“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.