"NOBLE!"
Noble snapped back into reality, hearing his name shouted that loudly. He turned to see a cross alicorn mare staring flatly at him. "Sorry, Twilight," he replied, sheepishly, "got lost in thought there for a second."
"I'm surprised, Noble," Twilight replied, "most ponies would be excited to get their bandages removed after four days."
"I am excited," Noble replied, "on the inside anyway."
"I'm surprised you healed so quickly," Spike replied, his eyes staring at the spot that Noble had received his injury.
Noble glanced at it, noticing a faint pink line beneath the fur. It wasn't nearly as wide as he thought it was. With any luck, it would barely leave a scar.
"So, now that you're healed, what are you going to do?" Spike asked.
This gave Noble reason to pause. In truth, he hadn't planned anything this far. Not having a better answer, he just shrugged, "For now, go outside."
"Are you certain that's the best idea?" Twilight asked, disapproval clearly in her voice.
"I've had worse ideas with better results," he replied honestly, "and after spending four days in bed, stretching my legs sounds like a wonderful idea." It was then a thought had occurred to him. "What happened to my cloak and satchel?" he asked to no one in particular.
"Your satchel is in our room," Twilight answered.
"And," Spike continued, "Rarity has your cloak."
Noble raised his eyebrow, asking his question silently.
"Well," Spike started nervously at his expression, "Rarity took it home with her to wash and mend it."
Noble nodded in acceptance. "I see."
"You're not mad are you?" Spike asked.
"No," Noble replied, shaking his head, "I'm not mad. This just gives me another reason to stroll about town. Get my satchel for me, would you Spike?"
Spike bounded from the room at a lope. "Are you sure you feel up to this?" Twilight asked concernedly.
"It'll only be a stroll," Noble replied. "Besides, I'm curious about this town called Ponyville."
"Here's your satchel," Spike replied, holding a well-worn satchel in his claws.
After bidding farewell, Noble stepped outside the library and breathed a sigh of relief. While it was true he wanted to learn about Ponyville, his outing had the dual purpose of giving him a chance to clear his head.
He glanced up at the sky, squinting slightly at the brightness of the outdoors. After regaining his sight, he noticed the sun was shining, the breeze was blowing, all in all it was a beautiful day. So beautiful in fact, it would have been a crime to call the weather less than perfect. With that thought in mind, he turned and strolled down the street.
He trotted away from the library at a leisurely pace, taking in the sights of Ponyville. It was a quaint little town. The sight of quaint little cottages made of wood and plaster filled his view. The streets, while mostly empty, held the sight of ponies of all ages going about their business. He wouldn't have been surprised if it were the kind of town where everypony knew everypony else. The kind of town families and friends worked and played together. A happy town.
His thoughts were interrupted by a humming noise coming from behind him. He turned his head to find a pink pony bouncing along the walk behind him, humming happily to herself. Her fuchsia mane and tail were curly to the point of being puffy. Her eyes were closed and her mouth wore a smile that seemed glow on its own power.
"Good morning," Noble replied to the perky pony as she bounced by.
She came to a complete halt as she heard the voice. Aside from her blue eyes turning towards him, she remained still as a statue. Literally in this case, seeing as how she paused in mid-air to look at him. Before Noble could question the logic (or lack thereof) of this, the mare gasped and rocketed towards him.
"It's you!" she replied energetically, bouncing about in every direction. "I mean of course, it's you. You'd have to be you. You couldn't be somepony else. That would be kinda silly. But it's really, really, really you!"
"Yeah, it's me alright," he replied, nervously, "And you are?"
"I'm Pinkie Pie," she replied quickly, "What's your name, where you from, what's your favorite color, what's your favorite animal, do you like cupcakes?"
"Noble Valor, around Vanhoover, dogs, and yeah, I like cupcakes."
"Your favorite colors is dog?" she asked, genuinely confused.
Noble felt himself chuckle, in spite of himself. "No, it's blue."
"Oh," she replied, "Well, Noble Valor. What are you doing in Ponyville?"
"Well..."
"Ooh, can I show you around?"
Noble thought for a second and replied, "There is something you can do for me."
Her eyes shone brighter and her smile grew wider in anticipation.
"I was looking for a pony named Rarity..."
"Ooh-ooh! I know where she is! Follow me, Nobie!"
Noble breathed a sigh of relief as he followed the pink pony. 'Wait a minute,' he thought, 'did I just get nicknamed "Nobie?"'
********************************************************************
Pinkie led Noble to a tall building colored in shades of pink, purple, and blue with gold trimming. As colorful as it was though, Noble had to admit it was tastefully done.
