Rosa

by awf

Chapter 21: Unexpected Talent

Rosa really wanted to be alone to think through her problems with Benjamin that night. She had been able to avoid Lillian while she did the laundry, but she knew the girl would come to her room at night. Was there a way to dissuade her?

Rosa didn't like what she was about to do, but she took a deep breath and went into her room. "Lillian, sweetie? I'm not feeling too good, do you think you could sleep in your own bed tonight?" She was already done with her evening ablutions and was sitting in her bed, waiting for the mare. "We'll read tomorrow, okay?"

Rosa didn't really have to fake feeling bad. The girl could plainly see on her face how troubled the mare was. "What's wrong, Rosa?" she asked, voice so full of concern it nearly broke Rosa's heart.

"I'm just- uh... my head hurts and I think it will be better after a good night's sleep."

It didn't make any sense and it was a complete lie. Rosa couldn't keep her ears up through it, nor could she look the girl in her face, but Lillian took it as truth. Rosa promised herself that she would make it up to her big time. She just needed one night to herself.

Lillian slid closer to the edge of her bed and threw her arms around Rosa's neck. She gave the pony a kiss on her nose. "Okay. I'll see you tomorrow!" she said cheerfully.

It was done and made Rosa slump a little with relief. Having lied to her little friend made her feel dirty, but she made sure to return Lillian's smile. "Thank you, sweetheart. I'll feel better tomorrow, I promise. We can do something fun, okay?"

"Um," the girl said tentatively, "can we have a tea party?"

It sounded both incredibly cute and super fun, actually. Rosa's grin widened. "Of course! That sounds lovely, Lillian!" she praised. Then she gave the girl a quick nuzzle and tucked her in the bed. On her way out Rosa rose up on her hind hooves so she could reach the light switch. "Good night, sweetie."

"Good night, Rosa!"

After gently shutting her door, Rosa dragged herself to her room and took the yellow dress off. For a moment she considered not bothering with the night gown, but she really couldn't afford any more failures. Besides, the silk dress wasn't too difficult, even if she still wasn't fully used to sleeping in it. Rosa crawled into her bed, then realized she had forgotten to turn the light off. With a long-suffering sigh she got up again and did that, before climbing under the covers once more. Could the day just end already?

Rosa didn't want to think, but she couldn't keep it out of her mind.

Benjamin.

He seemed far too young to be causing her such problems, but then again Rosa didn't have much experience with human boys. She was supposed to have learned all about how to deal with children in the School, but there hadn't been a class like 'young humans and their sexuality' anywhere, unless it was part of the final year, which Rosa had skipped through her strange, premature appointment. On the other hand, maybe such a class wasn't needed? Rosa remembered Mr. Greiner explaining about the illnesses she would be dealing with. Wasn't one of the common symptoms a delayed puberty? Rosa barked a short laugh. Not even a week out of school and already she was forgetting things. No wonder Benjamin was such a problem.

What to do about him, though? It wouldn't let her sleep. Rosa lifted herself up, hoofed the pillow a few times in a vain attempt to make it more comfortable, then flopped back down on her other side. No help, she was still wide awake and replaying her conversation with the boy over and over.

Maybe it was time for some humility?

She had tried being outraged, she had tried being his mentor, maybe it was time to try acting like his pet? It left a bad taste in her mouth just thinking about it, but maybe Benjamin would accept her then? Rosa could work on changing his mind later. Instructor Martha had told her to do everything and anything to make her child stay friendly. If she had to resort to physical restraint, she would have already failed. The woman most certainly wouldn't have been proud of the way Rosa had spoken with the boy that day.

She obviously wouldn't get much sleep, so Rosa got up yet again, turned her light back on and got the book from her desk. Luckily she hadn't left it in Lillian's room after their reading time that morning. She took it to bed, curled up, and flipped to the last page she could recall. At least it would help pass the time.

---

Rosa woke up with a snort and pulled her snout out of the book. She didn't even remember falling asleep. Blearily she tried to read a few sentences from the page, but couldn't really understand any of it. Luckily the page wasn't messed up. There was a drop of drool, which she wiped away, and the paper was a bit wrinkled because she had been sleeping on it, but otherwise the book was okay. Thank God for that. Rosa didn't want to explain to Mr. Boone that she had ruined one of his books.

Then she glanced out the window and tried to decide how early it was. There was a solid wall of fog outside. Not much help. A look at her alarm clock told her that it was very early. Not even six, yet. Her light was still on, so Rosa got out of the bed, stretched her sore muscles, and went to turn it off. Might as well start the day since she probably wasn't going back to sleep now, the mare thought to herself.

