Chapters Gale bathed in the soft glow of the stage lights, giddy after another successful performance, even if it was a small crowd. A few dozen smiling faces, though, was more than enough to lift her own spirits. She bowed, bending low over her guitar, before backing away and leaving the stage. She heard calls for an encore, and she nearly fizzed with happiness, a spring in her step gliding her across the dance floor towards the bar as she accepted praise from every side. By the time she reached San-Marie's side, she was glowing.
"Woo, go Gale!" The blonde girl crowed, raising a drink to her friend's success, "You knocked the house down, girl! Here." Gale accepted the drink from her friend as she sat down, nodding her thanks as another singer began on the stage.
Gale sipped at the tall glass, but she heard the bar stool beside her creak as a figure eeled onto the seat and an oily voice slid into her ears: "Wow, that was really well done. 'Chasing Cars' is one of my favorites. Beautifully sung, miss...?"
Gale turned with a frozen smile to the preening wiry man beside her, trying to ignore his barely hidden ogling as she ground out, "So everyone thinks, though I think its meaning is lost on you, Mister Smith...or have you changed your name again?"
San-Marie choked into her glass.
The man flinched, but smiled pleasantly, his words heavy like syrup. "I think you must have me confused, Miss, my name is-"
"EyeDrops, as far as I'm concerned," Gale spat, "You might not know this, you jackass, but exactly one year ago today, right in this very bar, you and your disgusting lifestyle lost me my best friend. I'd suggest turning around and leaving before I break your damned nose."
Pretense dropped from the man's face as he sneered, "Oh, come on, what's with it and the girls in this town? I just want a good night, okay?" He leaned around Gale and nodded at San-Marie, "Hey, you up for it?" He rolled his eyes as she tried to suppress her gag reflex. He continued, standing, "Ugh, you girls are hopeless. Can't say I 'm sorry your 'friend' ditched you-"
Whack
The man recovered to glare at Gale, who held her fist back for another punch. "You say one more word," She whispered, "One more, and you're leaving here in pieces."
"You bitch," He growled, "Oh, you're gonna pay..."
He stopped talking when a glass shattered against his head.
Gale turned and held a shaking San-Marie as both girls watched the man slide to the floor, shouting profanities and clutching his face. "Come On," Gale said, "Let's get out of here, I'll take you home."
"Oh Gale...I-I'm so sorry..." San-Marie stuttered.
"It wasn't your fault, San, he had it coming," Gale soothed, guiding her friend through parting, silent crowd to the door.
"N-no," San started again, "I mean for Marc-"
"And that wasn't your fault, don't dare blame yourself for that. Let's just go." Gale led San-Marie to her car in the parking lot. Throwing her guitar on the back seat, Gale got in and started off, leaving the scene behind, happy to be away from the sexual predator.
Only, predators thrive in the chase.
*****
He waited til her lights went off.
He'd followed her all across the blasted city, to that other girl's house first, but there was no way he could get into a big place like that. But it was this girl, the singer, that he was really after, and her apartment looked...much more manageable.
He slipped up to the front door, quickly running through the locks. One regular on the front, screwdriver and bobby pin, and one slide catch on the back, number eight wire. Easy. Practice makes perfect.
The door swung open lazily as he stepped through into the entrance room. Directly in front of him was a cabinet with a few random items and this ugly statue thing. A hall led in either direction, one to a lounge, and the other to the bedroom. He would usually go straight to the goal, but he wouldn't mind a snack...
He dithered in the entrance hall, undecided, eyeing that weird statuette on the dresser. He smirked as the moonlight struck its horned head, reflecting in its oddly sized eyes, flicking light in his direction. He padded up the warped stone creature, trying to work out what it was. Goat, snake, dragon, horse...a Chimera?
And the eyes still glinted in the light.
He scowled, leaning both ways, trying to see how those eyes followed him. With his attention so taken with the weird statue, he barely heard sleepy sounds of breathing down the hall. He shook his head suddenly. He was here for something! He was going to get it! But he still couldn't look away.
'Oh my, aren't you an evil chap?'
He blinked. Wait, what...?
'Yes yes, you ask yourself where the strange disembodied voice is coming from, I proclaim myself to be the statue, you ask if you're hallucinating...'
Am I high?
'...or that, and after a bit of back and forth, you finally accept that you're talking to a stone draconequus. Boring old run around. Let's skip that and get to the good stuff, yes?'
Holy shit, He thought, I'm tripping so bad... He looked at the statue, with its glinting eyes over a smile that was definitely not there before.
'Okay...I'm going to offer you a deal. It's a simple deal: you see, I'm not exactly meant to be here, and no one really wants you here either. But I can't get home myself; I need a little help. In return, you'll get a new look, new name, new home, to do with as you wish. And me? I'll get the power to give you even more than that. If you're high, you've got nothing to lose, and if this is real, you've everything to gain. I think that covers all the bases. What do you say?'
He shook his head, backing towards the sounds of breathing behind him. Uh, maybe some other time, ugly dragon-thingy, I got some ass to tap right now.
The eyes flared white, 'Too bad. Don't say I didn't play nice. What is your name?'
He screwed up his eyes against the light, scared enough to speak aloud. "W-what?"
'WHAT IS YOUR NAME?!'
"Paul Reedeclythe!"
'Ahem...' He felt a massive weight on his chest and a pressure in his head, pushing everything aside. He screamed.
"What's your name, again?"
"Pau...p...M-Marc Warner..."
The world spun as he hit the floor, but he didn't feel it. All he could focus on was the sheer nothingness, the void in his own head, even as the world bleached to white amid and cascade of clamouring laughter.
Author's Note
Woo! Sequel! Okay, I'm not sure if you guys like the new style, but I don't even know if I can go back to the old one...anyway, check out the next chapter anyway.
Regards
His eyes opened.
They roved the sun-dappled timbre arches above him, taking in the soft pastel colours as his ears followed the soft sound of birdsong, but his mind was set soundly upon one question:
Who am I...?
He grappled with this small lapse, struggling to find a name. He didn't feel particularly worried about not remembering it; he forgot things all the time. It just took a few minutes, usually. He lazily swung his head to his left, looking across the room at the bed opposite his own. He didn't know what exactly he was expecting to see, but his heart lurched when he saw the bed empty.
His eyes darted around, trying to find that which escaped his mind. He turned over, seeking, and found his face filled with golden-blond hair and a twitching grey ear.
Ditzy
Relief flooded through him as he relaxed, and memories rode the tide: He was Marc Warner, cosmic castaway, bona fide hero of Equestria, and she was Ditzy Doo, the mare who took him in and gave him every kindness she could offer. His best friend. What else did he need to know?
He shrugged his shoulder, trying to move up so he could look about a bit more, but Ditzy was tucked so tightly against his collarbone that he couldn't help but disturb her. She mumbled incoherently and held her snout to the cotton of his shirt, trying to go back to sleep. By now, Marc's memory had all but completely reasserted itself, and he knew what to expect next. He smiled to himself as Ditzy slowly awoke.
She was lying over one of his arms, her body tucked against his over the thick homespun blanket covering him. Her one wing was half spread over his chest, her legs tucked under her body as she leaned against him. Slowly, she raised her head, her mane disheveled, her nose gently scrunched up. One of her eyes cracked open, letting in the barest amount of light, but Marc was still captivated by that slim sliver of gold.
