Legacy: The End of Harmony

by Ficta_Scriptor

Volume 1: Eruditio - Chapter 3 - Confessions and Dragons

Legacy volume 1: Eruditio

Chapter 3 – Confessions and Dragons

Monday morning’s work went fairly well. Rosa was no longer feeling ill and the day was going by surprisingly quickly. Plenty of customers came in, most of them just browsing, but a group of three inquisitive adolescent ponies started a light-hearted but heated debate over their favourite books and authors. They spent time recommending books to a young colt who obviously didn’t have much reading experience. Rosa ended up getting involved in the conversation herself, talking them through the kinds of things to expect from certain authors. The young colt was surprised and perhaps impressed with her love for horror books, perking up significantly after she’d admitted that fact. Although it was obvious that the mares were mainly there to find their friend something to read they both ended up buying two books each on Rosa’s recommendation, and the colt bought a copy of An Equestrian Night Mare on her advice. Beaming from ear to ear, the trio happily said something about coming back soon as they left with their prized purchases in hoof.

It was around one o’ clock in the afternoon that things suddenly died down, probably because most ponies across the village were having their lunch. Rosa’s mother was depositing some of the cash in the till to a safe that they kept in a small cupboard underneath the stairs, when she stopped and started chatting.

“It’s been a good day, dear, and I was glad you could make a few friends.”

“I’m not exactly sure we’re friends just yet, Mum.”

“Well why not? I know they’re a couple of years younger but they still seemed like nice ponies. They all took a real shine to you when you started nattering away about your favourite books, and let me tell you dear, one good experience begs for another. With the way they left our shop full of smiles I can tell they’ll be back. Maybe when they do you could spend some more time with the, get to know them—”

Rosa cut her off as politely as possible. “Mum, I really wish you didn’t have to tell me how to make friends. I’m not twelve years old.”

“Oh I know, but sometimes I worry. I know you have friends like Clover and Nico but there’s no harm in making a few more, especially when you share the same interests. I haven’t seen you become so wrapped up in a conversation that you left your post and left another customer hanging.”

“Sorry! I didn’t realize,” Rosa quickly interjected.

Daisy waved her hoof above her head. “No harm done, dear. It was nice to see you so happy.”

Rosa smiled at this consideration, and then her face turned more serious.

“Mum? Why are you and Dad trying to change things for me all of a sudden?”

Her mother looked to the floor and bit her lip before locking eyes with Rosa again.

“I guess I should be honest with you. Your father and I have talked about our future and your future, and about things we’d like for you to achieve in life.”

Rosa frowned. “It almost sounds like you want to lead me down the life you’ve set out for me.”

Daisy Bloom shook her head and looked off at the wall, sighing. She had started to look strangely depressed.

“I don’t know if you can remember somepony called April Showers; you were quite young when you met her last. She was one of the ponies I grew up with and used to be one of my closest friends. When she was about your age I can remember her telling me all about her plans to become a great composer, to write symphonies and ballads that would play out all across Equestria. She was a very talented musician and could play the cello, violin, as well as the piano.

“When we were both around twenty-five years old she moved with her colt-friend. I think his name was Foster. Anyway, they moved to Muleborough to start a new life together. Money was tight, and they had to work their way around various part time jobs that only paid minimum wage. Then they had a baby, and that’s when things began to get rocky. Soon after the baby’s birth Foster was made redundant from his job at a window fitting business after a huge batch of stock was vandalized. They had to recoup the costs, which meant Foster had to go.

“Times were very tough on them, and even though I offered to help them financially they would always refuse. When April fell pregnant again, things just got more and more difficult for the pair of them from then on eventually leading to them splitting up. There was no divorce because they never had the chance to have that wedding of their dreams.

“I’d barely spoken to her in the last ten years, something that I deeply regret. Because, you see…”

She looked up at Rosa with tears in her eyes.

“Because she died a few days ago,” she finished.

Rosa put a hoof over her mouth in shock and grasped her mother in a hug.

“Oh my goodness! I’m so sorry! I had no idea,” Rosa said, feeling as though she was about to cry herself.

