Rubie Red

by Rubie_Red

5 Feeling Home

Rubie had said his goodbyes to his new friend and had decided to just stroll around in Ponyville. Anything could happen he thought. He wandered into the busy streets, just looking left and right at the different shops that past him. The stallion could see that some ponies were still giving certain looks at his face. It was as if Rubie was seeing the exact same scenario when he and Pinkie Pie were heading to Sugar Cube Corner. However, Rubie seemed to find their looks rather helpful. With the lesson that he had just learned, he could see that the ponies who gave him bad looks were not the ones to talk to at first. Rubie was on the look out to see if anyone at all reacted differently to his facial appearance. As Rubie wondered down the streets of Ponyville, his eyes shifted from pony to pony. Rubie Red could either see a look of judgement, or not even a look at all. It didn’t really matter to Rubie if the ponies were ignoring him on purpose or by accident. Things seemed to be getting rather bleak. Rubie started to feel as if there wasn’t much point to this.

“…hmmm”

He quietly muttered. Surprisingly, a voice answered.

“Things, never usually happen straight away you know.”

Rubie’s ears pointed up as he looked to his left and right.

“Rubie, relax, it’s just me.”

“Oh…Hodsaw…sorry…. I ju- “

Passing a stone corner, the dark stallion suddenly noticed a familiar face, with a familiar mane and a familiar tail. It was Hope. She seemed to just be passing down the street, and while she trotted her head turned left and right, analysing each structure as she passed at a slow pace. Perhaps she was looking for Rubie’s home. With that thought in the masked stallion’s head, he grew a facial expression of delight as he rushed over. He called out as he approached the Pegasus.

“Hope!! Hey Hope!!”

Hope’s eyes locked on to the joyful stallion as he rushed towards her. The Pegasus gasped quietly to herself and her eyes widened. Rubie tried to stop himself, skidding a little in front of his friend. As he skidded he shut his eyes so that no dirt flew into them. Rubie felt relieved to see his friend again, but something was wrong. When Rubie’s eyes opened again, Hope had just taken off into the air. She seemed to be flying at quite a hurried pace. Maybe she thought he was a stranger Rubie thought, since she had only seen his face for a day. The stallion shouted again.

“Hope!? It’s me!! Rubie!! Where are you going!?”

Hope didn’t answer. She just kept on flying. It was as if she had a grudge against him. All Rubie could do was watch as Hope eventually flew out of sight, and even after the Pegasus had gone, he just stared at the sky. His eyes then drew to the sun.

“Hope…what did I do…? Was it because I didn’t look for you first thing in the morning…? Is it because you don’t trust me…? Why wouldn’t she…? She’s the one that knows the most about me than any other pony!”

Rubie’s head then lowered, so that his eyes met contact with the ground, his long grey main covering his face. His front hoof stomped the dirt as he let out a grunt of irritation. The stallion felt stiff. It was as if an unknown force of sorrow kept him in place. However, that force suddenly vanished when Rubie heard a mare’s voice. It wasn’t Hope’s voice, it sounded more formal, along with the sound of gently hoofs across the ground.

“Sir? Excuse me sir. Are you alright? Is something troubling you?”

Hearing the calming voice of a polite mare, Rubie took a deep breath. He lessened the agitated force in his front hoofs that were pressing down on the ground.

“…y-yeah…I’m fine, I’m ok, just something on my mind…”

Rubie finally found the courage to lift his head up to the mare. The grey mane that covered his mask began to separate and spread out away from the stallion’s eyes, and as they did, Rubie’s sight became clear. The light shined on Rubie’s mask and he could see the mare who’s voice he had heard from underneath his mane. The mare standing in front of him had a white body that seemed very pure and clean, comparable to that of a sacred diamond, along with the eyes of a sapphire stone. Her eye lashes were bold and pure black, which seemed to make them stand out when contrasted with her body as white as snow. Her mane and tail were a shade of bright purple. Not a single strip of hair was a different shade to the other. The structure of the mare’s tail seemed to be in a shape of a spiral. It was as if it was sculpted perfectly. These properties gave off a feel of peace and serenity.

“Marvellous. Good to see a stallion get up that quickly from something bad. I just saw you looking down as if you’d just lost somepony. I’m Rarity by the way, and I-“

Rarity paused as she noticed something that she thought was quite striking. When Rubie’s mane had cleared away, the sun shone on the red, shiny, sparkly mask. Rarity’s mouth opened a little as her eyes examined every speck of the mask. Many exciting thoughts were stirring in her head. Out of all rare materials she had seen in her life, she could swear that it was made from fire rubies

“No way!!”

She cried out
Rubie’s ears shot up in fright before lowering back.

“I…I know…I…I”

Rarity’s face grew a big smile and her eyes began to gently sparkle.

“That!! That mask!! It’s…it’s quite beautiful!!”

