-Suit Up-

Coalback was in what could only be described of as pure bliss. He never thought that hooves would be able to work so well for their stiff shape, but Lotus had managed to prove him completely wrong. Her hooves had easily found the knotted muscles and had worked out every knot and unnecessarily tense muscle. However he had had to explain that he was not going to be able to relax as fully as any normal pony, marking it off as a medical condition.

However, that didn’t stop the massage from being one of the most enjoyable things he had done in a long time. His entire body was simply relaxed.

Coalback’s ears twitched as a quiet giggle graced the air with its ringing, like little bells. The two spikes in his ear clacked against each other with their familiar weight, the sound coming as a surprise in the otherwise silent room. Lotus removed her hooves from his back, their relaxing touch suddenly absent.

“I think we are done here, meester Coalback. I hope you enjoyed your veesit.” She said cheerily, giggling as he sighed again. She left his side so that he could get up from the cushioned table, cleaning up the various supplies in the room.

He let out a groan of protest as he forced himself up from the table, which had become far more comfortable as the massage had gone along. He eventually forced himself over to the side of the table and gingerly attempted to move to the floor. However, his legs had become so relaxed, that he simply collapsed onto the plush bath mat that was waiting on the floor.

“You really know your stuff, Lotus.” He muttered into the mat, the words coming out like another relaxed sigh. He heard her let out another quiet giggle, continuing to put away the various lotions and grooming implements. He tried again to stand, gaining far more success this time as he pushed himself off of the soft mat.

He gingerly made his way back to the screen, quickly redressing himself and relishing the new a fresh feeling of relaxation that he felt. He knew, in the back of his mind, that it would be short lived, but he rested on enjoying the moment anyway. He reemerged from the screen and followed Lotus back out to the front.

They passed back through the bath house, the large tubs catching his eye again before they passed the curtain and into the front room. Another mare, her coat and mane in opposite color combination to Lotus’s, was talking with Fluttershy from across the counter. The sound of jingling coins just finished their falling symphony as he entered. Fluttershy smiled warmly to the other mare as the conversation quickly drew to a close, Lotus had said something about ‘Aloe’, maybe that was her name.

“Hello again, Fluttershy.” Coalback said as he approached, making sure that his presence was known before he scared the little pegasus out of her horseshoes. She turned, with only a small jump on her part, but relaxed and smiled to him before mumbling a nearly inaudible whisper. “Is there anything else you wanted to show me around the town? Any errands you need to run?” He said, pushing past her repeated shyness and trying to continue the conversation. Or maybe some part of him wanted to leave the spa before he fell asleep or convinced himself to another massage.

“Um … I actually do need to pick up … a few things ... in the market.” She mumbled, speaking up so that he could hear her clearly. She nodded as she tried vainly to hide behind her mane, the warm and soft looking scarf around her neck caressing her face as she tried to shrink away from him ever so slightly.

“Then, if our business is done here, I guess that we should go.” He said, nodding thankfully back at Lotus before following Fluttershy out the door. The Spa mares waved to them as they left, cheery smiles decorating their faces.

Coalback examined his surroundings, a natural habit that he did sometimes without even noticing it. The air was crisp, but not unpleasantly cold. He could smell fresh baked pastries, coming from a bakery nearby most likely. The air, he noted, had small amounts of pony fur hanging in the air, a slight irritant to his nose, but ignorable. His breath came in small wisps in front of his muzzle, the air currents eddying in front of his eyes.

Fluttershy walked daintily beside him, her hoofsteps making the smallest of crunching noises on the light dusting of snow over the cobble street. Even her breathing was dainty, only the tiniest of whispers coming from her nose. Coalback couldn’t help but feel ... lumbering compared to such a delicate pony, afraid that one wrong hoofstep could snap her in half, as morbid as that thought was.

All around them, ponies wandered. The crowds growing slightly as they grew nearer to the market square. If he had to count, there were far more mares walking around than there were stallions, but it seemed like an unnecessary detail at the moment. He noted dully that Fluttershy was walking slightly closer to him, relying on the him to shield themselves from the crowd. He also couldn’t help but notice the mixed looks he was getting, many smiled and waved, but a select few had glares of intensity that he was all too familiar with. He tried not to appear as tense as he was becoming, again. However the massage was still allowing him to remain virtually calm.

They emerged into the square, the small stalls and booths standing alongside the shop’s display windows. The streets were lined with glass street lamps, their luminescence not needed in the daylight. An empty fountain stood proudly in the center of the square, the statue of a dancing pony placed atop it. The ponies milled about, their voices mingling together in that unique sound that comes from a crowd. One voice in particular calls out from the fray, cutting through the air with her southern accent.

“Hey, Ya’ll!” Applejack’s voice called out, drawing their attention over to the apple cart across the way. She had stood up over the stall, her striped scarf waving in the short breeze as she motioned to them. Fluttershy smiled warmly beside him, a skip in her steps emerging as her pace picked up and they made their way to the cart. “Hey there, sugarcube! How ya holdin’ up?” Applejack greeted, directing her question to Fluttershy as they stopped on the other side of the cart.

“Oh, I’m doing just fine. Thank you, Applejack.” Fluttershy said meekly, a warm smile decorating her face as she greeted her friend. “Rarity decided to send Coalback with me, I think she was ‘in the zone’ when we left her. I just wanted to pick up a few groceries after my visit to the spa.” She said, starting to look around at the apples that still decorated her cart.

“That sounds like Rarity, all right. This here is tha last o’ tha harvest from tha end o’ the month.” Applejack said, motioning to the selection of apples before her. Several empty crates sat beside her, she must have been having good business. “And, not to worry Fluttershy, Ah actually already got all yer usual things.” She continued, pulling out a basket that was filled with various groceries and other supplies in it.

“Oh.” Fluttershy gasped, a surprised smile decorating her face as she moved to take the basket. “Thank you, Applejack. I don’t know what to say-” She started to thank the farm pony, but was interrupted by the dismissive gesture that Applejack made.