“And that…” her mother began, nearly chocking on her words, “That’s when I realised that she’d never lived the life she wanted. All those years she talked about being a composer and travelling over the world... But she never did anything about it. I guess she couldn’t do anything about it. The last time I talked to her she’d told me that she hadn’t touched her old cello in years, and that her piano had been sold to pay for food and bills. She could have been brilliant, Rosa. She was talented, clever and such a nice pony too. As for me? I stopped speaking to her, stopped even caring about her, and then I read some tiny article, smaller than the base of my hoof telling of her unfortunate death, being struck down by a speeding chariot. One tiny paragraph! That’s all she got, Rosa. One measly paragraph!”

Daisy sobbed loudly and Rosa held her tighter. A single tear now fell down her own cheek. She couldn’t remember seeing her mother like this before.

“I don’t want that to be you, dear. Right now you’re free to do anything and be anything. Even if you don’t have any grand ambitions it’s always worth trying new things, meeting new people and finding out what you want from life. There’s nothing wrong with reading books all the time. After all, it certainly helps considering where we are right now, but I don’t want you to reach fifty and look back on your life… And consider it a waste of time. I don’t want you to be left wondering what could have happened. I don’t think you realise just how much potential you really have, Rosa.”

Rosa was suddenly overcome with guilt. All this time she thought she was either being chucked out or forced to trace the path of her parents’ choosing, but that seemed rather different now. She shuffled on her hooves, a barrage of emotions battering her mind.

“Mum, I’m so sorry. I guess I did think you were just trying to control my life,” she confessed. “I’d heard you say that you were just trying to help, but I never really listened.”

Daisy Bloom gave a weak smile. “I know, dear, and I don’t mind. When I was your age I probably wouldn’t have listened to me either.”

They both chuckled before they were interrupted by an elderly stallion coming in through the door. Daisy took a spot by the till and politely greeted him with a faint smile. He nodded in response and began to browse through some of the novels at the front of the shop. She turned back to Rosa.

“You can take a break now, if you want. Maybe you finish that book you’re so engrossed in at the moment.”

Rosa pondered this, and then shook her head. “Actually, I might go for a little walk. I could do with a bit of fresh air.”

“Oh, um… yes, go right ahead dear. Just be careful and all that, OK?” her mother replied, somewhat surprised by the response.

“Are you sure? You’re going to be alright?”

“I’ll be fine, dear. Now go on.”

They exchanged a quick good bye and Rosa left, beginning a brisk walk. She didn’t want to start reading her book again; there were other things on her mind. No life ambitions had occurred to her before and she hadn’t really thought about the future in great detail. Right now she was both excited and afraid. Excited, because she wanted to pursue whatever great ambition she could discover for herself, but also very afraid of the prospect of failing and meeting a sad end like dear old April Showers. Taking a deep breath, she powered on to visit an old friend.

---

“Hey, big guy!” Rosa called out.

“Just a minute!”

Rosa was stood just outside a large castle-like structure made from thick slabs of rock about five times the height of any pony. The castle itself was enormous, taking up enough space for a block of thirty or forty houses. The entrance she was stood outside was an arch at least fifteen meters high and twenty meters wide. Draped above the top of the entrance was a slightly worn purple banner with golden edges.

A head popped around the entrance and smiled. Spike was Ponyville’s very own dragon and had lived in the castle since before Rosa was born. He had always been something of a tourist attraction, garnering visitors from all over Equestria and beyond, though most ponies in Ponyville regarded him as a valued member of the community.

He towered over Rosa, the enormous archway being just big enough for him to use. He had purple, scaly skin and a pale green underbelly. His claws were easily big enough to cover a pony and his fangs were almost as long as a pony’s body. Despite his intimidating appearance he was actually one of the friendliest creatures living in Ponyville.

“Well this is a welcome change,” he quipped. Despite his immense size he was able to control the volume of his voice extraordinarily well, which was a good thing considering he could probably burst anypony’s eardrums with a loud roar.

“What do you mean?” Rosa replied.

“What I mean is it’s not like you to come visit me.”

“Oh, come on! I’ve visited you plenty of times before!”

