The Perfect Rose

by tom117z

9 - Alicorn of Love

Perfect Rose liked the park.

It was a good day for it too. But that was pretty easy to say since most of the time you’d always have a weather schedule to plan around. Though there was that one time a rogue cloud fell into Mrs Sunny Breeze’s bedroom down the street. That had been kinda funny.

But the sun was better. The wet just made her feathers all icky.

And now she had friends to share it with!

“Hey! No fair!” Sundance protested as sand was kicked into her mane. “Gah! Jerk!”

Bright Spark stuck his tongue out at the filly, idly kicking about more of the insides of the sandpit. “You started it!”

“Did not!”

“Did too!”

This was a common argument.

“Maybe you both started it and you’re both silly ponies?” Perfect Rose innocently suggested.

They both looked at the griffon. Then they glanced towards each other. And then, with a nod signifying their sudden unification against a common enemy, the two foals turned their evil gazes on Perfect Rose once more as a small pulse of magic sent a tidal wave sand towards her!

She gave out a startled SQUAWRK as the assault of sand hit her, leaving her looking somewhat like a sand sculpture.

She was displeased by this development.

“That’s it!”

Begun, the sand wars had.

Time Catcher shook his head in amusement as he watched the children diligently from a nearby bench, seeing the trio giggle and laugh as they kicked around the sand in some kind of impromptu conflict. They seemed to be enjoying themselves at least, though he suspected each would require a bath by the time they were done.

At least they could enjoy times like these. It had taken some doing to convince Sundance and Bright Spark’s parents that there was nothing different or dastardly about Perfect Rose, but the young griffon’s parents were nothing if not persistent. Once they had quelled any uneasiness the respective couples had felt, this and any future playdates had seemingly been secured.

The butler was glad for it. It was good to see the young madame out and about, after all.

It was enough to get the stallion to reminisce about his own younger days, the simplicity of life in the eyes of the young. Still, he was content to watch them experience such joys from the sidelines, likewise giving his employers some time to themselves for a change. Plus, he wasn’t exactly alone, he was charged with a most important task by Perfect Rose herself.

Safeguarding Fluffy.

The manticore doll was tired and needed a rest, apparently.

He had to wonder just what went through the griffon’s head at times.

‘Quite the active imagination, that one,’ he mused to himself, glancing at and regarding the lifeless doll. ‘At least she’s never lonely, I suppose.”

“I win!”

“Do not!”

“Do too!”

And there they went at it again. Maybe it was time for a cease-fire.

“Children, I do believe it is time for a spot of lunch,” Time Catcher announced, immediately gaining the attention of the three at the slightest mention of food. “Or I suppose I could let young Miss Fluffy have your shares.”

“No! She’s on a diet!” Rose instantly protested.

He raised an eyebrow at that. “Is she now? Well then, I suppose you’d better hurry. I see her going for the daisy sandwiches.”

“NOOO! Bad Fluffy!”

In a blur, suddenly Perfect Rose was upon them. She instantly went for the doll, chiding it as her friends followed along with an eagerness in their eyes at the promise of sustenance.

Chuckling, the butler lit his horn and lifted a basket from under the picnic bench. He set it on the table, taking a glance through it. Daisy sandwiches, apples, some other such pieces of fruit… Ah, and a little bit of chicken as a treat specifically for Perfect Rose. He had ensured to keep it separate from the rest, wrapped in some silver foil at the bottom.

He unpacked the basket, bringing it all out and arranged in an orderly and professional manner. The children all eyed the incoming treats with barely withheld glee, all but ready to jump on the lot of it.

“Take your seats, remember your manners,” he told the three of them. “I know you’re eager but let us not forget basic decorum.”

“Uh-huh. Food now?” Bright Spark asked quickly.

He gave him a stern look.

“…Please.”

“Moderately better,” he remarked. “Very well. As they say in the city of Prance, Bon Appetite.”

They had no idea what he just said, but it mattered little. Yums awaited.