“Think nothin’ of it, Fluttershy. I decided I would do ya’ll a favor while I was out here, needed to warm up anyhow.” Applejack said dismissively, waving off Fluttershy’s thanks quickly. “And how ‘bout you, Coalback? Yer lookin’ sharp. Just back from tha Barber?” She continued, motioning toward him this time.

“I’m just fine.” He replied, nodding toward her. “I went to the spa with Fluttershy, and apparently massages are more enjoyable than I had expected.” He said, rolling his shoulders and revelling again in the still relaxed muscles.

“Good ta hear.” She said, looking up across the square. “Hey, Fluttershy. Ain’t it feedin’ time over at yer cottage?” She said, motioning across the market to the stout clock tower that displayed the time of day.

Fluttershy jumped, turning quickly to look at the clock herself. “Oh, my.” She said, nervous worry leaking into her words. “You’re right, Applejack. Oh, I hate making the animals wait. I’ll see you tonight at the - ooh!” She stopped suddenly, her hoof darting up to stop the last of the words before they could escape her lips. She looked between Coalback and Applejack with nervous eyes, her previous comment nearly letting slip something she seemingly wasn’t supposed to.

Applejack’s eyes darted around as well, her mouth closed into a tight line. A bead of cold sweat rolled down her head as she noticed Coalback watching her intently. “Well, see ya later, Fluttershy!” She blurted out loudly, the yellow mare instantly darting away at her dismissal. “Say - uh - Coalback? How’s about an apple? They’re the best in alla Equestria!” She said quickly, scooping up an apple and presenting it to him proudly. Her nervous smile nearly cracking as Coalback raised an eyebrow in question.

“Is there something you want to tell me, Applejack? You look a bit … flustered.” He observed, the words not denoting the suspicion that his gaze held.

“Just that ya’ve gotta try some a’ tha Apple family apples! Like Ah said, they’re tha best around!” She repeated, the smile growing more confident as his gaze fell from her face and to the Red Delicious in her hoof.

“Well, if they’re as good as you say they are …” He said, reaching up and taking the apple for himself. Applejack sighed in relief, wiping the cold sweat that had formed on her brow. “But I do have another question.” He said as he took a bite from the apple, crunching down on it thoughtfully.

“A-a question?” She asked, her worry returning that he hadn’t dismissed the topic from earlier. She smiled though, watching as he enjoyed the apple more and more with every bite.

He swallowed the bite he had taken, looking back at the apple with admiration. But when he looked back up at her, his eyes showed concern. “Are you scared of me?” He asked, looking carefully at Applejack.

“Well- uh …” She muttered, caught off guard by the sudden question. One of her hooves moved up to the back of her neck, idly scratching at her mane. “Well, Ah suppose that there would be a good reason to be, if’n we were ta get on yer bad side that is.” She said, looking back at him with a small grimace. “After all, ya were real … quick … ta deal with them stallions yesterday. But Ah suppose Ah actually feel a lot safer knowing that yer tryin’ ta help us.” She said, shrugging her shoulders at Coalback’s confused expression.

“Really? I was worried that my actions would cause …” He looked back over his shoulder, once again catching the mixed looks that had been aimed his direction. “Well, panic. To be honest, I hadn’t expected such a positive reaction to my response to the threats that the terrorists were giving.” He continued, turning back to her with another questioningly raised eyebrow.

Applejack chuckled, shrugging her shoulders again. “Y'all'd be surprised with the kinda strange things that these here ponies have seen. Ah suppose that somepony dealin’ with the new local bullies with … drastic measures, is not that unlike seeing Sherbertus runnin through tha streets.” She nodded, looking back down to Coalback from her thoughts that had taken her eyes to the slightly overcast sky.

“Who?” Coalback asked, his confusion increasing at the mispronounced name.

“Oh, you know. That three headed dog-thing! Tha one that’s supposed ta be guardin Tartarus, and all that.” She said dismissively, watching as his face lit with recognition, and then confusion again.

He opened his mouth to ask another question, but seemed to think better of it, and instead took another bite of the apple he had been holding. She heard him mumble something about lacking surprises around the apple in his mouth as he chewed. She chuckled as his bemused expression changed to one of enjoyment as he savored the apple.

“So, what d’ya think a tha apple?” She said, steering the conversation back to something less frightening. Coalback didn’t answer with anything other than a happy sounding hum and a nod with his head, continuing to savor the sweet juices of the fruit. “Ah guess that means ya like it.” She said with a chuckle, lining up a few more apples for him.

“This place is starting to look nicer and nicer.” He said as he finished the apple, licking his lips to get the last of the juices there. He held the core for a moment, looking around for something to leave it in.

Applejack resolved the issue however. “Ya can just toss that in that barrel over there.” She said, pointing to a barrel over her shoulder, its open top decorated with the few insects that braved the winter air. He tossed the core in, the refuse bouncing off the inside lip of the barrel and falling in. “Are ya cold at all, Coalback. Ah got an extra scarf in here, Ah think.” She said, already starting to root through the crate under her cart.

Coalback looked down at his exposed chest, watching the fur shift in the light breeze for a moment before speaking. “Haven’t noticed it much actually.” He said, halting Applejack’s hunt for the scarf and drawing her gaze back up to him.

“Are ya sure? All ya got on’s those old lookin’ pants.” She said, motioning toward the nearly destroyed pair of shorts around his flank.

“Yeah, I’m pretty sure. I’m actually pretty used to the cold.” He said dismissively, reaching forward to take another apple with hunger in his eyes.

“Huh, wouldn’t a’ thought ya were. Is that a pegasus thang?” She asked, remembering the lack of similar shielding from the cold on any of the other pegasi.

Coalback shrugged as he swallowed another bite of an apple. “Perhaps, but I’ve seen colder.” He said, interrupting himself with another bite of apple. “You tend to get used to the cold when it’s thirty below the zero mark every night.” He said, looking back up at her as he finished off another bite of apple. “Siberia gets very cold, as far north as it is.” Coalback explained, taking the last bite of the apple and throwing it again into the container behind Applejack.

