Change in Perspective

by Quicksear

A Freedom Earned, A Duty Given

Not much could be discussed about the series of events that took place that night, because the next day, the inevitable happened. Marc was eating breakfast of...you guessed it...apples, when an extremely over-excited Twilight stormed in, and began almost pathologically organizing her notes, and babbling so fast that the translator spell she had cast couldn't keep with her.

"Whoa there, Twilight! Twilight, stop!" Marc stepped in front of her, halting her activities.

She stared up at him unseeing for a second, panicked. Then she focused enough to say, "The Princesses are both outside."

Marc straightened and took a deep breath. Finally.

****

Princess Celestia was so very tired. Discord had become very nearly unmanageable over the past few weeks. Only now that he had been 'detained' did she feel it was safe to visit the creature that Discord had summoned. Against her own better judgment, Luna had convinced her to observe the plane from which the human came, to learn what she could of his kind and how he may act. What she had seen had terrified her.

She entered the small holding-cottage that contained the being, trailed by a wary Luna. Twilight looked nervous, as well she should. The human was standing upright by the open door of his room.

Then he slowly stepped forward and...Bowed?

"It is a pleasure to finally meet your royal Highnesses. May I introduce myself?"

Celestia was a little taken aback by his show of good manners coupled with such forwardness. She remained quiet and gestured for him to continue.

"My name is Marc Warner. I would like to thank…To thank you for your hospitality and making sure that I was kept well during my...Incapacitation." Marc finished his address and stepped back to indicate such.

Celestia immediately tried to set aside her misgivings. She had felt so sure that Discord would have brought the most uncontrollable human he could, but his plan seemed to have failed. Of course, that didn’t mean she would be naïve, not again. She looked over to Twilight and Luna by the door.

"Would you give us a moment? There are things I must explain to our friend."

Marc was surprised by the princess's seeming trust in him. Once the other two ponies had left, Celestia turned her attention down to Marc. "Hello, Marc. I am Princess Celestia. I am glad that you are in good health. Has Twilight undertaken your care well?"

Marc felt he was required to be polite but honest here. "Her lessons about Equestria have been comprehensive and informative. I would also mention her friend Applejack in thanks for feeding us over this time. However, there was an incident last night that Twilight will no doubt talk to you about involving Rainbow Dash, but I feel compelled to-"

"Marc, I can see this is tedious for you, so please, speak plainly." Celestia said.

Marc sighed with relief. "Well, um, Rainbow Dash secretly brought me some food, a fish, because she noticed that I wasn't happy on and almost entirely apple diet. She snuck it in so Twilight wouldn't stop her. I thank her greatly and hope you don't punish her too badly."

Celestia thought for a second. "Indeed. I will look into this later, but for now I must explain to you why you appeared here."

Marc sat down. This was what he wanted to hear. "You were brought here by a spirit, an Elemental, a creature that can span the planes of existence, though it must always return to the plane from whence it came. This Elemental is called Discord, and represents all the facets of chaos. Now, did Twilight explain about the elements of Harmony?"

Marc nodded.

The Princess continued, "Twilight and her friends together represent Harmony. At one point in the distant past, there were also Elements of Chaos, the exact opposites of the Elements of Harmony. But, through a process not fully understood now, these elements were bound together to form the being called Discord that we have today. Now, due to the nature of the magic he used, he cannot send you back, but my sister and I are working out a way to return you to your home."

Marc nodded. Twilight had mentioned Discord a few times, but not his origin. "So, if I have to stay here for awhile, how will I ...be handled?"

The Princess smiled. "Let us go outside, shall we?"

Marc was ecstatic. Outside! He didn't care what it might look like, or feel like, or how he may be treated, just so long as he felt some sunshine on his long-deprived skin. He literally needed it.

They stepped out into the glaring light of a summer morning. When Marc's eyes adjusted he saw a very surprised group of ponies. Yes, a group, seven altogether, standing under a tree a few paces from the door. Marc's attention, though, was attracted more to the brilliantly coloured surroundings. He had never seen grass so green or skies so blue. It was all rather awe inspiring.

Of course, it didn't last all that long.

All of a sudden his entire range of senses was assaulted. His eyes by a mass of solid shades of pink, his ears by a rapid fire squeaking too fast for the translator spell to handle, his tongue by an impossibly sweet cupcake that somehow got shoved into his mouth.

Marc jumped back and spat out the confection, before seeing the overly pink pony being bumped out of the way by Applejack.

"Whoa, there Pinky Pie! You gonna scare 'im!" She looked at Marc, smiling. "Sorry 'bout that, Sugarcube, That's just Pinky Pie, she gets a little excited when she meets strangers."

Marc was about to thank her, but the white unicorn in the group stepped forward. "Good morning! I see you are wearing my creation...Marc, was it?" She gave the apparel an appraising eye.

"Ah, so you must be Rarity, I take it. Yes, thank you, you got these almost perfect." Marc replied with a glance at the pants and shirt he had been given. Rarity immediately looked smug. "You see girls! I did get it right!"