Then she saw him. With an abrupt sneeze, she bounced away from him, trying to scramble to her hooves, wings clammed against her sides as she spluttered, "O-oh, good m-morning M-Marc! I was just-" Her hoof missed the edge of the bed, and she lurched over, "-Eep!"
*Thunk*
Marc could barely hold back a chuckle as he pulled off the blanket and rolled over to the edge of the bed. Many mornings started like this, more and more frequently. Usually, the only sign that Ditzy was ever there was a pony-shaped indentation, a golden hair, or maybe a shiny grey feather. But some mornings, Ditzy overslept. And usually those mornings found her on her back on the floor, covering her burning cheeks with her forehooves, staring up at Marc as he laughed.
"S-sorry..." She mumbled, "I thought I'd wake up earlier and make breakfast and..."
"Hush Ditz, don't worry about it. I don't mind sharing a bed with you."
...
...wait...
Her ears perked curiously even as she flushed a little more. "Oh...?"
Marc tried to get his brain in gear. This wasn't how this usually went. Make a vague joke, tease her, then go to breakfast. No odd silences. Fix it! "Well of course not, not when you've been doing it pretty much every day since winter started. And look, it's nearly spring!" he said with a somewhat forced chuckle.
Ditzy smiled too, her ears folding back meekly. "Oh...right. I...I guess that's a little weird, huh?"
Marc held a hand out to her, pulled her up by a hoof into a hug. "I wouldn't change it for the world, Ditzy."
She snorted and returned the embrace. "You already proved that, Marc; you gave yours up just to stay."
That got another chuckle from Marc as well. Considering how little he actually remembered of his old life, it hardly felt at all serious. He'd left that behind, and he never once wished to change it back. He ruffled Ditzy's mane, "So, did anypony turn up last night, or is Rosewood empty again?"
“Dunno,” she shrugged, then leaned out into the room, shouting down the hall, “Hey, anypony home?!”
Marc heard a stuttered groan behind the nearest arch, and familiar “Eep!” *thunk* from behind the opposite corner.
A fuzzy purple mane appeared around the near arch. “Nwanhere...gobakkasleepz?”
“Sure, Scootaloo,” Ditzy spoke soothingly, “just remember that your friends wanted you at the fountain in two hours, alright?” The purple fuzzball slunk back around the corner, where the agonized groan of a tortured mattress played out. Scootaloo wasn’t exactly a morning filly. On the other hand...
“I’m up! I’m up sis! I’ll go check!” Dinky Doo was very much an early riser. Energetic too. The sounds of her rapid circuits of the long segmented hall that made up Rosewood Way-cottage echoed with the sounds of falling items disrupted by her whirlwind passes. She returned with a skip and a jump: “Nopony’s here, sis!”
Ditzy sighed, downcast. “That counts as two weeks...and three before that...”
Marc sighed as he sat up. In recent months, stories about the 'alien of Ponyville' spread, while the number of visitors to Rosewood plummeted, along with their donations. Thanks to the stories spread by a mad god, very few ponies trusted him, and by extension, Ditzy. For both of them, no word stirred up anger quite like Discord .
“Hey, Ditzy, if no one’s here, how about we go to town? We could make a day of it,” Marc suggested, shaking off the memory. Some things he did wish he could forget.
Ditzy excitedly agreed, dashing off to gather whatever things she deemed necessary for the day. Marc tried to ignore the crashing sounds from the kitchen, but snapped up when he heard the unmistakable and far too familiar sound of the fridge groaning as it crashed to the floor.
He sighed, smiling as he hauled himself up to begin the cleanup operation. He wouldn't have it any other way.
*****
One thing about life in Equestria: it made one very, very fit. Marc jogged after Ditzy as she flitted from tree to tree, perching in each to exclaim about the wonder of some or other flower, vine or insect. She held a surprisingly large knowledge of...everything, really. Even Twilight had been surprised to learn about Ditzy’s incredible general knowledge. Even so, Ditzy’s natural exuberance and energy never let her stay on one subject for long, and Marc merely tried to keep up, in more ways than one.
For reprieve, Marc shouted at the twirling pegasus above him, “Hey, Ditzy, where are we going, exactly? You said you had a list?”
“Oh yeah!” Ditzy snapped her wings shut and reached into her packed saddlebags, regardless of the fact that she was a dozen ponylengths above the ground. Marc froze as Ditzy crashed to the path in a cloud of dust, emerging with a muffled “Hurrthiz!” and dropping a chomped-on slip into Marc’s dumbfounded hands.
“Uh, thanks,” He mumbled, opening up the page. Written in neat, tight letters across the page were the day’s planned activities. First was ‘Vinyl and Octy’ - That should be fun - followed by ‘Sgrcbe crnr’. Marc tried to figure out what business Ditzy had there, before he noticed the last item on the list: ‘Picnic’. He smiled and started jogging again, eager to get through the day, with Ditzy flittering on ahead, chattering pleasantly about everything that took her fancy.
A few scant minutes saw them at the front door of their close friends’ door. Ditzy wasted no time in knocking while Marc got his breath back under control. He leaned against the doorframe, hearing the approaching hoofsteps of one of the two musicians that dwelled within. He looked at Ditzy beside him, smirking, “Vinyl or Octavia?”
“Heyo!”
Ditzy giggled, “Oh, definitely Vinyl.”
Marc chuckled as the door swung inwards, revealing a very...indescribable unicorn. Marc raised an eyebrow. “Heya Vee...uh, have a bad night?”
The bedraggled white pony puffed a stray spike of hair from her eyes and squinted up at the human on her doorstep, “No, a very, very good one, actually. C’mon in, I’ll go grab Octy, she’s still in bed.”
“Oh, n-no, don’t...well, I don’t want to bother her.” Ditzy stuttered, a small blush colouring her cheeks. Marc couldn’t work out why, but took a seat in a convenient beanbag as Vinyl shrugged and levitated - shakily - two bags of crisps to her guests. Marc was unprepared for Vinyl’s poor aim, though, and just about fell over onto Ditzy, who just managed to slip out from under him, only to topple back onto his chest in the effort to catch her own. Vinyl chuckled as the pair lay entangled, and even Marc cracked a smile as Ditzy just shrugged and started eating her crisps without bothering to move.
Marc settled himself and looked expectantly at Vinyl. “So, mind explaining why we’re here exactly?”
“Oh yeah!” Vinyl perked up instantly. she dashed to one of her many leaning towers of speakers and whacked one into life, “I was messing around with some stuff the other day, and, I swear, it sounds like Ditzy climbed into my decks! Listen to this ..."
Marc nodded appreciatively. He could literally feel himself getting cheerier as the song progressed. Ditzy felt the same way, though Marc wished she’d stop tapping her hoof on his sternum.
The short piece wound to a close, chased by a concussive applause from Ditzy. Marc tipped the happy pegasus onto the floor before he got a hernia, though. Standing, he brushed crumbs off his cotton shirt, grinning at Vinyl. “Wow, that really was different! I loved it. Gotta ask, though; why the new style all of a sudden? Testing a new piece of equipment, maybe?” Marc was always interested in Vinyl’s technologies, and more often than not helped install and test it. However, today he was to be disappointed.
Vinyl’s lips tightened as she said, “Well, nah...my last album didn't do so well, so I was trying new things to ‘reach out’, y’know?”