Time Catcher watched silently as the three dug in, quickly grabbing what they wanted and getting on with demolishing it to the last crumb. Sundance went for a simple daisy sandwich and some apple juice, seemingly starting small. Perfect Rose was much the same, though she added a few carrot sticks and an extra sandwich to her load. Bright Spark, meanwhile, hit up everything he could from sandwiches to apples to a tall glass of ice-cold lemonade.

And then he went for that little foil wrap.

“Ah-ah-ah! I’m afraid that’s not for you,” Time Catcher informed him, catching the wrapped chicken just in time.

“Huh?”

“This is for you, young Madame,” he continued, passing the foil over to Perfect Rose as she got to work unveiling its contents.

“Yee!” she squeed. “Thank you thank you!”

“Ewww…” Bright Spark moaned. “That looks gross.”

“To us, it would be,” Time Catcher noted. “Thus why I stopped your little food heist. Perfect Rose eats a few things we can’t, courtesy of being an omnivore.”

“Omni-wha?”

“Suffice to say her palette is more varied.”

“…I…?”

He levelled him a deadpan stare. “She can eat more than you, young colt.”

“No fair!”

“Is too!” Perfect Rose shot back.

Bright Spark grumbled about it, but the colt soon forgot the whole thing as he dug into his own pile of gathered good and gained a content sandwich-filled smile in short order.

It was quite a peaceful scene in all, Time Catcher himself sitting back with a spare apple as the kids continued to enjoy themselves.

And then one of them perked up.

“Woah!” Bright Spark said. “A pegacorn!”

Time Catcher frowned, turning to look over his shoulder.

His eyes widened at the pink pony he saw, standing by a purple filly that was sitting on a swing set with her muzzle in a book. The pink pony in question had both a horn and wings on her back, standing slightly taller than most other ponies, a crystalline heart sitting on her flank.

Princess Mi Amore Cadenza herself.

“Woah, a Princess!” Sundance said with glee.

“With Celestia’s pupil, no doubt,” Time Catcher mused, regarding the filly for a moment before turning back to his own entourage. “Let them be. Their business is their own.”

“But-”

“No buts,” he sternly chided. “She is a Princess of Equestria, she deserves her privacy.”

Sundance sagged. “Oh… okay…”

Perfect Rose shifted uncomfortably, looking towards the pair by the swings with cautious curiosity.

“Don’t you want me to push you? Not even for old times sake?” the Princess asked. “You have to get out of the book sometime.”

“Nuh-uh!” the older filly denied. “The Princess wants me to study!”

“She also wants you to take a break every once in a while, Twilight,” the alicorn rebutted. “Come on, not even for me…?”

The Princess gave Twilight a pout, the filly shifting uncomfortably in her seat.

“O-okay…” she finally relented. “But only if we can do the sunshine dance after!”

Cadenza giggled. “You never need to barter with me for the sunshine dance, Twily.”

Perfect Rose didn’t know what that was, but she was more preoccupied with sinking into her chair and trying to place Time Catcher between her and the Princess. She’d heard what some older ponies thought of her, would she be the same? She didn’t want to look like a bad filly in front of the Princess. Princesses could send people to prison. She didn’t want to go there.

“Are you well, Madame?” Time Catcher asked her, noticing her discomfort.

“Hm…” she replied noncommittally.

“I could show her my magic, though…!” Sundance piped up again, apparently still wanting to meet the Princess. “See, watch this!”

Sundance’s horn lit up and, before anypony could stop her, her lunch shot into the air with an extra burst of barely controlled mana!

…Straight into the sandpit.

“EEP!” the filly shouted in surprise, mouth gaping as her lunch become rolled up in a few layers of sand. “I… But…”

Her lip began to quiver.

“Oh dear!” All eyes turned back towards the swings, Time Catcher, in particular, looking rather surprised as the Princess took notice of them with a look of concern. “One moment, Twily.”

The alicorn picked up her saddlebag, beginning to wander over the table. Perfect Rose tried even harder to shrink herself down to an unnoticeable level, Sundance continuing to stare off at her ruined lunch with an expression of heartbreak while Bright Spark had no idea what was happening.

Time Catcher, with a look that seemed to be just short of panic, stood up to face the incoming Princess of Equestria.

