Speak to the Silence

by LysanderasD

The Blue Rose

Speak to the Silence

a My Little Pony fanfic by LysanderasD

Two: The Blue Rose

It was a spring sunset after a very cruel winter, and three alicorns, two foals and a mare, were walking down a road. To be more precise, only two of them were walking; the third was planted very firmly on the mare’s back.

They made an odd sight, though there was nopony to watch them. The eldest was a full-grown mare, plodding along at a very slow pace so the walking foal could keep up. Her coat was white on first glance, but on closer study it resolved itself into a very light cream color, offset by a deep crimson mane and very clear, piercing cerulean eyes. The hooves impacting the dirt road, partially hidden by her fetlocks, had the color and texture of pearl.

The filly trotting beside her, a wide smile on her face as she looked around with shining magenta eyes, laughing and pointing out every little thing, did have a white coat, almost shockingly so, with a flamboyant pink mane to match.

“See? See? Look over there, Lulu! Aren’t they so pretty? Those flowers, look! They’re your color!”

The foal on the mare’s back, also a filly, seemed the complete opposite of the one on the ground. Her coat was an imposing royal blue, her mane a brighter color, almost azure, her eyes a moody teal. She had her face half-buried in the mare’s mane, but one eye was peeking out from the mass of crimson, and as she saw the flowers in question, she pulled her face out of the mare’s mane and into view, smiling and reaching out a hoof. “Gimme, Tia!”

The white foal giggled, her horn lighting up bright yellow. A short distance off of the path, one of the flowers, a blue rose, lit up with the same glow and very gently detached itself from the bush, floating up and over until Luna’s hooves could grasp gently at the stem. She buried her snout in it, giggling, her back legs kicking at the air happily.

“How’d I do? How’d I do?” Tia bounced forward to look up at the mare, eyes wide, sparkling slightly. “Am I getting better?”

The mare smiled, a bright, sincere, loving smile. The world itself seemed to light up a little bit. “You’re doing wonderfully, Celestia... but you have to be careful.”

“Careful?” the white foal asked curiously.

The mare nodded, looking back over her shoulder. “Luna, may I please see the flower for a moment?”

“‘Kay, Mommy,” said the blue foal, in a significantly quieter voice. She relinquished the rose, which floated out in front of the mare, down to Tia’s level.

“Tia, this is a rose,” the cream-colored pony explained. “They’re very pretty, and they smell very nice, but you have to be very careful because they have thorns. See?”

The filly squinted, frowning in concentration. “I see them!”

“Somepony might hurt him- or herself if they hold it wrong,” the elder continued. “Not you, or Luna, or me, but a lot of other ponies are fragile, so always remember to be gentle.” She shifted her gaze to the rose, which shook for a moment, before a series of small tick noises sounded as the tiny thorns were stripped off of the stem. “But if you take off the thorns, like this, then it’s okay. Here you are, Luna,” she added, looking up over her shoulder again.

Luna had hidden herself in the mare’s mane again, but she reached out a hoof and took the rose all the same. “‘nk you, Mommy.”

“You’re welcome, dear,” she said, smiling. “Remember to speak up, please.”

“Yes, Mommy.”

“Just a little more, dear,” she added gently.

“‘m trying...”

The mare giggled quietly. “Well, you’ll get it one day, little starlight. Don’t run off too far, Tia,” she added. The older filly had bounded forward, examining more of the growth beside the path, bouncing around with seemingly boundless energy. At her mother’s call, she trotted back obediently. “Sunshine, I love you, but you’ve got to stay close to me, please.”

There was a gentle tug on her mane. She looked back up, then over her shoulder. One of Luna’s huge teal eyes looked back. “Mommy?”

“What is it, my little starlight?”

“Are we gonna stop soon?” The mare felt the filly’s hooves shift slightly, almost guiltiy. “‘m kinda hungry...”

“You can eat the rose, silly!” Tia beamed up at her sister.

