What If: My Second Life

CHAPTER 15: Cutealoo

On my way back to the farm, I passed through the town square. My legs were killing me at this point and I had to sit down.

I sat down on a bench near the apple selling cart and leaned back, putting my face in my hands and rubbing my eyes. It was late and I was tired as hell. I looked up and saw something on two legs walking towards me. “Coal? That you man?”

“Jace? What are you doing out here? And why is the Apple's cart still open? That's really weird..”

“Yeah, I know..” As Coal got closer, we both heard a thud from next to us. We turned to see a little hoof sticking out of a bush reaching for an apple. It wasn't all that dark, but we couldn't make out the color, yet somehow we could tell it was a hoof....I mean, it looked like a hoof. We stood there staring at it until the whole pony fell forward. It was Scootaloo. She stood up shaking herself off and quickly jumped up grabbing an apple. She looked at it and let out a sigh. She started to walk away, but stopped when she saw us. Her eyes went huge and her legs began to shake. She started to breath heavily and we could hear whimpers. We couldn't tell, but we think she started to cry. We didn't know if it was because she was scared, or because we had seen her steal an apple. Coal started walking towards her, and as soon as he started to move; she started to panic. She fell on her flank and curled up into a ball. She was shaking violently. She was sobbing and was murmuring to herself.

I couldn't help but feel bad for the little filly. I don't know why, but I felt angry for some reason. Who would leave a sweet innocent little filly out here to fend for themselves?

"Pleasedon'thurtme...pleasedon'thurtme...pleasedon'thurtme..." It was barely audible. The ground was getting wet where she was cowering from her tears. We both looked at the sight with a feeling of guilt and sorrow that we had never known. We hadn't done anything. Coal was just standing there and it made this little filly tremble in terror. I just sat there and watched, not wanting to scare her anymore. We guess the context of a first meeting sets the tone. Alone in the dead of night getting caught doing something bad must equal little filly panic mode.

Coal stood over her for a moment. He couldn't bring himself to speak for whatever reason. I think apart of his brain was d'awwwwing at the sight; while another part of his brain was crying at it. I know that was me. Coal kneeled down and scooped her into his arms. She started to thrash around. She couldn't scream...she was simply sobbing too hard. She never came across this weak and vulnerable in the show, but we guess she always had Applebloom or Sweetie Belle to comfort her and give her strength. Coal forcefully made her stop thrashing by sitting down and resting her on his lap. He then leaned over her holding her tightly. He had her head right against his cheek. She was trembling all the more now. He finally got enough control over himself to start talking.

"Please...calm down. I'm not going to hurt you. I'm not mad at you for trying to take something. Please...just calm down."

Her trembling slowed and she pulled herself back in order to look at him. Her light purple eyes were filled with tears and her coat was matted down from crying. She looked like the sweetest, but most pathetic little filly you had ever seen. Coal did the only thing he could do. He leaned forward and kissed her forehead. He rubbed the back of her head gently and kept whispering to her. "It's going to be alright. I'm not going to hurt you."

Honestly, at this point, Coal looked like my father. My father was the nicest man you would ever meet, never drank, never smoked. I don't know how he could live with my mother. She was drunk every day, didn't have a job, smoked, and was a complete mess. When she got fixed up through rehab, we were a happy family, until they found out my mother had cancer. She died later that year and my father was the only one fending for us. He had a good job though, it was enough to keep the house and have me fed well. Just seeing Coal like this made me feel happy that I could see my father in him.

After a few minutes she calmed down considerably. Coal, having calmed down enough himself, could now hear that her stomach was rumbling. He picked up the apple she had taken and rubbed it off. He then looked at her and said: "Don't worry about this apple sweetheart. I work with the Apple family; I'll just have them take this one out of my pay. You need to eat something." She gave him a gentle nod and took the apple. She looked at it for a moment before biting into it.

I stood up and slowly walked over, Scootaloo eyeballing me. “Don't worry... I'm a friend of his..” I said. Coal nodded to Scootaloo, but I could tell she didn't trust me one bit. That really did hurt. To think, I called her Cutealoo when I saw her in the show but now, she wasn't cute. She looked like she had hate in her eyes when she looked at me. What the fuck did I do?!

When she looked at Coal, she was so sweet in his embrace slowly eating an apple. Her cheeks were protruding from the big bites she was taking. We had a feeling of peace...and fulfillment. But only when her attention was on Coal. Coal just wanted to take care of her and protect her from the world. After she finished the apple (eating the core and all...damn) she gave Coal a small smile, but scowled at me. He rubbed the top of her head some more with a look of empathy. While he was rubbing her head she finally worked up the courage to talk.

"Th-thank you m-mister. I was very hungry. I'm sorry I was going to steal it; I...I didn't want to, but I had to."

Coal looked at her with a feeling of dread creep up on me. You see...Scootaloo is almost always depicted as an orphan in fan-fiction. He had even fantasized about adopting her at some point. He loved her that much. So here he is...in the middle of the night...with Scootaloo...stealing an apple...because she 'had to'...FUCK!

