~
"Flora and fauna, all in bloom,
a moat and a castle, you'll find number two.
Red as blood, the flower of fame,
just remember... it's all in the nickname."
~

"Okaaaay," I sigh, trotting my tiny hooves onto the wooden drawbridge, staring at the flowing water of the moat below, Loki on my left and Zoe on my right.

"Oh, no," Zoe whines, "There's no way we can get to the roses without swimming!"

"Why don't we just swim across?" I suggest.

"I think the current's too strong. The moat is to keep people out, Rose," Loki explains.

I nod my agreement. Zoe huffs a sigh, "How are we supposed to find the gem if we can't even get to the roses? There are thorns, then roses, then water! That's not fair!"

"Uh, duh, we'll just use these," I say, buzzing my small wings, shifting my legs apart so they're a little more obvious.

"But, uh... You couldn't fly until you were in your early teens," Zoe tries to put it delicately.

"That was after you found me," I reply blankly.

"Oh..." Zoe says softly, trying not to say anything wrong, "You never actually told me what happened that day."

I bite my lip, turning away from the group and staring down. "I plan to keep it that way," I speak quickly, trying to ignore the sudden flashbacks that were triggered, "Let's forget it."

I never told anypony about that day. They don't need to know. I don't need to be reminded, either. But it's the only thing that I can even remotely suggest is the reason for my freakishly small wings. That or I was just born a freak. Or maybe both.

"I have no idea what you two are talking about, but okay," Loki nods slowly, "So, do you want to give it a try?" He asks me, gesturing about the flying situation.

"Eh," I shrug, "I'll try."

With that, Zoe pulls my tail like a motor, making my wings buzz loudly. She pulls again and again until it makes me levitate. "Aw yeah," Zoe whoops.

"I believe I can flyyyy," I sing, leaning forward and swaying over the drawbridge, above splashing water, buzzing higher into the air, my wings a blur.

"Quick!" Zoe exclaims, jumping up after me and gripping onto my tail. It makes me dip downwards, closer to the water. I flap my wings harder, gaining more height.

"You're really heavy," I pant.

"Strong enough for one more?" She asks.

I shake my head, "No."

"Loki! Grab on!" She calls to him.

"Um... okay..." Loki mumbles, getting ready to jump, wiggling his butt in the air.

"Wait-!" I shout, but it's too late. Loki leaps up into the air, unconsciously flapping his small-ish wings. He clings onto Zoe's blue tail for dear life, his wings still moving. "Ah!" I cry, the weight too heavy, making me unintentionally edge Loki dangerously towards the wild moat.

He pulls his 'knees' up, his tail being dipped in the water and flowing with the current. "Rose!" He calls a warning.

"My wings are gonna fall off!" I squeal. They feel like they're on fire! "Loki!"

He pulls a determined face as if he knows what he has to do now. "Circular motions," he mumbles to himself, closing his eyes and concentrating. He flaps each small wing individually, eventually making synced, even strokes.

Loki slowly rises upwards, Zoe eventually letting my tail go and sitting on his back. "Now this is a boost," she comments, putting her front hooves on his shoulders for balance.

"I... I'm doing it... I'm doing it!" He squeaks in excitement, letting out a laugh.

"Alright, Loki!" I cheer, the sudden weight of two other foals making it easier to fly, "But how?"

"I had a good teacher," he winks at me, "Now let's get to those flowers."

Wait... does that mean he still remembers that Hearth's Warming where I tricked him in to flapping his wings instead of landing? Of course he wouldn't forget the traumatising event where we almost died, but I mean, before that.

With that, we fly slowly over the water to the water's edge. I land perfectly on the green grass. Loki lands wobbly, falling over. Zoe topples off of him, falling on her butt. And me, being the great friend I am, laugh at them.

Loki gets up, dusting himself off, "Okay, so we're with the roses. Now what?"

I turn to the hedge of beautiful, delicate, red roses, inhaling the amazing scent they give off. Too bad I don't smell like that. All I have is shampoo that smells sorta like apricots. I'm sure Loki'd like me better if I smelled like roses...

No. Stop it, Rose- I mean Rosie! Stop. No. Bad.

The hedge circles the moat, the roses facing toward the water while the thorns face outwards. "The structure is kind of philosophical," Zoe states, "Like, you know how some people can be really mean and poky on the outside, but once you get to know them-"

"IS THAT AN ORANGE ROSE?!?" I interrupt, dashing off a few yards down the hedge.

Zoe sighs, "Yeah, thanks for letting me finish."

Loki and Zoe follow me to a weird coloured rose that stands out from the rest, because it's more of an orange than anything else. It pokes out of the ground, lonely. "Such individuality, such rarity," Loki marvels, "How odd. Never have I ever seen an orange rose in amidst of red."