She took the opportunity before anyone else in the house was up to grab a shower and then got her mane in order. It felt like the face in the mirror belonged to a stranger. Rosa had certainly changed in the past week, there was no doubt. She liked to think it was for the better, though, but she feared it wasn't, and the stress of her new job was starting to show. She wasn't doing a very good job in the Boone household.

Leaning in closer, Rosa inspected her eyes. Not too puffy, considering the night she had had. A tiny bit of red, but that could just be from the shower and the shampoo. As a little extra touch Rosa rummaged in the drawer Mr. Boone had given her for her things and brought out Instructor Martha's gift perfume. Since she would be spending most of the day with the family it couldn't hurt to smell nice, right? She squirted a few puffs on herself, put the bottle away, and then hopped down so she could push the stool aside. Rosa also conscientiously grabbed her panties before leaving. She was already wearing the night gown which she had put on the moment she was dry, just in case the boy had an early morning need of the bathroom.

With what she had learned yesterday, his staring that time he had walked in on her showering took on very concerning undertones. Rosa shook her head a little and made her way back to her room. The key was to stay optimistic. She would go apologize to the boy and have a heart to heart with him, Rosa decided. It was going to be a good day. She had to keep trying, it was her job, after all.

Almost without realizing she started humming the little melody as she gently shut the door behind herself. A strange lump on the bed caught her eye and Rosa fell silent. A moment later the bulge sat up.

"Lillian?"

"Morning Rosa!" the girl squeaked. "Feeling better?"

The optimistic mood took hold and Rosa jumped up on the bed to give Lillian a big hug. "Oh yes. I feel a lot better. Sorry about yesterday..."

The child was quick to forgive. Her fingers played with her mane, messing it up a little but Rosa didn't mind. "It's okay. Mm, you smell nice."

"Thank you! It's a special perfume Instructor Martha has given me. I can loan you a bit so you can try it on!"

Lillian nodded enthusiastically, but didn't budge. Rosa guessed it would be an activity for later. Right at the moment it seemed they both wanted to spend a few minutes just cuddling in the morning. It was still early, too. Rosa could go check on the brother in a bit. The boy would probably be quite cranky if she woke him up too early on a Sunday.

"So, how did you sleep?" Rosa asked.

Lillian wasn't quite sure at first, but then she smiled. "I had a dream about you!"

"Oh? Wanna tell me all about it?"

---

Through sheer luck Rosa felt a bit warm, so both she and Lillian had climbed up on top of the covers mere minutes before the father came to check on them. It probably wouldn't have been a problem, but Rosa wanted to step carefully for a while. In either case, it looked like Mr. Boone didn't mind the way Lillian was leaning against the mare as they talked, but he might have had something to say if they were huddled under the blanket together.

"Breakfast in twenty minutes, Rosa," was all the man said.

"Of course, Mr. Boone. I'll bring the children down."

He also hadn't noticed that Rosa wasn't fully dressed. It was high time to do that. Rosa gently let Lillian slide down on the bed and went to rummage in the drawer. Luckily there was plenty of clean underwear, so she didn't have to do laundry that day. At least for herself - she would have to check the hamper downstairs and then she could decide. It wasn't like laundry was hard to do, just shove it into the machine and start it.

Rosa deftly stepped into the panties and got them about halfway up. Then she sighed and rolled to her back. With all four hooves available, she had found, it was easier to get the tail. She grumbled a little under her breath as she struggled with it.

"What's wrong?" Lillian asked. She was grinning in amusement and Rosa poked her tongue out at her.

"Ugh, it's just tricky to get my tail through that hole..."

The girl slid from the bed and grabbed the fabric in one hand and Rosa's tail in the other. "Here, lemme help," she said.

Rosa froze and Lillian had her tail easily through in a few seconds. Sometimes Rosa was really envious of fingers, she remembered. After they both stood up, Lillian kept hold of her tail so Rosa had an easier time pulling the panties up. It was a snap, unlike when she had to do it on her own.

"Thanks!"

The girl patted her withers and Rosa licked her on her forearm.

"Now go and wash up and I'll help you get dressed for breakfast, okay?"

"Mhm!"

Meanwhile Rosa made her way to Benjamin's room and softly knocked.

"Go away!" the boy said, guessing it was the mare.

"Benjamin? Breakfast will be ready in fifteen minutes."

He just repeated: "Go away!"