“What?” Ditzy asked, shocked. “W-what was wrong with your last album? I loved it. I even have a copy at Rosewood for when...nopony’s around...”
Marc raised an eyebrow but didn't comment. Instead, he watched as Vinyl fished the record out of a bin and hold it up. Marc was more than a little surprised to see, on the cover, and bold picture of himself, Ditzy and Rainbow Dash at sunset. Marc looked at Vinyl around the album cover, where she was reading the song list, muttering, “I swore these were all gonna be number ones. It doesn't make sense...”
Marc’s jaw locked. “Vinyl, I think I see where you went wrong here.” He pointed at the cover image. At himself, clearly embracing Ditzy and sharing in the evening’s lowering sun while Rainbow Dash looked on warmly. It was a gorgeous picture, but not, perhaps, to most ponies. “You think the average Equestrian is ready to see that after what they've heard about me?”
Vinyl snorted. “Well, ponies who can’t accept you two aren’t ponies I want buying my albums anyway.”
Ditzy smiled at the sentiment, but Marc just shook his head. “Okay, Vinyl, its your label, but still...I guess I don't think it will do you any good, being associated with me so much. You know what’s happened to Rosewood...?”
Vinyl sighed. “Yeah, I know. I was just trying to help a little y’know? Put in a good word for ya.”
Vinyl got no further as Ditzy tackle-hugged Vinyl in appreciation, And Marc felt very much like doing the same. However, a certain rumbling, growling noise was making itself heard at the top of the stairs. From certain, terrifying experience, Marc knew that Tartarus hath no fury like morning-Octavia. He cleared his throat, “Well, That's...that's really sweet Vinyl, thank you. But, uh, Ditzy and I need to go on ahead, since we need to be at Sugarcube Corner before...well, before Octavia comes down the stairs.”
Ditzy chuckled and disentangled herself from an utterly bleached Vinyl. Marc would never have thought that a white unicorn could pale, but Octavia could have that effect on anyone before her coffee. Marc and Ditzy bade their farewells and escaped just in time to avoid the possible pyrotechnics.
Not five minutes later, Marc was dog trotting after a fluttering Ditzy, spiraling further into what promised to be another perfect day in Ponyville.
What could ever go wrong?
Author's Note
Woo! Two chapters. Also, before people ask: This is Marc, the one you know and maybe love. Or at least appreciate. Or maybe you're just in it for Ditzy...I don't know. You could, I don't know...Tell me? Yeah, down there!
“Ditzy! Please... *gasp* ...Stop for a minute!”
Marc sucked in a final large lungful of air as Ditzy landed on the front step of Sugarcube Corner, a hoof against the door and an indulgent smile on her face. “Are you okay?” She grinned. “Oh, it’s okay. I know not everybody can keep up with me. Caught your breath?”
Marc tried to glower, but as he stood and walked slowly towards Ditzy, a smirk shone through. “Okay, sure, you’re faster than me. I’m good with that. But I still have one advantage.”
Ditzy raised an eyebrow, stiffening slightly. “O-oh...?”
Marc leaped forward and tickled Ditzy’s neck. A sure winner every time. Ditzy guffawed and collapsed, giggling helplessly as Marc pushed backwards through the door, laughing loudly while Ditzy picked herself up and glared at him in mock menace.
With a playful grin she hissed, “Oh, you're going to get it now...”
And with that, she was after him.
“Haha!” Marc sprinted as if his life was at stake, straight through the centre Sugarcube Corner, diving over, under and around the tables scattered about the room. Ditzy growled and gave chase, but in the enclosed space of the bakery, she couldn’t use her wings. Well, not without taking out insurance first. And so, for once, Marc kept ahead, but Ditzy was hot on his heels, powered by sheer enthusiasm.
“I will catch you!” Ditzy chortled, skidding across the floor as Marc sprinted about.
“Yeah, we’ll get him Ditzy! Go! Heheheee!”
Ditzy stumbled to a halt, looking about in confusion. Marc slid into a shelf set and looked back, dumbfounded. And together the pair stared at the pink blur running circles about the inside of Sugarcube Corner. Pinkie Pie didn’t give them long to work it out, either.
Just as Marc fumbled through saying, “Pinkie, what are you-”
“Gooooooood morning! You nearly got him Ditzy! Have a muffin to celebrate!” and Pinkie was back behind the counter, bouncing about. While Ditzy was still trying to process what was going on, the proffered muffin bounced off her nose. With a happy whinny she set to it, as Marc stared blankly at the grinning Pink pony leaning nonchalantly against her counter. Pinkie Pie turned to him with a sweet smile, “Hey Marc. See anything you like?”
“You’re crazy,” Marc stated, “ And I’ll have a raspberry tart, if you have any?”
Within the realm that was Sugarcube Corner, there were only a chosen few allowed to understand the machinations of that one pink pony. Marc was not one of them. Somehow though, Ditzy was able to at least keep up with the lovably insane Pinkie Pie. This left Marc somewhat left out of the following verbal back-and-forth. Not that he minded: Marc was more than happily buried in his sweet tart. He kept an eye on Ditzy as she leapt about and bartered prices, until he was distracted by the tinkling of the bell.
The front door swung open, and in gaily trotted three mares, chattering amongst themselves. Until they saw Marc, that is. The slight stumble in their conversation gave Marc an opportunity to greet. With a cheery smile and a wave, he called, “Mornin’ Rose, Daisy, Lily. How are you this fine day?”
The formality was called for; only a few months ago, these three had been at the forefront of a mob intent on Marc’s imprisonment. But that was months ago. Now, Marc received nothing worse than awkward smiles. And today, it got even better. With Pinkie Pie still bouncing around with Ditzy, the three had nothing better to do than browse randomly, or talk to Marc. Rose, at least, chose the latter.
“Hey, Marc...” She started awkwardly, pacing up to Marc’s table. She undid her saddlebags and propped them up on the table. Marc wondered at her upfront action, only to notice that, after his and Ditzy’s game, and then the Pinkienado, there weren’t any other tables left upright.
Oh well, make the best of every opportunity, Marc thought. He moved his few things on the table to make more room. Even if it was more a simple gesture than anything else, it set Rose at ease. Marc took another bite out of his tart as he thought of something to say. “So, uh...you girls planning anything for today?”
Rose smiled, almost coyly. “Well, yes. It’s Lily’s birthday, and we were thinking of having a picnic in the park. Sugarcube Corner is really the only place to go to, considering...”
Marc raised a brow. “Oh really? Ditzy and I were thinking of doing the same.” Noticing Rose’s quick glance, he amended, “We were going to sit up in the northern edge of the park, by the library. If we don’t cross, wish Lily well for me?”
Rose gave him a grateful nod. “I will. And...have a great picnic yourselves. I’m glad to see you and Ditzy doing so well together. You deserve it, after what you’ve been through.” While Marc was unable to think of another diplomatic reply, she exclaimed, “Oh! Looks like Ditzy is coming. I’ll leave you two. I need to see if Pinkie has any caramelized petals left.”
With a nod goodbye, she rejoined her friends as Ditzy trotted to Marc’s side. She gave him a quick nuzzle, but her eyes stayed on Rose as she spoke. “So, what were you two talking about?”
“Oh, just this an’ that.” Marc answered, ruffling the base of her mane. “Hey, do you mind if we have our picnic in the north grove, by Twilight’s place?”
