Rosa

by awf

Chapter 9: Goodbyes

Rosa's news came as a shock to all her roommates. Iskra in particular didn't seem to want to let her go as she sniffled with her face pressed against her neck.

"Hush, sweetie. It's just an assignment. A little earlier than I expected, but just two years."

The pegasus managed to unstick her muzzle long enough to give Rosa a sorrowful look. "Yes, but by then I'll be on my assignment and so will the others." Her wailing was really starting to affect everyone.

"We'll stay in touch, I promise! Instructor Martha said I can send her letters and she'll pass them on to you."

The pony squeezing her almost in twain wasn't too comforted by the promise at all. Rosa really wished Iskra would stop weeping, or else she herself might start as well. A glance at her other friends told her they felt the same. Even Amethyst, despite her forced smile.

"This isn't forever, okay? Who knows, maybe I can visit sometimes, and I already promised I'll write," Rosa argued.

Valentina gathered up her courage and stepped closer to pry the crying pegasus off her friend's shoulder. "We know, Rosa. We trust you."

"Besides, this is an amazing opportunity. I'll have two little humans to watch over and Mr. Boone might donate some more money to the School. That way you all get nice things!"

It sounded hollow, even to Rosa, but such was life. She had always known she would part from her roommates someday. It had just been bumped up a little. This would have been her final year no matter what, but Rosa decided not to point that out.

"We're really happy for you," Felicity piped up with a brave smile on her muzzle. "We all believe in you, right girls?"

There was a chorus of vaguely affirmative squeaks.

Rosa decided to spill the surprise she had been saving up and lighten the mood. "Instruct Martha said we can have a going-away party. She'll get us some sweet punch and chips, and she'll let us borrow a few board games from the rec room."

The news helped a little and the roommates were starting to smile for real. Rosa still hadn't told Paolo, but at least that solved her indecision about the colt. Definitely nothing would happen with him now.

Her first real assignment. True, it was not one she had been expecting, but it was close enough. A bit of light housework, which Rosa didn't mind, and taking care of two lovely children.

Just as she started wondering what they would be like, Amethyst jabbed a hoof in her side. "Hey, snap out of it. You belong to us for the next four days, okay?"

The forceful way she had said it made Rosa smile. "Okay," she agreed.

"Good. So go get the iPad from the colts and let's watch another movie!"

It did sound good, except... "I'd love to, but I have to finish my homework."

"Subject?" Felicity asked curtly.

"Geometry."

The mare made her way to the locker beside Rosa's bed and opened it.

"What are you doing?"

She barely glanced back. "I'll finish it for you, while you get the movie started. I don't mind missing a bit of it."

That was completely not the point of homework and Rosa opened her muzzle to say so, but Valentina blocked her mouth with a hoof. "She's right," she said. "Who cares about homework now. Get the movies."

She also prodded the other mare at Rosa's side: "Amethyst, you probably have something from the kitchen stashed behind your bed, right?"

Rosa's head spun around. "You know? Since when!?"

"A few days," Valentina answered, blushing a little. "I asked Amethyst why she and you were late Tuesday night."

Her partner-in-crime didn't hesitate as she went to her bed. There was a scraping sound and a rustle as she moved it aside and brought out a chocolate. "I was saving this," she said as she hobbled back on three legs so she can hold the treasure out to Rosa, "but I think now is a good time."

It was one of those big, milky chocolate bars with hazelnuts. Rosa gaped at it for a moment, then looked up to Amethyst's face.

"Will gave it to me," she admitted, her normally apricot muzzle going pink.

Both roommates looked at Rosa expectantly and she wondered what they wanted.

"Um, the iPad?" Valentina pointed out.

"Oh! Right! Sorry!" Rosa nearly hoofed herself in the face.

Even Iskra seemed to be cheering up a little as Rosa made her way to the door. It was early enough that the guard hadn't yet come around to check on them, so ponies were still visiting with their friends in other rooms. Maybe it would seem a bit strange if whichever human was on duty tonight found her with the colts, but they probably wouldn't make a fuss, other than remind her to be back in her dorm before ten.

"I'll be right back. Let's hope they let me have it tonight..."

Felicity looked up from the desk. "Tell them it's your last week. They can't say no if it's your last chance."

It sounded reasonable.

---

"You're what?" Paolo asked in wide-eyed shock.

"I got my assignment. I'm leaving on Monday," Rosa explained again.

