//------------------------------//
// A Visit With Celestia 
// Story: Escaping East St. Louis 
// by StormLuna 
//------------------------------//

After eating breakfast, the two headed to the train station and just like she had with his meal, she bought him his ticket for the train ride to Canterlot.  The ride up there was rather uncomfortable for them as the train was fuller than normal which caused them to remain rather quiet so that nopony would hear anything about Marcus's arrival in Equestria and where he had come from. 

When they arrived in Canterlot the first place they headed was the palace to talk to Celestia.  When they headed into the throne room, Celestia greeted Twilight in her usual cheerful tone and then turned to Marcus and asked, "Twilight, who is this?  Who is this with you?"

Twilight replied, "He is a newcomer to Equestria." 

She then nudged Marcus, letting him know to introduce himself.  He approached Celestia, bowed and began, "Your Majesty, my name is Marcus Jackson and I came here through a mirror that is located in Princess Twilight's bedroom." 

Celestia knew enough about what lies on the other side of the mirror and thought that name sounded kind of odd.  She nodded and asked, "So where are you from?  Where were you when you came through that mirror?"

Marcus replied, "I come from a city called East St. Louis, Illinois." 

This shocked Celestia.  She knew that a place that is somewhat similar to Equestria existed on the other side of the mirror and this didn't seem right.  She motioned for him to come closer so she could make good eye contact with him.  She asked, "Marcus, what is this East St. Louis place like." 

Marcus replied, "It is a place that has a lot of crime and poverty.  It is full of gun violence and if you are not careful, you could be shot and killed by either crooked cops or other people on the streets." 

This did not sound like the world she knew existed on the other side of the mirror.  While it seemed as though he was not lying, she wanted to know more about him and his life.  She asked, "Marcus, what is your life like?  What kind of family do you have and where do you go to school?"

Marcus began, "My life is one where I pretty much have to remain alert at all times if I don't want to fall victim to violence of some sort.  For me it is pretty much a matter of taking any odd job I can get to keep a roof over my head and when it comes to food, I along with many in the hood have to rely on charities and often times the food is outdated." 

Celestia asked, "Hood?"

Marcus continued, "It is what most of us call the neighborhood."

Celestia asked, "Alright but what about your fam.......?"

Twilight interrupted, "Princess Celestia, he has told me about his family and it is a very sad story, filled with sickness, death and betrayal."

Celestia replied, "I see."  She turned to Marcus and continued, "Twilight said your family is filled with plenty of bad things?  What is all that about?"

Marcus continued, "When I was a kid, my father left my mother for a rich woman and after that, we weren't very well off."  Like he did when he told Twilight, he became more emotional, "Like I told Twilight, it wasn't fair of dad to just up and leave ma like that, it just wasn't right."

Celestia gave him a look of concern and asked, "What else?"

Marcus continued, "A few years ago things only got worse when I lost my mother to cancer and it was just one year ago today that my brother was shot and killed by police." 

The term shot was something that was completely foreign to Celestia.  She asked, "Shot?  What does that mean?"

Marcus replied, "There are these things called bullets that are put in guns and when the trigger on the gun is pulled, it fires one and if it hits a man, it can either hurt or kill a man." 

Celestia asked, "Gun?"

Twilight interjected, "A gun is the device that is used to fire these projectiles from.  He came over with one and I have seen how it works when I discharged it to see how it works." 

This caused Celestia's mood to change.  She developed a scowl on her face and asked, "Marcus, were you going to use that thing to harm any ponies?  Did you bring it over to kill anypony."

Marcus shied back from the angry Alicorn and replied, "No your Majesty.  I was being hunted down by the police and I had it on me for self-defense.  I had it on me when the cops opened fire upon me when I fell through a mirror and wound up here." 

Twilight knew that if Celestia was going to believe him, that she would have to come to his defense, "Princess, I saw him when he first got here and believe me, he did not come here to hurt anypony."  She still saw a bit of doubt coming from Celestia when she continued, "I'll tell you something, when he got here he was disoriented and had no clue how he got here so I doubt he had any ill intentions." 

Celestia knew that Twilight would not lie to her about something like this.  She turned to Marcus and asked, "You said something about falling into a mirror when the police opened fire on you.  Could you elaborate on that?"

Marcus knew that telling Celestia about what led to him winding up in the situation he was in prior to arrival would not be in his best interests but figured that honesty would be the best policy.  He again began, "Well one night one of my windows got shot out by the gun violence that was so normal and I had to go and get plywood to cover it up.  Given the poverty where I live, there were many, many abandoned houses with windows already boarded up so I did what most people do where I live, I stole one to use to cover up my window."