"Why is that sweetheart? Oh I'm sorry...I don't even know your name."

"My name is Scootaloo...what is your name?"

"It's Coal, and my friend Jace. I saw you looking at him with that look an-”

"Coal!?" Scootaloo gasped and put her hooves to her mouth. She was staring at Coal with what looked like shock.

"Applebloom told me about you, but not Jace....I'm sorry I looked at you like that...I have some trust issues...she said Coal was really nice. S-she was right. I can see that Jace is really nice too..." Scootaloo gave Coal and me a much bigger smile and dug her face into Coal's chest nuzzling in. "I...I don't have a home to go to...my mom got real mad at me...I broke some more stuff trying to get my cutie mark. She...she got tired of it. That is why I had to take the apple. I...I was so hungry. I thought I could maybe volunteer to help Applebloom with her chores to make up for it. Please don't be mad at me!"

Scootaloo was starting to cry again. She put her hooves around Coal and pushed her face into his chest harder still. He could feel her tears starting to soak into his clothes. Coal did the only thing he could; he held her. He pulled her up to his face and kissed her gently. He nuzzled her cheek and she in turn nuzzled his. I watched, just seeing Coal comfort the orange little filly in a very fathering way. He leaned back to get a good look at her. She was so small. She looked so tired and sad. Coal knew he needed to get her home, but he didn't think Scootaloo would like it. Coal just had to do what he knew to be right.

"I could never be mad at you for anything Scootaloo. Spike has told me a fair amount about you and your friends. I know you're a very strong little filly. Seeing you like this...breaks my heart Scootaloo. We need to go talk to your mom. She has to be so worried about you. She loves you I'm sure. All moms love their children...and it is best for you."

Scootaloo looked away from Coal. She clearly was against the idea, but given the situation she couldn't really refuse. She nodded and told us where to go. She was only about five minutes away from home. It was actually kind of weird as we approached the door. The lights were off and there was a note on the door. As Coal read it...his heart broke and he was filled with an incredible anger.

'Scootaloo,
If you're reading this then I have gone to bed. Go stay with one of your friends tonight. The nights aren't too cold so don't you dare try to guilt me! Don't bother trying to get in. I have my ear plugs in and won't hear you. If you're going to apologize and promise to stop hanging around with those girls I'll forgive you and take you back. Don't bother coming home otherwise.'

As I read this, the look on my face went from confused, to angry in a flash. “Why that...” I growled and Scootaloo buried her face in Coal's chest, clearly afraid.

“Jace just calm dow-” When I turned to face Coal, he instantly shut up. He saw the darkness in my eyes and I had an evil grin on my face. I looked down at the hourglass and brought it close to my lips.

“Make her learn her lesson...” I whispered. Coal heard this and raised a brow, looking at me like I was crazy. I turned to him and the hourglass' ornate skulls glowed a soft red and then stopped. “Just wait for the screams...” I said, leaning against the house. Coal was at this point, genuinely freaked out.

Then, the scream of a mare could be heard from inside the house and a light was turned on. “Don't kill her, just haunt her...” I whispered, and then there was crying from inside the house.

Scootaloo took the note from Coal in his confusion. He was about to rip it from her hooves, but she jumped out of his arms and ran off with it. Coal quickly punched the door will all of his strength. There was a pleasant wham as he left an indent in the door. He put on a satisfied grin seeing the damage he had done, but no time to enjoy it. We both gave chase after Scootaloo.

We managed to keep up with her all the way to the CMC clubhouse. We were much too big to enter, so we had to call to her.

"Scootaloo! Please come out from there! Please don't read the note Scootaloo! I'm begging you! Please just come out of there and let me help you!" Coal was out of breath from all the stress he was put under. I think I overworked myself just a bit and the wound in my chest was starting to hurt again. Coal was about to start calling to Scootaloo again, but she slowly trotted out of the clubhouse. Her head was hung low and she was crying again. The wind blew and the note was lazily carried away.

She collapsed onto the balcony and cried. She yelled out with her sweet voice asking 'why'. 'Why didn't any pony lover her? Why didn't any pony care about her? Why did every pony leave her!?' Her cries turned into gasps as she started to choke on her own tears. Coal couldn't take it anymore. He got as close to her as he could and managed to get a hand around her. Coal pulled her down from the clubhouse and back into his embrace.

She beat his chest with her hooves and told him to let go. Coal was trying to comfort her, but seeing her like this made him break down. He couldn't be strong for her. He couldn't even be strong for himself. Tears started streaming down his face as Coal held her close. She stopped hitting him and they both just cried. They cried for what felt like hours. When the wind started to pick up more we had to make our way back to Twilight's. When we had gotten to the library we could already see signs of morning. We knew today was not going to be a fun day.

