Rosa

by awf

Chapter 74: Smitten

Rosa had had a brilliant idea during lunch. She could help in the kitchen to pass the time! The camp was a busy place and all the ponies seemed very driven as they went about their tasks. In some ways, it reminded her of the School, except stricter and with fewer humans. Rosa also felt weird that she didn't have anything to do, so she went to offer her help in the camp's makeshift kitchen. It was amazing how happy the cooking staff were for something as simple as washing dishes after the meal. It was worth the effort just for their reaction and it gave Rosa a nice, warm feeling of pride.

Not to mention that she now knew several ponies and one human by name and, as an added little bonus, they had let her take some fruit for herself and Sky Light in a simple canvas bag. Rosa had a feeling about what the mare was probably doing with the captain and, if she was right, Sky would need some sugar after it. On second thought, Rosa ducked back into the kitchen tent and grabbed a plastic bottle of water. Sky Light would probably thank her.

Armed with both of those, Rosa made her cautious way back to the tent they'd been given. She paused before the entrance and focused her ears. There was no moaning or grunting or - the thought made her grimace - wet, slapping sounds, but that didn't mean anything. They could just be catching their breath.

"Now or never," Rosa murmured and pushed her way inside. It took a few seconds for her eyes to adapt to the gloom and then Rosa relaxed. Sky Light was on her cot, snoring softly, and there was no sign of the captain. It was still pretty obvious he'd been there, though. Her friend's bed looked a little more 'trampled' than Rosa remembered and the mare herself was somewhat disheveled. There was also the smell. One good whiff of that and Rosa quickly retreated back to the tent flap and pulled it open to let some fresh air in.

The sudden light woke up Sky Light and she blinked at the newcomer a few times before recognition made her smile. "Oh, hi, Rosa," she whispered, her voice barely above a sigh.

"I guess Zephyr has duties?"

"Mhm!" the mare nodded happily. "Damn that's a fine rump on that stallion. Mmm-mm!" Maybe Sky couldn't see Rosa blush against the bright outside? It was the only explanation, because she just kept going: "Man, can he go!"

"Yeah, f-fine, I got you some-"

Sky Light just talked right over Rosa, as if she hadn't heard: "I should have tried military a long time ago, these colts have discipline.! Oh, and that tongue!"

"TOO MUCH INFORMATION!"

That finally got Sky Light's attention and she fell silent. Thankfully. "What? I'm just saying!"

"I didn't want to know all that!"

The pegasus shrugged a little and chuckled to herself. At least the air had finally cleared enough and Rosa could step all the way inside once more. Then she slipped her bag off and laid it next to her friend.

Unfortunately Sky didn't notice it at first. "I'm sure captain Zephyr Gale has a few nice friends, Rosa. I can hook you up if you like!"

"Thanks, but no..." Rosa replied, face absolutely burning.

"Still holding out for that colt from the School? Yeah, I can respect that. Colts like determination in a mare."

"God, just shut up and listen! I got you water and some fruit!"

Rosa was instantly sorry for snapping at her, but Sky Light took it in stride and just laughed at the outburst. She didn't say anything more and went to rummage in the bag Rosa had brought. She lifted up a slightly wrinkled apple and immediately bit off half of it. "S'good," she commented, of course with her mouth full.

Shaking her head to herself slightly, Rosa gave her bed a longing glance. It had been a long couple of days and the nap from earlier had barely taken the edge off. No. Sundown, she'd decided. It was her best hope of getting her sleep rhythm back into whack. In the face of that determination, Rosa took a risk and went to sit on the edge of her bed. "You should drink something," she told Sky.

Sky Light rummaged in the bag again and brought out a plastic bottle. Rosa recognized the shape of Coca-Cola, but the label had been peeled off and now it was just water. The pegasus didn't comment as she unscrewed the cap and lifted the thing up to her muzzle, gripping with both her forehooves. She didn't put it back down until it was half-empty. "Thanks, I really needed that," the mare said with a smile. Then she held the bottle out.

Rosa wasn't particularly thirsty, but she took a swig anyway and then handed it back for Sky Light to finish.

"So, what's the plan?" the pegasus finally asked.

"Plan?"

"Yeah, what are we doing?"

Rosa opened her mouth to answer, but realized she had no idea. "I honestly don't know. I guess we go and talk to some ponies about Equestria? I still think I wanna go there..."

Sky Light was easy to read, the way her ears folded down and she frowned were good giveaways. "So you don't wanna go traveling with me then?"

The dejection in her voice almost made Rosa groan in frustration. Why was this so hard for her to grasp?! "Of course I do!" she said forcefully. "Look, Sky, if you ask me to stay, I'll stay! We've been through too much..."