She watched as the apple core bounced around the rim before falling in. “What in tha world were yah doin’ so far North? Ah know that it can downright frozen up near tha Crystal Empire, but Ah can’t imagine livin’ anywhere that cold fer long.” She noted, turning to look back at him again, looking at the thickness of his fur. She had met a pony from Stalliongrad once, they had fairly thick fur. Maybe he’d come from up there? She thought for a moment.

“Well, first I went there as a … A getaway of sorts. Then I spent the majority of a few years up there trying to recover from … stuff.” He trailed off, his eyes falling to the ground as he took another apple. “But they were good times.” He said around the mouthful of apple, refusing to interrupt his enjoyment of the sweet fruit for the sake of old memories that needed not to be thought on.

“Oh, Ah see.” She said, looking down at the basket that Coalback had moved onto after finishing the apples she had set out for him. “Hold yer horses, Coalback! Yer gonna clean me out before Ah can sell any a’ these!” She said, drawing him away from the suddenly half empty basket. “Ah get it, ya like tha apples. But hold off ‘em or yer gonna get yerself a right nasty tummy ache.” She said, pointing at the apple already poised in front of his mouth.

Coalback paused, both caught off guard by his suddenly uncontrolled consumption of the fruit, and by the callow word. He instantly pulled the apple away, polishing the side of it before placing it back gingerly on the cart. He paused with a sheepish grin on his face, the look dropping as he realized something.

“You haven’t found a gem have you?” He asked, motioning toward his neck as he continued. “I had it yesterday, hanging around my neck under the armor. And I know I had it while interrogating that stallion.” He said, drifting off as he tried to recall the night before.

Applejack donned a look of recognition, putting a hoof up to her chin as she did the same. “Ah think that Twi found somethin’ last night. But if’n it’s yer’s, I’d say ya git down there fast or you’ll never wrestle it away from ‘er.” She said, pointing down the market toward a road that led out of it. In the distance, if one peered over the thatched rooftops, the topmost branches of the tree building that housed the library was just visible.

“You’re probably right, Applejack. Thank you for the apples.” He said with another sheepish grin as he started to back toward the path that she had pointed out. He turned around finally making his way toward the library after so many delays, there was work to be done and he was tired of waiting..

He hadn’t even had the thought pass through his head fully before a light blue aura surrounded his hooves and dragged him unceremoniously through an open door. The door slammed closed behind him, the aura dropping him onto the floor of the boutique. He hadn’t even noticed that he was passing it.

“Uh …” He managed to say, interrupted by the pile of folded clothes that were pushed against his chest carefully.

“Oh, Coalback. Good to see you, and at just the right time.” Rarity’s prim and proper voice ringing through the boutique and through his ears. A mock show of nonchalance permeated every syllable. “I was just finishing up on your clothes, but I need you to be wearing them since you have such a unique build.” She said, cantering out up to him from the stage where she had been sitting. A neatly folded suit hung from a metal hanger in her magical grasp floated forward to him, resting itself on his back as the same magic started to push him further into the boutique.

“Uh- What?” He tried again, still trying to understand why he was suddenly in the boutique again.

“You can change in the laundry room, I simply cannot wait to see you in this!” She said giddily, her magic pushed more force as he started to stumble forward. “I am terribly sorry for the rush however. So much to do, so little time. I’m sure you know what I’m talking about.” She said, almost laughing nervously as she continued to push him toward the door in the back of the room. “Again, terribly sorry. But I must strike while the iron is hot! I’m still in the zone, as it were.” She said as Coalback finally started to walk again.

“Okay, Okay!” Coalback said quickly, picking up his pace and almost fully running through the door near the back.

---

Rarity lounged idly in her boutique’s main room, the decorative red couch keeping her in a comfortable embrace as she waited for Coalback. The overall theme she had picked was purple, lighter than royal purple, but fitting well. It was a large room, rounded to create a nearly dome-like shape. It was a large room for the size of the building, almost seeming bigger than the outside. Several doors lined the sides, leading to a kitchen nook, a storage room, and the laundry room that Coalback had locked himself into a few minutes ago.

Stairs traced themselves up one side, curling up to reach a balcony that disappeared into the above living space. The walls were painted with intricate swirls, the roof similarly. The floor was a patterned tile, decorative and easy on the eye. Several vases lined the room, filled with intricate flower designs. Many decorative pieces of furniture lined the room as well, giving breaks to the otherwise continuous pattern and letting clientele rest as they waited for her.

The windows behind her displayed the few dresses she kept on display to attract shoppers. The large windows lined many of the walls, interrupted by the rear side of the room and the door opposite it. Across from her, a stage sat against the wall. Mirrors set themselves at differing angles, aimed toward the stage so that the pony standing on it could see themselves from any angle.

“AAAAAH!” A shrill scream pierced through the air, shocking Rarity into a very unladylike jump. It started her from her idle inspection of her boutique, bringing her eyes down onto the door leading to the laundry room that she had so hastily insisted that Coalback go into.

“Sweetie Belle?” She spouted in shock, both a question and a startled call.

She started to move from the couch, an approach made to the door interrupted as it opened. Coalback emerged from the door, a struggling Sweetie Belle hanging from the scruff of her neck in his mouth as he carried her through. Her struggles did little to loosen his firm grasp, the tiny kicks and desperate thrashing going unnoticed as he walked toward Rarity. He stopped only a few steps from the couch that she sat on, staring with her own mix of fear and concern as he set her down on the ground.

He followed her with his eyes as the tiny white filly ran as fast as she could scramble to hide behind the couch that Rarity was still sitting in. “Does she belong to you?” He asked, breaking the silence and switching his gaze back up to her.

“Yes!” Rarity said quickly, jumping up from the couch and moving around to try and find the filly again. “That’s Sweetie Belle. She’s my sister. I must not have realized the time, she probably just got out of school.” She explained, moving around the couch. She came back around from the other side, pushing the cowering filly around with her head. “Say hello, Sweetie Belle. This is a friend I met in Canterlot, just a few days ago. Sweetie Belle, Coalback. Coalback, Sweetie Belle.” She said, trying to introduce the filly to the stranger that she had stumbled upon.

