told me your town was invaded. I don’t mean to pry, but what happened?”

The group of creatures glanced over at one another before turning their attention to Tempest.

“It’s a long story. I don’t even know where to start.” She sighed.

“How about you start at the beginning? Just tell me what happened.” Snow Diamond said as she sat down on the floor next to Violet.

So that’s what they did; the group told Snow Diamond everything that happened in Ponyville. She listened intently, intrigued and shocked all at the same time. But when the mention of Jackpot Spade came up, she froze and her uneven eyes had started to leak small tears. By the time the story was finished, Snow Diamond looked almost catatonic.

“So, that’s about it.” Tempest finished; she looked up to see the white mare’s tears. “…Are you alright?”

Snow Diamond opened her mouth to speak, but no sound came out as the tears continued to flow down her pale cheeks. She sniffled.

“Uh… yeah. I’m okay. Really, I’m okay.” She lied as she wiped away her tears; she glanced over at the clock on the wall and stood up. “Oh! Look at that, it’s almost midnight. You guys must be exhausted; you’re more than welcome to stay here for the night.”

“What? Oh, no. We wouldn’t want to impose.” Sunset said as she stood up.

“No, really! I insist. You all deserve a moment’s rest.” Snow Diamond quickly replied. “Luckily, there are a few spare rooms you can use. Hope that’s okay.”

“Uh yeah, yeah. It’s okay.” Capper said. “But you don’t have to do this.”

“But I want to.” The unicorn insisted as she used her magic to lift the group off the floor and into the hallway of the house. “Now go, get some sleep. I’ll see you all in the morning, bright and early. Sweet dreams!”

The door quickly slammed shut, leaving Snow Diamond breathing heavily. She looked and noticed Violet Rose still in the room with her.

“Uh… are you okay, Miss Diamond?” Violet asked.

“Yeah, I’m fine, Violet.” Snow Diamond replied as she went over to a sofa; her horn glowed and the sofa turned into a makeshift bed. “But you should get some sleep, too.”

Before Violet could say anything else, Snow Diamond went into another room and closed the door behind her. The young mare was very confused, but she didn’t think about it too much and laid down on the sofa bed. Her eyes started to slowly close, sleep threatening to engulf her… until she heard an explosion followed by a female scream that seemed to have come from nowhere. Violet shot up and looked around, hoping she didn’t cause any damage by accident. Luckily she didn’t.

“What in the world…?” She asked herself before she noticed a green glow coming from a slightly opened door.

With her curiosity kicking in, she walked towards it and as she got closer, she could hear faint sobbing coming from the other side of the door. She stopped right at the door… only for the light to disappear. She heard another door open and felt a cold wind blow, causing the door she was standing beside to open even wider.

“Miss Diamond?” Violet quietly asked as she poked her head into the room; she saw the door leading outside wide open and walked over to it.

She looked and saw Snow Diamond standing out in the snow and looking up at the sky. Violet was about to say something when she heard the mare begin to sing.

“There was a time when colts were kind

When their voices were soft

And their words inviting

There was a time when love was blind

And the world was a song

And the song was exciting

There was a time

Then it all went wrong”

‘Wrong?’ Violet thought as she listened intently.

“I dreamed a dream in times gone by” Snow Diamond continued.

“When hope was high and life worth living

I dreamed, that love would never die

I dreamed that the Sun would be forgiving

Then I was young and unafraid

And dreams were made and used and wasted

There was no ransom to be paid

No song unsung, no trough untasted

But the monsters come at night

With their voices soft as thunder

As they tear your hope apart

As they turn your dream to shame

He spent a lifetime by my side

He filled my days with endless wonder

He took me on this wild ride

But they stole him when autumn came

And still I dream he'll come to me

That we will live the years together

But there are dreams that cannot be

And there are storms we cannot weather

I had a dream my life would be

So different from this curse I'm living

So different now from what it seemed

Now life has killed the dream

I dreamed…”

She sat down in the snow as fresh tears fell from her eyes. By now, Violet had started to cry too; she felt so moved by this mare she hardly knew and yet, she felt a strange connection with her… like she knew Snow Diamond all her life. She stepped forward, causing the snow to give a soft crunch the moment her hoof touched it.

“You loved someone?” She asked.

Snow Diamond didn’t move or say a word for a good two minutes until she finally solemnly answered, “…Yes, a long time ago.”

“And you lost them?”

“…You want to know what happened, don’t you?”

Violet said nothing, but nodded to herself. Snow Diamond stood up, walked back over to Violet, and put a hoof on her shoulder.

“I’ll tell everything, as long you don’t bring any of it up with your friends.” She said.

“I promise.” Violet said.

“Good… But let’s go somewhere more private.” Snow Diamond said before leading Violet back into the house, closing the door behind her.