Chapter Four- The Cloak Comes OFF!
“I really don’t like this floating in the air!” Marcus shouted, flailing his hooves around. He cry fell on deaf ears however, as they were whispering among themselves about something they clearly didn’t want him to hear.
“My, my, isn't he quite the handsome fellow? Where did you find him?” Rarity asked Fluttershy quietly.
“Oh, um… I found him injured near my cottage when he stumbled out of the Everfree,” she replied, as her cheeks turned slightly red after she mentioned how he looked, but she hadn’t really thought about it too much as she had just met this stallion last night.
“Still you can’t deny that he’s quite the catch, don’t you agree, darling?” the unicorn pointed out when she noticed how Fluttershy’s cheeks continued to redden. Fluttershy tried her best to hide her face from her friend behind her mane. Seeing it anyway, Rarity’s brow rose as an idea came to her but she had to confirm.
“Well, I’m certainly going to have to ask Mr. Coal to take me out to dinner, what do you think, darling?”
“Huh! NO! He's not fully healed yet! He needs time to heal first," Fluttershy half-shouted. Luckily, she startled Rarity enough to force her to drop Marcus to the cold hard ground.
“...ow,” Marcus uttered, more in irritation than actual pain.
“Oh, Fluttershy, dear, I am only jesting,” Rarity assured her demure friend before giving her an assuring wink.
“Um… is everything alright girls?” Marcus finally spoke up as he got back to his hooves, glad to be on them again. He saw the yellow pegasus hide her face from him.
“Oh, it’s nothing, darling, just a little girls’ talk,” the unicorn replied, as the three finally arrived at a white building that had an elegant look to it compared to the other places Marcus had seen thus far. Not that there was anything wrong with those places, just that it felt a little out of place.
Once they actually entered the ornate building, Rarity made a ta-dah pose as she proudly declared, “Welcome to Carousel Boutique, where everything is chic, unique, and magnifique! Now that we are here, I’ll prepare a bath for you Mr. Coal-”
“Oh, you can just call me Coal, or Obsidian, no need for you to add the Mister,” Marcus insisted to the unicorn as he motioned his hooves.
“My, my, how rude of you,” tut-tutted the unicorn.
“I-I didn’t mean to come off as rude, Ms.-” Marcus protested but then paused as he saw the white unicorn start giggling and he got the idea. “Oh, I get it… you’re joking again.”
“Apologies, darling, I’m just feeling on a roll today! And you can just call me Rarity,” she stated, smiling as Marcus rubbed the back of his head, his cheeks turning slightly red from embarrassment.
“Anyways, Rarity and I will prepare a bath for you, Coal, so you just wait here for now,” Fluttershy added, following the unicorn into the other room while Marcus sat down on a chair that was by the doorway and waited patiently.
Seeing this as an opportunity, Marcus decided to take a moment to close his eyes and try to relax while the girls prepared a bath for him. It was strange that he was being treated so nicely by these ponies, even though they barely knew him. Even Pinkie Pie treated him kindly despite bumping into her by accident. Sometimes when that happened he’d get yelled at by whoever he bumped into at home or he’d be on the receiving end and get shoved to the ground back when he was in high school.
It was a difficult time for him when he was in high school. But, when he graduated and began working at a pizza restaurant, things started looking up. He was studying really hard so that he could go to the fire department and become a firefighter someday. So that he could help people in need, like his father, but that could never happen… not anymore since he was dead.
He could still recall his last talk he had with his dad before he had been run over.
Two Days Before…
“Hey, Dad?” Marcus called to his father who was doing an oil change on their jeep wrangler in the garage, while he brought a plate of freshly cut apple slices.
“Mom thought you wanted to have something quick to eat while she gets started on dinner.”
“Ah, thanks, son, and thank your mom too for me, will ya?” he asked.
“Oh, sure, not a problem, Dad,” he replied, about to make his way out of the garage before his father turned back to him.
“Oh, just a second Marcus, think the two of us could talk for a minute?”
“Sure, what’s up?” he asked, as his old man placed a hand on his shoulder.
“You know I am proud of you, right?”
“Yeah, I know you and mom are proud… I’m just trying to do my best to help you guys-”
“It’s not just that Marcus, both me and your mom know you are working hard to help us. You are always lending a hand to everyone who needs it, you help those around you and that’s all good, but I want to know, what do you want? Who do you want to be?” he asked.