The other mare gave Rosa an appraising look. "Yeah, I guess we have."

She hadn't contradicted so Rosa decided to continued with a bit more hope. "What I'd really like is for us to go bum around Equestria. Just imagine - a place run by ponies!"

"Doubt it's that much different from Earth, though."

"That's why we need to go and ask about it! Get some first-hand testimony or something."

The mare held up her hooves and closed her eyes. "Okay, okay. Let's not fight about this. I'll go with you and talk to ponies, alright? Just promise me you haven't decided yet. If we're deciding, let's give all options a fair try!"

That one was a no-brainer. Despite the allure of the mythical Equestria, Rosa felt that she hadn't had that bad of a time with Sky Light and her large circle of friends and acquaintances in the city. "I promise." An idea occurred and Rosa smiled a little at the mare, who was suddenly peering back at Rosa with deep suspicion.

"What?!" Sky Light asked cautiously.

"Don't you wanna have a place of your own someday? Don't get me wrong, sleeping in a broken down van is fun and all, but a little house out in the country?"

Sky Light thought she understood where Rosa was going and crossed her forelegs. "'m perfectly happy in the city," she muttered darkly.

"Oh yeah? What if Mr. Captain pony would like to settle down somewhere in Equestria?"

It hit home and Sky Light's ears folded down immediately.

The moment it was out of Rosa's mouth she was already sorry and quickly rushed over to put her hooves around her friend. "Sorry, that wasn't cool."

Sky Light heaved a deep sigh, then relented and gave Rosa a nuzzle. "No, it wasn't. I hate that you're right, though."

"I'm what?!"

"Right," Sky Light repeated and shrugged Rosa off. "It's something I'll have to think about." Rosa just stared in shock as Sky went on, mostly to herself: "I know I've only known him for a day, but- I don't know Rosa," she began, her voice at the same time sad and full of wonder, "I think there's really something there." She gave half of a chuckle, then pushed herself away so she could stare right in Rosa's eyes. "I used to laugh about all that 'lovey-dovey' mushy stuff, but now? I just don't know." Her head lowered and the pegasus focused exclusively at her hooves. "I feel good when I'm with Zephyr. Safe. Like somepony actually gives a crap about me."

"I always-"

She interrupted with a careful hoof on Rosa's muzzle and a smiled. "I know, I know. You're a good friend, Rosa. But Zephyr is... more. Nothing against you, understand? It's just..." She muttered something too quickly for Rosa to hear.

"What?"

This time the whisper was a tiny bit louder: "I think I'm in love."

Rosa couldn't help grinning like an idiot. "Aww." She put her hooves again around Sky who didn't fight it. Instead, she leaned her head against Rosa's withers and hugged her right back.

"Plus," Sky Light went on, right in Rosa's ear, "he's really good in bed. Like, the best I'd ever had."

"Sky Light... no."

That mare sometimes...

---

Pretty soon after fetching her friend out of their tent, Rosa and Sky Light ran into a couple of very friendly ponies, and now they were happily telling them what life was like in Equestria. The pristine, almost albino white pegasus was Snow Dove and her friend, an earth pony was Almond Hooves. Rosa wasn't yet used to these descriptive and colorful Equestrian names, but their new friends didn't seem to mind her fumbling a little. Ultimately Rosa settled on 'Snow' and 'Almond', which they seemed okay with.

It would still be a good idea to start getting a grip on the etiquette. Rosa used a momentary lull in conversation to ask: "Oh, by the way, does everyone in Equestria always use the full name?"

The pair looked at each other, then Snow spoke up: "What do you mean?"

Rosa pointed a hoof at her. "Well, I'm just calling you 'Snow', but Almond always calls you 'Snow Dove'. Is it, um, rude to shorten a pony's name?"

The mare giggled a bit. "Oh, heavens no! I guess it's just habit, but nopony will mind if you shorten it. For example, back in Ponyville where I lived, there's this earth pony farmer called 'Applejack', but most of her friends just call her 'AJ'."

"Huh. Okay. Just let me know if I say something impolite, okay? I don't know any of this stuff!"

Snow Dove reached over the table and put her hoof on Rosa's. "You're doing fine, Rosa. Just relax. We're just ponies, right?"

"So, the town is actually called 'Ponyville'?" Rosa asked.

"Sure thing!" Almond confirmed.

"Isn't that, um, a little on the nose?"

Both equestrian ponies blinked at her, then looked at each other. "Uh, what do you mean, Rosa?" Snow asked.

"Well," she was suddenly embarrassed to be talking this way about their home, "all these places have very pony-themed names, don't you think? Canterlot, Baltimare, Ponyville..."

"Humans do the same thing," Almond pointed out. "I heard of places named after actual people: Jacksonville, Lincoln, Hamilton..."

