Chapter 2: Encounter
“This journal belongs to Ezra Stoutbrook, the greatest thief Astra has never known.”
With those words trailing off and out of the Everfree, the area fell back into silence after the two ponies and dragon left its edge. Well, relative silence anyway. The chirps and calls of birds and the chattering of squirrels kept the forest abustle with ambience. That is, until a stranger to Equestria dropped back down from the tree he was hiding in. With a thud and a grunt, he dusted himself off and watched the three creatures he was watching leave. With a deep breath, he relinquished his invisibility spell. His name was Ezra Stoutbrook.
“Ugh, for the love of... UGH!”
And he was not happy about losing his journal.
Ezra Stoutbrook was what many denizens of his world would call average; human, in his twenties, with short, curly dark auburn hair. His outfit was typical of his sort — cotton shirt, black pants, tough boots — with padded leather armour that he wore over his clothes. He carried an enchanted light backpack that he “appropriated” many years ago, which he used to carry the essentials. Sleeping bag, oil lantern, first aid kit...
His journal.
Ezra cussed and kicked a fallen branch in frustration. He had been watching what he assumed to be some person’s pets enter a cottage from the edge of the forest. Wanting to keep track of his surroundings (and commit such a pretty looking house to paper), he spent some time admiring the cottage before he noticed the baby dragon watching by him. He then realized just how creepy he was acting, and promptly left to return to the cave he arrived in, setting down his journal for just a moment to re-tie his boots.
But of course, Ezra wouldn’t be Ezra if he didn’t forget something. He wouldn’t ever admit he was forgetful, mind you. He’d describe himself as “easily intrigued” or “reactively curious”. Ezra’s friends, however, would call him “easily distracted” and “reactively an idiot”, much to the ambitious adventurer’s chagrin. His tentative attention span turned out to be the reason he had left his journal behind. Ezra had gotten a fair distance towards his cave before he realized his mistake.
You could imagine his surprise when he found that baby dragon holding his journal up for the polychromatic ponies he saw earlier. Hearing the dragon speak Common — his native language — was not as big of a surprise to Ezra than seeing a dragon in general. They were rare back home, mostly wiped out by a war between dragons and his kingdom. Even then, it was well documented that they were some of the smartest beings to ever live. What was an even bigger surprise was hearing the ponies speak Common as well. He wanted — needed — to meet the wizard or druid that managed to figure that spell out, as well as ask them what the hell those markings were on their flanks.
But then, it dawned on him. The lavender pony had called him a “mystery creature,” and the dragon — Ezra remembered his name being Spike — called him a “weird monster.” Had they never met a human before? Were they hostile? Did the purple horse read his secret love poems for Adrianne? The questions that Ezra had gnawed at him as he stood awkwardly in the forest.
“Well, they said they were coming back tomorrow...” Ezra mumbled to himself. The only way he’d get answers is if he asked questions. So, with a newfound resolve, Ezra retreated back to his cave in the Everfree to plan what would be his proper first contact with the natives.
It was fairly late in the day, a few hours after Twilight and Spike returned from Carousel Boutique to speak to Rarity. They had run into Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, and Applejack on their way home, which led to Pinkie Pie calling for a Girls’ Night at the castle. After a long day of running errands, Twilight couldn’t say no to relaxing with her best friends at home, so Rainbow Dash quickly flew out to Fluttershy and Rarity to extend the invitation. After settling affairs at their homes and feeding their pets, the gang met up later that evening. With some of Pinkie Pie’s wonderful baked goods in tow, the gang eagerly made their way to the castle. So far, the evening was spent shooting the breeze and relaxing after a long day.
That is, until Spike mentioned the mystery creature again. Twilight divulged more information about the first journal entry she read, and just what — or rather, who — they were looking for in the Everfree Forest tomorrow.
“So you find some cool adventurer’s journal in the Everfree and you—“ Rainbow Dash waved her hooves in an annoyed manner on her bed. “—DON’T read the whole thing?!”
