Chapter Two- A King and A Party Pony
Marcus had to spend the entirety of the walk into town fumbling and barely being able to put one hoof in front of the other. In fact, it would’ve been more apt to say that Marcus was falling with every step, and only the frantic placement of the next hoof on the ground saved him from collapsing.
By the time he had gotten used to it, both he and Fluttershy found themselves in the middle of town. Marcus had to stop himself from gawking at the infrastructure around him.
It's still so hard to believe that I'm in another world with talking ponies, which I have become. Yeah, thanks, Death… not to mention she literally dropped me from the sky and I've lost both my phone and headphones… This is truly peachy. He thought to himself as Fluttershy guided him down a dirt road that entered the town. Before leaving Fluttershy’s cottage, Marcus had made sure to cover his wings with the tattered cloak he was wearing before so that he didn’t draw too much attention to himself.
“So this is pony town? A lot different from what I was expecting.”
“Ponyville actually, and what were you expecting?” she asked, raising an eyebrow as she looked up at the large stallion.
“Something a little bit bigger I suppose, not that it's a bad thing, but- maybe I'm just being weird,” he replied, rubbing the back of his head as he looked back at the little pegasus. “Anyways, how long have you lived here?”
“Oh, I've been here since I was a little filly, and um… I've loved being here, spending time with all my friends and taking care of the animals,” Fluttershy explained as she caressed her mane with her hoof and tried to divert her gaze from him.
“It must be pretty difficult, trying to take care of all those animals by yourself, huh?” He asked.
“It is a lot of work, but it’s something that I was meant to do and I enjoy every moment of it,” she replied, smiling at the stallion as he looked back at her with a raised brow.
I don’t think I could take care of so many animals by myself, I’d go insane! Still, it’s nice that she knows what she’s meant to do with her life and finds it fulfilling. At least she found her calling. But me though, I became death’s errand boy and have to find six colorful stones to merge my universe and this one so death can get what she wants or probably turn to ashes in ten years. Marcus thought to himself, his brows furrowing as he continued trotting beside Fluttershy as she continued speaking, but his mind was so focused on the task at hand that he failed to notice in time that he had accidentally bumped into a pink mare, knocking her to the ground.
“Owie!”
“Oh, I’m so sorry, I got distracted and didn’t pay attention, I’m sorry miss-” he paused, helping her to her hooves as he waited for the mare to respond.
“Sorry, I got a bit distracted and was telling-GASP!!!!” She replied before her eyes widened in surprise as she looked up at Marcus who was suddenly startled by the pink mare jumping into the air. “NEW!!!PONY!!!OHMYGOSHIHAVETOGETEVERYTHINGREADY!!!”
“Woah, woah, slow down there, I didn’t quite get your name?” Marcus replied, extending his hoof out.
“Instead of asking for her name, newcomer, you should be on your hooves groveling for forgiveness,” another voice spoke as Marcus turned his gaze over to find a grey stallion with a black mane and red piercing eyes, his horn curved to a sharp point with a tint of red at the tip of it. The two were close in height with Marcus being a couple of inches taller than him, but he could clearly tell that this stallion wasn’t like the other ponies in the town.
“I already apologized and helped her up. I don’t see the reason why I’d have to-”
“Listen carefully, welp! In case you haven’t noticed, you are standing before a King and your apology was pathetic!”
“Well aren’t you just sunshine and rainbows,” Marcus stated with a deadpan expression.
“Sombry, don’t be a meanie! He said he was sorry!” The pink pony admonished, giving Sombra raised brow, only scoffed in response, while she turned and gave Marcus a pleasant smile. “Don’t worry about him, he’s just a bit grumpy today, but anyways! My name is Pinkie Pie, and what’s youuuurrrr name?!”
“It’s M- Obsidian Coal, but you can just call me Coal if you’d like.”
“Ooooh, sounds like a tough guy name to me! I like it!!!” she replied, giving him a wide grin, he couldn’t help but think she was a very energetic pony and took a few steps back. “So what brings you here- Oh, hi Fluttershy!!!”
She suddenly vanished and appeared next to Fluttershy, leaving Marcus baffled as Pinkie embraced her into a tight hug to which she returned.
“What?” Marcus muttered as Sombra continued to give him the death glare..
“It’s good to see you too, Pinkie, out on your walk again with Sombra?” Fluttershy asked.
“Yeppers, but by the way, have you met Coala!?” Pinkie exclaimed, stretching her hoof until it was completely around Marcus’ shoulder and yanked him over to where Fluttershy was as he questioned how she was able to do that.