Ditzy threw him a sidelong glance, not willing to move lest he stop. “I thought a day at the lake would be nice...but if you prefer, I suppose it’s fine.”
He eyed the three mares still browsing shelves along the walls. As he stood, Marc smiled, “I guess I just feel like some shade today.”
*****
The walk towards the park was much more sedate pace. Ditzy pranced along, her saddlebags barely weighing her down. Not that anything ever did, for long. Marc walked beside her, chatting about...surprisingly little. Marc had always struggled to understand how people could exchange nothings so happily, but meeting his pony friends, and especially Ditzy, he’d found something different from the stilted, almost formal pleasantry of his old home. He’d found banter. Something he still barely managed. Unless it was with Ditzy, of course.
The centre of Ponyville was as bustling as ever. Marc smiled wanly and waved at any greeting directed his way, his attention staying on the bubbly grey mare beside him. She, though, gave a full measure of attention to every pony that called out to them, and even a little to those that didn’t.
One call did, however, manage to cut through their chatter. “Marc! Ditzy! Hello!”
Marc swung his head up and looked about. The cheery greetings he had tuned out, but that was a serious voice. “Oh, hi Twilight,” he returned. “What’s up?”
The unmistakable lavender unicorn trotted up to the pair. She gave a congenial smile. “Hello Marc, how’ve you been?”
Marc raised an eyebrow, “Since two days ago? Absolutely rosey. We were just on our way to the park actually. I thought you had something planned with some ‘dignitary’ for the week?”
Twilight’s smile didn’t falter. “Actually, I did. Speaking of, could I borrow Ditzy for a while?” She turned to the curious pegasus, “Do you mind? It’ll only be a minute.”
“Uh, sure…” Ditzy looked at Marc as she walked towards Twilight, uncertain.
Marc waved a hand airily at a bench nearby, “I’ll be right here, Ditz, maybe I’ll get a milkshake.”
And quite suddenly, Marc was alone in the centre of Ponyville. He was almost never without a companion. He and Ditzy spent a lot of time together, of course, and then there was Twilight, Rainbow Dash and their friends. Rarity still popped out with some new item for him every now and again, Pinkie always seemed to be somewhere nearby, and Applejack was of course reliably in town every market day. Fluttershy always made time for him if he needed to ask a question about anything, but nopony went out of their way quite as much as Rainbow Dash or Twilight Sparkle. Both pegasus and unicorn clearly still felt some responsibility for the lone human, and both had fully embraced the duty of settling him into Equestrian society. Only, they went about it in completely different, yet equally arduous, ways.
So in a way, Marc was happy to have that moment of peace. He sat on a bench under a stumpy willow across the street from Twilight’s Library, slightly obscured by the hanging boughs so that he could observe the town in secluded thought. He’d never been used to constant companionship before, if he remembered right...if...and he found the quiet comforting…
“Heya, what’s up?”
Marc twitched and stared at the lime unicorn next him. No way she’d been there a minute ago…
She lay on her back, her head nearest him, her limbs thrown out at very improbable angles that looked painful even to Marc, but she didn’t seem to mind. She just stared up at him, regardless of being upside down, a straw snaking from her mouth to a cup cradled next to her.
Marc nodded with a grin, “Pleasure as always, Miss Heartstrings.”
Lyra spat out her straw and returned the grin. “Gotta say, I was wondering how long it would take you to notice me. Head in the clouds again?”
Marc shrugged, “No, Rainbow hasn’t tried to take me flying again yet, luckily.”
“Uhh…” Lyra quirked a brow as she swung up into a sitting position. She smirked, “You’re something else, you know that? So, remembered anything interesting lately?”
Marc reclined against the low pony bench, an air of contemplation masking his smile. “Well, I don’t know...I think there might be something…”
“I’ll get you a smoothie after.”
Marc chuckled and leapt up, “You got a deal!”
*****
Rainbow Dash was being awesome. Maybe not quite as awesome as usual, Applejack hadn’t been quite as gentle as usual when bucking the pegasus out of her favorite tree. The word ‘eviction’ was used somewhere...still, nothing a quiet flight around town couldn’t fix. She circled over the pond, seeing a few couples and groups sitting near the water’s edge, enjoying the day in calm, not-awesome ways. She flew on, wondering just for a minute when next the girls would have a picnic down there that she could pretend not to enjoy. She barked a laugh and swooped low through the trees, flying northwards towards the town centre. Maybe Twilight needed someone to shout at again, that was usually fun.
She built a little altitude, wondering which window of the Library to knock open, but as she did, she saw something decidedly unusual: a crowd was gathered under the willow across the street. A crowd not looking at her. Curious, she dove nearer so she could see under the hanging boughs. What she saw froze her heart.
Marc stood tall on a bench, waving a long branch at the pack of ponies around him, all leaping and calling at the lone human as he jabbed his branch about, shouting over the dramatic lyre playing in the background, “...and tell our enemies that they may take our lives but they will never take our freedom!”
He thrust his branch into the air and let loose a grand battle cry that the ponies around him echoed as the tune built to crescendo. Rainbow cried and bulled through the mob to get to Marc’s side, ready to protect him from another lynching attempt.
Marc dropped the branch and jumped back down to Lyra’s side while she kept playing, entranced as Marc continued his tale, “And so, the brave William Wallace led his men against the evil - Oh hey Rainbow, what’s up?”
The crowd gave a collective groan as Marc’s story was interrupted by the confused pegasus. Rainbow looked at the expectant ring of faces, and slowly, her mistake dawned on her, causing her to try and hide a blush. “Oh, you were telling a story? It...it kinda looked different from a distance, heh…”
Marc joined a few ponies in laughing at her expense, but he gave her a pat on the pack, saying, “Well, I’ll take that a compliment to my storytelling then! It’s actually more fun than I thought.”
“But what happened to William Wallace?!” called out a golden-maned filly, her call echoed in more than a few grumbles.
“He led the free army to victory and ruled the world in peace and prosperity for a thousand years.”
Marc stopped and turned to look at the speaker, eyes wide. Twilight stood next to Ditzy at the edge of the crowd, who all turned to look at her. She stood with her head at a curious angle. The filly who had spoken out raised a hoof to another child next to her, exclaiming, “Called it! You owe me candyfloss!”
And with that the crowd dispersed, happy with Twilight’s conclusion. Many votes of thanks were called, and Marc waved goodbyes as the scene collapsed. Lyra stopped strumming next to him, a slight frown on her face. “That’s not how the story ends, is it?”
Ditzy flittered over the other ponies and landed next to Marc, a brittle smile on her face as she answered for him, “Not many human stories do.”
Marc nodded sadly. “Yeah, the Bruce betrays him, but their fight set the stage for a better future. Their fight was not in vain.”
Lyra nodded, then grinned, eyes bright, “Then it was worth it, right? So long as not too many pon-people got hurt! Oh well, see you around, can’t wait for your next story!” She hopped up and started trotting away, humming the tune she’d spent the last twenty minutes playing.
Marc watched her go, aghast. “I just...how…?”
Twilight shook her head, clucking her tongue. “Got carried away again, Marc? Ponies aren’t used to conflict like that, I’ve told you as much. Still, it must have been one amazing story; you should tell me some of them sometime. Just keep to happy endings in public.”
“Sure,” Marc nodded, “I’ve got a few of those.” He smiled at Ditzy beside him.
