> A Rose Fancied by No Other > by Autum Breeze > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- > Chapter 1 > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- A Rose Fancied by No Other Chapter 1 ___________________________________________________________ “Of all the blunders,” Fancy Pants muttered to himself as he trotted through the streets of Canterlot. He’d been awoken at around 3am by one of his vales, informing him a package had arrived for him at the train station and they were asking him to come and pick it up. Despite the ridiculously early hour (the sun was barely even up yet), thinking it was what he thought it was, he’d hurriedly put on a teal turtle-neck jumper, a very dark-blue jacket and a scarf and rushed out to get the package. When he arrived, however, it turned it that, not only wasn’t it his package, but it was meant to go to Manehatten, to a pony by the name of Fancy Sleaves. Now Fancy Pants was heading back to his manor, very annoyed about the mistake. He had been quiet when leaving the manor so as not to awaken his guests. He did not enjoy having been woken at such an hour, only to learn it wasn't needed in the first place. He’d invited Miss Rarity and her family over for Hearth’s Warming. She’d gladly accepted the offer and her little sister was just so adorable. Her parents were definitely different, far more rustic than one would guess after meeting Rarity, but he enjoyed their company all the same. As he passed by Pony Joe’s Donut Shop, which he had visited after Rarity had recommended it, and had enjoyed the experience there, when a sudden wind blew and his scarf flew off of him and into the alley nearby the shop. “Oh, blast,” he muttered, deviating from his path and heading into the alley. His scarf had caught on a cardboard box he could just see parts of through the snow covering it. He walked over, levitating it with his magic and wrapping the scarf back around his neck. As he turned to leave, however, he heard what sounded like a small sigh. The unicorn frowned, looking around in confusion, trying to figure out where it had come from... before his eyes fell on the box again. No. It... couldn’t be... could it? Using his magic, he brushed the snow off of the box and opened the flaps, which were on the side due to the box being sideways. What he saw inside made him gasp. A small Pegasus filly, with a white coat, mane and tail, the latter two with large streaks of pink through them. She was wrapped in what looked like an apron with a few chocolate stains on it. Help in her forehooves was a small sack. Fancy Pants looked around, for some reason thinking maybe he’d see her parents somewhere nearby, but saw he was the only one out so early in the morning. Looking down at the small filly, he noticed she had a warm smile. She must have been having a nice dream. Perhaps about having a family to spend Hearth’s Warming with, he thought sadly. He watched her for a few more moment, before his expression firmed. No way would he leave an innocent filly outside in the cold on her own during Hearth’s Warming. She at least deserved a warm place to stay for the holidays. With that thought in mind, Fancy Pants used his magic to gently pick up the sleeping filly and placed her on his back. At once, the filly unconsciously snuggled deeper into his back to be as warm as possible. This caused a small smile to form on his lips. He opened the bag as best he could with his magic; the filly had a death-grip on both it and the apron. When he saw the bits inside, he was rather surprised. He questioned where the filly could’ve gotten so many bits if she was homeless. At once his brain jumped to the conclusion that she’d stolen them, but he dismissed those thoughts at once. An innocent looking thing like her couldn’t have done something like that. Though, whoever gave them to her, he questioned the morals of. They’d been willing to give her all those bits, yet clearly hadn’t offered her a place to stay warm? Shaking his head, Fancy Pants headed back out the alley and continued on his original path towards his manor. He still had a guest bedroom or two empty, so he’d let the filly rest in one of them for now. ___________________________________________________________ Rose laughed as her parents smiled at her bouncing around the Hearth’s Warming Tree. She knew this was a dream, being a Changeling, it was almost second nature to know dream from reality, but she didn’t care. Right now, she had two loving, pony parents who’d taken her in and she wanted to enjoy this time as much as possible. She snuggled against her mother, basking in the warmth coming off of her. She found it slightly odd that the warmth felt so real, since this was a dream. It was almost as if she really was against the warm body of a pony. She could also feel the care coming off of her mother, which she also found odd. Dreams couldn’t provide you with sustenance, so why did it feel like she was gaining some? Rose decided to put those thoughts aside and just enjoyed the feeling of being so warm and feeling so cared for. ___________________________________________________________ Fancy Pants carefully opened the door to see one of his vales, a brown coated unicorn with a slightly darker brown mane and tail, both combed back with a scroll for a Cutie Mark, wearing a suit. “Did you find the item, sir?” he asked as Fancy Pants closed the door silently with his magic. He replied with an annoyed sigh. “It was a mistake, Ivory Scroll. It was meant to go to somepony named Fancy Sleaves in Manehatten.” Ivory scroll nodded, then lifted his head a little, noticing the white lump on Fancy’s back. “Uh, Sir? What is that you have there?” Fancy looked back, feeling relieved the filly was still asleep, before he looked down, his expression saddening. “I found this poor filly sleeping in a cardboard box in the streets.” Ivory nodded, understanding without words why she was with him. His employer was always far more kind hearted than the other nobles, so him taking in a small foal on Hearth’s Warming wasn’t an idea had found odd. With a caring heart such as his, offering his home to an orphaned foal for Hearth’s Warming made all the sense in the world. He followed Fancy Pants to one of the remaining guest rooms. Once inside, Fancy Pants laid the filly into the bed, pulling the covers over her. She snuggled closer into them, her small smile never leaving her face. Fancy Pants gave a light chuckle and left the room, Ivory closing the door behind him. “Shall you be returning to bed, sir?” the unicorn as the other. Fancy gave a sigh and nodded. “It might only be for a few hours, but I really need the sleep. Good morning, Ivory.” “Goodnight, sir,” Ivory replied as Fancy headed off towards his room. The brown unicorn glanced back at the closed door and gave a wry smile. “This is going to be one interesting Hearth’s Warming.” With that, he headed off to his own quarters, intending to get a small bit of sleep himself before the morning really got started.