She leaned in very close and began to slowly circle around Rubie, keeping a sharp eye on every sparkle that came off his mask. Rubie stayed silent, he gently pushed his main a little more in front of his face to hide the edges of his mask that sunk into his skin. Rarity was now behind him examining the back of his head.

“Where is it?”

She asked to herself.

“Huh? Wh-where is what?”

Rubie began to feel a little bit nervous, his eyes slightly pulsed with a faint yellow glow, but Rarity was too focused on the back of his head to notice.

“Where’s the strap that holds the mask on your face? I don’t see it.”

The stallion’s eyes had gone completely yellow as his feeling of pressure increased. He knew that it would freak Rarity out if she found out how the mask stayed on, but what could Rubie say.

“Well?”

Rarity questioned.
The nervous stallion took a deep breath and closed his eyes.

“I-It’s there…it’s just tucked behind my main.”

He opened his eyes, which were back to red, and turned to Rarity.

“The thought of this mane being tucked in by a tight strap, yikes that would be uncomfortable, hehe…”

Rubie was given a little glare before hearing a giggle come out of the mare’s mouth. The masked stallion felt relieved. Rarity scratched the back of her neck a little, she felt a little awkward about not taking in the simple possibility of the strap being beneath Rubie’s mane.

“O-oh of course. How silly of me to not notice that. Say umm… If you wouldn’t mind, may I see the inside of your mask? Just to see what it’s made of on the inside.”

A churning feeling of nervous pressure began to appear in Rubie’s stomach. He didn’t know what to do, or say. The stallion felt that it would be a little rude to just say no for no reason whatsoever, but he didn’t know what excuse to give. Rubie already felt bad enough lying once. Hodsaw wasn’t helping either, since all there was in Rubie’s head was silence. Out of all the pressure that was building up, Rubie built up the courage to reply, sheepishly.

“U-Umm…n-no I-I mean………I-I’m sorry but I-I gotta go...s-something has just caught my mind and is rather urgent.”

“Oh dear! I’m sorry if I distracted you!”

“No No No it’s fine! It was real nice meeting you, really! My name is Rubie Red by the way!!”

Before Rarity could even lift a hoof to wave goodbye Rubie Red had already turned away and started heading towards a forest at quite a fast pace. The shadows of the trees casted over Rubie, with the occasional small dots of light shining on his body. The stallions pace went to a calm and relaxing stroll.

“What was that?”

Hodsaw questioned, with an irritated sound in his voice. The masked stallion froze and lowered his head a little, like a child getting told off by his mother.

“That was very rude of you”

“W-well what was I supposed to…I-I mean…I’m sorry I didn’t…I didn’t know what to do, my head was spinning, I’m sorry…”

“Well…I can understand why you did what you did.”

“………I thought having friends would free me, but if this mask limits me to making friends I…I don’t know…”

The stallion found himself walking into a circle of light, next to a big oak tree. He looked up at the sun. It seemed brighter than ever, almost blinding the masked stallion. The bright light made Rubie’s body greatly contrast to his surroundings, and made his mask shine like a star. His head lowered and Rubie began to gaze at his surroundings. He seemed to be quite deep in the forest, for no matter which direction Rubie turned his head to, all he could see was green grass, strong oak trees and bushes, which its leaves bristled in the calm wind. Rubie felt something next to his front right hoof. He looked down to see a bright pink flower. Rubie watched the petals gently wave in the calm wind. He found this rather interesting. He laid down in front of the flower and continued to watch it. His eyes were locked on to the petals as the flower gently danced in the wind. Rubie began to gently smile.

“heh…you’re quite a special fella, aren’t you? All the way out here, but no others have bloomed near you…but why? You’re so beautiful, so why are you all by yourself? …You’re a brave one.”

Rubie spent a few more seconds watching the flower sway, then stood up. Past the flower, Rubie could see a majestic oak tree. He watched as the branches slowly waved to him, and listened to the wind bristling through the fresh green leaves. The stallion gently approached the bottom of the oak tree, analysing the patterns of the cracks. With his curiosity taking advantage, he pressed his left front hoof on to the wood of the tree. The texture was very jagged and uneven. Such detail and design Rubie thought. He gently pressed the side of his head on to the tree. It felt surprisingly warm, making the stallion press on it a little harder. He took a deep breath and sighed. It held Rubie in place as his eyes felt a little heavy.

“You know Hodsaw…I don’t feel lost…there’s something about this place…I…I feel safe. I feel home, but I don’t understand why, why does this make me feel better? Good lord…I barely even know much about myself do I?”

“Rubie, you’re going to find out, that’s the reason I’m here. Besides, I’ve seen already that you can be a good friend, and I’ve already started to see a certain personality form, and personally, I like it.”

Rubie felt proud of himself, feeling less doubtful of himself and feeling more at home. He fell to the ground next to the flower with a smile as the sun shined its light over him.