Twilight Sparkle groaned as she idly filed a hoof and read an Equestrian meteorology academic journal. A few books were strewn across her mattress where she was laying down. Rarity scoffed as she reentered Twilight’s bedroom with a fresh, warm blue duvet.
“Rainbow, darling, don’t you know the value of privacy? You wouldn’t want somepony reading your diary, would you?”
“Well, that’s different. I-I mean, not that I actually have a diary or anyth— That’s not the point!” Rainbow Dash sprung off of her bed, her excitement uncontainable by its soft, warm comfort. “Twi, you said the journal’s owner could be from some far away land. Isn’t that awesome enough to at least let us take a peak?”
Spike waltzed into the room as well, chewing on a bit of sapphire as he helped bring in more blankets as well. “Wait wait wait, Twi, didn’t you say they could be from another world? Something about —“
A bubble of Twilight’s magic surrounded Spike’s head, effectively muting his speech. It took him a moment to realize just what was happening once the bubble popped and he was on the receiving end of Twilight’s stern glare. “I-I’m gonna go check up on Starlight, heheh.” He sheepishly scurried out of Twilight’s bedroom.
“Another world?! Twi, come ooooon, at least one page! Just one.”
Twilight sighed as she set aside her book and removed the pile of literature from her mattress. They floated aside neatly into a bookshelf near the headboard of her bed. “As curious as I am too, Dash, I just... I don’t feel comfortable doing so. If I’m going to be honest, I’ve already had a peek at another entry. This ‘Ezra Stoutbrook’? He’s been through quite a lot. Having somepony creep through his personal life isn’t something I’d want to add to his list of woes.”
Rainbow Dash quieted down with a slight twinge of regret on her face, climbing back onto her bed. “Well, when you put it that way...”
“Besides,” Twilight continued, eager to bring the spirit up again, “I’m sure once we actually meet him, we’ll have a chance to learn more the right way.”
Fluttershy walked in now, wearing a borrowed bath robe and a towel wrapped around her hair. She hopped onto her bed and settled down to relax.
“I just hope we don’t scare the poor thing. All alone in the Everfree Forest — he must be terrified.”
“I wouldn’t be so worried, Fluttershy. He seems to be very capable of defending himself, if his journal is any indication.” Fluffing her pillow, Twilight settled into her comforter and various blankets. “Which, by the way, is why we have to be careful tomorrow as well.”
Rainbow Dash gave Twilight a sly, knowing smile. “Oh, and you got that from just another entry?”
With a blush, Twilight chuckled. “A-Alright, maybe I read a few more.” This earned her a disappointed glance from Rarity, which she awkwardly laughed off. “Still! I refuse to read any more. I’d like to hear it from Ezra himself.”
“Ugh, fiiine,” Rainbow conceded. Just then, a big yawn escaped her, her wings and legs flexing in a much needed stretch. “Well, I’m beat. I gotta say, though, this girls’ night thing was a good idea! I’m just glad we’re using these beds for something other than that Tantabus business.”
“Thanks, Dashie!”
“GAH!”
Pinkie Pie’s upside-down bright and cheery face filled Rainbow’s vision for a moment. She plopped down from... wherever she was hanging from — It was anyone’s guess, really, and no one cared/dared to try — and leapt onto her bed with a resounding FLUMP.
“I just can’t wait for tomorrow! I mean, sure, we gotta go through that murky Everfree, but meeting somepony from an entirely different world?! We gotta throw the bestest, most memorable welcome-to-Ponyville — nonono — Welcome-to-Equestria party ever!”
Applejack trotted in, her mane and tail free of their hairbands. She, too, flopped onto her bed with a long satisfied sigh. The tension in her withers after a long day melted away, yet a new source of worry stayed in her mind.
“Well, let’s not get ahead of ourselves, Pinkie. We can’t even be sure the fella’s friendly, let alone actually a pony.”
“Unfortunately, A.J.‘s right,” Twilight chimed in, “We should approach this Ezra Stoutbrook as nicely as we can, but I need you all to be ready for the worst should it come to pass.”