The other colts were also staring at her, but none seemed as disappointed as her pegasus friend.

"B-But you c-can't," Paolo stuttered a little. "I was- we were..." His words failed him and his ears flopped down. He even blushed a little. "I really like you."

"You can still do it, you know?" Martin pointed out. "Just hide in the shower. Adonai can stay at the door and listen for the guard."

Rosa's cheeks began to look as red as the wrapper on Amethyst's chocolate. So did Paolo's, for that matter.

The older colt looked from her to Paolo and back. "What? I thought you were going to do it. Should've done it, anyway."

"B-But it's-" Rosa mumbled, then fell back to more certain ground: "It's against the rules."

All the colts looked at her strangely after that. Then Martin and Jon started laughing and even Adonai had to hold a wing over his muzzle.

"I'm not like that!" Paolo muttered at his roommate angrily. "We were... just friends." The loss in his voice was palpable.

"Hmph," Martin huffed, then stepped between Rosa and the miserable pegasus. "Well, his loss," the large colt told her. "I can still give it to you good. Y'know, a going away present. If that featherbrain pipsqueak doesn't want it."

Her mouth gaped and Rosa unconsciously shrank away and hunched her shoulders, trying to look small and unattractive.

It didn't quite work and Martin leered a bit at her. "Got a cute rump there, I wouldn't mind giving that a go."

"N-NO!" she finally managed.

Martin shrugged to himself, but didn't seem too disappointed. "Shame, but suit yourself."

Rosa nearly rushed out of there, but she didn't want to face her roommates without the promised movie. "Can you let me borrow the iPad a few times before I have to go?"

The insulting colt leaned his head to the side and looked at her appraisingly. Rosa just knew he'd demand something in return. Something she would be unwilling to give.

She was just about to sigh and walk away, when Martin spoke up. "Sure."

"You will?!"

There was an inkling of gratitude working through the mountain of annoyance at his forward manner. She might be willing to forgive him if he let her borrow the iPad every night until Monday.

"You're leaving Monday, right? Bring it back before breakfast."

Rosa almost couldn't believe it. That sounded downright decent of-

"Oh," the colt interrupted her thoughts. "That is, if you'd do us all a little favour. Especially my good friend Paolo here." With that, Martin grabbed his pegasus roommate and pulled him into an unwelcome hug. Poor Paolo was still quite red in the face and wouldn't meet Rosa's eyes.

"What?" she asked slowly and cautiously, not wanting to appear as if she was agreeing to anything.

"Oh, nothing much," Martin said and his muzzle split into a wide, insolent grin. Even his eyes twinkled as he winked at her. "When you leave, just make sure to... sway a bit."

"S-Sway?"

He heaved a sigh at having to explain it. "You know, tail up, hips moving, give us a look at what this filly has to offer."

It was downright shameful and Rosa's blush undoubtedly said so. She wasn't sure if he was asking for it just to see her squirm, or if he might actually get some perverse pleasure from seeing her rump.

Even his roommates didn't seem too comfortable with the idea.

"Martin, I-" Jon started, but the leader held up a hoof and Jon fell silent.

"Come on, sweetie," he cooed gently, "it's not so much to ask, is it? You can have the charger too, so you and your friends can watch all the movies as much as you want, no?"

Rosa really did want to make her friends happy. It would make for amazing last few days, not to mention that they all had Sunday off so they could see some of their favourite movies over again.

Her ears couldn't go any lower, but Rosa swallowed nervously and let her breath out. Martin's grin widened even before she said it.

"O-Okay."

"Splendid!" the pony praised. "Adonai, give her the bag."

The pegasus was a bit slow to move, but after an annoyed glance from their unofficial leader the pony went to a locker and dug through some old notebooks. He brought out the iPad and accessories in their bag and took them over to Rosa. Their muzzles touched as she took it from him and he whispered: "Sorry about him," just before her pulled back. No one else could have heard it.

"Now your part of the bargain," Martin insisted.

Paolo tried to squirm free, but he couldn't win against earth pony strength. "Martin, don't-"

"Hush!" the bully commanded. "This is mainly for you, Paolo. It's what you've been clopping to in the bathroom, isn't it?"

The poor pegasus only whimpered in embarrassment.

In fact, Rosa felt so sorry for him that she don't even mind hearing about... what he had been doing. "I'll talk to you tomorrow, Paolo, okay?" she said, making sure she was smiling.