“So you say, Rosa. It just seems that most of the time you’re either with Clover or you just happen to catch me while I’m out working.”

Because of Spike’s enormous size and strength he helped carry out some of the jobs that were difficult for ponies to do. He’d helped take down trees, build houses — which in itself was something of a spectacle as it was almost like watching a foal fix together a doll house — and was an integral part of winter wrap up, tasked with melting the iced-over lakes with his flame breath among other things. His presence in Ponyville helped the village thrive financially; the influx of tourists ensuring that shop owners could expect plenty of potential buyers. In return for this he was provided with barrels full of food and water.

“Well whatever you say, big guy,” Rosa quipped as she began to very slowly turn away, holding her head low to the ground and quivering her lip.

“Oh come on! I didn’t mean anything by it, and you’re always welcome.”

Rosa smiled to herself and turned back to face him. He was so easy to tease.

“So what’ve you been up to?” Spike asked.

“Oh, not much. I had a drinking game on Saturday night which was pretty fun. Nico has this weird board game that could speak to you. It might not sound like much, but it kept us laughing the whole time.”

“Sounds interesting,” Spike mused. “I wish I could get drunk sometimes but it takes far too much cider to even get me tipsy. Also, I’d hate to think what would happen if I went stomping around the village in a drunken rage.”

“You said it takes far too much cider, so I’m guessing you’ve tried?”

Spike nervously rubbed the spines on the back of his neck. “It was quite a long time ago when there was a big festival. A few ponies had saved me a dozen barrels of cider that were left over. I kind of accidentally knocked over a few trees... and fell asleep in the park, but nopony was hurt! Honest!”

“Now we definitely need you to join in on drinking games!” Rosa said with a grin.

They both chuckled to themselves for a moment before a slightly awkward silence fell.

“So, um... did you want to come in? I mean, I don’t really get many visitors come inside my home but—”

“No, it’s OK, Spike. I kind of just came along to see a friendly face.”

Spike thought this over then stroked his chin with one claw.

“Is something wrong, Rosa? You’ve not had a falling out with you parents or something?”

“Oh no, nothing like that,” Rosa answered, shaking her head. “I’ve just been mulling things over, thinking about life, you know.”

Spike appeared slightly alarmed. “This isn’t like you. Has something happened?”

“Sort of... but not really. It’s just, Mum and Dad are trying to help me sort out my future. Normally I’d just ignore them but I guess I kind of feel the same way. I’m just not really sure how to go about it. In actual fact, I’m not even sure what I want from life. I guess I just wanted someone to talk to, is all.”

“Well I’m flattered you’d choose to talk to me.”

“Well of course, Spike! You’re a good friend!”

“Clover and Nico are working aren’t they?” the dragon said with a knowing grin.

“Yeah... That’s true.” Rosa sighed. She’d wanted wanted to talk to Clover about getting a new job and finding ambition, but she definitely couldn’t speak with Nico about it since her feelings for him were a main concern. She was wondering if she’d ever work up the guts to express her feelings, and yet she also considered the fate of April Showers. It made her think about the prospect of never knowing if she could be with him. She was lost in thought, almost forgetting that she was even in Spike’s company when he snapped his claws.

“Snap out of it!” he ordered in a raised voice. Rosa was startled back to attention. “Gee, this is really eating you up isn’t it?”

Rosa pondered on that for a moment before nodding. A lot of her recent thoughts were about Nico and whether she should even mention anything to him, whether she should consider Sparks as a colt-friend, even if she wasn’t being true to her heart. There was the prospect of getting a new job and making new friends, as well as trying to impress her parents. It was all rather terrifying.

“Hey, if it means anything to you, I’d give you a hug if I could,” Spike said solemnly.

“Thanks.”

“So is there anything you want to talk about? I mean, I’m not going to pretend I’m the best guy to take advice from but I’ll help you out if I can.”

Rosa turned her head around and shifted her eyes to see if anypony was around. She could hear some chatter from beyond the row of houses opposite the castle and a few ponies off in the distance, but nopony was nearby. She turned back to Spike and considered what she had to say. For everything that was going on, one thing stood above all others. As of right now, Spike seemed to be the best candidate to speak to.