She sat in a shaking ball in front of him, her eyes staring up at the huge pegasus in front of her. “H-h-h-hello-o” She stuttered, forcing the words out from under her purple and pink mane.

“I’m sorry that I picked you up like that, Sweetie Belle.” He said carefully, leaning down so that he wouldn’t tower over her. “You scared me nearly as much as I must have scared you. Would a magic trick make it up to you?” He smiled as her eyes went wide and one of her eyebrows shot skyward, and she had stopped shaking.

“How? You’re not a unicorn. Are you?” She said, her confusion evident at the suggestion.

“Not many unicorns where I come from, we had to entertain ourselves in a different way.” He said, smiling again at her and standing back up. His attention turned back to Rarity as he reached into the pocket of the coat he had donned inside the room. “I found this on the floor in the laundry room, is it alright if I use it for a few moments?” He asked, pulling out a quarter-bit and holding it up for her to see.

Rarity nodded, looking on with her own interest. “I am curious myself, Coalback.” She said, looking on as he placed the quarter-bit piece in his left hoof.

He presented the coin clearly, showing that it was all that was in his hoof. He carefully passed his hoof over the other, covering the coin for a brief moment. When he pulled his hoof away, the coin was gone as well, presumably into his other hoof. He slowly turned over his other hoof, revealing the empty appendage for them to see.

“Hey! It’s gone!” Sweetie exclaimed, hopping onto her own hooves with her eyes wide. Coalback chuckled, pulling back the sleeves of the suit and clearly showing that he no longer had the coin. She gasped again, jumping forward to look at his empty hoof herself. “It is gone!” She exclaimed, hanging onto his empty hoof.

“Very observant of you.” He said with a chuckle, releasing himself from her hold. “But- What’s this?” He said, reaching down behind her ear. When his hoof came away, the quarter-bit was sitting plainly in his hoof.

“How did you do that?” Sweetie exclaimed, grabbing hold of the coin and examining it.

“Like I said, we came up with other things to make magic.” He said with a wink, looking back up at Rarity as Sweetie Belle turned the coin over in her hooves.

“That was fantastic, Coalback.” Rarity said, clapping her hooves together. She jumped suddenly, a look of realization coming over her face. “Oh! Stand up, Coalback. I need to see the suit.” She said, motioning for him to stand up again.

He complied quickly, pushing himself back up to his hooves and standing up at attention, or as best as he could. He felt the suit hang off him, only fitting slightly loosely. Whatever measurements that Rarity had been able to get earlier seemed to have done her well, he had had hats that fit less well than this suit did. “I couldn’t figure out how to get the tie to work, never really had any time for suits before.” He mumbled, reaching up to prod at the twisted piece of cloth that hung from under the collar of his shirt.

She walked around him for a moment, examining the suit and how it hung off him. She hummed thoughtfully, her horn lighting up with a blue glow as she turned the tie into its proper bow shape. “Go stand on the stage, Coalback. I can get some much better angles if you’re up there, and the lighting is so much better.” She said, motioning up toward the mirrors on top of the stage.

Coalback resisted the urge to roll his eyes, females are the same wherever he went. He trotted up to the stage, standing near the center and turning to look into the mirrors and examine the suit himself. It was dark, but not black. It had a purple tone to it, shining out from the dark silky material as the light hit it. The jacket was long, able to cover his flank and fall over the back of his legs shortly. The tone actually seemed to grow darker as it reached the coattails. The shirt underneath was a deep grey, going well against the dark jacket. The tie was grey toned, matching his coat well.

The sleeves ended just above his unshorn hooves, his grey coat peeking out.  His wings poked out from sleeves cut into the back of the jacket and shirt, a shock of grey against the dark colors. His flank and hind legs were covered in a set of black pants, the color flat in comparison to the jacket hanging over it.

He stood very still as Rarity pulled a pincushion from behind the mirrors, a sewing kit following close behind it and setting down on the stage beside him. She started to adjust the hems of the pants and the sleeves, pinning them in place as she started to speak.

“That was very nice of you, Coalback. Doing that for Sweetie Belle.” She said, watching Sweetie Belle wander toward the staircase. Coalback flinched as a needle came particularly close to his wing.

“I have a- sort of a soft spot for little ones.” He said, continuing to watch carefully as Rarity worked with the needles. “Even if they can be a … hoof-ful?” He finished with a question, still unsure as to how the sayings translated. He was still getting used to all these pony-isms.

Rarity smiled, starting to sew the hems into place properly. “That’s absolutely correct, Sweetie Belle and her friends in particular.” She said with a laugh, pulling the suit flat in a few places with her magic. “I’m almost done, Coalback. You should be able to go on your merry way soon. By the way, where were you going?” She asked, carefully looking over the suit as she kept working with it.

“I think that Twilight might have something of mine, I believe that I dropped it in her basement. The Princess had called it an ‘Arcane Gem’, and I’m a little worried about it.” He said, nodding at the mirrors in front of him as he watched her work.

“You have an Arcane Gem?” Rarity said, a sparkle in her eye as she jumped up to look at him. “Oh my goodness, that would be perfect for the cuffs! The way they would shine.” She said, already starting to picture just how they would look.

“The gem is too important to me to have it cut, Rarity.” He deadpanned, looking back at her with a flat look.

“Oh … hmmmm.” Rarity paused, stopping to think for a moment. “Perhaps a necklace, we could mount it on that without having to cut it. You were carrying it like that before weren’t you?” She suggested, moving back to the suit and starting to finish up her work. Coalback nodded, humoring the fashionista for the moment.

“But its light is too bright.” He said, stopping his nod midway and looking back at the unicorn. “If I walk around with it on display, I’d be blinding ponies left and right.” He grumbled, trying to dissuade her.

“Don’t worry, dear.” She said after a moment, one of her needles twirling as punctuation to her statement. “I know just the thing!” Her needles pulled away, finally relieving him of the anxiety that had started to build with their movements.