The pegasus just nodded.

Then she took a deep breath and slowly turned around. She glanced back where Martin was staring at her hungrily, while the others were modestly averting their gazes.

Paolo was squeezing his eyes firmly shut, determined not to look. Maybe he was a bit of a gentlecolt, Rosa thought. He definitely didn't deserve a roommate like Martin.

Still, she had made a promise even if her face was burning so hot that Rosa was afraid it might char the door. She took a step forward.

"Tut, tut!" Martin cautioned.

Her ears went down, but Rosa obediently lifted her tail up. With the next hoofstep she made sure her rump swayed from one side to the other. There was no more admonition from behind, so she focused her eyes on the door and tried to get through it as quickly as possible. She was unused to this strange gait, so Rosa nearly lost her balance a few times before she reached the doorknob and the safety of the corridor.

A wave of relief flowed through her when she slammed the door shut and clamped her tail back down as tightly as it would go. She could almost physically feel Martin's eyes on her... bits.

It made her feel dirty.

No one had said anything, even while she had been half expecting Martin to whistle or comment something inappropriate. Maybe the silence was worse. No doubt he had quite enjoyed the view. Not the others, she didn't think. They were all just as embarrassed as her.

It might be a good thing that she was leaving soon. Rosa was not sure she could look any of those colts in the face after that little show.

A word formed in her mind and she tried to push it down. Slut.

At the very least she got the iPad on loan for the next few days. Surely that was worth it, wasn't it? Its weight was reassuring in her mouth and Rosa quickly made her way to her own room. The guard might come to check and ask what she had in the bag. She hadn't really thought about that scenario and it suddenly worried her deeply. If she said it was some notebooks to help with her homework they shouldn't care too much, but there was always the danger that they might check.

That would be really bad.

Luckily Rosa saw neither pony nor human on her way and she was soon back in her room. Only then did she relax.

"You got it!" Iskra exclaimed. "Here! Try this!"

She rushed over on three legs so she could cram a bit of chocolate in Rosa's mouth. Her wing expertly hooked the bag so Rosa could spit it out just in time.

Sweet, sugary, chocolate-y goodness coated her tongue, taking away some of the embarrassment she had just been through.

"You okay?" Amethyst asked. She had always been good at reading other ponies.

"Fine," Rosa answered while chewing.

Amethyst leaned her head to the side as she didn't quite believe it. "Okay, if you say so."

She would undoubtedly drill Rosa about it later. Her only hope was that she'd like the movie and forget about her question.

"Here, set this up? I'll just grab a quick shower." Rosa had showered only that morning, but after the little show she had put on she really wanted one more. Maybe hot water would make her forget, and if that didn't work, chocolate and movies might.

Worth a try.

---

Rosa caught up to Paolo in the park, just after lunch. She couldn't keep her ears up, partly because of the residual embarrassment and partly because it was already Saturday afternoon and she hadn't had a chance to speak with the colt yet.

"Hey..."

He looked at her listlessly. "Hey," he replied, eyes and voice downcast. After a moment he glanced back at the mare with a small blush. "Um, sorry about Martin. He thought he was being funny."

"Forget it," she told him.

"I swear I wasn't-" the colt began, twirling around so he blocked Rosa's path. "I wouldn't... do what he said. You know. Thinking about you."

He didn't have to spell it out and Rosa gave him a quick hug, mainly to stop him from saying it. "Don't worry. I don't mind."

It came as a bit of a shock, but the thought of Paolo finding her so attractive he had to 'handle' it by himself in the bathroom was at the same time cute and strangely warming. Besides, she probably wouldn't see him again after tomorrow, so there was that.

"Rosa, I-"

She squeezed him harder. "Shush."

When she pulled back, he had tears in his eyes. "I really like you," he said, looking down at his hooves.

"I know. I like you too."

He heaved a sigh and sat down, right down on the pavement. "D'you think- if- if you didn't have to leave, we could... we might..."

Rosa touched her nose to his. "I don't know. Maybe. You know the rules."

True, she had been considering breaking it off with him just to play it safe, but now she was starting to think she would have let it happen. Slowly, carefully, but yes. The realization turned her cheeks nice and pink.

"Sorry it happened this way," she tried to get the dialogue back on the right track. "This is a huge opportunity for me - and for the School!"

Again he sighed. "Yeah, I know. I wish..."

He didn't finish, but Rosa knew what he had wanted to say. "Yeah, me too."