She headbutted him in the chest, keeping her head down, “S-so what about that p-picnic now…?”
“Sure…” Marc said slowly, glancing at Twilight, “Just give me a minute? I’ll see you right now, Lyra owes me a smoothie.”
“Okay.” Ditzy nodded and trotted off, leaving Rainbow Dash, still confused, Marc looking worried, and Twilight waiting for the obvious question.
“Marc, what the hay just happened?!”
Neither Marc nor Twilight expected that one. Marc looked at Rainbow Dash as she perched on the top of the bench. “What was what?”
Rainbow Dash’s face nearly broke under her grin. “I didn’t know you could tell stories like that! You gotta do that more often, maybe even tell stories about my - our awesome adventures! I mean, your stories are cool, but they need more us.”
“More you, you mean,” Marc chuckled, but he really was thinking about it. Twilight was as well; “Becoming a storyteller, hmm? I...I think that just might work.”
“Work for what?” Marc queried, remembering his own questions, “What did you need to talk to Ditzy about, by the way?”
Twilight looked at the grinning pegasus on the bench, “Rainbow, could you go keep Ditzy company for a minute?”
“Sure,” Rainbow Dash buzzed of, chattering, “I’m gonna be in a story! Aww yeah…!”
Twilight and Marc chuckled at their friend as they both took a seat of the bench. After a short silence, Twilight began carefully, “Marc, I don’t really see how this could affect you, but...if it does, you should know.”
Marc nodded, serious. “I just want to know what you said to get Ditzy nervous again.”
Twilight flinched at that, looking down. “I can’t really tell you that, that’s private, but it’s related...Um, the official I met yesterday? He was here about you. To make sure you were still here.”
Marc leaned back, surprised. “What? Where else would I be, I’ve been here for weeks!”
“I know,” the unicorn soothed, “It’s just that some ponies in Hoofington and Withervale - they're on the other side of Canterlot, in the Valelands? There have been rumours about a human running about in the woods, scaring ponies.”
Marc froze. “...Another human…?”
“No, Marc, don’t get excited,” Twilight cut him off, facing him, “It’s probably just a rumour. I mean, Equestria is still pretty shaken up by your story. What with the Princesses declaring you protected, Vinyl’s new album, and even just the story of what you did, of course there have been rumours. There have been dozens of rumoured sightings all over the country. It’s just…”
“Just what?” Marc whispered.
“...this time, the rumours aren’t going away,” Twilight muttered. “The area is one of the few provinces that seem to have negative feelings towards you. They saw the damage to Canterlot Castle clearly, Marc, and they blamed you. So when there are rumours of a wild human lost in the woods, chasing ponies off the paths through the western Whitetail Woods, it’s to be expected.”
Marc gulped, but nodded. “Of course. It makes sense...I guess. But how does that affect Ditzy? How will it affect us?”
Twilight raised a brow. “I guess that depends on what you mean by ‘us’?”
Marc choked.
Twilight sighed and forged ahead. “Listen, I don’t mean to pry. But that’s just the problem. A lot of ponies have got the idea that...well, yeah. Most are fine with it either way, really, a lot are even rooting for you, but some, especially Canterlot ponies? They don’t like you, just because of what happened to the city. Unfortunately, Canterlot ponies are very influential. Other aristocratic ponies too, that’s why I was talking to Ditzy.”
Marc nodded, still dumbfounded. This was not a topic that had come up. Or, at least, it was one he had refused to recognize. Luckily, Twilight had given him another topic just as query-worthy: “Other aristocratic ponies? What do they have to do with Ditzy? And why would they care?”
Twilight looked straight into Marc’s eyes for a moment, “Maybe this is something you need to talk to her about. Soon, too.” Then she rolled off the bench and started for her home, saying over her shoulder, “Just, don’t think too much on this, okay? It’s the small kind of backlash we’ve all been expecting. Tell your stories, stay happy. We can deal with this for you. Have a good picnic, goodbye.”
“Bye, Twilight.” Marc mumbled, thinking. It’d been one hell of a day. Maybe getting to that picnic would help wash it out a bit. Marc latched onto a smile and joined Ditzy in watching Rainbow showboating for a few minutes, ignoring the worries niggling at his heart.
Author's Note
'Kay, here's a chapter!...finally...
Regards
What is your name?
All around him, stretching off into deepening shadows, were unfamiliar trees. This wasn’t right. He lived in the city, with its tall buildings, busy streets, lights, cars and noise. A place where he could be lost while knowing exactly where he was. A place where no one knew his face unless he let them. This forest was not that place.
What is your name?!
“My name is M-Marc Warner.”
In the second before he said the words, he knew they were wrong. And the moment the name slid bitterly off his tongue, it became him.
Good. Now, where do you live?
A slightly-less-than-shady loft downtown, at the top of a dreary building, a big empty space that cost almost nothing but was still more than he was willing to pay for such a worthless life. Not that he told his friends that. Partly because he had none.
Oh, don’t be like that. Tell me, where do you live?
A new picture, a brighter one: a long low turf-roofed hall on a low hill, snuggled between a forest and a town, a heartwarming image of a sunset lighting it all. And his was bent to it. His heart screamed against this new image, so wrong, even as his mind suddenly, avidly agreed.
“Rosewood Waycottage, just outside P-Ponyville.”
And who do you live with? Who do you know?
His heart knew this: five other guys just as drunk and down as he was, living together for no more reason than having others to cover the rent. His heart tried to show him the images of a loft in a tall and dingy building. His heart tried to show him a city skyline. But the voice echoing in his mind easily quashed his will.
“I live with Ditzy Doo, and she cares for me. I care for her, too. My friends are Twilight Sparkle and Rainbow Dash, who have helped me since I arrived. I owe them all my life.”
Yes, yes...Well, one last question:
Where are you?
He looked out at the lofty trees around him, so alien, yet so welcoming. He felt the loam pressing against his bare feet, and the chill evening breeze brushing over his naked skin. He ran a hand over his face, familiarizing himself with it. He looked out through the trees, down a hill at a small clustered village, calmly going to bed for the night. His heart cried an answer, and his mind did as well. For the first time in what felt an age, the two agreed:
“I am lost.”
*****
Marc was having the strangest dream. He was a rock. Just another pebble nestled in the grass as the world ticked on by in the sunlit field. All about him he heard sounds, of errant breezes, of birds high above and the buzzing of friendly little insects all about him. He saw a pair of silvery moths flitter through the shade of a tree, a whole group of monarch butterflies glide slowly past him, and a few buzzing bees among the flowers.
One of them sat next to him on a toadstool, sipping at a cup of tea while it watched the others at play, its shimmery-silver wings buzzing in the golden sunlight. It gave the unremarkable pebble that was Marc, and then, strangely, it smiled a beautiful smile with its golden eyes.
That’s when Marc decided to wake up.
To be fair, not that much was different. He was lying against smooth wood of the library’s exterior, surrounded by long, wavy grass, his sleepy eyes wandering over a pleasantly busy Ponyville Park. He could see all the way down to the park lake where three familiar mares were just setting up their picnic. In front of him, a group of older ponies were out enjoying the sunshine, while off to the left some fillies and colts were playing a hoofball match – Marc had always wondered how pegasi managed to keep the ball in the air as they flew – with an indulgent ruby mare keeping score. All in all, it was a gorgeously peaceful Ponyville day.