Rosa couldn't really argue that, so she just shrugged a little and nodded to concede the point. "Okay, I guess it just sounds weird because I know absolutely nothing about Equestria."

Snow started smiling at those words. "It's a beautiful place, Rosa. That's part of the reason we're here. We wanna bring as many ponies back as we can."

"At least that used to be the plan," Almond grumbled a little and Sky Light suddenly snapped around.

"Huh?" she said, "what's that supposed to mean?"

Both Snow and Almond looked sad for a moment, but the mare recovered faster. She forced a smile back on her muzzle. "Don't worry, I'm sure we'll be right back on that now Princess Luna is back."

It was not really an answer, but Sky Light looked at the entrance again and Rosa guessed that was it from her for the moment. She considered pursuing the question some more herself, but it was making their new friends visibly uncomfortable.

"You were the ones that broke the Princess out, right?" Almost asked, effectively changing the topic.

"Mhm! Well, It was mostly Starlight Glimmer, but me and Sky helped!"

"Cool, that's cool. Thanks!"

That seemed to settle it for now, so Rosa went back to her long list of questions: "So, what's like living in Equestria? Are there jobs, or do you all just share stuff, or what?"

From the few tidbits Rosa had heard before, she had in mind something like the old socialism from Mr. Marston's history lectures.

"We have jobs," Snow assured her. "You can do whatever your cutie mark is and nopony will stop you, or you can do something else and keep your calling as a hobby. And of course ponies help each other if there's trouble, it's just the neighborly thing to do!"

Rosa twisted her neck around to glance at her cutie mark and smiled a little. She would be able to get a job gardening and she'd probably get paid for it. It really was sounding better and better.

"How about you, Sky?" Rosa asked, completely absent-mindedly.

"Huh? What?" her friend started, looking back in confusion.

"What'd you do for a job if we went to Equestria?"

Her cutie mark was a four-leaf clover and she had once told Rosa it meant that she was good at games of chance. Rosa took a wild stab at it and addressed her question to Snow: "Are there, uh, like jobs for people who play casinos all day?"

Almond started laughing, but Snow was able to control herself, aside from an occasional chortle. "Well, it depends on your definition of 'job', but in Sky's case?"

Snow Dove craned over the table to take another look at Sky's flank, then frowned a little in thought. "I guess something like a commentator on those big, high-stakes poker games? Maybe play a tournament or two every now and then? She could definitely get a job running blackjack tables or something in Los Pegasus, I think."

This sounded more interesting than watching the entrance and Sky Light started paying some serious attention. "You guys have actual casinos in Equestria then?"

"Sure! But I think the odds of winning are a bit better than on Earth," Almond said.

"Sweet!"

It felt like her friend might slowly come around, as long as Rosa didn't push her, and allowed her to arrive at the conclusion by herself. Rosa just hoped they'd have enough time. She was about to ask her next question, but Sky Light turned around and gave a very small gasp. Rosa followed her gaze and saw that her coltfriend had just come in.

Before Rosa could even say hello, Snow and Almond had already jumped from the bench they were sitting on and saluted.

"At ease," the captain said, even while he was returning the salute. "None of us are on duty at the moment."

Their two new friends quickly relaxed and went back to sitting, while Zephyr Gale walked over to give Sky Light a very affectionate nuzzle. "Hey sugarcube," he said softly.

Rosa could already see Almond rolling his eyes a little and Snow watching with a kind of eager fascination. Her little smile told Rosa exactly how cute she found the scene, but the mare wouldn't say anything in front of her superior officer.

"I see you met Rosa and Sky Light," Zephyr went on after his hug. He sat right beside his marefriend and casually draped a wing around her. For her part, Sky was just leaning heavily against the colt. She really was smitten, judging from that absent smile on her muzzle.

"So, um, Zephyr," Rosa began, wondering if she should have said 'captain', "I was wondering if there's something I could help with?"

"Hmm?"

He seemed just as out of it all as Sky Light. Those two almost forgot that the world existed when they were together. Rosa idly wondered if she'd feel the same way about Paolo. Seeing that there wouldn't be any help from him, Rosa redirected her question to Snow: "I hate just sitting around and doing nothing. I'm sure I can help out. I did the dishes in the kitchen after lunch, but maybe there's something more useful?"

The mare looked thoughtful as she considered it. "I guess you can always go ask Princess Cadence?"

Almond was shaking his head, but Snow placed a hoof on his shoulder and he stops. "She always had more of an 'open-door' policy. I'm sure she'd be happy to find you something to do."

Despite Almond's obvious misgivings about bothering the Princess directly, Rosa could still see his approving look. "I think I'll go do that. These two are kinda out of it for the next couple of hours, it seems." Rosa indicated the couple next to her, who had their heads together and were whispering something even she couldn't overhear. They hadn't even noticed her talking about them.