Marcus looked confused for a moment.
“Well, I guess… I’m not sure, Dad.”
“You still have a bit of time to think about this, but it’s important to find something that has meaning to you. Who do you want to be, Marcus?” he asked once again as the young man curled his hand into a fist and rested it against his chin.
“Honestly if I’m really thinking about it… I’d like to go to the same university as you and become a firefighter. I know it’s not exactly the greatest job in the world, and I know it’s a dangerous job that needs to be taken seriously, but I want to help people like you did, Dad. I want to give a hand to someone in need with a smile on my face. Let them know that everything is going to be alright,” Marcus answered, his father’s eyes widened as he stared with disbelief, before giving his son a reassuring smile.
“Well, you better work hard if that’s what you really want to do okay?” he said, grinning as he patted his son on his shoulder. “We should head inside, I’m about done here anyways… Let’s see if we can give your mom a hand,”
“Coal… Coal… Coal… Um… it’s time to wake up now,” he heard as he slowly opened his eyes and was greeted by a concerned Fluttershy who was gently nudging him awake.
“O-oh…ahhh… Sorry, I must have dozed off…” Marcus replied, hopping off the chair before feeling his chest hurt. Recalling that he had been rammed into a carrot cart and was covered in carrot juice and carrot bits.
“I’m sorry to wake you, but we wanted to tell you that your bath was ready… um… are you okay?” she asked, as the charcoal stallion raised a brow.
“Yeah, I’m fine, why?”
“It’s just… you look like you’ve been crying,” she answered, seeing tear stains on his cheeks as she watched the stallion wipe his cheeks.
“Huh? Guess I must have had a… bad dream,” he answered, but when he looked back at Fluttershy and saw how she looked concerned, he couldn’t help but smile at her as he placed a hoof on her head. “It’s nothing to worry about, Fluttershy, I don’t exactly recall what happened in my dream, but I’m perfectly fine. After all, I have a pretty awesome best friend here with me.”
“Um, you mean I’m, y-your best friend?” she asked.
“Well unless we are counting the dozens of carrot bits and juice clinging to me, I’d like to think you are,” Marcus answered, grinning at the yellow pegasus as he slowly began to make his way toward the doorway that Rarity was standing at, smiling at the two of them.
“Thank you for waiting patiently, darling, I have extra scented soaps in there if you need them!” Rarity said, waving to the stallion as he entered the bathroom and closed the door behind him, only for the white unicorn to rush over to Fluttershy’s side and suddenly pull her into a tight hug.
“Squeee!!! Oh, Fluttershy darling did you see that?!”
“Um, no… what do you mean, Rarity?"
“Did you not see the sparks between you two? I sense a romance is about to blossom between you two-” Rarity was suddenly silenced by Fluttershy’s hoof as her face suddenly turned beet red.
“Rarity! There’s nothing going on between us! We only met last night, we barely know each other, and besides, I’m sure he’s not interested in a mare like me,” Fluttershy responded.
Removing the yellow pegasus’ hoof from her mouth, Rarity couldn’t help but giggle in excitement as she began to feel giddy. As much as she desired to find the stallion of her dreams, she also couldn’t help but imagine her own friends finding their one true love. It is true that she may take romance a little too far, but she couldn’t help herself.
“Oh, Fluttershy, you have nothing to be embarrassed about, it’s perfectly normal to have a crush on somepony you’ve only met. Might I add, he’s extremely attractive and I can already tell that he is very kind to you. Especially from the way he patted your head moments ago,” she explained, smirking as she watched Fluttershy’s face turn into different shades of red.
“Rarity, please! I-I really don’t have a crush on him,” Fluttershy insisted, beginning to get frustrated from the embarrassment she was feeling from her friend saying she had a crush on a stallion she had barely met a day ago. She didn’t deny that he was handsome, because he obviously was, but she hardly knew him and even if he wasn’t a bad pony, she wasn’t quite ready to be in a relationship.
“Oh fine! I won’t press on the matter anymore! Although I do wonder if he’s okay in there, those injuries looked pretty bad?” Rarity asked.
Meanwhile, Marcus had struggled to grab hold of the bottle of shampoo with his hooves and scrub himself everywhere. It was extremely difficult as he could barely grip the bottle in his hooves. When he tried to squeeze the bottle of shampoo on his mane, he’d sometimes miss and it’d land on his cuts, causing the stallion to groan in pain as he tried to hold in his scream. He desperately wanted to curse, but he was in someone’s home and didn’t want to make a bad impression.