The colt sniffled and turned his tear-filled eyes on her. It nearly broke her silly little heart. "D'you think- maybe," he asked, hesitantly, "we'll see each other again? S-Someday?"

It took effort to keep her smile, but Rosa made sure she did. "I hope so. Maybe it'll be a different place. Maybe we can... get to know each other better."

"It's not fair, you know," Paolo grumbled, his entire body sagging so much that his wing feathers were starting to drag on the ground.

It looked like he might go full waterworks, so Rosa hugged and nuzzled him to distract the colt from his thoughts. "I know, but it's not so bad. At least- nothing happened."

She didn't think she could have stood it if there had been a romance between her and Paolo, which this news would have broken up so suddenly and prematurely. Maybe it was a piece of luck neither of them had moved faster.

"Yeah, I know," the pegasus agreed, sighing against her neck. His breath was incredibly warm.

Rosa didn't know why, but she pulled her face away, only a little, so she could catch his lips. It wasn't a perfect kiss. Probably not even a good one, since she didn't know what she was doing, really. It was just a kiss. It lasted a few seconds and then she withdrew. Belatedly she realized they were out in the open and glanced around hurriedly.

No one around, thank god.

That could have been a bad mistake.

At least it had been worth it. Paolo was left with his eyes closed and an almost-smile on his muzzle.

"Something to remember me by, okay? Who knows, maybe we'll come back from assignments at the same time."

The colt opened his eyes and Rosa couldn't help noticing what a lovely shade of violet they were. She had to glance away before she got lost.

"M-Maybe," he agreed, tentatively.

"If I do a good job on this, Mrs. Gaeta says I can pick my next appointment. I'll ask her when yours ends and if she can find me one that ends around the same time. Then we'll get a couple of weeks, okay?"

Her optimistic tone was working and the pegasus was now really smiling, even if it was a sad smile. "Okay."

"And who knows, if we both do well, we might get into the breeding program. You know they let you choose your first, right?"

His ears went all flat. Rosa wasn't sure if it was from embarrassment or something else, but Paolo turned away. "I d-dunno about that," he muttered.

"Well, they do. So- you know. Something to look forward to."

"Y-Yeah," he said in a husky, scratchy voice.

"Are you okay?"

"Fine."

Rosa swore she would never understand colts and their bouncy, rapidly-changing emotions. She gave Paolo a quick hug from behind. "Anyway, we're allowed to have a small going-away party tomorrow. I'll ask Instructor Martha if you can come, too."

"Okay. Thanks."

Lacking any other response, she gave Paolo's neck a nuzzle, then patted his shoulder. "Good luck, Paolo. I'll come say bye tomorrow if Martha says no."

It would mean facing Martin and the other colts, but she would brave that for a proper goodbye. Her sneaky mind supplied the word 'kiss' after 'goodbye' and Rosa blushed. It was a good thing Paolo wasn't looking.

"Bye!"

"Yeah. Bye."

He was acting a little strange, but maybe he was just trying hard not to cry in front of her. She had to leave before she made it harder than it needed to be. Rosa slowly turned around and went back to the dorm building, mind already returning to where it had been before she met Paolo on the way.

Amethyst had gotten her kitchen-friend Will to give her a few more movies. Something appropriate for a goodbye. She said they were about a dog called 'Lassie'. Rosa was kind of looking forward to them, to tell the truth. What little Will had shared with her friend had sounded very moving.

As she trotted, she started to hum a little melody to herself. She usually didn't notice it, and when she did Rosa couldn't remember where she had heard it. It was just something she'd always hummed when she was particularly happy, or particularly sad.

Maybe it was from TV or something, perhaps one of the few School-approved programs they were allowed to watch. Probably a commercial, Rosa thought. Those usually had catchy tunes. She put it out of her mind, but she kept humming it as she walked, nodding to both ponies and humans she met along the way.

Most of them waved back or smiled. By now they had all heard about her amazing opportunity and were happy for the chance she was getting. Rosa swore to herself she would do well by Mr. Boone and make sure the School got some more money.

If she was really lucky, she might even be able to suggest an improvement or two for the ponies when she delivered the news to Mrs. Gaeta and Headmaster Freely.

Comments

[BleuBlooms]

This is so dark. I think this is my favorite story of yours. I really wanna know if the princesses are alive let alone can unicorns do magic? I don't remember if any of them have in the story.