“But... but... you got it for me and I don’t want to just eat it...” She frowned petulantly, her eyes shimmering.

“Well...” Celestia slowed, shuffling her hooves a little. “My hooves are starting to hurt, we walked a long way today...” she finished, very unconvincingly.

The mare giggled again. “You’re a kind filly, sticking up for your sister like that, Tia. I know you want to keep going, but we’re at least half a day’s trot yet and Lulu’s right, we should stop and get something to eat. And little fillies need their sleep, after all,” she added teasingly.

She could feel Luna nodding, but Tia stuck out her bottom lip. “I’m not a little filly!”

The mother giggled again, a hearty, happy sound. “Okay, okay, you big, full-grown mare, you, but your little sister is, so we’re going to stop when the sun goes down, alright?”

---

True to her word, when the sun set that evening, they stopped, right where they were in the middle of the path. The mare conjured up a flame that burned without wood, and Tia settled herself as close as possible to it with a kind of desperate huff. Luna had finally gotten down off of her mother’s back, though she had settled close to the larger alicorn, snuggled up next to her with similar desperation. The mare obligingly draped a wing over the filly, who settled down, sleepy and content, almost instantly. A hoof-full of daffodils, pulled from beyond the path, settled down in front of her, and she slowly worked her way through them, one flower at a time.

“It’s so dark,” said Tia finally, pouting slightly.

“Well, that’s because it’s nighttime, sweetheart,” said the mare gently.

“Well I like the day better,” decided the filly huffily. Hiding beneath the mare’s wing, Luna whimpered slightly, drawing back into herself.

“B-but I...”

“It’s warmer and you can see better and everything’s so bright and pretty...”

“B-but I think...”

“...and the sun is right up there in the sky...”

“B-but... s...stars...”

“Tia, that’s enough, now,” said the crimson-maned mare sternly. The white foal looked over at her with a kind of “what-did-I-do” expression. “It’s alright to like the day, but remember that the night is just as important, too.”

“I don’t see why,” muttered Tia, just loud enough to be heard, turning her snout back toward the fire.

With a very quiet, fragile sound, like breaking glass, Luna began to cry.

“Celestia!” snapped the mare exasperatedly, her wing pulling the smaller foal tighter to her side. Tia’s head whipped back around, and she cringed. “That’s enough, please! Luna, sweetheart, shush,” she added softly, turning to nuzzle the sobbing foal. “It’s okay. The stars are very pretty, I think so, too.”

“I...” Celestia shuffled her hooves. “I don’t see...”

Luna wailed, a keening, heart-rending sound. The mare pulled her closer still, whispering encouraging words about the galaxies and the auroras and all the pretty things that showed up at night, she enjoyed them, too. Wordlessly, she shot a glare at the elder foal.

“Fine,” she said finally, and very unenthusiastically. “The night is great, too.”

“Y-y-y-you don’t m-m-m-mean that!” Luna wailed.

“Shhh, starlight, yes she does. Maybe the night sky’s even prettier than the day, don’t you think, Celestia?”

“Yes, mother,” she grumbled, turning away again.

Gradually Luna’s sobs quieted down into hiccups, glaring resentfully at the alabaster filly that was very pointedly ignoring her. Her mother nuzzled her soothingly, the wing draped over her back helping her stay warm and gradually allowing drowsiness to settle in. Her eyes began to drift shut, but before she nodded off completely, she heard her mother saying something else.

“We’ll reach Equestria tomorrow, girls, I promise. Just think about it, lots of other ponies to meet and play with!”

“Sounds like fun,” muttered Tia quietly, obviously still in a bad mood.

“Just remember that everypony is different, alright? There won’t be anypony that’s quite like us, but make sure you’re polite and respectful. Remember your pleases and your thank yous, and speak only when you’re spoken to. Alright, girls?”

“Yes, mother,” said Celestia sleepily. Luna nodded, unable to find the energy to speak, and the last thing she felt before her eyes drifted shut completely was one more reassuring squeeze from her mother’s wing.