“Well, I guess part of it is about Nico.”

Spike rose one of his eyebrows.

“I mean, I kind of... well... I think I...”

Rosa choked on her own words, coming to terms with the fact that this was the first time she’d ever made her feelings known.

“Oh,” exclaimed Spike. “I did kind of have a feeling, but something tells me it’s more than what I thought it was.”

Rosa gasped. She didn’t exactly see Spike very often, and if he suspected it then perhaps everyone who’d ever seen the two of them together thought it too. Rosa dropped her head, feeling weak at the knees. Spike looked at her with a mix of sympathy and admiration.

“Why don’t you come inside?” he suggested. “And don’t worry, my lips are sealed. Anything you tell me will just be between us, OK?”

Rosa gave a weak smile. “Sure. Thanks, big guy.”

---

“I see… It certainly is a predicament.”

“And I just don’t know what to do! I mean, if I tell him, if I don’t tell him, whatever I do it seems to be the wrong thing,” Rosa fumed. “I feel so stupid being in lo—” She gulped, not wanting to even finish the sentence. “And I don’t even know if that’s true or if I’m just obsessed. I just don’t understand.”

Spike sighed, lowering his head to the floor. “I can kind of sympathise. I’ve been in a situation a bit like yours.”

“Really?” exclaimed Rosa.

“Well, kind of, but it’s a bit different... Can I ask you to promise not to tell anyone? I can keep your secret if you keep mine.”

“Yes, of course!”

“It was a long time ago, years before you were born. I fell for an absolute beauty named Rarity.”

Rosa raised an eyebrow. “That doesn’t exactly sound like a dragon name.”

Spike blushed. Rosa found it strange to see such a gigantic hulk of a beast looking embarrassed.

“She wasn’t a dragon. She was a pony.”

Rosa recoiled in shock. “A pony? Really?”

“Yes, a pony. I was very young at the time and I was a lot smaller than I am now. She used to be even bigger than me!”

“Wow.” Rosa found it hard to imagine a pint-sized Spike.

“Anyway, we could never be together for very obvious reasons. We were good friends too which made it even harder to accept, but we still stayed good friends and I feel privileged to have known her.”

“Did you ever tell her?”

“Yes, I did tell her. She was flattered more than anything, but she didn’t feel the same way towards me. It was difficult trying to accept it, but she didn’t do it to deliberately hurt my feelings. And when… certain things happened, she needed me as a friend more than anything.”

Rosa looked away, a sad expression on her face. “Do you think the same will happen to me?”

Spike paused for a moment before replying. “I can’t say whether the same will happen to you. All I can say is that no matter what happens you should try and stay positive. Even though it might seem that everything depends on Nico, you’re probably not going to feel that way forever. No matter how strong your feelings are for him now, you might wake up one day and think yourself stupid for having felt this way.”

Rosa opened her mouth to speak when Spike held up a claw.

“This isn’t to say that you don’t love him. I’m just saying that sometimes the future can be surprising, very surprising, and everypony can grow complacent. Nothing is perfect in this world. I know a lot of this might sound cliché but believe me, I’ve seen it, felt it and lived it. That said, I wouldn’t be offended if you didn’t take my advice whatsoever. That’s the problem with situations like these; sometimes the hardest lesson to learn is that there’s no easy way of learning anything.”

Rosa’s ears perked up and she looked at Spike in awe. “I know that saying, but I didn’t know who’d told me that. Spike, did you say that to me when I was younger?”

Spike rubbed the back of his neck and blushed. “No, actually that was something somepony told me.”

“Oh? Who was that?”

Spike shifted his gaze away, looking distracted.

Rosa sighed. “Never mind, I was just curious. So what do you think I should do?”

“There’s no easy answer for that. Try not to think about it right now. It’s stressing you out a little too much. If it’s meant to happen, it’ll happen. Otherwise, who knows? You might meet a nice young stallion who likes you and maybe you’ll be a perfect match.”

“Sparks...” Rosa mumbled under her breath.