"Remind you of anypony?" Zoe gets up and nudges, "You're orange."

"Technically, I'm more of a peach colour," I correct.

"Well, this sure is beautiful," Loki says, still talking about the flower.

"Yeah," I nod, "Let's rip it out of the ground."

"Wait! What's that inside the petals?" Zoe points to it.

I pick it up with my mouth, tipping it over, a shiny, smooth, oval shaped stone plopping onto the ground. "The second gem!" I squeak, "We found it!"

"Indeed you did," Discord grins, appearing from behind us. We all scream in shock, making him chuckle, "Calm your bits," he laughs, "I bring you the next riddle."

"Alright," Loki replies, "Let's hear it."

"I've been too easy on you three. The next one will be harder," Discord puts his 'hands' on his hips and opens his mouth to speak;

"On the other side of where you are,
Give up while you're not that far,
Orange dress with a yellow hem,
That is where you'll find your next gem."

And, yet again, he disappears with a *POOF*.

"The other side?" Loki echoes, flying over the hedge, "That could be anywhere. Other side of the castle?"

"No," I shake my head, flying over with Zoe holding onto my tail, "He wouldn't make it that easy. What about the dress bit? What does that even mean?" I land on the ground next to Loki.

"Dress..." Zoe mumbles, "Hem... boutique... other side! I know where the next gem is!"

"Where?!" Loki and me ask in unison.

"Follow me!"

~

"A boutique?" I squeak in disbelief, staring wide eyed up at the white, rectangular sign on the roof with fancy purple writing on it, "What is a gem doing at a boutique?"

"What isn't it doing?" Zoe smiles wide at me, "Gems are used as decorations on clothes sometimes. Plus, this boutique is on the other side of Canterlot, where we were... or are... or..."

"Let's just go inside, already!" Loki growls.

"Okay, okay," I mutter, "But if somepony tries to put makeup on me, I am out."

"Deal," Zoe nods firmly. She opens the door to the clean-feeling shop, the little bell above the door tinkling. The whole place smells like fabric as I follow Zoe in, Loki behind me. Racks of clothes are spotted in bunches around the store, but the most attention grabbing thing is what looks to be a photo shoot going on in the middle of the room.

Four or five mares in alternative clothing rush around, one fixing a mare's mane, one adding blush to another.

A light blue mare with black sunglasses with pink shades and a short, white mane cut, says in a german-ish accent; "We start... Now!" Her black and white dress matches the pink scarf around her neck.
She kicks a suitcase, which transforms into a camera somehow. She points it at a very unhappy unicorn stallion in a tuxedo. She peers into the camera, waiting for him to strike a pose. He lifts one leg up, raising his chin into a position I thought looked quite good. "No!" The photo mare shouts.

"Oh..." He mumbles quietly, cowering back.

"Ah," she smiles, taking two photos.

"Oh. Sweet. Celestia," Zoe gasps, "It's Photo Finish!" She fangirls, tapping me on the shoulder roughly.

"Who in the what now?" I raise an eyebrow.

Zoe pushes Loki and me behind a rack of clothes. "She's only one of the most famous photographers ever!" Zoe answers, her done hissy and hushed.

"So... maybe we should... I dunno... not try to attract any attention?" I suggest.

"Wait!" Loki whispers, "Look at that pony's dress!" He points to a creamy pink earth pony with a blue mane with yellow highlights, styled into one big curl swept to the side. She's getting blushed up by a makeup pony, her dress like a bright, highlighter orange with yellow stripes starting small from the waist, getting thicker and bigger as it reaches the hem, which is the same yellow colour, lined with yellow gems.

"How to we know which one is our gem?" I whisper back, peeking out from behind the clothes.

"We'll figure that out later," Zoe replies, "Let's just wait until the shoot ends and we'll steal the dress after she takes it off."

"Tut-tut," grumbles a voice. I have to stop myself from screaming as we all whip around to see Discord smiling patronisingly down at us, "Stealing is wrong."

"You scared the crap outta me!" I hiss.

"So you weren't even toilet trained at this age?" He mocks.

I blush hard. "No! I mean, yes! Just... Ssssh!"

"Oh, what fun is there in that?" He says, shrugging.

"What do you want?" Loki glares at him.

"I just wanted to let you know that half the day is gone, and you've only retrieved two of the six gems. The clock is ticking, my friends," Discord taps an invisible watch on his chicken claw, before fading into nothing.

"What the frek?" I squint.

"I really hate that creature," Loki sighs.

"Okay, change of plans," Zoe groans hesitantly. "We steal that dress now, or we lose."

"How?" Loki inquires, furrowing his brow, "She looks like she's about to go on soon."

