Chapter 2 – Surprising Generosity
The walk to the village was shorter than Valiant expected. “I did not realize it was this close,” he said, “I suppose I merely could not see it through the rain last night.”
“That makes sense,” Twilight said, falling into step beside him. “It was pretty bad... Fall rainstorms sometimes are.” She thought for a minute, before asking, “How long have you been wandering again? I mean, I know you said you left after your country was,” she paused, searching for the word he had used, “...destroyed, but how long ago was that exactly?”
“I'm not entirely sure,” Valiant said, briefly glancing away. At her question, the memories had begun to flood back. Taking a deep breath, he squashed down the memories, continuing, “It seems like an eternity, but I would guess about three months. I left before the first leaves fell from the trees and, judging by the fact that all of yours have already fallen, winter is nearly upon us.”
“You don't make the leaves fall yourselves? “Fluttershy asked, a puzzled look on her face, “We make the leaves fall about halfway through autumn, but that was about a month ago, so your timing is probably close...” She glanced back at her guest, the words he had spoken back at the house dancing through her head like a troupe of ballet dancers. Nothing above my power shall harm a hair of your mane... No one had ever told her that before...
Lost in her thoughts, her attention was averted from the path in front of her. She tripped over a rock, crashing into a cart and tipping it, causing it to fall on its side with a great crash, spilling its load of various bits and bobbles to spill all over the road. The stallion it belonged to quickly disentangled himself from the harness, whirling around to face her.
“Why don't you watch where you're going!” he yelled.
“Oh... umm... I'm really sorry sir, I just didn't see where I was...”
“Sorry!? SORRY!?” the pony exploded at her. “How in the world am I going to clean all this up? I’ve got places to be missy, and no SORRY is goi...” he stopped mid-sentence, gulping as the razor sharp point of Valiant's sword gently touched his throat.
“The lady offered you an apology sir,” he said, a glint of warning in his eye, “and I strongly suggest you accept it and offer up one of your own in return.” He sheathed his sword, the soft yellow glow personifying his magic fading from it as it fit snugly in its scabbard.
The merchant pony sighed shakily, bowing his head in shame. Gulping, he said, “Look... I'm sorry I yelled at you ma'am. I've been traveling for a long time and... I just wanted to get some rest. I kind of snapped when I realized that... huh!?”
At that moment, all the spilled objects on the road became surrounded in a lavender haze, floating gently upwards and filling the cart, which righted itself again. Behind Valiant, Twilight sighed, as she released her magic hold over the trinkets.
Barely able to control his embarrassment, the merchant pony stared a moment, before stuttering, “I can't believe it! That was the most impressive feat of magic I've ever seen! Thank you so much!”
Shaking her head, Twilight replied, “Sometimes all you have to do is ask. These are friendly ponies here; they'll help you if you need it.” Under her breath, she muttered, "In fact, sometimes they're too helpful..." Returning her attention to the merchant, she smiled and said, “Have a lovely day.”
Waving to the merchant, the trio began walking towards the center of town again. “Th... thank you.” Fluttershy said quietly.
“For what?” Valiant asked, slowing down to match her slow pace.
“You stood up for me... It meant a lot.”
“I always do everything in my power to keep my word,” he replied softly. “I said nothing above my power would harm you, and I meant it.” His eyes briefly grew misty before he turned away, concentrating on the road in front of him. “I refuse to fail this time...”
Fluttershy, missing his brief sadness, turned her head the opposite direction, attempting to conceal the reddening of her cheeks. “Still, I appreciate it...”
After a bit more walking, they reached the center of the town. Turning to the other two, Twilight said, “I'm sorry to have to go, but I really need to research something.” Something about him is extremely strange. I don't trust him, she thought. He's up to something, and I'm going to find out what! Shaking herself out of her stupor, she said, “I'll come by and check on you guys again later.”
After she had left, Valiant turned to Fluttershy. “Well,” he asked, “time to head to the market?”
“Oh... Well,” she began, averting her gaze, “if it's alright with you... I would like to go visit my friend Rarity first... I kind of promised her she could show me something today... but if you don't want to...”
“By all means, lead the way!” Valiant said with a smile, “Unless, of course, I am not invited...”
“Oh, no!” Fluttershy said quickly, “I would love to have you come along...”
He smiled again, even broader this time. “Lead the way then!” he said, “I would love to see as much of the town as you would care to show me.”
Returning the smile, she nodded, continuing down the street. After a few minutes of walking they reached the edge of town. Fluttershy walked up to a strange, blue and purple colored building. Fluttershy softly knocked on the door, barely making a sound as her hooves touched the wood. “Cooooooooming!” a voice called from inside. The door was swiftly opened, revealing a white unicorn with a purple mane.
“Who's there?” she called out the door, “Ah, Fluttershy thank goodness you've arrived I've just been dying waiting for you to get here! Please come in I just can't wait to sho...” She stopped mid-sentence as she noticed the handsome stallion standing behind her friend. “Why, Fluttershy!” she exclaimed, “Whoever is this?!”
“Oh, well...” she began, “This is Pri...”
“My name is Valiant Daybreak!” he interrupted, throwing Fluttershy a quick look of apology. “I just moved here and Fluttershy has graciously agreed to show me around the town.”