“What was that? I couldn’t hear—”

“There is somepony else, but I just don’t know. His name’s Sparks. He’s one of the athletes my Dad trains. I kind of blew him off though… I think he’s upset about it.”

Spike smiled. “Well maybe if you got to know him a bit more you’d have a new perspective on things. If things go well, then great. If they don’t, then no worries. You don’t have to be his filly-friend straight away. Maybe you could just speak to him and see how you feel. Regardless, it’s up to you what you want to do.”

“That’s the problem. I don’t trust myself enough to do what I want to do.”

Spike slowly lowered his claw and gently stroked her mane. Rosa smiled and hugged his claw with her forelegs.

“You’re not stupid, Rosa. Try trusting yourself a bit more, eh?” Spike whispered.

“Thanks, big guy. It was good talking to you.”

“Hey, any time. I don’t get many real visitors here apart from the gawping tourists asking my life story. It gets boring after the seventeen-millionth time.”

“You should tell them the part about having a thing for ponies!” Rosa teased.

“That’s not... Rosa, I don’t have a thing for ponies! Don’t go getting the wrong idea!”

Rosa chuckled and hugged his claw once more.

“You’re so easy to tease, big guy.”

---

Rosa started her journey back home. Her conversation with Spike had helped somewhat, even if she wasn’t sure why. She was peeved at the idea that her feelings were so easily subject to change, but realised that he was probably right.

Rosa tried to clear her head which was easier said than done. She wondered what her next step should be. She’d been filled with certain vigour to want to accomplish something with her life but was scared of what that could entail. The whole Nico issue was the most difficult subject to consider right now, so what about the easiest? Miss Petit Déjeuner supposedly had a job for her, though it didn’t seem like the most exciting of ventures. Then again, it might be a good place to start if she wanted to change her lifestyle. She could meet new ponies, maybe do well for herself... She continued to walk on, lost in thought when another pony hurriedly rounded the corner and accidentally bumped into her, nearly sending the red-headed mare toppling to the ground.

“Sorry, Miss!”

A familiar cream-coated unicorn stood before her with two beige saddlebags strapped to his flank that looked to be filled with groceries.

“Oh... Rosa... Hey, I’m sorry if I hurt you,” Sparks said concernedly.

“Oh no I’m fine, really,” Rosa assured, her cheeks reddening.

An awkward silence fell between them as they both pulled polite smiles, obviously aware of the slight tension.

“Well, I’d better get going,” Sparks said. “I’ll... um, see you ‘round!”

He began to trot off past her when Rosa interrupted him.

“Wait!”

Sparks turned back towards her looking confused. What are you doing? Rosa thought to herself. Sure, she’d just been talking with Spike about him, and sure, he had seemed very supportive of the idea of the two of them spending time together. That wasn’t to say that she was overly fond of that idea herself, but now that she’d got Sparks’ attention she couldn’t just drop the conversation here like a socially inept freak.

“I... just wanted to say sorry,” Rosa began. “I mean, about the other day.”

Sparks looked on for a moment in bemusement before smiling. “Oh, don’t worry about that. It’s fine, honestly.”

“I just didn’t want you to think I was being heartless. I mean, you’re a great guy, and you’re definitely... erm...” Rosa trailed off.

Sparks’ face dropped slightly and he began to blush.

“What I mean is, I just... it’s not because I don’t like you...”

Rosa began to blush herself. It was so easy to say what she thought in her own head but turning it into words was impossible. All she wanted to do was make the stallion feel better about the situation, and also to dispel his thoughts that she thought she was too good for him, if he even had those thoughts. Yeah... It definitely made a lot more sense in her head.

“What do you mean?” Sparks asked.

Rosa simply stood there for a moment, locked in his gaze before shaking her head and putting on her best false smile.

“Oh, nothing!” she shrieked, her voice suddenly jumping in pitch. “I guess I’d better go now then. Bye!”

“Goodb—”

Before he could even finish his word Rosa had shot round the street corner and powered along the road. She had gone about twenty steps before realising she’d been holding her breath, and promptly stopped in her tracks and breathed deeply.