"I don't care how we get that dress, but we get that dress. Rip it off if you have to," Zoe says seriously.

"That sounds so weird when baby Zoe says that," I state to myself.

"And after that?" Loki ignores my comment.

"Run," she grins devilishly. "You guys in?"

"I don't really have a choice, do I?" Loki asks, already knowing the answer.

"Nope," Zoe says, "Let's go!"

Just as she says this, the mare in the orange dress trots unwillingly up onto the platform before the camera. Photo Finish taps her chin thoughtfully and states, "Too much blush." A light yellow mare comes up to the one in the Orange dress and wipes her face. "Not enough." The makeup mare taps the model's cheeks with a soft blush brush. "Perfect," Photo Finnish nods, her expression pretty much neutral.

I creep around the boutique, hiding behind clothes rack after clothes rack, until I'm behind the one closest to the shoot.
I suck in a breath and exhale it lightly as more photos are taken, preparing myself. "You can do this," I whisper to myself.

Photo Finish taps her chin again, staring the model down. "This dress," her accent makes her say 'zis' instead of 'this', "I do not like it."

Suddenly, I charge towards the model before anypony can do anything, my eyes fixed on the hem of the dress. I leap up onto the platform and snag the bottom of the dress with my teeth, skidding across the floor and ripping half of the skirt part off, falling offstage and onto the ground. Everypony gasps, except for Photo Finish.

"Rose!" Loki shouts, rushing up to me.

I'm tangled up in the fabric, unable to move.

Photo Finish smiles, "Yes! This, I like!" And she takes more photos of the ripped dress, the model staring at me, then back at the camera in confusion.

"Run," I say urgently to Loki. He grabs a loose piece of the tangled hem around me and drags me off hurriedly, heading for the door where Zoe is waiting for us impatiently.

We almost make it when...

"Stop!" Photo Finish suddenly yells, not turning around to us. Loki pauses. The whole room freezes, anxious as to what she has to say. "It seems that I, Photo Finish, have found a new face to be an addition to my models."
I stare at Loki in confusion, he glances back. "It is you!" She points directly at Loki.

"Me!?" He lets go of the fabric in his mouth, straightening up in shock.

"You have the mysteriousness of a bat, yet the gentleness of an adorable bunny, yet the radiance of a rare white tiger," Photo Finish says, reaching a hoof out to him.

"Uh... I, um... I'm just going to... go..." Loki says warily, grabbing the loose fabric I'm still entagled in and backing away slowly, dragging me with him.

Loki drags me out the door with Zoe, who slams the door behind us. And then we run.

Well, I don't, and Loki's running looks kind of awkward backwards, but we make it around the corner, Zoe and Loki panting.

Zoe whips the hem out from under me, making me roll onto the floor like a sausage. "It's one of these gems, I'm sure," she mumbles, running a hoof along the line of yellow stones.

"Bingo!" Discord exclaims, once again appearing out of nowhere.

"AH! STOP FREAKIN DOING THAT!" I screech, standing up.

"I'm surprised at you, my little ponies, you made it this far... but you won't succeed," Discord cackles, pressing the tips of his 'fingers' together.

"You bet we won't! I mean will!" I retort, puffing my chest out.

"You were right the first time," Discord says, an unamused expression on his face, "And it's that one," he points to the gem in the middle of the hem. Zoe pries it off with her horn.

"There. Easy," she pants, still tired from the run.

Discord rolls his eyes.

"Where's the fourth? Here's three bits for you.
The next location's where you eat and chew.
Shake the milk, not the cow
There's the next gem, just go, go now!"

And, you guessed it, he disappears, dropping three gold coins behind. They scatter on the ground like a mess. We each grab one coin, picking it up.

"What?" Loki furrows his brow, "Shake the milk, not the cow?"

"Where're we gonna find a cow?" I wail.

"Eat and chew... food... cow... I've got it! A farm!" Loki says triumphantly.

"But where're we supposed to find a farm?" Zoe says, exasperated.

"Wait!" I exclaim, "Whenever Twilight's in Canterlot, she always talks about her friends. Most of the time, I ignore her, but she did mention a pony named Apple... something. And she owns a farm and stuff in Ponyville. Maybe the gem is there?"

"So that's why Discord gave us the bits! For train tickets to Ponyville," Zoe adds.

Loki smiles, dipping his head.

"Lead the way."

🐮🐮🐮🐮🐮🐮🐮🐮🐮🐮🐮🐮🐮🐮🐮🐮🐮🐮🐮🐮🐮🐮

Hey there, people reading!

Ok... I'm making this into a 3 parter. Sue me.

Vote.

Comment.

Stay happy.

~Amazing_Burrito_Mare