He took another look at the suit, moving his arms and legs around to test the fit, it was perfect. “Thank you, Rarity.” He said with a smile, looking over the suit with admiration and nostalgia. “I can’t tell you how long it’s been since I’ve worn a nice suit. How can I pay you for it?” He asked, looking back at her.

“Ah, ah, ah!” She said quickly, waving off his offer. “Unacceptable, I will not accept payment for something as beautiful as this suit, especially from a friend.” She said, shaking her head at him. “And if Twilight does have that gem of your’s, I would suggest you go get it quickly. If she’s decided that it would make a good study subject, then you’ll never be able to get it away from her.” She said, motioning toward the door.

Coalback started to walk off of the stage, taking slow and easy steps as he continued to test the suit’s fit. “Funny, Applejack said something similar.” He mumbled, taking the final step off of the stage and starting toward the door. “Now, are you sure that you don’t want any payment? I’d hate to feel like I’m taking advantage of you.” He said, starting to turn back to her.

“Not at all, Coalback.” She said, walking with him toward the door. “Just be careful with the suit in the snow, it should be fine. And anyway, you need to get your gem from Twilight! Who knows what she’s done with it in all this time.” She said, waving to him as he finally walked out the door.

“Alright, Rarity. If that’s what you want.” He mumbled, taking a final step off the porch.

“Don’t be a stranger, now!” She said cheerily, closing the door behind him.

He stepped carefully onto the lightly snowed ground, making sure the hems of his suit didn’t come into contact with it. His pace picked up as he walked though, the surety that his suit wouldn’t be soiled by his walking.

Finally, he could get to the library like he had planned. There was too much work to do, and he had already had too many interruptions. This was starting to get repetitive, even annoying. How was he supposed to try and find some of the history on these ponies, maybe he could find answers there.

It was during this introspection on his path toward the library, when his thoughts were suddenly halted. His nose twitched involuntarily, an experimental sniff coming of its own accord. His hoofsteps drew to a stop, slowing as he started to smell something. His nose twitched again, the scent tickling the moist flesh on the inside.

It was … different. He hadn’t smelled something like it before. Or if he had, he couldn’t remember where. It wasn’t a bad smell, nor was it a good smell. In the sense that a smell could be good or bad, pleasant or unpleasant. In fact, he was unsure of what he could compare it to. It had a certain musty scent to it, with a sort of metallic tickle like an aftertaste. But that was all layered under something that he could only call musky.

He had stopped in front of a house, its features hidden as he closed his eyes to concentrate on the smell and try to place it. The sounds of the street around him almost seemed to fade, tuned out as he started to ‘see’ through a different one of his senses. It wasn’t sight in any way, but like he could home in on the actual parts of the smell. Trying to describe this kind of feeling is almost like playing one of those children’s games, like charades with words.

One of his ears twitched, the sound of creaking hinges startling in the silence that had fallen. He opened his eyes, realizing that he had actually started to wander during his inspection of the strange and new smell. He was standing in front of a door, one to the house that he had stopped in front of. He had made his way over to the door and had simply stopped in front of it.

Standing in the now open doorway, was a very sweaty looking unicorn. Her mint green coat was matted, her mane was a complete tangle. Her eyes seemed distant as well, just sort of looking out at him blankly. Her breathing was ragged, like she had run to the door before opening it. She looked like she had just rolled out of bed, or out of a grave.

“Oh.” Coalback muttered, taking a step back and trying not to recoil as the smell suddenly grew much stronger. “I- uh. Sorry, I didn’t mean to disturb you. I just- uh … Are you okay?” He stopped suddenly, the mare had stopped staring blankly and had donned a grin that would have made the cheshire cat look sane.

“Great, actually!” The unicorn said, that grin only growing. “In fact, I think I just found exactly what I needed.” She said, her voice starting to lower itself into what he could only call … sultry.

“Um …” Coalback muttered again, his words failing him as one of his legs gave an involuntary twitch. The mare had started to move forward, a hungry look sparking itself in her eyes.

“Say, you’re that stallion that saved everypony at the station yesterday, aren’t you? You should come inside! You look cold.” She said, taking a few more steps toward him. He matched her pace backwards, the mare’s behaviour was starting to make him uneasy.

“It is not convenient.” He muttered, an expression he had heard far too often in the North. I have too much work.” He added, starting to back away faster. He took a moment to steal a glance at the street around him, which had become strangely empty.

He heard a growl, not like one an animal would make, but one from the throat of the mare in front of him. Rather than that being a reassuring fact, as it would have been a few years ago, it was all the more disturbing.

He turned quickly back to the source of the noise, greeted with an even stranger sight. The mare had dropped into a crouch, resembling one that a cat would use … before it pounced.

“I said; Come inside!” She growled, completing the image of a feline predator with a jump that matched one. He would have jumped away, in fact she wouldn’t have even come close to him if not for the fact that he was still trying to figure out what was happening.

---

Spike carefully walked around the random books on the floor, the carefully balanced books in his claws swaying as he made his way over to the other shelf. He stepped gingerly around Twilight, her nose nearly touching the small text printed to the papers there. He made sure not to interrupt her, knowing well that only mischief would come from that.

Spike gingerly placed his tower of books onto the floor, watching nervously as it swayed. He let out a sigh of relief, wiping the sweat from his brow and moving toward the ladder leaning against the stack of shelves inset into the walls. He clambered up the steps of the wooden ladder, moving to the top of the stack of books and picking up the topmost one to place it on the shelf.

The door slammed open suddenly, a loud bang interrupting the serene silence that had permeated the slightly dim library. It closed almost as suddenly as it had opened, a greyed blur swinging in and pressing itself against the door. The impact of the door against its own frame was enough to practically shake the entire room.

Spike jumped, falling back to land precariously on the very edge of the step that he was perched on. His arms windmilled, the book that they had been holding flying away from him as he tried to keep his balance. He inevitably failed, falling to the floor in a heap and being quickly buried by the tower of books. Twilight’s reaction was similar, albeit a less painful one.

The stallion leaned against the door, his breath ragged. He was covered from head to hoof in dirt and snow, as if he had rolled around on the ground before entering. The suit that he wore was bogged down with the soaked in snow.