He saw a slight look of disapproval coming from the princess as he continued, "Of course carrying that really slowed me down and made me a target so three men came after me, opened fire and hit me in the legs."  He saw Celestia nod and continued, "It was at that moment that I knew it was either I take them out or I get taken out so I shot and killed the three men who were out to kill me." 

The fact that Marcus had killed men in his realm did make Celestia kind of weary of him but also she was glad that he admitted to what he did instead of covering it up in hopes to make her more likely to allow him to stay.  She again nodded and said, "Please continue." 

Marcus continued, "After that the police showed up and chased me into a dingy house and in an upstairs closet, I wound up sneezing.  They knew where I was and opened fire and that is when I fell through a mirror and wound up in Princess Twilight's bedroom." 

Celestia asked, "So you came out of the mirror in Twilight's bedroom?"

Before he could say anything Twilight interrupted, "That is true.  I went through that mirror, found myself in a dark, dirty closet and then bullets came firing through the door and then I fell through the same mirror and returned home." 

This brought out a great amount of concern from Celestia as she knew that the mirror was no longer a portal to a parallel world but a world filled with violence.  She turned to Twilight and ordered, "Twilight, when you get home I want you to deactivate that mirror.  What lies on the other side is not safe."

Twilight replied, "I agree." 

Celestia turned to Marcus and said, "Well given the nature of what lies on the other side, I don't think it would be safe to return to your world nor would I want you to." 

Twilight added, "I feel the same way and that is why I brought him up here.  I was going to ask you about allowing Marcus to stay in Equestria." 

Celestia replied, "I can understand that."  She again turned to Marcus and asked, "So what sort of things were you good at in your world?  Were there any particular tasks you were good at or any jobs you had?"

Marcus replied, "When it came to jobs, I took any job I could get.  I was good when it came to mowing lawns but anyone can do that but I did have a knack for doing basic home repairs, such as fixing gutters." 

Celestia put her wing up to her face and sat there in thought.  After a minute of silence she asked, "Marcus, you said you can do basic repairs but if you would be interested, I could get you enrolled in a school where you would be able to learn more advanced things." 

Marcus asked, "Seriously, you'd help me with that?"

Celestia replied, "Of course.  I figure that if you are going to stay in Equestria, which I strongly advise, that you should learn a trade and be able to earn a good living." 

This was something that Marcus never imagined that he would have the chance to do, get an education so he could earn a good living.  In his world, there seemed to be no hope, it seemed like he would always be doing odd jobs and being just one bad moment away from either being dead or homeless.  He approached Celestia, bowed and asked, "I would love that your Majesty but where would I live and where would I go to school?"

Celestia replied, "There is a trade school here in Canterlot that has its own housing" she saw a concerned look developing on his face and knew what it likely was about, "and don't worry, given your situation I will make sure you don't have to worry about paying anything." 

Marcus's ears perked up as she asked, "Really?"

Celestia replied, "Really!" 

Marcus thanked Celestia, "You have no idea how grateful I am to both you and Twilight for allowing me to stay.  When I got here, I was admittedly shocked about becoming a unicorn.  Luckily though, Twilight told me about how magic works and I do hope I can eventually do more than simply levitate silverware to eat." 

Celestia said, "Don't worry about that, I can also get you set up in a course that will assist you in magic that will benefit you the most depending on what trade you decide to learn."

Marcus replied, "Thank you so much your Majesty.  I truly appreciate that." 

Celestia said, "You're welcome and welcome to Equestria.  May your life be much better than it was on the other side.  May you prosper and find true happiness here."  She then turned to Twilight and ordered, "Since we have this taken care of, I think it is necessary that you deactivate that mirror now since it leads to an unsafe world." 

Twilight agreed, "Alright but given the new nature of it, I think that a seal needs to be placed on it so that it can no longer open." 

Celestia continued, "Deactivate it, bring it up here so I can seal it and then lock it away where it will never be seen again." 

Twilight nodded and headed back to Ponyville.  The things they were talking about regarding the mirror were completely foreign to Marcus but he was glad that they were going to make sure that nothing bad, such as crooked cops, would be able to come through that mirror and do not so pleasant things in Equestria. 

What made him the happiest though was that never again would he have to go through the struggles that involved daily life in his world, he was happy that he would never again have to see East St. Louis again.