Rosa shook her head sadly. It was imperative she got through to the boy, and soon! When there was no movement from the room she cleared her throat and lowered her ears. He couldn't see, but the gesture was automatic for what Rosa was getting ready to say.

"Benjamin? Um... I'm sorry. I shouldn't have yelled yesterday."

There was no answer.

She sat on the floor, closed her eyes and leaned her head against the wood. "I'll talk with you after breakfast, okay? Just- I'm sorry."

Still nothing.

Rosa opened her mouth to try and say something else, but the bed squeaked a little as the boy got up from it. She pulled her head away just as the door opened and Rosa gave Benjamin her best, sorriest, big-round-shiny-eyes, flat-ears, lovable-pony look. It probably should have won her an Emmy or something.

"Fine. Go away," he said brusquely.

Rosa dared hope he was coming around. The 'fine' had sounded very promising!

Giving the boy a very bright smile, Rosa kept the ears down and the eyes large. "Thanks." She also leaned her head towards him, hoping for a pat. That would have been a true breakthrough.

Unfortunately Lillian came from the bathroom and hugged the mare from behind. Her smile widened.

"Hi, pony!" the girl said, as if she hadn't seen Rosa in a long time.

"Hey, little girl," the mare replied. "Let's get you ready for breakfast!"

When she looked back, Benjamin had already gone back into his room, but at least he had left the door open. Rosa saw him rummaging in his socks drawer.

"Fifteen minutes, Benjamin..."

He barely glanced at her. "Yeah, I got it. Now go away."

Maybe she was wearing him down, because it sounded like his heart was no longer in it. The 'go away' was perfunctory, without real venom in it.

Progress!

Rosa stood up and led the girl to her room. It was time to select for her a dress, hopefully something that would match Rosa's yellow one.

"So, here's an idea," she told Lillian, "I was hoping to do some gardening today for your mother - would you like to help? We can have your tea party after!" Rosa peered out the window at the impenetrable wall of white. "Well, if the weather clears up, anyway.

The help, of course, would involve Lillian sitting in the shadow and watching, or a bit of watering with the smaller can, or maybe putting a seed in a hole Rosa had dug. Nothing strenuous, of course. She would have to explain that very clearly to Mrs. Boone. It would be a fun activity for the girl, but Rosa would do absolutely all of the real work. There was no reason the mother would say no, and Rosa was already getting excited about their fun. Yes, it was shaping up to be a very good day indeed, despite how yesterday afternoon had gone.

It might still be possible for Rosa to salvage that family after all!

---

Rosa got permission and pretty soon she and Lillian found themselves out by the flowerbeds. Mr. Boone had been kind enough to hammer four sticks in the grass at the far end of the backyard and had tied a string around them to mark out a few square feet for Rosa's own 'garden'. Their tools were rudimentary, but Rosa's earth pony strength more than made up for what they lacked. Before long she had tilled the soil and picked out most of the grass. Rosa didn't know if she was supposed to do that, but it looked right. The first thing she could plant were some of Mrs. Boone's flowers, but the husband had already promised to bring her some seeds the next day after work. Carrots and lettuce and maybe some leek or onions or beets. Rosa didn't really care which, she was just excited that she could try!

Lillian turned out to be a good helper, despite Rosa's earlier intentions not to let her work. Fingers were just so overall useful and she seemed happy to pick out clumps of grass from the ground Rosa had overturned. It took some work with the spade, but she arranged the dirt into rough lines and poked a few holes at regular intervals. Rosa limited herself to just a couple for now, since she didn't want to run out of space for the vegetables. In a matter of minutes the pair had finished planting and then Rosa took Lillian to the side of the house where she had seen a faucet. Mrs. Boone had said they could use the watering can, but it was a very big one and Rosa couldn't let the girl carry it around by herself when it was full.

Lillian watched with admiration as the mare easily balanced the heavy thing on her back, which she had covered with a bit of old cloth to protect her grass from dirt. "How do you even do that? How come it doesn't fall?"

Rosa stopped and shifted her hips to keep the can upright. She had never really thought about it, if she was being honest. "Um, I don't really know. It just doesn't. I feel which way it's moving and I correct for it, I guess. It's just something ponies do."

The girl experimentally poked the can with her finger and Rosa had to sidestep wildly to keep it balanced.

"Hey!"

Rather than apologizing, Lilian giggled at the expression on her muzzle and Rosa couldn't help but join in. It wasn't like she could stay mad at her.

"Come on, let's get our flowers watered. You can put them in a vase in your room when they're grown, okay?"