“Coalback?” She exclaimed, instantly recognising the stallion after she had recovered from her own shock.

“SHH!” He hissed, quickly turning his head to look out the nearby window at an angle.

Hooves slushed through the snow, more ragged breathing sounding in from outside. The hooves slid to a stop, and a face suddenly pressed itself against the glass. “I know you’re in there! Get out here and LOVE ME!” She screamed, her horn scraping against the glass as she turned away.

Coalback visibly flinched, trying to dodge away from the window that the mare had appeared in. Another set of hooves rushed up, and a second voice murmured out through the door. Met quickly by the crazed, green mare’s own voice. After a bit of back and forth from the two voices, the hoofsteps moved off.

Coalback relaxed explosively, sliding down the door and sitting on the floor. He muttered a curse under his breath, moving a hoof to rub at the top of his head. More staccato words flew sharply from his lips, he spat them with a violent vehemence.

“Coalback, what happened? It looks like you were just hit by a cart.” Twilight said with concern, getting up from her book and moving toward him. “And why was Lyra … yelling at you?” She asked, almost not noticing the fact of who the mint green unicorn had been yelling at.

“I was walking … and then … and there was … a-a-a-a smell! I tried to figure out what it was and … I- she jumped me!” He exclaimed, looking back at her with confusion. “Was- was that mare … was she in heat?” He asked, one of his eyebrows rising as he motioned to the door behind him.

Twilight’s face flushed as she realized the situation. “Oh!” She said, looking out the window where the pony had left a short line with her horn. “W-well, yes. I think she was …” She muttered, looking back down at him.

“How?!” He said, his hooves moving up into a desperate gesture as he continued his question. “How? I didn’t- but it’s winter!” He said, that frustrated confusion showing itself on his face.

“W-well, um … With an earth pony, you might be correct in assuming that their- um … heat … wouldn’t cycle until after winter.” She stuttered, a hoof rising to the back of her neck and scratching at her mane nervously. Her face had gone bright red, the topic had gone to a particularly uncomfortable one. And she hadn’t expected to have to go over this topic for a few more years, especially not with a full grown stallion. “B-but sometimes, unicorns and- and pegasi can have slightly- uh ... stranger estrus cycles.” She finished, coughing nervously as she finished. Normally she was fine with lectures, comfortable even, but this was a topic that she found vulgar.

“So why is it alright that she just-” He motioned toward the door, a frustrated look still donning his features. “I don’t want to say ‘assault’, but- that’s almost what happened.” He said with a forced laugh, showing just how ridiculous he thought the situation was.

“Well, I suppose that Lyra might still hold some of those older prejudices.” She said, finally starting to relax from the previous topic. This one was more controversial, but less embarrassing.  “And during her heat she probably wasn’t all there, knowing her. And stallions did only start to get their full rights a few years ago.” She said, finally rolling the embarrassment that she had had off her shoulders.

“Full rights?” Coalback said with confusion, the smile dropping instantly at the mention. “What does that mean? Am I living through the 1920’s?” He muttered, looking out the window again, as if expecting to see something.

“I’m sorry?” Twilight said, unsure as to what ‘the 1920’s’ were. A date, it would seem.

“N-nothing.” He said quickly, turning back to her with more confusion on his face. “What do you mean by that? How does that have anything to do with this?” He said, still trying to understand what he thought that she was insinuating.

“Well …” Twilight started, unsure as to how to approach the topic without insulting him. She knew that her brother was sensitive to the issue, so she didn’t want to say anything wrong. “Three years ago, groups of stallions started to make it more clear to the princesses that they didn’t have equal opportunities to mares. So the Princess started to make sure that as many laws as she could find would define both mares and stallions with them.” She explained, gaining only another raised eyebrow from him.

“Are you saying that- that- jeez …” He said, trailing off.

“There is still a very large amount of controversy on that fact however.” Twilight continued, ignoring the vocalized confusion that he expressed. “There are many mares, and even stallions, who think that it’s unnecessary, even insulting. And before the princesses came around, stallions were more or less … how to put this? Uh- used?” She said sheepishly, unable to find a word that would put the history gently. “There are still pony’s that are pretty sexist on the matter. One example I can come up with insinuates that stallions aren’t really good for anything other than hard labor and … reproduction.” She finished, coughing nervously to hide her embarrassment again.

Coalback looked up at her with a blank expression. “That’s a little bit backwards to what I’m used to.” He said, a sudden calm seeming to wash over him. “I feel so …” He didn’t finish in any language she could understand, degenerating back to his own tongue when he couldn’t find a proper translation. The calm broke as he slumped in pure defeat against the door, no longer bothering to remain upright against it.

“Sorry.” She started, an apology already forming on her lips as she started forward to him. But she was cut off suddenly by a loud groan from the shelf behind her.

Both of them looked toward the pile of shifting books, not expecting the interruption that came with it. Spike gingerly extracted himself from the avalanche site, rubbing at the place on his tail where he had landed. Coalback stiffened at the sight, his eyes going wide as he scrambled to put his hooves underneath himself.

“Wait!” Twilight jumped, putting herself in his line of sight. “He’s not dangerous! That’s Spike, my assistant. Perfectly safe, practically harmless.” She said, relief flowing through her as Coalback visibly relaxed. He mumbled something about surprises under his breath, but she wasn’t able to make out anything.

Spike groaned again, looking over toward the two ponies. “What happened?” He asked, looking around the room blearily as he tried to recover from his fall.

“Are you okay, Spike?” Twilight asked, turning her concern back toward him.

He nodded. “Yeah, I’m fine. Thick scales, remember?” He said, motioning toward the offending bruise. “So, who’s that, Twilight?” Spike asked turning his attention toward the suited stallion.

“Oh, good.” Twilight said with relief, glad that her best assistant hadn’t hurt himself. “This is Coalback, the pony that we met in Canterlot. Don’t worry if he seems a bit strange, he’s not from around here.” She said, motioning back toward Coalback who had returned to slumping against the door.