“Shit, that stings…” he whispered to himself.
The only thing that kept him from dropping the bottle into the tub was the willpower he put into his hooves to hold onto the bottle for dear life, and recalling how Fluttershy was able to lift a glass of water with her hoof and not drop it.
Now, Fluttershy and well… pretty much every pony in this town can lift things with their hooves and don’t need fingers to do so. If they can do it, then surely I can too, right? Marcus thought to himself as he tried to calm his thoughts and mentally visualize his hooves as hands and grab the soap bottle once more.
“Yes, finally.” he cheered quietly, his wings flaring up in excitement. It was progress and that was all that mattered to him. Now that things were going somewhere, he quickly started to finish cleaning up all of his cuts and bruises with the shampoo. It hurt… a lot, but it was necessary as it would help prevent infections.
Once he was done, he made sure to empty the tube and dry himself off thoroughly, but there was one thing that he completely forgot. He couldn't go outside without his cloak as it was the only thing that covered his wings and the last thing he needed was for somepony else to see them. So with little to no choice, he put on his dirty cloak again and made his way out.
“Thanks for allowing me to use your bathtub, Rarity, but I think we should get going as I do have to meet up with Princess Twilight-”
“My goodness! You are not seriously considering going out wearing that filthy thing!? You just finished taking a bath and now you’re wearing the same dirty rag you call a cloak! UNACCEPTABLE!!!”
“Listen, I know it’s a bit dirty, but I kinda need it for the moment. I’ll be sure to wash it once I-” But before he could finish, Rarity’s horn began to glow as he suddenly felt the cloak on him begin to pull away from him and he immediately began to panic.
“Rarity, I need to keep this on!”
“Absolutely not!”
“C-Coal- You- Rarity- please stop you two-”
“The dirty cloak is coming off, whether you like it or not!!” Rarity strained, finally ripping the cloak away from the stallion.
“Now let's get you something more appropriate-”
Marcus looked on in horror at his now exposed wings poking up out of his back. Rarity was simply staring at him, completely speechless. When he turned his gaze towards Fluttershy, she shared the same expression as him.
“Rarity… now do not freak out-”
“Y-You’re an alicorn!?!? A-A Prince!?!?” She asked, her mouth wide open as Marcus rubbed the back of his head, trying to figure out what to say to her.
“I’m an alicorn, yes, but I am not a prince.”
“It’s true, Rarity,” Fluttershy spoke, placing a wing on her friend. “He’s not from around here… and he really doesn’t want anypony to know about what he really is…”
“This-This is a lot to process. Just give me a second to collect my thoughts?” She asked, as Marcus and Fluttershy nodded in response and just as Marcus was about to reach for his cloak that Rarity had dropped on the floor, his hoof was suddenly hit by a white hoof.
“OW!”
“You are not wearing that horrid thing out in public… honestly, that brown rag you had on you completely clashes with your mane and fur. I only ask for you to wait patiently in my kitchen for thirty minutes while I find something a bit more appropriate for you to wear in public,” she insisted, motioning for the stallion to enter the kitchen across the room while Fluttershy followed, only to be stopped by Rarity briefly as she whispered into her ear.
“You and I need to have a serious talk, darling… I want to know everything.”
“I’ll tell you everything, but you have to promise not to say anything, he’s really not a bad stallion, he’s a kind colt that needs help is all,” Fluttershy responded quietly.
“I know he’s not a bad stallion, but this could be something very serious and if Twilight or the other Princesses find out about him being an alicorn, things could go either really good or really bad,” she explained quietly as she looked over Fluttershy to see the charcoal alicorn sitting at the very end of the table with his head resting on it.
“Thirty minutes okay, I’ll find something for him to cover his wings and look stunning.”
“Thank you Rarity, and I promise I’ll be careful…”
“Very good darling, now you go on and keep an eye on Coal, while I work my magic,” she said, pushing the pegasus towards the kitchen while she went to look for an outfit for her new alicorn friend.
“So, Rarity… She's a bit punctual?” Marcus asked, refraining from saying anything negative as his hoof still stung a bit from the slap he received.