---

As it happened, the first pony to see them, around noon the next day, was a pegasus. The mare could see him up in the sky, about cloud level, and it was clear that he could see them, too. She saw him pause, and then he began to to circle downwards, closer and closer. Green, she decided when he got close enough; he had to be green, similar enough to the color of the sky that she hadn’t been able to tell at first.

“Greetings!” she called up to him when she felt he was near enough. Luna, once again upon her back, buried herself self-consciously into her mother’s mane. The pegasus, however, did not reply: having reached a comfortable height, he hovered in place for several seconds, scrutinizing her, before flying off eastward, the direction they’d been walking in the first place.

“The least he could have done is said hi,” said Tia grumpily.

“I’m sure he was very surprised, at least,” said her mother with the hint of a smile on her lips. “Well, they know we’re coming now, at any rate. I think we can expect a welcoming party within the hour.”

It was in fact marginally sooner than that. They had been walking for another thirty minutes when a dark smudge appeared on the horizon, and within fifteen it resolved itself into a crowd of ponies--pegasi, unicorns, and earth ponies alike--all standing rigidly at attention, and all wearing what Luna supposed--peering warily through the mass of crimson--were military uniforms, like her mother had predicted.

Except the one in the center.

This one was a unicorn, a dark green with yellow eyes and a grey, almost-white mane, fluffy like cotton. She alone was looking at them with something approaching wonder, as opposed to the mistrustful glares of the soldiers. It was only when her mother finally came to a stop a short distance away that Luna realized exactly how small she really was: the mare was taller than Tia by a good head, but likewise her mother was taller than the mare by at least as much.

There was a very long, slightly awkward silence. Luna could hear Tia shuffling her hooves impatiently.

“Who might you be, little pony?” said her mother, finally, and Luna could hear the barely-suppressed grin in her voice.

The little mare gaped up at her for a second longer before finally realizing she’d been spoken to. She cleared her throat, opened her mouth, and produced something that sounded fairly close to “Urrrrrrr...”

“Try again, dear,” said her mother kindly.

“M...my name...” said the mare, more slowly this time, “is C-Clover. Um, Clover the Clever.” She had started out hesitant, but as she continued she seemed to grow more confident. “Apprentice to Starswirl the Bearded and grand vizier of the former unicorn nation, advisor to and representative of Her Highness Princess Platinum of the Equestrian Triumvirate. I have been selected by the triumvirate to be the, uh, ambassador... so... to... speak...” she trailed off.

“That’s quite a lot of responsibility for one so young,” said Luna’s mother graciously. “Now, might I ask why, dear, you brought so many soldiers with you? There are, after all, only three of us.”

“If I may,” said one of the pegasus soldiers, a tall, imposing stallion with slate-grey eyes and an obsidian coat. Clover jumped slightly as he spoke, but turned her head to him and nodded. “Colonel Strike, ma’am, acting commander of the pegasus forces and representative of Commander Hurricane. The Commander was mistrustful when he heard of your coming, ma’am, considering your...unusual appearance and the fact that the unicorns could feel your approach from several miles off.”

“Well, pardon me, then, colonel,” she replied smoothly. “I didn’t mean to be so loud.”

“Loud...?” the pegasus echoed blankly for a second, before snapping to attention again. “He immediately requested that the ambassador be accompanied by a number of guards. Not to be outdone, the unicorns echoed the demand, as did the earth ponies.”

“Well, caution is all well and good, sir, but I am only one mare and I mean you no harm.” The alicorn looked at her two daughters. “And these two are naught but foals...”

“What are you?” blurted Clover suddenly, and then snapped a hoof to her snout. Strike glared at her harshly, and she seemed to fold in on herself slightly.

The mare looked down at her for a long moment, and a silence, slightly oppressive, descended over the entire group. Several of the soldiers fidgeted uncomfortably. Finally, she opened her mouth.