He lifted a hoof to wave toward Spike, even though it ended up being nothing more than a jerky twitch. “Nice to meet you, Spike. It’s nice knowing that not all dragons are like the one I saw in Canterlot.” He said, nodding appreciatively toward the purple reptile.

“Oh, uh- thanks. I guess …” Spike said, unsure as to what he meant, but not wanting to ask about it. “So where are you from?” Spike asked, more out of curiosity than politeness. Ever since the dragon migration, he had become more interested in geography and always jumped on the chance to find more on the subject.

“Far away.” He said flatly, having the question asked enough of him. “Not sure of where, from here.” He said, starting to stand again. He wiped fruitlessly at the snow and dirt still clinging to his new suit.

“Here.” Twilight said, lifting her horn with it’s purple glow. His suit enveloped itself in a similar glow, the snow and dirt disappearing into the glow. When she was finished, the dirt and snow had completely left his suit unharmed.

Coalback nodded appreciatively, looking back toward Spike as he started to speak again. “If I got you a map, could you find it?” He asked, motioning toward a small podium with a set of scrolls balanced on top of it.

Coalback paused, looking over toward the podium himself and thinking for a moment. “I suppose I could try.” He said, shrugging and looking over toward Twilight for permission to proceed.

“That’s actually a great idea, Spike. I’ve been wondering where you could possibly be from, since I can’t find ‘America’ on any of my maps.” She mused, starting to walk over toward the podium and lifting the map from it with her magic. “And considering how you described some of your cities, I would think that it would be there. Maybe it’s under a different name here?” She finished, opening the scroll and pressing it flat to the floor. She moved several candle holders onto the corners, holding it down so that she wouldn’t have to use her magic.

Coalback hummed with thought, moving forward to lean over the map with an examining gaze. He spent more than a few moments examining the map, taking in as many details as he could and committing them to memory. He kept dragging his gaze up and down it, looking over the parts of the Frozen North that had been mapped out, examining the San Palimo Desert. He carefully picked over the badlands and the detailed portions of the Everfree Forest.

But his mouth closed into a tight line as he started looking further to the East and to the West. His head started to shake from side to side as he looked up from it. “Can’t find anything I recognize. But I never was big on geography, so it very well could be, no promises though.” He said with a shrug. He looked back up at the purple dragon. “Sorry, don’t know what I expected, there’s not much chance that I would have found anything of significance to you.” He said, apologizing as he stood fully away from the map.

“That’s really strange, Coalback.” Twilight said, looking over the map herself to make sure that she hadn’t accidentally picked up an older map. “This is one of the most up to date map that I have, and one of the more detailed ones.” She sighed, looking back up at Coalback. “But really! With the kind of things that you described, you would think that there would at least be footnote! But I haven’t found anything resembling what you described other than Manehattan.” She said, looking back up at him with more confusion.

“It’s fine, besides, I’m not here to criticize your cartographers.” He said with a dismissive wave of his hoof. “I think I dropped something of mine while I was interviewing the stallion. You didn’t happen to find a gem, wrapped in a bag?” He asked, looking at her with a raised eyebrow and a glint of worry in his eyes. “It’s very important to me.” He finished, watching as her face lit up with recognition.

Twilight gasped, glee making her face light up. “That Arcane Gem belongs to you! I was wondering where it had come from, they don’t usually get up and walk around on their own, you know.” She said, jumping over to the table and picking up a familiar looking stiff bag. She quickly levitated it over toward him, letting him take it in his hooves. “I hope you don’t mind, but I took the liberty of examining it.” She finished sheepily, watching him crack open the stiff package and examining the intense light that shone into his eye. “And another thing, I couldn’t place what it is your bag was made of. Some sort of leaf?” She asked, watching him flinch and quickly close the bag again, draping it over his neck and looking back up at her.

“Oh- Uh … yeah, that’s what it is. We have these big leaves, and we use them to make some of our clothing.” He muttered, hoping that the little white lie wouldn’t come back to haunt him later. “Anyway, what did you find? When you examined the gem that is.” He said quickly, looking back up to her with a look of suspicion.

“It was really strange actually, nothing like I’ve seen before.” She said, looking back at the table thoughtfully and floating a large scroll covered in scribbles over to herself. “At first, it was hard to actually examine it at all. When I began my examinations, it was like the magic was actually pulling away from me. Almost like it was leaking out of the crystal lattice.

“And then it started looking even stranger. It was like … like the magic in the gem was examining my magic, instead of the other way around.” She looked up from her scroll, staring up at him with a confused look. “It almost felt … alive, I guess. There’s not really any other way to explain it, I felt like I was examining a pony instead of a gem.” She said, rolling her eyes with a laugh. “But I’ve never seen anything like it, and I’ve never even heard of a gem with this much power in it!” She finished, looking back up at him and smiling.

“Interesting.” He agreed, looking back down at the bundle around his neck and letting a knowing smile slip onto his features. “How much power did you find?” He asked, feeling the need to humor the studious unicorn.

“Over twenty thousand uni-jewels!” She exclaimed, tossing the scroll to the side carelessly and taking another step toward him. Spike dove from where he had been looking at the map himself, catching the scroll in midair.

“What’s a ‘uni-jewel’?” He asked, another confused look masking the smile he had donned before.

“A uni-jewel is a unit of stored magic, basically potential energy.” She explained, switching into her lecture mode, as Rainbow had often called it. “It is the standard of magic that can lift a ten gram weight for ten seconds at an average levitation efficiency level. And twenty thousand of them is a lot of magic!” She said, leaning forward with an almost crazed look in her eye. “How ever did you find it?!” She asked, excitement starting to make her shake.

“I didn’t.” He stated simply, starting to back away from her. “You’re not in heat too, are you?” He asked, suspicion narrowing his eyes.

“What?” She asked suddenly, although what she had questioned was unclear. Her face flushed as she realized just how close she had gotten to him and taking a step back.

“I’m … uh … just gonna go … now …” Spike said awkwardly, edging his way to the staircase nearby. As soon as his foot brushed against the first step, darting up it in a blur.