“W-Well while we wait for Rarity, would you like for me to put on new bandages for you? If that’s okay with you Coal?” she asked, receiving a nod as a response from the stallion as she went to look underneath the kitchen sink where Rarity kept an extra medkit in case of emergencies. Pulling out an ointment from the kit, she began to gently apply it to the huge cut across his chest, causing the stallion to hiss from the pain.
“Sorry… I’ll try to be a bit more gentle.”
“It’s fine Shy, I’m not a little kid who scraped his k-hoof… If you have to apply pressure it’s okay, I can take a little pain if it means getting taken care of,” Marcus insisted as Fluttershy continued to apply the ointment across his chest, before wrapping the bandages around him. Once his chest was wrapped up, she began to apply more ointment on his other cuts that were on his front hooves.
“Um… Coal? I was wondering, how’d you end up like this? I didn’t exactly ask you this morning when you woke up, so I just-” she paused, trying to find the right words to ask, but a part of her worried that those large cuts came from something dangerous.
“If you really want to know, I was kinda teleported here by a lady I met… in a way she’s kinda to blame for me getting hurt, but she gave me this second chance to start over here in Equestria. That’s all I can really say, but as for these injuries, well… let’s just say that the lady kinda dropped me on top of some dead trees… And then I ran into some wolves that looked like they were made out of wood and had to make a run for it. Yeah not exactly the best start to a new day, but luckily I ran into this huge manticore and used the big guy to slip away from them,” Marcus explained, trying his best to explain everything to Fluttershy as she continued to wrap up the last of his injuries while listening to his story.
“Not the worst day ever, but I’d say it’s at least in my top five worst days of my life,” he added, giving a little chuckle as he heard a sigh from the little pegasus.
“I’m glad you are okay, but you should be a bit more careful okay,”
“I’ll try, but trouble tends to find me sometimes… it just loves to find me when I least expect it hehehehehe!” he joked, only to get lightly slapped on the shoulder.
“Ow! A nurse shouldn’t hit her patient, you know!”
“Well I’m not a nurse, but you really shouldn’t joke about getting into trouble you know,”
“Yeah you’re right, sorry Shy,”
Once the bandages were applied, the two began to make their way out of the kitchen to go find Rarity in the other room, but they soon came across a huge mess of scattered clothing and different types of fabrics everywhere. It wasn’t long until Rarity returned with a rack of different coats and cloaks.
“It took me a little longer than I anticipated, BUT I believe somewhere on this rack, I’ll find something befitting a young alicorn such as yourself,” she explained, as the colt looked a little confused, but remained silent.
“Do you need any help, Rarity?” Fluttershy offered, the white unicorn nodding in response, ushering the pegasus to assist her. It took the two mares a bit of time, but they eventually found a blue coat that was long enough to cover his wings, but his appearance sorta reminded him of a pilot from WWII, but he wasn’t going to deny that he looked pretty good in it.
“My, my, I must say that you look quite smashing Coal, it’s all about finding just the right colors that fit you just right. No need for that filthy rag anymore, I’ll be sure to dispose of it properly,” Rarity stated while she carried his old cloak off to who knows where, but he knew he wasn’t going to see it again anytime soon. Once she came back, Marcus couldn’t help but smile at the white unicorn, wanting to find some way to repay her for her generosity.
“Well thank you Rarity, if there’s any way I can repay you, I’ll be happy to lend you a hoof-” However before he could go on, a hoof suddenly covered his mouth.
“Nope, none of that darling, consider it to be a gift from a friend.” she replied, winking at him as Fluttershy grabbed hold of his hoof.
“Well I’m glad we found something that fits you Coal, but I think it’s time for the two of us to head out. I still need to feed my animal friends and you need to get ready,” Fluttershy explained, pulling him towards the entrance.
“Get ready for what?”
“Your ‘Welcome to Ponyville’ party of course,”
“Wait, you mean Pinkie was serious!?”
“That’s right, Coal. Pinkie Pie always throws a party for newcomers,” Rarity answered. “Well, I hope you two have a lovely day.”
“Thank you, Rarity, for helping us out,” Fluttershy thanked the white unicorn as the two began to leave.
“Anytime darlings, do be safe out there!”
Once the two were making their way back toward Fluttershy’s home, Marcus couldn’t help but think about one thing.
How much does this coat cost… I’m going to have to find some way to thank her… Seriously, this town is a bit weird.