"Okay!" Lillian agreed enthusiastically. It was a shame her mother had never tried introducing her to gardening. They could have bonded so much over it. Then again, perhaps she was that interested just because Rosa was the one doing it? Unfortunately they would never know, but it might be a good idea to involve Mrs. Boone in the future. It could change her disposition towards Rosa a whole lot. Maybe she could ask the lady for advice when she went to plant her vegetables? Like how deep to put the seeds and how often to water, that sort of thing. Rosa would have undoubtedly figured it out and something told her that she was good at gardening, but asking for help could bring the Mrs. around to liking her a bit more.

For the moment, Rosa focused on watering the few things she had gotten in the ground. There was far too much water for that, so she also freshened up Mrs. Boone's flowerbeds. Then, right at the end, she let Lillian take over and pour the last gallon or so herself. By that point the can had been light enough for her to manage.

"I can't believe you can just hold it with your teeth like that!" Lillian commented once the can was empty.

"It's another pony thing. We don't have hands and fingers like you," Rosa pointed out.

"Mhm."

Job well done, Rosa let Lillian take the watering can back to the house to store it with the other tools, while she went to fetch the shovel and the spade from her garden. She would have to clean them, so Rosa dragged the tools awkwardly back to the faucet to wash them. It didn't take long and Rosa left the implements leaning against the wall to dry while she went to inspect her handiwork again. Maybe she could even say 'hoof-i-work'? Would that be too cheesy?

Cheesy or not, seeing the neat little rows of brown dirt filled her with pride. She couldn't help smiling at her accomplishments. Rosa had been basically an "inside-pony" and had expected the rest of her life to pass mostly indoors, dealing with children, but she was so happy that she got this chance with the Boones. She might never have realized how much she loved working with green, growing things otherwise.

Rosa promised herself that she would think up some way to really thank Mrs. Boone, then went over to inspect the ground. There was still some grass growing here and there, but something told her that would sort itself out if she kept working that patch of ground.
It had all been so easy, too! Just digging and overturning earth, then raking a spade over it all to break the larger clumps and make neat rows. Seeing it all done filled the mare with pride.

Also, with heat.

Rosa glanced up and saw that the sun was nearly vertical. She had her straw hat, but it didn't seem to be working all that well. She was sweating as if she had just ran a marathon. Maybe it was time to get in the shade and have some water. Rosa headed to the faucet. She didn't mind drinking out of it. The water was clean and cool. After a few steps she swayed and had to sit down so she wouldn't fall over. Rosa felt dizzy and her head was spinning.

"Oh. Uh... Umm..."

She couldn't form coherent thoughts and for a moment she considered calling for help. She had never felt that bad before! Her stomach twisted and Rosa felt like she was going to be sick, but it passed in an instant and she just coughed dryly.

Was everything getting brighter?

She looked around herself and the world was definitely more full of light than it should have been just from the sun. It reminded Rosa a little of the School doctor with his super-bright light on the examination table. The colors seemed more... intense. Rosa nearly had to shade her eyes from all of it. The whites seemed to glow, the green of the grass was incredibly sharp, the red of the roof looked like fire.

Rosa opened her mouth to call out, but suddenly all the heat in her body concentrated in her rump. This time she did yelp, if only because it felt like someone was branding her with a red-hot iron. The mare jumped up to her hooves and twirled around to get away from whatever it was, but the heat followed her. She made a dash for the faucet to try and cool her burning side.

It was gone after a moment, leaving Rosa breathless and befuddled. The world returned to normal and she felt perfectly fine.

"What just happened?" she said out loud.

Had it been real?

By all rights, there should be a big, red burn on her rump somewhere. Rosa lifted up the dress and preemptively winced when she looked.

It wasn't a burn.

It was much worse.

"A cutie mark?!"

There it was, plain as day. A stylized image of a patch of dirt with a spade in it. Rosa twisted around and inspected her other flank. That one was empty, thank God. Unfortunately, one was enough. She was in a whole heap of trouble now.

"Rosa!"

The girl was calling for her from the garden. Rosa ducked around the house just before Lillian turned to look in her direction. She needed time to think.

Rosa suddenly realized she was in terrible danger.

"Oh, come on!" she moaned miserably. "On top of everything else?!"

Comments

[BleuBlooms]

Oh! This is getting good! I wonder if you can get two cutie marks that would be pretty dope.

[Mocha Star]

Great chapter. Can't believe it happened! Kinda did, but I wanna see what happens next!!

I hope to find out Rosa is Fluttershy's daughter. Lol