“I would prefer not to be attacked by crazed mares twice, today. And you will not be so lucky as the other one was, I am prepared this time.” He said, taking a step back and spreading his wings slightly.

“Huh? No, no-no-no!” She said quickly taking several steps back. “I didn’t- I wasn’t going to-” She coughed, trying to hide her blush as it slowly dissipated. She took several more steps back. “What I meant was; What did you mean when you said that you didn’t? Didn’t find it?” She asked, trying to look everywhere in the room besides at Coalback.

“Well,” Coalback started, relaxing as the danger of being pounced on by another mare was gone. “It’s a bit of a long story-”

“Then make time!” Twilight suddenly yelled, starting to prance in place as her impatience began to get the better of her.

“Okay, okay!” He said, trying to keep the little unicorn from getting upset with him. Perhaps it would be best to humor her for the moment. “Let’s just- Maybe we should sit down.” He tried, lifting a hoof in a weak placating gesture. Twilight sat forcefully, pressing her mouth into a tight line as she waited with frustration.

“Alright, so I didn’t find the gem, not exactly.” He said, carefully taking his own seat on the floor. “I had heard a rumor about the Northern Lights, and I had already been heading that direction anyway. I was told that the Aurora Borealis was actually the spirits of dead ancestors, dancing in the sky.” He started, gazing upwards as he started to drift back to the memory, the first day that his life had turned around.

“I was told, the ridiculous notion, that if I slept under the lights, the spirits would share their wisdom with me in my dreams.” He continued, smiling and rolling his eyes. “That silly eskimo didn’t know what he was talking about at all. I didn’t have any dreams, in fact, I was on the verge of freezing to death.” He said, sighing forcefully from his nose.

Twilight gasped at that, not realizing that he had come perilously close to death at the time. She looked at him, examining all of the scars she could see under his fur, realizing how hard of a life he must have led, that he still led.

“But then I saw it!” He said, interrupting her brief thought.” At first, I thought that I had slept through winter entirely. It was like the light of the sun was trying to pierce through my eyelids, but the sun couldn’t have come up at all where I was, that was how far North I had been.” He said, closing his eyes as he recounted the memory. Twilight leaned forward in her seat, enraptured by the story and her frustration completely vanishing. “But when I opened my eyes, the light was coming from just in front of me.

“It was the gem. It glowed with amber waves of light that rolled off of it like waves of water.” He said wistfully, his head rolling to the side as a nostalgic smile donned his face. “It was beautiful. Lying on the ice in front of my nose, that’s where it was. It had come to me.” He said, opening his eyes and meeting hers. A pressure formed from his gaze, freezing her in place. “I moved toward it, touching it with my nose.

“And at first, it was warm, like summer sunlight on a beach.” He continued, holding his gaze. “And it kept getting warmer, and warmer.” He said, starting to lean forward and narrowing his eyes, reaching forward with a predator’s stare. “It just got hotter, until I was burning in my entire body. I couldn’t move, couldn’t get away from the gem that was burning me from the inside.” He said, his voice lowering to a whisper, like he was sharing a secret with her. A smile, not one that was warm or inviting, but one that showed off those sharp teeth. “It was like I was being cooked alive.” He said darkly.

“And then, I don’t remember anything.” He finished flatly, backing away and breaking the hypnotic stare he had held on her. His toothy grin shrunk back into a smug smile, he was teasing her.

“Huh?” Twilight jumped, recovering suddenly from his freezing stare. “What do you mean? Nothing at all?” She asked, incredulous nervousness surprising her.

“I don’t remember anything after that.” He said, putting a hoof up behind his head. “I woke up a few weeks later, in a house full of …” He coughed, a his face starting to warm as he remembered one particular detail of his waking. “I later learned that I had gone on some sort of testosterone and alcohol fueled partying binge.” He said, chuckling quietly. He paused suddenly, looking away from her and furrowing his brow. “Shut up.” He murmured, the words directed elsewhere.

“Who are you talking to, Coalback?” Twilight asked, looking on with sudden concern. She wasn’t sure what to make of the change in tone.

“No one.” He said quickly, waving a hoof. “Just clearing my head.” He paused for a moment, running a hoof down his face. “I need a smoke. I’ll come back later, though. I have some research I need to do, and this talk has exhausted me.” He said, standing up and starting toward the door.

“Oh, uh- okay.” Twilight said, standing herself. “What’s ‘a smoke’?” She asked, confusion marking her face with lines.

“Something I do to relax.” He explained, pausing at the door and peeking out the window next to it. “Chemicals from the smoke enter the bloodstream through my lungs.” He finished absentmindedly, opening the door and turning back to her.

“That doesn’t sound very … healthy, Coalback.” She said, cringing at the thought of putting anything in her lungs, or her blood for that matter.

“It’s really not.” He said with a frown. “And you should never do it, either. I do it to relax, and I figure that I won’t live to see the adverse side effects.” He said, rolling his eyes. He took another careful peek around the door. “I’m going to go before that mare finds me again.” He muttered, shuddering and turning back to her. “This has been … educational. Thank you, Twilight Sparkle.” He finished, nodding to her in thanks.

“Just, Twilight.” She said with a smile. “No need for formalities like full names. We’re friends after all.” She said as he walked through the door.

With a final wave of his hoof and a flap of his wings, he left. She watched as he banked to the side, gliding over the town and toward the cloud home that had been birthed just outside it. She couldn’t stop her eyes as they narrowed, her mind drifting back into thought.

It was so strange, something wasn’t right here. He describes his home, something so overtly obvious that no decent mapmaker would ever have missed it. And then he couldn’t find it. And he fights like a pony straight from Tartarus, and his scars prove that he had done it more than once before. And that gem was even more interesting, especially with how he had supposedly come to own it.

She had never thought that Coalback as a spiritual pony, a bit eccentric perhaps. It seemed that every time the conversation tried to turn toward his past, he would brush it off, or cover it over with as little detail as he could manage. She made a note to try and ask him some more questions, and get some real answers. Maybe she could ask him tonight, if she could get to him.

She smiled as she remembered their plan for the night, it quickly spread to sly smirk. This would be interesting, to say the least.