“M-my apologies, your Highness,” he said with a bow of his head. “Just a small lunchtime accident, we didn’t mean to disturb you.”

She rolled her eyes. “Oh, it’s not a bother! I remember Twilight doing something similar when she was a little younger.”

In the background, the purple filly seemed to cross her hooves in a show of indignation.

“Here, let me,” the Princess said, lighting her horn and lifting a small lunchbox out of her saddlebags. “I have a few spare things from earlier. Take your pick!”

“Oh, Princess! You really don’t need to…” Time Catcher said, even as Sundance’s face lit up like a Hearth’s Warming tree. “I have plenty spare.”

“It’s no bother, it would only go to waste otherwise,” she insisted in turn. “Besides, I can’t stand to see a little filly get upset over such a silly little thing. That was some strong magic there, young lady.”

“I wanted to show you it!” Sundance replied happily. “It went a bit whoosh, but I was really trying!”

“Hey, I’m meant to be the wizard!” Bright Spark protested with a huff.

“I’m sure you’re both going to be amazing,” Cadenza noted diplomatically before her attention then settled onto the shy griffon. “Hello again, Perfect Rose.”

She perked up slightly. “Huh? I… don’t know you…”

“You wouldn’t remember, I met you when you were really little,” she replied. “You were the cutest thing…”

The young griffon blushed, her feathers bristling. “I’m not cute…”

The Princess tittered behind a hoof at the adorable display. “Of course not. What was I thinking?”

“Fluffy is the cute and pretty one!” Rose then continued, holding up the doll with her former shyness dissolving quickly. “Sundance says so too!”

“Oh, I see you have a friend!” the alicorn noted enthusiastically. “Twily has something similar. Smarty Pants.”

“Ohhh. Is she smart?”

“Very.”

“What kind of pony wears pants…?” Bright Spark wondered aloud.

Perfect Rose ignored him. “So, we really actually met?”

“Of course, I remember it well. And we have something in common, you and I,” the Princess told her.

“Really?”

“I was also adopted, you know.”

“But you’re a Princess. How could you be adopted?”

“I wasn’t always a Princess,” she said with a shake of her head. “My parents are earth ponies from a rather isolated little village. Even Princess Celestia is my adoptive aunt. I only came here when I was a little older than you.”

Perfect Rose let this information sink in. She couldn’t fathom a princess not being from Canterlot. That seemed weird. But… here she was, telling her just that.

But then…

“Did anypony think you were mean…” the griffon asked timidly. “Because you were different?”

Cadenza gave her a sympathetic look. “I… got a few odd glances at first. But you shouldn’t mind what other ponies think, it doesn’t matter.”

“Huh?”

“Look at your friends. They love you, as does your family I’m almost certain,” the Princess noted with a glance at the foals in question. “And your Fluffy of course.”

She grabbed her doll quickly and lovingly. “Fluffy!”

“Exactly. Don’t let a few meanies get you down, okay? I happen to know you’re a wonderful little filly. Or would it be-”

“Filly will do fine, we’ve gotten used to using terms interchangeably,” Time Catcher informed the Princess. “But… you have my thanks for your kind words, Princess. She has had a bit of trouble at school with one or two of the children.”

“It happens, I know that quite well. Anyway, I’m sure you don’t want to hear me go on for hours on end. Who wants some extra treats?”

“ME!” all the children shouted at once.

But the sweetest treat for Perfect Rose was the newfound knowledge that, despite the grumblings she heard in the dark, she had a Princess who was just like her. And she might have even made a new friend.

That made her feel a little bit warmer on the inside.

Comments

[JMP]

The more reassurances Rose gets that being different is ok the better. This was a great second meeting.

[The Voice in the Water]

Sand golem Rose was a delightful mental image.

[dzamie]

Absolutely adorable!

[Rosie Quill]

“Oh, I see you have a friend!” the alicorn noted enthusiastically. “Twily has something similar. Smarty Pants.”

“Ohhh. Is she smart?”

“Very.”

“What kind of pony wears pants…?” Bright Spark wondered aloud.

Lyra.
..humans!!!!