“Oh, um… I actually met him last night, and I thought I’d give him a tour of Ponyville,” she replied, giving a sheepish smile.
“WHAT?!?!? AND I’M ONLY FINDING OUT HE’S HERE NOW!!! (GASP!!!!) Unacceptable!!!” Pinkie shouted, glaring at Marcus who had started to shrink back into himself.
“Uh… Look, it’s a long story, but I’m wondering why this even matters-”
“Becauuussseee it means that I get to throw you a ‘Welcome To Ponyville Party!’. Doesn’t that sound exciting!?!?” Pinkie asked, earning a groan from Sombra behind her.
“As if being subjected to your annoyance wasn’t bad enough for every commoner here, but throwing a celebration just because they are new is far from exciting,” Sombra stated, earning a huffy glare from Pinkie that Marcus couldn’t help but smile at.
“Hey now, I may not be the biggest fan of parties, but there’s nothing wrong with throwing a party. A lot of ponies throw them just for the heck of it you know.”
“You better watch your tone, peasant! Don’t you know who I am?! I am King Sombra, Ruler of the Crystal Empire, Bringer of Shadows and Darkness, and Future Ruler of Equestria!” Sombra monologued, receiving a blank stare from Marcus who simply shrugged his shoulders.
“And I'm the King of Potatoes. King or not, that doesn’t give you the right to yell at anyone, or treat your friends poorly.” Marcus replied sternly.
“I have no need for friends, you fool!”
“Ah, that explains why you don’t have any, jackass!”
“Clearly you don’t know your place! If I had my magic I’d show you just how helpless you truly are!”
“Wow, threatening me when I haven’t done anything wrong? Clearly that ego of yours-”
But before Marcus could even finish, Sombra stomped his hoof to the ground, silencing Marcus as he began to snarl at him. However before Marcus had the chance to even defend himself, Pinkie Pie jumped in between them to glare at Sombra, earning a couple of rasied eyebrows and widened eyes from Sombra.
“That’s enough, Sombry! You promised you’d be nicer to everypony, which includes new ponies! Do I have to talk to Twily about having your sweets taken away?”
“You wouldn’t dare!”
“Just try me, Sombry!”
“Tch, have it your way, pink menace,” Sombra scoffed, turning away from her to sit down in silence.
“I’m sorry about Sombry, he can be a bit of a grumpy mcgrumpsterpants. But then again, he doesn’t wear pants so that could be the reason, but probably not. Anyways I’d love to stay and chat, but I have a lot of things to do today! Like gathering baking supplies, party planning, taking mister grumpy here back home, and getting to know my new bestie!!!” Pinkie explained, giving Marcus a very large grin and invading his personal space.
“Suuuuure? Whatever you say Pinkie.” Marcus replied wearily.
“You’ll be there too for the party, right Flutters?” Pinkie asked.
“Oh, of course, I wouldn’t miss one of your parties, Pinkie,” she replied, smiling despite hearing Sombra make gagging sounds behind them.
“Anyways gotta go!!! Let’s go Sombry!!!”
As both Pinkie and Sombra walked off together, Marcus and Fluttershy looked at each other, before he began to laugh. Fluttershy stood there for a heartbeat, stunned, before joining in.
“Well, that was unexpected.”
“Well, that is Pinkie Pie for you, she’s always full of surprises. Although I’m… sorry I couldn’t stand up for you, Sombra just scares me a lot and all I could do was watch. Honestly, I hoped to avoid him on his walk if at all possible, but I really wanted to show you around town,” she explained as her ears folded down. But before she felt any worse, she felt a hoof on top of her head, gently stroking her mane. Looking up she found Marcus’ hoof on her head.
“Hey, there’s no need to apologize, that guy was a bit of an asshole and it’s not like I’m completely helpless. Besides, Pinkie Pie helped out and for a guy who makes a lot of threats, he’s all bark and no bite. So don’t worry for another second, we’re not going to let a jerk like Sombra ruin our day.” Marcus smiled at the little pegasus as she suddenly felt her cheeks heat up as she turned away, unable to hide her smile.
His hoof feels gentle and warm…
“Anyways, is there any place where we can get something to eat? I'm actually very hungry now.”
“Oh sure, I know a place in town that makes some pretty good salads and hay fries… if that’s okay with you?” She asked.
“That sounds pretty good,” he replied, following her when she started to walk off.
Marcus threw his eyes to sky for a brief moment when a slight breeze washed across his mane, but shook his head and continued walking.