The girls all agreed, though mostly reluctantly. With every pony mostly relaxed and comfortable in their beds, Twilight decided to dim the lights and draw the bedroom’s curtains closed. After a small bout of silence while the mares settled down for the day, Rainbow Dash had a pertinent question.
“Hey Twi, you mentioned you read a few more entries in that journal, right?”
Twilight squirmed in her sheets a little. “Y-Yeah, but... it’s not the nicest read, I’ll tell you that, Dash.”
Unsatisfied, Rainbow continued as she sat up on her haunches in bed. “Well, do you think maybe you could at least hear one of them?” Before Twilight could protest, Rainbow Dash reassured her. “J-Just so we know who we’re talking to tomorrow!”
As Twilight mulled it over, Rarity shared her two bits. “This is his private journal we’re talking about here, Rainbow.” She paused for a moment, then sighed “But... as loathe as I am to admit it, reading more of that journal may help us determine the best way to approach our, er, visitor, so to speak.”
With various mutters of agreement from the rest of the girls, Twilight conceded. “Well... ugh, fine. But just from entries that I already read, and no more!” She levitated Ezra’s journal from her reading table over to her bed as she made herself comfortable to read out loud. Flipping to a bookmarked page in the middle, she cleared her throat and began to narrate the entry.
“55th of Winter, 1022 A.C...
“I feel like my days here at the Institute are numbered. I’m really giving my all, but my classmates... they all seem to have it out for me. Guess they’re not used to ‘commoners’ showing them up. Almost all of them are some rich snob’s kid. The only ones who aren’t — or rather weren’t, already dropped out.”
“Something about that last written exam didn’t feel right. I’m not the most attentive guy in class but I definitely saw some stuff on there that wasn’t ‘required material.’ Everyone else seemed to finish before me too. I hope it isn’t the case, but... it feels like it was rigged. I’m probably being paranoid, but I wouldn’t put it past my teachers, the way to speak to me sometimes.”
“You probably are being paranoid, Ez.” Adrianne was peeking over the mage initiate’s shoulder at his journal. Ezra snapped it shut, flustered.
“Adri, you know I don’t like it when you do that,” Ezra groaned, “My book. My thoughts. My eyes only.”
Adrianne simply giggled and tousled Ezra’s dark auburn hair before flopping back down onto his dormitory bed. “You know I’d never divulge your ‘life secrets’ to anyone. Even the embarrassing ones, as tempting as it is.” She had come to visit Ezra after his exams were over, content to just hang out with him.
“Pfft, sure you wouldn’t,” Ezra mumbled with a smirk. He flipped the journal open again and idly spun his pen between his fingers. After the gruelling study sessions and wide array of written and practical exams, Ezra was thankful for Adrianne’s company.
Adrianne Lowry was atypical for a young woman in Astra. For one, she immigrated from a fairly distant nation, Mesa, at the age of 2. People from Mesa were on average taller than most, and Adrianne was no exception. At 6’2”, she was able to see over the head of the 5’7” Ezra. Even though Ezra was a year older, many people believed her to be his older sister whenever they’d walk around, much to Ezra's chagrin.
He had known Adrianne basically all his life. From the orphanage they were raised in and well into young adulthood, Ezra was able to depend on Adrianne through good and bad, and she on him as well. They’d both argue about who does more ‘depending on’, but it was never something they were reluctant to do.
“Still though, do you really think your teachers would rig your exam? Even for them, that’s kinda evil.” Adrianne did have a point. Beyond the insensitivity and slight contempt for the lower class, the instructors at the Royal Astran Mage’s Collegiate Institute hadn’t done much to slight Ezra. A few of them actually liked him, believe it or not.
“W-Well, no. I-I mean... I don’t know...” Ezra couldn’t answer. With a sigh, he vented for a little longer in his journal about his ‘noble’ classmates.
His classmates...
It was his classmates he was worried about. They were relentlessly cliquey, only willing to speak to people of their calibre. Even amongst themselves, they weren’t very good friends with each other. Ezra could see through the backhanded compliments and petty feuds they had for/with each other. On a good day, the biggest thing unifying them was their unwillingness to work with — let alone interact with, in general — those they considered beneath them.