I am the one who Speaks.

The ground shook slightly and for the briefest moment the air around them screamed as if in a tremendous storm. Every pony in the crowd took a step back, and some took two, gaping at her open-mouthed.

“But,” she added in a normal voice, “if you mean my race, then ‘alicorn’ will do.”

“Sp...speaks?” asked the pegasus colonel, sounding winded.

Clover, however, had regained her composure nearly immediately, and while the rest of the ponies gathered themselves, straightening manes and in some cases retrieving lost helmets that had been blown off in the momentary galestorm, she had been busy muttering to herself.

“What is it, unicorn?” snapped Strike with impatience born from shock. Clover seemed not to hear him. “Speak!” he yelped.

“That’s exactly it,” said Clover suddenly. “Speaking. Sound. Sound is...” She looked back up at the alicorn, a look closer to dread than awe slowly working its way onto her face. “Oh my.”

The alicorn simply smiled. Tia and Luna were glancing back and forth between the two, confused. Why had they been so bothered when mother had Spoken? Had they never heard it before?...

“Colonel,” said Clover, very slowly, “we should take them back to speak to the triumvirate.”

“What!?” The pegasus whinnied, wings splayed, stomping his hooves. “But we’ve barely learned a thing--”

“I don’t know about you, sir, but I’ve learned everything I wanted to know.”

The pegasus seemed about to complain again, but Clover turned to look at him. Luna could not see her expression from here, but whatever it was, it was enough to make the obsidian pony blanche very slightly. He nodded.

“V-very well then. Miss... Speaker. I would ask that you... accompany us to the city, and we will... deliberate further there.”

“Most certainly, colonel,” said Luna’s mother, nodding her head. “By the way, I believe I have yet to introduce you to my daughters. This one,” she said, gesturing, “is Celestia.”

The white foal swelled slightly.

“And this... Dear, please, they aren’t going to hurt you? Please?”

Very carefully, Luna pulled her face from her mother’s mane, looking warily at the massed soldiers.

“Forgive her. She’s very shy. This is Luna.”

“Luna...” echoed Clover thoughtfully, taking a small step forward. The timidity she had displayed before now seemed to melt away at the sight of the blue foal. “That’s a pretty name, and you’re certainly a very pretty little filly.”

Luna stared back at her, head tilted slightly. The alicorn mare held her breath.

“‘nk you,” she replied finally, blushing furiously as she did, burying her snout in her mother’s mane once more.

“She’s so cuuuuuute!” gushed Clover, bouncing giddily in place, giggling like a filly. The alicorn smiled; but when the pegasus colonel cleared his throat impatiently all of the mirth seemed to drain out of her and she coughed nervously into a hoof. “I... I mean... This way, please.”

The soldiers fanned out and surrounded them, the entire entourage looking somewhat strange with the tall alicorn standing in the middle, and without another word they began to walk.

---

Author’s Notes

Two chapters in a week. Yes. This makes me happy. But I probably won’t be able to do it again; classes resume for me on Monday, and I’ll be hard-pressed to find time to work on this. I’ll do my best, though, I promise.

I apologize for any excessive d’aww, HNNNNGH, or other cute-related impairments caused by this chapter. Woona, why you so adorableeeeeeee? Incidentally, in the original document and on Google Docs, Luna's dialogue is in a smaller font to signify how quietly she speaks, but unfortunately I cannot do that on FIMFiction.

Again, thanks to A. Muffin for keeping up with me as I wrote this and helping me correct the more glaring mistakes.

Also grateful to Motoi Sakuraba and Shinji Tamura for composing music for the Tales of games, which was mostly what I listened to while writing this particular chapter.

The My Little Pony franchise and all related official material belong to Hasbro et al, and I am in no way affiliated with them. No monetary compensation is expected or will be accepted for my work in writing this fanfic.

Comments

[Cloudhammer]

An excellent chapter friend, hope to see more from you soon!