“Oh! You’re awake.”
That would be his favourite bee. Marc turned and smiled at Ditzy, still fumbling to catch her wayward teacup. Marc caught the (luckily) empty china as it slipped through Ditzy’s hooves. For half a second more Ditzy grasped for her saucer before catching the plate tightly to her chest. She slowly looked up to Marc, who sat holding her cup where he’d caught it, one curiously raised eyebrow and his hair full of grass. She blew an errant lock of straw-blond mane from her eyes, and smiled shyly, “So...have a nice nap?”
Marc couldn’t help but chuckle as he took Ditzy’s saucer and placed the two pieces of china down on the blanket beside him. “Uh yeah, that was...calming. Just one question. I remember what you put in your bags, Ditz, and a tea set definitely wasn’t in there. Care to explain where you got some,” he took a moment to analyze the aroma still hovering in the air, “raspberry mint tea, and more importantly,” he winked with a smile, “Why none for me?”
There was one thing Marc had in common with Rarity: a very fine taste in tea. Any and all Equestrian brands, minus the hay-based types, Marc had, would and wished to taste. It was nothing more than an idle hobby, but he certainly had the time for those nowadays. In fact, he’d spent enough time discussing the topic with Rarity that he was fairly certain that this flavour wasn’t from the seamstress’ private stock.
“Oh, Twilight brought it out when Rainbow Dash left. They’d talked, but Dash doesn’t really like tea,” Ditzy responded as she poured another cup, “So Twilight asked if we’d like any. Since I’ve had mine, would...would you like this one?”
Marc nodded enthusiastically and accepted the still-steaming cup – no doubt an enchanted teapot – and drew in the sweet scent. However, being reminded of Twilight, his mind was cast back to...less settling subjects. Of all Twilight’s words, soothing as they were, had set Marc at various shades of ill ease, from excited as to the prospect of seeing another human, to taken aback over any ill-feeling from Equestria’s nobles, to confused about Ditzy’s connections with any of it. And few shades more confused about her besides.
At least, one thing he could ask about without wasting the day. Ditzy had told him before about why she, as a Cloudsdale pegasus, ‘lived groundside’: Because her little sister Dinky was a unicorn – and a promising little one at that – her family, important Cloudsdalians in some capacity, had organized for their daughters to live in and care of the old building that was Rosewood Waycottage. But from what Twilight had said, this somehow was or would become problematic. And so, he asked, “So, Ditzy, what was Twilight talking to you about earlier?”
If there was one thing about Ditzy, it was that she was adorably bad at lying. “O-oh, n-nothing much, j-just asking about...um, D-Dinky’s levitation practice!” she blurted, before looking at her hooves, already knowing Marc had seen through it, “Yeah...that. A-and stuff...”
Marc sighed and smiled wryly at her awkward shuffling, before patting her shoulder. “Ditzy, I think...I think we need to talk about a few things. I’ve been here for a year now, and...well, I don’t know all that much about your history or...family...”
“You know me.” She muttered, suddenly terse, “Isn’t that good enough?”
It was such a sudden change he had nearly missed it. It was subtle; a slight tension in the way she held her wings, the set of her jaw, a twitch of her ear. This was the slight difference between the shy, sweet filly he cared for, and the intelligent, indomitable mare he respected.
He stopped stroking her fur and rested a hand gently on her foreleg. “For me, Ditzy, I have everything I could ask for, but from what Twilight told me, some ponies might think I have too much.” He selected his words with care. “So what I’m asking you, Ditz, is…. what is it that I’ve really got?”
He could feel the tight muscle taught beneath her skin, a single line of corded sinew just enough to remind him just how strong ponies could be. He also felt it relax as Ditzy lowered head and sighed. “Marc...my family, in Cloudsdale? My mother and my f-father. They’re...my father is, uh, important. I think he’s the Governor’s Advisor on Foreign Affairs...and my mother helps...well, she’s in charge of Preparatory Education...she runs the Flight Camps.” She trailed off a little, looking up, all the way up into the sky. “She’s the only reason I didn’t drop out for breaking everything.” Her driest chuckle still managed to sound bitter. “Twilight got a letter from Celestia, they’re...they’re asking, along with a bunch of nobles, to move you from Ponyville to...well, out of Equestria.”
“What?” Marc blinked dumbly, his hand dropping to the ground. Ditzy glanced at it, avoiding looking up to his eyes. “What? Wait...what?!” Marc tried to think how he may have angered Ditzy’s parents, or anypony, other than existing here in the first place. When nothing came to mind, a small knot of anger made itself known. “So, they just don’t like me? Think I’m dangerous? I guess hearing their daughter is harbouring an alien couldn’t have gone down well...”
“They don’t know.” Ditzy muttered.
Marc was not having the best of days, his blank stare attested to that. “...What?”
Ditzy compulsively grabbed her saddlebags and began rifling aimlessly through them as she babbled, “I-I was g-going to write them a letter...I did, actually, after Canterlot, after you came...home. But...after that day on the hilltop...I didn’t know what it meant, I didn’t want to send them a letter while things were so confused, and then I got caught up in helping you, and talking to Twilight, and it was all so exciting! I just forgot, and I didn’t know what to say! I didn’t know what it all meant, what we meant...” Then, in a quiet whisper that he had to strain to hear, “What I meant to you.”
And with that, he was speechless.
Ditzy stopped fidgeting with her bag as she realized what she had said. In utter silence, she stood and slowly turned to Marc, still leaning mutely against the tree. A breath climbed down his throat then, one breath for a single word: “...Ditzy...”
“It’s okay,” She smiled, slowly spreading her wings, “I know it’s silly. But...A mare can dream right? I’m...I’m sorry for saying anything...I’ll just...go write that letter.”
Marc felt helpless as he watched her turn and take off into the afternoon sky. Neither Marc nor Ditzy had noticed a pair of magenta eyes in the boughs above their picnic spot, watching Marc as he stuttered to himself among the remnants of his peace. A flash of cyan and Marc twitched at the sound of familiar wings beating the air.
“Wow. Rough, dude.”
Marc finally let himself blink.
“Though to be honest, you really should have seen it coming. She’s had her eye on you for months,” Rainbow Dash said airily. “Both, when she could manage.”
“Not helping, Dash.” Marc growled.
Rainbow sighed. “Yeah, I know. But really, you were seriously clueless. I mean, I’m as thick as ten logs and I noticed clear as day. The question is, what are you gonna do about it?”
Marc shifted his seat and ran a hand down his face. He felt a chill crawling down his spine and setting in the pit of his stomach. “I don’t know.”
Rainbow Dash let out a low whistle and reclined next to her friend. “Hmm...well, as a single mare myself, I don’t think there’s much I can say...I’m not even sure how that would work, but hey, this is modern Equestria we’re talking about , I’m sure nopony would-”
“Her parents don’t know, remember?”
Rainbow stopped whistling. “...Yeah, you’re pretty much screwed.” She stood and shook out her wings, “But, you can save this...somehow. It all comes down to one question: Ditzy’s got it for ya. Do you have it for her? You either say yes or no. Trust me, she’ll be at your side either way. Just don’t string her along.”
“I don’t plan to,” Marc growled. “But...it’s a bit much, Dash. I mean, I’m barely sure of my memories at this point. Now with Ditzy’s, uh, parental situation, I think...I’d rather not cause more trouble for her than I already have.”