“Oh I see!” The white unicorn said, “Well then come in! My name is Rarity, the self-proclaimed queen of all things fashion in this town and a freelance designer. Oh, that reminds me! Fluttershy, I have just been dying to show you! I've created a brand new line of stallion formal wear and I can't for the life of me find a stallion to model them for me! Can you think of anypony...” She stopped suddenly, returning her gaze to Valiant who, suddenly nervous, asked, “What?”
Looking him up and down a few times, she said, “Yes! I do believe you would be perfect!” Grabbing him by the hoof, she forcefully drug him up the stairs into her studio, where she quickly got to work measuring the size of his chest, legs and head. After the measurements were taken she retrieved an outfit from a mannequin and began making small adjustments.
As she worked, Valiant leaned in to Fluttershy and whispered, “Should I flee?”
Giggling softly, Fluttershy replied, “Oh no, Rarity always gets like this when she's... 'inspired'. I'm sure she'll calm down in a minute or two.”
Fluttershy's prediction proved to be correct. After a few seconds, the unicorn exclaimed, “Done!” Whirling around, she moved closer to Valiant, “Now! You just put this on and... Oh! We need to get rid of that old cloak first!” At his protests, she exclaimed, “Well don't be shy now! This outfit will look ever so much better on you than that drab thing...”
“Wait!” he exclaimed, but it was too late. She had already grabbed it and pulled it off, releasing his wings in the process. They unfurled themselves like they had a mind of their own, yearning to fly but bound to the earth by sheer force of will.
A look of shock quickly spread across Rarity's face. “You... you're an alicorn!” she said in awe, her eyes shining brightly. “Why this changes everything!” she said, as Valiant winced, bracing himself for the worst. Turning back to her workbench, she started snipping away, completely focused on the fabric. “I'll have to make wing holes to fit the design now! Yes...” Furiously working, she finally exclaimed, “done!” Turning back to Valiant, she handed him the outfit, quickly saying, “Well don't just stand there, try it on! I'm just dying to see how it looks on you!”
Valiant stared at the outfit, then back at the white unicorn in front of him, who at this point was practically dancing around the room with excitement. “Uhh...” he started to say, but a sharp glance from Rarity interrupted him.
“Look,” she said with a smile, “It's not so hard! Just slip it over your head like this...” As she said this, she grabbed the outfit and forced it down over his head, causing him to take an involuntary step back as she worked it down over his body.
“There now, doesn't that feel splendid? Please, turn around!” Rarity demanded, eyes sparkling as she looked at her design.
Grudgingly, Valiant obliged, slowly turning in a circle as she watched him.
Rarity sighed with happiness, exclaiming, “It looks perfect on you! Oh you must take it, I insist!”
Startled, Valiant stopped spinning, awash with confusion. “What?” he asked, thinking momentarily, “I am not quite sure what you mean. Should I not pay for this?”
Waving off his question, the white unicorn replied, “I don't want payment darling, I simply think you look splendid in it! I looks much better on you than that old cloak did! That reminds me, why were you wearing that hideous thing in the first place?”
Valiant sighed, replying, “I wear it because I don't want people to know my identity... being royalty usually begets certain favors, and I currently wish to avoid that... I am nopony special..."
“Oh I see,” Rarity said, her face thoughtful, “You think I'm giving you this just because you're royalty! No no, my dear, true beauty cares not what a pony is, but who a pony is! Anypony can be beautiful; I simply enjoy helping them along.” Smiling, she said, “and to prove it to you, I'll improve your old cloak.”
Within a few minutes, she had hemmed it in and added a few flairs of her own. It was still simple; the brown, rough fabric was still there, but the rips and tears of Valiant's journey were fixed as perfectly as if they had never existed at all. Rarity had also added extra padding to the hood and had cross stitched a small sun at the chest area, for “extra flair,” as she called it.
“I do not know what to say!” Valiant exclaimed as the cloak was returned to him. “Surely I must owe you something this time?”
Rarity smiled. “I already told you, it's nothing at all! Seeing other ponies happy with their fashions is all the reward I need! Now my dear, you must tell me the rest of your story some other time. I'm afraid I have a deadline to meet; surely you know how it is! Have fun seeing the town!” She escorted them to the door and, with a final wave, sent them on their way back to town.
Valiant, sporting his newly redesigned cloak, turned to Fluttershy and said, “That was unlike anything I have ever experienced... That was one of the most generous ponies I have met in my lifetime.”
Smiling, Fluttershy nodded. “Almost everypony who meets her thinks so. She can be conceited at times, but she has a generous heart.”
Valiant pondered this for a few moments, before abruptly changing topics. “Oh! I am sorry... that little detour appears to have used up a bit of time. How far is it to the market?”
Looking at the sky, Fluttershy gasped. Judging by the sun, there was barely four hours of daylight left. “Not far now,” she said. “We should have plenty of time to get there and back before dark.”
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Author's Comments
Hope you all enjoyed it! Really tried to cut down on the "head-hopping" as Tealove put it. I'm so used to roleplaying with many characters that I didn't realize it might be viewed as amateurish. (Although, considering this is my first fan-fiction, I pretty much am an amateur.)
Let me know what you thought! I actually have most of it written already, so suggestions for story arcs will more than likely not be implemented. However, little comments like Tealove's about better proofreading and general style are greatly appreciated. Thanks a lot for reading! See you all next Monday!