“Besides, wouldn’t it be kind of hard to sneak past the ‘dean’ or whatever she’s called?” Adrianne wondered. She started idly running her fingers through her jet-black hair.
Ezra scoffed and shook his head, turning in his seat to face his childhood friend. “She’s exactly the kind of person that’d allow it. Always going on and on about the prestige and honour” - Ezra annunciated the two words in a posh accent while gesticulating fancifully, netting another giggle from Adrianne - “of this institute. If it’s anyone who wants a low-class orphan with an attitude out of her school, it’s her.”
“Hah! You’ll have to introduce me to her. She could learn a thing or two about trying to pick on my best friend.” Adrianne didn’t notice it (as she was flipping through one of Ezra’s study notebook) but Ezra smiled warmly at her. He didn’t say it much, but he loved how protective she’d get over him.
“Oh, we’re best friends? I just thought we were acquaintances,” Ezra joked. Adrianne reached over and playfully bumped him on his arm with his study book. They shared a laugh for a moment until Ezra settled down into a sigh.
“I just... I wish there was a way I could be sure that they didn’t actually rig it,” Ezra lamented. A moment passed before Adrianne sat up on the bed.
“Ez, if they really are making things harder for you, so be it. It’ll just show ‘em how smart you are when you still pass with aces.” Adrianne reached a hand over to Ezra’s shoulder, giving it a squeeze. “For all you know, they probably want you to go snooping around. It’d be the perfect excuse to chew you out. You can’t give them the satisfaction, y’know what I mean?”
Ezra simply nodded, lost in thought. Adrianne picked up on his occupied look.
“I mean it, Ezra. This is your chance to show them who you are, who you can be. Don’t waste it by showing them that you’re what they assume you are.” Adrianne leaned forward to give Ezra a hug, which he returned tightly. Breaking away, she lifted her pack onto her shoulder and turned towards the door to leave. “I gotta get back to the smithy, my boss still needs some help filling some orders for the city guard. I’ll see you soon, Ez.”
“Later, Adri. And thanks for coming to talk.”
She turned at the door and gave Ezra a big smile before walking out. “Anytime!”
Ezra turned back towards his opened journal, his pen sitting by the last sentence of his entry. His thoughts poked and prodded at his brain like mosquitoes. Adrianne had a point: if the instructors thought Ezra knew about the rigged test, they’d be waiting for him to act out somehow. But if he didn’t do anything about it, they’d just keep trying to screw him over. He blinked, and began writing once more.
“Adrianne assured me that there’s nothing fishy going on, but... how can I really be sure? I can’t just walk up and ask Preceptor Whitestone about it, he’d just deny it, or worse, get mad about it. And Goddess knows none of my classmates would fess up to such a thing. Adri said this is a good way to prove that I’m smarter than they think, but... how is that fair? Why should I have to put up with it?”
Ezra’s grip tightened on his pen, his words reflecting his frustration with the whole situation. At that moment, an idea popped into his head.
“There’s only one way I can be sure. I know where to look. I just hope I can get it done. I just can’t let this stay up in the air. Not after all the work I’ve done so far.”
He took a deep breath before putting away his journal and standing up. After closing his door and locking it, he dressed himself in dark clothes and a black hooded cowl, turned off the lights, and quietly opened his window. Living on the bottom floor had its perks; it was easy to sneak out at night.
“Wait wait wait — So he said the teachers were trying to get him to fail? What sense does that make?” Rainbow Dash was sprawled out across her bed, her head hanging from the edge as she looked at Twilight Sparkle. Twilight’s brow furrowed at the idea. Even on her second reading of the entry, she still couldn’t wrap her head around such an idea.
“I wish I knew, Dash. Ezra’s world sounds very different from ours, wrought with disharmony and distrust, judging by the other entries.” Twilight turned the page to the next entry.
“But t’just rig a test like that? They might as well tell ‘im that he ain’t welcome there!” Applejack asked in irritation. Rarity hesitated to answer for a brief moment.