"Well," Pinkie stated, pointing to the building, "here we are! Carousel Boutique!"
Noble found it hard to believe that anypony could have as much energy as she did. The entire way through town, she chattered on about... well, everything. She seemed to have a unique collection of knowledge about Ponyville stuffed into her bouncy pink mane. She didn't look or act it, but she knew a lot more than she let on she knew.
Noble favored her with a small grin. "Thank you, Pinkie Pie." With that he walked towards the building.
"Wait," Pinkie shouted, "I have something to ask you!"
Noble braced himself. So far he had met twenty-six ponies in Ponyville and all of them at some point had made some mention of the timberwolf assault. 'Looks like this'll be number twenty-seven,' he thought with a sigh, turning to face Pinkie Pie.
"What flavor cupcakes are your favorite?" she asked with a smile.
"That was what you needed to asked me?" Noble asked.
She responded by nodding her head. Having never been asked that question before, Noble thought about it a second before answering, "Chocolate."
Her face lit up in a gasp as she darted away quicker than anything Noble had ever seen before. Noble blinked twice and she zipped back in front of him. "Thank you," she replied, before darting away again.
Noble stared after her for a few seconds after she left. His mind was more baffled than it was before he met her. He shook off his meeting with Pinkie Pie, deciding some inquiries were better left unanswered. With that behind him, he decided to enter the fashionista's abode.
A bell rang as he entered the door of the dress shop. "One moment please," a voice called sing-song tone. He decided to take the moment to look over what Rarity had created.
The shop was filled with dresses, each one prettier than the last. What truly made each of the dresses stand out was the fact they were covered in gems of every size, color, and description. It was plain to see that Rarity was more than a dress maker, she was an artisan of the craft.
"Welcome to Carousel Boutique," the voice called from behind him, "where every garment is chic, unique, and magnifique."
Noble turned to find a white unicorn with a wavy purple mane and tail. If he had to pick one word to describe her, it would have been glamorous. She wore just the right amount of make-up to compliment both her mane and her sapphire blue eyes. There was no doubt in Noble's mind that this unicorn was Rarity.
"How do you do, Ms. Rarity," Noble started, being as polite as he could be, "Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Noble Valor and I'm the pony whose cloak you have."
A look of confusion crossed her face before dawning with realization. "Oh, the young stallion that faced those horrid timberwolves. I must say that was very gallant of you."
Noble cleared his throat, trying to draw attention away from the blush that was setting in. "Thank you. Now, about my cloak..."
"Oh, of course darling. Would you accompany me to the back and I shall collect it for you."
Noble nodded his consent and followed the charming mare to the rear portion of her shop. Their walk ended into what could only be the laundry room. Noble found an old familiar piece of grey cloth hanging along the wall.
"I meant to have it already cleaned and mended" Rarity replied, "but I have been filling orders practically non-stop since your arrival. I was lucky to have found the time to clean it."
"It's fine, Ms. Rarity," Noble replied, removing the article of clothing from its drying spot, "it's cleaner than it has been in a long time at any rate."
"You must be joking," Rarity replied, disapproval clearly in her voice.
Noble folded the cloak over his foreleg. "You have my thanks, Ms. Rarity. I'll just give it a quick patch job and that'll fix that." He moved to leave, but his path was blocked by the unicorn wearing a shocked look on her face.
"A patch job?" she asked, as though the words sounded foreign to her.
Noble nodded his reply, but was interrupted by the unicorn.
"Unacceptable!" Rarity replied, her voice raising as she flourished with her head and hooves. "I simply cannot allow any garment to be subjected to-" she shivered in disgust "-a patch job."
"Ms. Rarity," Noble replied, "I appreciate what you are trying to do. Really, I do, but it's just unneces..."
"Not another word," she interrupted, "You must allow me to fix this."
"It's truly..."
"You must."
"But..."
"You must."
"Ms. Rari..."
"You must." She placed an extra emphasis on the last 'st.' Rarity's sapphire blue eyes seemed to bore holes into his, made even scarier by the fact that her right eye twitched ever so slightly.
"If you insist, Ms. Rarity" Noble gulped, offering the cloak to the seamstress.
"Wonderful, darling," Rarity replied, her voice changing back to the more outgoing and friendly one it was earlier. "I shall have it done by tomorrow. Now off with you. I have work to do. Shoo, shoo."
Noble had never been 'shooed' out of anywhere, but considering what he had glimpsed in the seamstress, it seemed best to humor her. 'I charge a pack of five timberwolves,' he thought as the door closed behind him, 'and I get stared down and chased out by a dressmaker.' Noble placed a hoof on his forehead at that thought and trudged through town.