“Idiot, idiot, idiot, what is wrong with you!?” she muttered to herself, clamping a hoof over her face. She sighed heavily and looked back on herself to see Sparks sporting a rather freaked-out expression. Rosa felt her heart leap into her throat and quickly sped off, not wanting to look back. So much for not being a social reject! Why can’t I be normal!? Why do I even bother when I just make things worse!?

---

“Yeah, sure I will. I’ll go see her Wednesday. I was planning on going anyway.”

“That’s good dear, I just think it would be a good experience for you and you’d get yourself a little more in the way of money.”

Rosa was sat at the dinner table with her parents. Her mother had prepared a dandelion and rocket salad with a slice of pumpkin pie on the side. Much like any meal she made it was well presented, with the salad somehow keeping a well defined shape and the slice of pie on each of their plates being precisely positioned at an angle and away from the edge. It was the kind of practice you’d expect world-class chefs to use when presenting their finest dishes, but Daisy Bloom was under the impression that it made a difference to simple recipes, even if the food often vanished within a few seconds of hitting the table.

“Did Petit even say what she wanted me to help out with, Dad?” asked Rosa.

Her father finished chewing his mouthful of pie and swallowed before answering. “I don’t know. To be honest, I have a hard time hearin’ what she says sometimes. That accent of hers comes across mighty thick. Whatever it is she wants, it can’t be too hard.”

“Oh, I was just curious, is all,” Rosa lied. In all honesty, she was worried about being completely useless. Being an earth pony meant needing tremendous dexterity to perform tasks that a unicorn could carry out with absolute ease. Being a waitress would mean carrying plates and bowls out to customers. Of course she’d seen smartly dressed waiters carry what looked like three hoof-fuls of dishes and still keep their posture and composure intact, but that was them and not her. She wasn’t sure what standard would be expected but if it was anything like her previous experiences she simply wouldn’t be up to scratch.

“When should I see her? I mean, I don’t have a time or anything.”

“Oh just show up bright and early in the morning, say... 8 o’ clock? I think that’s when they open so just head on in and see if you can help out, or maybe arrange to have an interview,” Rosa’s mother chimed.

“Oh... OK, yeah.”

Getting up extra early? Great... Rosa quickly finished her meal and wiped her face over with a napkin.

“Thanks very much for dinner, Mum. May I be excused?” she asked politely.

“Yes dear. It’s your father’s turn to wash up tonight, anyway.”

Rosa sauntered her way out the kitchen and up the stairs towards her room, the sound of her parents chatting away in her ears.

“Speedwell, you wouldn’t mind grabbing some milk while you’re out tomorrow?”

“Did we really get through so much already?”

“Milk always goes quickly.”

“Sure, fine. Oh Daisy, did you...”

Rosa closed her bedroom door and took up her place at her desk, ready to read through some more of An Equestrian Night Mare. Over the next few chapters the bloodied remains of an elderly unicorn were found in her own home, though the detective found no signs of forced entry. A family of farming ponies had locked their youngest sibling away to protect her from whoever might be out there, but they were killed by the assailant. The young filly managed to escape a day later and ran into the centre of town, sobbing, though she couldn’t be approached for questioning as she’d suffered such an emotional trauma that she could barely speak. Her family had been butchered and their remains plastered over the walls of her house. The pony who had originally accused her friend of committing these atrocities was now questioning her initial suspicions and was trying to heal the rift between them but to little avail.

Rosa glanced at the clock on her desk and saw that it was nearing eleven o’ clock. She slid her bookmark back into the book — of which she was now around two thirds of the way through — and flicked the light switch. She leapt into bed, got herself comfortable, and began to unwillingly relive her embarrassing encounter with Sparks over and over again. She shook her head as if that would get rid of those thoughts, but they still stuck in her mind until shortly before she drifted off to sleep. Tomorrow would be a better day, she hoped.

Comments

[Cadabra]

I like how you're using Spike as an adult here. He seems comfortable in the life he's chosen, even helpful. It seems very in character for what he would do.

I've got to say, this arch is engaging, but a bit off putting compared to chapter one. I'm sure you'll address it soon, but the gap does feel a bit uncomfortable for the flow. I hope that just comes with early in the story jitters!