“Hah!” Rainbow snorted, “You don’t know how much Ditzy might like to stick it to her folks! But I get it, I know what you mean. Really? Talk to Ditzy about it. She’s a lot tougher than any of us ever took her for, something I’ve begun to notice recently,” she said, her face paling slightly. “I never want to see her angry face again.”
Marc sucked in a breath, before exhaling loudly. “Yes, of course. I owe her that much.”
“Great!” Dash crowed. “I’ve done my good deed for the day! I’m gonna go and trick Thunderlane into electrocuting himself again to make up for being such an awesome friend. You good?”
Marc smiled and picked up the tea set, “Yeah, I think I am. I’ll just take this back to Twi and then...yeah.”
“Okay then! See ya in a bit!” And with that, in usual Rainbow Dash flair, she was gone.
Marc was feeling remarkably more confused than usual, so he focused on the most immediate event. Teacups to Twilight, then...well, he’d take it from there. Suddenly, the bright verdant park seemed to be a lot less bright than it had when Ditzy was beside him. He took a deep breath and shrugged it all off, for at least a little while. The park still glittered with a spectrum of ponies enjoying their free hours. He took comfort in that, somehow. So, no matter how uncertain he felt about almost everything, he forced a smile and turned back to Twilight’s treehouse to-
“So the talk didn’t go too well, then?”
“Gah!” Marc nearly dropped the tea set as he jumped. Leaning against a tree in Ponyville was dangerous; you never knew who might be in it. Though really Marc should not have been surprised to see Twilight staring curiously out of her own kitchen window.
“Yeah, I heard as much.” she smiled thinly.
Marc’s eyes hardened at her openly curious gaze. “Was there anypony not eavesdropping on us? That was really private you, you know!” He dropped the tea set on the windowsill angrily, muttering, “Don’t you guys have your own problems to deal with...?”
Twilight had the decency to look contrite, if only a little. “We were just trying to look out for you. And really, your issues are much more interesting than ours.”
“Nice to know you’re getting some entertainment out of this,” Marc snarked. He didn’t want to have to put up with this. There was a little cottage at the edge of the Everfree with his name on it. Only, when he turned around, he found himself staring into the same eyes, along with the dissipating flash of a spell. Marc sighed, “What is it, Twi?”
Twilight just shook her head and smiled wanly. “Marc, you know we’re trying to help, right?”
“Yes,” Marc muttered. For Twilight, this was enough, and Marc was surprised to have her begin, rather roughly, jabbing him with her horn. “Hey, hey! What are you-“ Twilight failed to answer, preferring to jostle him a little unceremoniously into the library. “Twilight, seriously, this is not – uh...”
“Hiya Marcy!” His world was Pink.
“C’mon, Pinks, give him breathing room!” Rainbow Dash hauled Pinkie Pie up out of the way, and Marc suddenly found his mouth dry.
“Why so shocked, darling?” Rarity cooed as she trotted up to them, leaving Fluttershy quite happily hiding next the library’s centrepiece, right up until Applejack nudged her forward to the circle.
Last time Marc stood in the library surrounded by these six...yeah, things hadn’t ended too well. His tension, compounded as it was, could be forgiven.
Rarity chuckled at his slack features. “Don’t worry dear, we’ve gathered here with nothing but the best intentions.”
“Well, you know what they say about good intentions…”
“Oh!” Pinkie cannoned into the air, “Can I tell him the plan? Can I, Twi? Pleeaase?!”
Marc steadied himself with a trembling hand on a bookshelf. His deer-in-headlights reaction was barely contained as he stuttered, “What plan? What are you talking about?”
“Now don’t you worry,” Applejack soothed, “When the six of us come up with a plan t’gether, it won’t fail ya.”
“Is that before or after you nearly get killed by ancient demon tyrants?” Marc muttered. Marc decided this was all Twilight’s fault. It was an informed decision, and he carried it out as best he could. With a sharp growl, he stated,“Twilight Sparkle, answers, before I run screaming into oblivion.”
“Well...” Twilight shuffled around the irate human for a moment before snatching up something that glimmered in the afternoon light. “You’ll need this, either way.” She held it up in a hoof, her horn curiously inert, displaying a sky-blue gem set into a slim silver chain.
Oh, right. Because jewelry solves everything. Marc found himself rather less concerned with what the necklace was for and more with getting out of there as quickly as possible before he broke something. “Okay, listen, whatever you girls have cooked up, just forget it, okay? I can live my own-”
A sudden flash streaked down from the ceiling as Rainbow Dash grabbed the small piece of shiny jewelry from her friend and waggled it excitedly in front of Marc’s nose. “Never seen a Cloudwalking gem before, Marc?”
Silence.
Until Pinkie started laughing.
*****
Ditzy had always liked this branch. The rough bark hanging from the branch, the heavy boughs above hanging verdant green leaves encasing her, shutting off the whole world save a sliver of light in the evenings, letting in the golden sunlight before her, shimmering over the rooftops of Ponyville. It was calming. A little happy. Not to say she was upset, really, Ditzy actually found herself with a little fatalistic acceptance. She’d wondered when..well, it didn’t matter now. Whatever would be, would be.
Ditzy hadn’t really thought much on the ‘big picture’; nothing past her, her sister and Marc had entered her consideration for quite some time, not in any major way. Great decisions weren’t hers to make. She decided what was for supper, which flowers to pick for Dinky’s school project, where Marc and she would be going for a picnic...and even these she happily let slide if it made somepony else happy. And so, she was more than willing to wait.
She didn’t have to wait all that long, considering.
“Ditzy?”
She barely even flinched, not recognizing the voice at first, but she registered Marc standing beneath her after a lazy blink. She smiled uncertainly to herself before rolling across the branch and hanging over to look down at Marc standing among the roots. He was holding something, but she barely paid it any attention; she just looked at his eyes.
“Hi.”
“Your, uh, your tree is looking great. Especially...green today. Almost like an emerald colour, quite striking-”
“Marc,” she whispered. His tone, nervous, but maybe, just maybe, a little excited too? Ditzy leaned down just that much further.
Marc shuffled a bit awkwardly, then seemed to remember what he had brought. Ditzy looked on curiously as Marc fumbled with the glittering chain and held up, a few feet from her nose, a Cloudwalking gem.
Marc stuttered slightly as he said, “So Ditzy, would you like to go on a trip with me? I was thinking...Cloudsdale?”
Author's Note
I was kinda dreading this chapter to begin with, because I've already wasted space with filler, but hey, I'm actually happy with it now. Once again thank you to JBL for his quite professional editing and comments; they got the center section working correctly!
Regards
“So, uh, is this our train?”
Ditzy flicked Marc a strange look. She’d been doing that a lot lately. “You should probably just check the tickets?”
Marc fumbled with the two slips he’d forgot he held in the bustle of the train station and checked the train numbers on the rough brown paper, “Train F. E. Three, Evening Train, on line one. Yeah, This must be it. Heh…”
In a typical Ponyville weekday, the town’s train station moved upwards of a hundred visitors to and from the small but immensely important town. On the surface, it was a small rural village, with quaint cottages and rustic charm aplenty. Only a glance down any of the streets, though, would find out how much more this town was. When half the faces in the town square had been on magazine covers across the country, it really should have been obvious. Not many ponies realized that this was in fact an assembled think-tank, mere miles from the Capitol of the nation and on a border in need of protecting. Not many realized, but those that did came here in droves.