Scootaloo had finally fallen asleep in Coal's arms. We all walked into the library and silently made our way to our usual spot. This time however; Coal didn't lay down. He took a seat and leaned back against a bookcase. He saw his clothes had been set downstairs, so he grabbed the shirt he came here in and put it over Scootaloo. Coal still lived here, but was offered to live with the Apple's. He was still thinking about it. He held her so firmly. Coal could feel her little chest still heaving slightly as she gently sobbed in her sleep. He kissed her one last time; leaning back against the bookcase and closing his eyes.

I sat down next to him, the skulls on the hourglass were glowing now. “Hey, Coal.. Got a little strength left in ya to meet someone?” Coal looked over at me and his eyes fixed on the hourglass. He raised a brow and then met my gaze. “Just wait..”

“Death... I command you to appear..” The black flame formed in the middle of the room again and then faded away as Zeke was left in it's place. Coal was wide eyed at this point and gaping slightly. Zeke looked at me and I motioned to stay quiet.

Zeke nodded slowly and walked over to sit next to Jace. “I-Is that?” Coal began to whisper. “Death?” I nodded and then put my hand over his mouth seeing that he was about to freak out.

“I'm his student Coal... Relax... When I was whispering to the hourglass to make Scoot's mom pay, this is who I was talking too. I trust that you didn't kill her...” I said, looking over at Zeke.

“Noooo...Iiii Diiiid nooot...” Coal was freaking out more when he talked. “Anyyyy friiieeend offf Jaaaccce isss a friiieeend offf miiiinee...” He held out a bony hand towards Coal, who moved away a bit.

“Oh don't be a sissy Coal..” I said, smirking as I saw the look in his eyes change from scared to annoyed. He reluctantly reached out and took hold of Death's hand, shaking it weakly.

“Your hand is so cold...” He whispered as he shook hands with Zeke. Zeke just chuckled and nodded.

“Doooonnn'tttt caaaalll meeee Deattthhh eeeiiitheeer.. Call me Zeke..” Zeke's voice changed as he formed the flesh again and pulled off his hood, the black bangs falling in front of his face. “I don't like being called Death... Reminds me of too much.”

Coal slowly nodded and looked down at the sleeping Scootaloo. “So, what did you do to her mother?” Coal asked, wiggling a bit uncomfortably.

“Well, I went into her dream, made her meet me.” He chuckled. “When she woke up, she saw me standing there. I put my hand over her face and she flipped out. When I went away, she was crying like a baby I scared her so much.” He smiled and looked at Coal, his black eyes meeting Coal's green. “I'm supposed to tell her what she did tomorrow night.. She has had enough for one night.”

Coal sighed and looked out the window across the room. “Thank you.. All I did was dent a door.. your making her pay for what she did...” Zeke nodded with a smile. “So, that necklace... What is it exactly?”

“Well, the book that Jace was reading didn't specify. It can be called whatever you like. I personally like calling it Death's Calling Card. DCC for short.” Jace looked at the hourglass and rubbed it softly. He looked over at Zeke and willed up enough strength to plant a hug on his teacher. Zeke smiled at this and hugged Jace back, not feeling these emotions in over thousands of years and now remebering he had them.

Coal just watched and it slowly made him fall asleep holding onto Scootaloo. Jace looked over and smiled at his friend. “Poor dude... Sleep well man..” He looked over at Zeke. “Can you give him some good dreams to cheer him up? I know he deserves it..” Zeke nodded and laid a hand on Coal's head, his hand glowing with a warm white light. When he pulled his hand away, a visible smile could be seen on Coal.

“I'm going to fall asleep as well..Mind sticking around?” Jace asked. Zeke nodded and Jace closed his eyes, slowly drifting off to sleep. Zeke disappeared from next to Jace and appeared in a nice dream he was having. Laying on the beach, enjoying a Pina Colada and just relaxing.

“You know...This is really nice. I've never had so much relaxation in my own mind. I want this moment to be like real time.” Zeke nodded and his hand glowed to slow down the time the dream would affect. “Thank you.” I took a drink of the drink and it was amazing. I've never had a Pina Colada, but it was really amazing! I never tasted anything like it before, and this was in my mind! Zeke has got some powers let me tell ya.

“So.. I wanted to talk about some things that I haven't gotten my mind wrapped around yet..” Zeke looked over at me from his chair. “I wanted to ask you, how is it being Death for so long, then finally coming out of your shell?” Zeke laughed a bit at this.

“Well! It's refreshing let me tell you this much! Two thousand years and then you come along! All ballsy and filled with determination. Your something kid! But, having the ability to transport from world to world, I saw you a number of times Jace. I've given you so many breaks because I knew this would happen. First near death experience, I was thinking you were weak and pathetic. You did it again and again and you always pulled through. Many people would have given up but you kept going. That's why I like you. Your not weak.”

I smiled and took another drink. “Well, I'm glad you did. I am having more success here then I was back on Earth.” I looked out over the water and then back to Zeke who was now in the form of Vinyl again.

“You wanna run that oil on my back now?~” I grabbed the bottle and opened up the lid.

“With pleasure~”

Author's Note: Don't know bout ya'll but, I would be questioning my sexuality after rubbing oil on my teacher's back who was a dude but formed into a chick. I dunno, that's just me.