Marc was surprised at how easy-going these other ponies were, though they had all heard about him from Applejack, and had seen him at some point or another during his coma. Still, after being locked up like a bomb for weeks, this friendliness was refreshing. But then there was the exception, sitting behind the others with her head down.

Marc assumed this to be Fluttershy, the only other pony whose name he'd heard. She was also the one to whom he owed the most thanks. "Fluttershy?"

She looked up at him as the other ponies moved away."Oh...Hello..."

Marc said quietly, "Fluttershy, I would just like to thank you for helping to keep me alive during the time I was out. If not for you I would no doubt be dead."

Everypony was again surprised by Marc's vote of thanks, but none more than a now VERY embarrassed Fluttershy, who merely squeaked in reply and flew off. Marc hadn't expected that, but anyway, back to the matter at hand.

He turned to hear Princess Celestia speak. "That was very well spoken, Marc, and I'm sure that you will forgive Fluttershy her meekness. Now, my little ponies, I have something to say to you all. First, Marc cannot remain confined like this; it is cruel to keep him so. Therefore, he must be introduced to the town of Ponyville, tonight at the Royal Euphony Concert. I will make arrangements for his inclusion. Rainbow Dash, will you step forward?"

Rainbow did so nervously.

"Marc told me what you did last night. Although you had your heart in the right place, you should not have ignored Twilight's authority. A punishment must be handed to you."

Rainbow looked terrified, and Marc was about to come to her defense but before he could: "It is your task to introduce Marc to the town."

Rainbow nodded and slunk back to her friends. Twilight looked a little dumbfounded. Celestia quickly answered her expression; "Twilight, you should have made a note of what Marc would need to eat, so equally your punishment is NOT being able to introduce Marc to the town." Twilight head and ears dropped.

Marc was a little taken with this incredibly elegant way of dealing with what may have been a touchy situation. A Princess indeed.

"Marc, meeting the town will be difficult, but you will have a friend by your side, so do not worry over-much. Now, my sister also has words for you, in private. She will explain some other things. In the meantime, Twilight, I would like for you to arrange a bed for Marc at Rosewood Cottage. I will see you all this evening." And with that, Celestia took off.

Marc was still thinking about one thing the Princess had said. A friend by your side. Friend. He wasn't sure why, but that did not sit easy in his chest. He had never been good at handling friendship. It just made him think of Gale.

She at least had hands, for god's sake.

"You are thinking of your friends and home, Marc, are you not?" Said Princess Luna, after the other ponies had retreated over the hill in front of the cottage.

Marc was surprised by her vigilance. "Yes, your highness, I was. How did you know?"

She chuckled a little, "You may call me Luna. As the Princess of the night, I am also the Warden of Dreams. I have seen your torments in the night, and have tried to help you forget them on waking."

This really shocked Marc. She was in my head?! But he could be nothing but thankful to her. Dreams that would have troubled him had been soothed by her presence. "Thank you, Princess. I miss my friends dearly. I haven't many, but I consider them near as blood."

Luna was saddened by Marc's words. Unbeknownst to her sister, Luna had secretly used the powers Discord had mentioned to look in on how Marc had lived, and the repercussions of his disappearance:

The State Orphanage stated that Marc had run away. Gale thought it was her fault for the events of that evening and had cried herself to sleep over it every night since. San-Marie had gone into depression, believing that Marc had ended his life over the pain she had caused him. The search for him had long wound down. But he was sorely missed, even by some that never knew his name. He had had a presence in his world that no one recognized until he was gone.
She had to let him know.

"Marc, please know this; your friends cared for you deeply, and still do. And you have friends here now, too. You have endeared yourself to them so much that they have helped you beyond their duties. We will help you to return when it is possible."

Marc nodded, tears springing unbidden to his eyes. How does she know? But he didn't ask, knowing it would only cause him more pain. "Thank you Princess, for your comfort."

*****

Rainbow Dash had waited just beyond the hill for the Lunar Princess to finish explaining things to Marc. She was nervous as to how the town would react to her introducing Marc to them all. What would the other ponies think of her? I'm going to a laughing stock! But she did not regret giving Marc that meal: She was proud, yes, but Marc needed help, and that was more important. Just then, she saw Princess Luna flying away over the rise of the hill.

Rainbow flitted over to the cottage built against the trees, to see Marc sitting against the wall, his head in his hands.
"Marc? Hey, are you okay?" She asked, worried. He looked like he was crying.

Marc smiled through the last of his tears, beginning to laugh for no apparent reason. "Yeah, it's just a lot to take in. but I think I'm going to be fine, Dash" he stood up and looked into her concerned eyes.

"How about we start towards town...friend?" He asked.

They both grinned.

They walked towards Ponyville, chatting about what was to come.

Comments

[Tyler-B003]

Never was there a harsher punishment for Twilight.

[JBL]

This story seems to be suffering from the Barney and Friends Syndrome, where the main character just accepts everything that's happening to him without logical responses.