"Yeah, and we should go check our gear before going on duty. It's been nice meeting you, Rosa! Hope we can talk again later!"

Rosa smiled back at the pegasus and waved a hoof. "I'd like that! Thanks!"

The pair picked up their trays and took them back to the kitchen. Rosa hadn't gotten dinner yet because it felt a little early in the day for that. Despite her slight jealously at watching them eat, she hadn't changed her mind. Perhaps that broken implant's chemical thing was over?

She just had one thing left to do before she left: "Um, Sky?" The mare didn't respond, so Rosa prodded her with a hoof. "Hellooo? Sky?!"

Finally she tore herself away from looking in the captain's eyes and turned her befuddled smile on Rosa instead. "Oh, Rosa! Hi! Did- um, did you want something?"

"I'll go talk with Cadence. Are you going to need the tent?" Rosa asked.

"The tent?" her pegasus friend tried to understand what the words meant, then her face cleared up. "Oh, yeahyeahyeah! Tent! We'll, um, be there. No privacy in the barracks."

Rosa had a pretty good idea what they'd be doing, too. It might be beneficial to stay away from the tent until she could be sure the captain was gone. Hopefully Cadence really did have something for her to do. "Well, see you around, I guess."

There was no answer, Sky Light had already gone back to smiling demurely at the stallion, her ears partially lowered and her tail swishing around excitedly.

It was at the same time funny and scary how hard this was hitting her. Rosa was starting to believe that love at first sight really did exist. She didn't bother the couple anymore and just took her leave, humming her little happy song as she went.

Once outside, Rosa fumbled a few notes as she almost bumped into a squad of ponies marching past, but she picked it back up and added a bit more of her voice: "La la, la la la..."

"Nice song!" someone commented from her side and Rosa turned to look, falling silent.

It was the unicorn from Cadence's tent - the one with the paperwork.

"Oh, hi, um-" she quavered.

"Mystic Comet, at your service," he introduced himself with a slight bow of his head.

It was still light enough outside so Rosa could take a better look at him than the gloom of the tent from that morning had allowed. She gasped a little. "Oh my gosh!" Rosa couldn't help saying as she stared. "Your coat!"

The unicorn, an older one, chuckled a little. "Never met a Crystal Pony, right?"

Rosa wordlessly shook her head. His coat - emerald and a bit faded - was absolutely sparkling in the setting sun! His mane was gray, which Rosa didn't know if it was his natural color or a sign of age, and he had an equally gray beard. Whichever it was, it didn't keep her gaze like his coat did. It was glittering and shining and sparkling all at the same time.

"That's amazing! It's so beautiful! And the sparkle! Wow!"

"Why thank you, young lass!" he laughed. "You sure know how to make an old pony feel young again, don't you?"

The comment made Rosa blush and she finally tore her eyes away. That seemed to remind the unicorn about what he'd been asking. "Anyway, that song you were singing - do you know what it is?"

Rosa shook her head and explained once more: "I don't know where it's from. I've just always known it."

The pony scratches his bear with a hoof. "Hmm, I could swear I heard it before. Sing it again?"

It took some concentration and Rosa was very self-conscious, but she gave it a try anyway.

"Hmm. I think I heard it back in the Crystal Empire, but I don't know where."

Rosa shrugged a little and tried to find an explanation. "Maybe it's just one of those little tunes that pop up everywhere? It's not really complicated."

The old stallion conceded. "Yeah, maybe. Anyway, thanks for the compliment!"

He was about to walk away, but Rosa called after him: "Wait, um, Mystic Comet!" Something told Rosa that a full name would be more appropriate for an older pony. He paused and looked back. "I'm looking for Princess Cadence."

"Still?" he asked, then burst out laughing before Rosa could explain. "Just a joke, lass. I daresay she's in her tent with Princess Luna. Don't be shy, just go in and ask what you must." He came back and lowered his voice. "It's been a hard couple of months on the Princess, but she's always been a very open and kind ruler."

Rosa smiled back in gratitude and nodded her head. "Thanks!"

He gave her another small bow and then walked into the mess tent. Rosa took a look around to get her bearings again, then headed for the large tent which belonged to Cadence. The unicorn was something like her bookkeeper, Rosa guessed, judging from the paperwork he had been shuffling earlier in the morning, so if he'd said it was okay to just go see her, then she could probably do that. The thought was encouraging and Rosa picked up her pace a little.

Comments

[Mocha Star]

The best part of my day is waking up and seeing an update on this story.
Nice chapter and it's good to see Sky in love, again. Lol
When are they gonna start calling Rosa Morning Dew? 🌞