So, standing there on the only platform, surrounded by a shifting crowd of ponies who walked around him at a wide berth, chattering in low tones and looking at him like yet another attraction the town had to offer, Marc wondered why on earth they had yet to build another railway line.
“Marc, this is the l-last time I’m gonna s-say…” Ditzy started, but with a glance over her shoulder, she stopped. Marc cast a quick glance over the heads of the pony mob and saw, to his slight distress, a pale lavender-coated unicorn filly bouncing on the back of a rather determined orange-maned earth pony. Dinky looked happy enough, but the look in Carrot Top’s eyes spoke volumes; I will hurt you if you back out, you spineless pegasus . Ditzy turned back to the train, “Let’s t-talk on the train rather…”
Marc knew what Ditzy wanted to say. It was roughly the same thing she’d said every day for last week: The trip is a bad idea, we need to think this through, what about Rosewood, your friends, Dinky? So many practical reasons why going would be ill-advised, and yet Marc’s friends themselves had begged him to go. And from the look in Carrot Top’s eyes, Ditzy’s had been much the same, though, he was sure, for different reasons. Marc himself had had his second thoughts, but the case Twilight had made was very conclusive and convincing. After she’d calmed him down, that is.
So Marc had been convinced that this was a vitally important diplomatic mission to save himself the trouble of harassment from upper-tier citizens, who just so happened to be the parents of the mare with whom he had been happily living for the last few months. It certainly wasn’t going to be emotional and/or awkward in any way.
The lump in his throat was purely coincidental.
“Come on.” He grunted, before he lost his nerve.
*****
“You know, I don’t think Equestrian trains were designed with humans in mind…” Ditzy commented as Marc hunched under the overhead luggage compartment of their cabin. He grinned back awkwardly as he fiddled with his ticket, already punched by the conductor.
“When are we gonna get going? I feel like we’ve just been sitting here for six months.”
“Not that I mind,” Ditzy muttered, staring out of the window, “I’m n-not exactly looking forward to this much.”
Marc stopped moving and studied the pegasus across from him. The last few days had been weird, but, from what he’d heard of Ditzy’s family, he didn’t blame her in the slightest. Leading pegasi of Cloudsdale both, they held quite a lot of sway over politics, which is what pertained to Marc himself, but more importantly, they were Ditzy’s family, and apparently the first time they would learn of their daughters harbouring a strange amnesiac alien would be when she turned up on their doorstep with said alien in tow.
The train suddenly seemed a lot more comfortable to him as well.
He gulped, “I’m sure it won’t be so bad. It’s just a vacation, after all.”
“M-Marc…” Ditzy looked at the floor, blinking nervously as her ears swivelled every which way. She glanced up at Marc, then looked away, sighing, “Th-there’s still a-a l-lot of stuff I sh-should tell you…”
Oh boy, Marc thought, this is going to be awkward. Well, at least now is the perfect time to talk about it. “Ditzy, I know we have a...unique situation, but...I never turned you down.”
“I n-never actually asked anything, either.” Ditzy muttered, snorting. Silence filled the car after that, more oppressive than the talking had been. After a few minutes passed, Ditzy’s stiff posture collapsed, wings wilting tiredly, “I-I’m s-sorry...it’s just...I’m not exactly good with stalli...y-yeah, that…”
“Why me?” Ditzy looked up sharply as Marc spoke, unsure of his meaning. There was a glint in his eye, a sudden resolution there, despite his being folded up like a deckchair, “Why me? You basically just said it yourself; there are ponies, Ditzy, that would be lucky to have you. But...I just don’t understand. I don’t know how to feel about it when there’s so many questions in my head.”
“It’s...it’s complicated…” Ditzy rubbed one forehoof against the other, still unable to look Marc in the eye as she spoke, “But...You’re you. You’re Marc. You’re kind, funny, interesting...you don’t mind when I burn the salad…” both couldn’t help but share a chuckle at the memory, “...you’re s-so incredible, despite what you’ve been through, losing your home, even your memories..” Ditzy’s voice strengthened as she lost herself in her own explanation, “You have Princesses clamouring for your attention and have faced down gods, Marc, do you realize that? And st-still, you don’t mind...you actually want to live...with me. The derp-eyed weird pegasus on the hill. The mare who met you by nearly killing you. Somehow, you seem to care of m-me too…”
“Of course I do, you know that.”
Ditzy’s ears laid back as she blushed, finishing, “Y-yeah, and...well, I’ve grown to...you know...want more. With you.”
Marc swallowed painfully, not wanting to say it, but he had to, “More. With an alien.”
“No, not an alien,” Ditzy snorted at the thought, “Not an alien. Just with you.”
Marc didn’t know what to say to that. For a long while, they just sat in silence, not daring to look at each other, but unable to look anywhere else. At some point the train had set off, leaving Ponyville, and everything Marc was familiar with, far behind. Suddenly, being out of his comfort zone didn’t seem so bad.
“You’re...right. It’s not a matter of what , but of who . No pony is closer to my heart than you. Nopony will be, I don’t think. Ditzy, if...if you want more, then...I’m willing to try.”
It took almost thirty seconds for the penny to drop for the confused pegasus, “R-R-Really? B-but...I’m a mare with...”
“I’m a tall, furless bipedal ape-like alien.” Marc deadpanned, “This is pretty new ground all round.”
“Nooo , I mean...I have h-history…” Ditzy awkwardly started to explain. Marc, though, was too nervously giddy to listen.
“Well, yeah! You never told me you were actually a noble . Or, at least something close as…” Marc rubbed his chin thoughtfully as Ditzy gasped like a fish, unable to find the right words. In the end, Marc found some before she did, “Okay, okay, I need to calm down. Maybe we should just focus on telling your parents how you’ve had an alien living with you and your sister for the past while.”
Ditzy suddenly deflated, pawing at the vinyl of her seat, “Yeah...s-sister …”
Marc cocked his head confusedly, “What?”
“Oh, uh...I-I have a b-brother too.”
“Well then. Hope he doesn’t try to beat me up for playing alien mind-tricks on his sister or anything.”
“You know,” Ditzy interjected, changing the subject quickly as she sat up, “If you don’t stop calling yourself an alien, nopony else will, either.”
“Heh,” Marc rubbed the back of his head awkwardly, “Good point.”
“We sh-should get some sleep. We get to the Cloudsdale terminal early tomorrow”
Marc looked at the pegasus across from him yet again. The awkwardness was still there, but the air had been cleared between them somewhat; Ditzy was actually looking back. Her soft smile spoke of a new calm, her ears up, listening to his silence even against the clatter of the train car. She help herself differently now, stronger.But he could see apprehension in her eyes, and he realized, there was still a lot he didn’t know about this pony he had become so attached to, a pony who had surprised him at every turn. Marc returned her smile as he lay over to the side and whispered his goodnight.
The next morning, as the early light shone through the blinds of the cabin as the train braked into the Cloudsdale Train Terminal, Marc woke to a familiar soft feathery blanket over his chest, and a warm form breathing gently beside him, somehow finding a way to share his seat with him in slumber. He realized yet again how he wouldn’t want it any other way.
Author's Note
I never really did finish this chapter...well, now I have. Please don't kill me