“Maybe that world isn’t so dissimilar to ours, darling.” Rarity received a few intrigued glances from her friends. “Remember Prince Blueblood’s abhorrent behaviour at the Gala?”
Picking up on Rarity's message, Fluttershy tuned in. "Or when Suri Polomare copied Rarity's dress designs?"
After a round of nods and motes of agreement from the girls, Rarity continued. “It seems the upper class of this — Astra, was it?” Twilight confirmed with a hum and a nod. “Thank you, dear — It seems they are not so different from our own upper class, such as it is. Looking out for themselves, going behind ponies' backs, and keeping others down to stay ahead -- among other underhoofed deeds." Applejack tilted her head with a squint, mulling over the idea in her head.
"Well... Ah s'pose that makes some sense, but... just rubs me the wrong way, is all.” Applejack squirmed a little. It’s not that she didn’t understand why ponies — or people in this case — put others down for their own gains. Quite the opposite, actually; Applejack knew all too well how tempting it could be to just put herself first. But it was only that: tempting. She was happier doing what she could to help others who needed uplifting, since she knew they’d do the same for her if she needed it. At least, she believed they would. And that was good enough for her.
“Does it end there?”
Twilight looked over to see Rainbow Dash looking back expectantly. While her excitement had definitely faded some, her perked-up ears and shining magenta eyes were enough to show she still wanted more. Twilight shook her head. As she turned to the next page, a bundle of folded papers sat tucked into the inner spine.
“It doesn’t. I-I’m... the next entry still troubles me, but... here.”
She cleared her voice, and continued on.
“Adrianne was right.”
A few smiles reached some of the mares’ faces.
“I should’ve just left it alone. The test... I found it. Rigged, like I thought. And I was caught.”
The smiles dissipated.
Earlier
After dispelling the Alarm ward, Ezra slid the office window open as silently as possible. He was no stranger to heights, so scaling the outside of the Arcane Faculty Building to the 10th floor was no issue. It also helped that the building was built alongside the cliff side overlooking the capital. It was a sight that, despite his troubled life spent there, still took his breath away. Seeing the lights flicker across the streets, the arcanotech plant churning out billowing clouds of smoke to bring electricity to the kingdom, and even Castle Astra looming over the city; it was a sight to behold.
Shaking himself out of his vista-induced reverie, Ezra crawled into the office of Preceptor Whitestone. Ezra had been there before when he thought making nice with Whitestone was worth his time. He soon found out that, beyond teaching him during class, he had no intention of actually interacting with Ezra. He chalked it up to Whitestone just being aloof... until he saw just how well he got along with his more well-off classmates. And so the chip on Ezra’s shoulder grew.
Ezra knelt down and touched his hand to the ground. A pulse, invisible to the naked eye, spread out from his palm and throughout the old dusty office. The pulse hitched onto anything holding a magical charge, which was exactly what Ezra was hoping for. The drawers in Preceptor Whitestone’s oak bureau lit up in clusters, signifying some kind of protection spell. The same occurred with the wall-high cabinets on the left side of the room, with only certain drawers highlighted by Ezra’s detection spell.
He quietly stepped towards the desk first, placing a hand on the drawer and using up more of his energy to dispel what was surely an arcane lock and alarm. From Ezra’s point of view, the wards dissipated in wispy swirls of blue dust. With a deep breath, he began rifling through its contents. Peer reviews, student dossiers, class schedules...
“Bullseye,” Ezra muttered. In the lowest shelf sat rows of test results from Whitestone’s different classes. Finding the latest tests from his class, he pulled out a few random students’ tests to confirm his theory.
Ezra nearly tore the papers to shreds.
The questions on them were completely unfamiliar to him, not to mention more simple than the ones he was given. After a quick search through the rest of the tests, he discovered that no other exam looked like his. In his newfound frustration, he scrolled through each given name, getting to the S’s. Sanuthan, Small, Sparrow, Sullivan...
“Wait a second...” Ezra looked closer, picking apart each test in the S category to find ‘Stoutbrook’. It was missing. Ezra was about to search elsewhere when he heard something peculiar. It sounded like a snap, and a brief rush of air, then...
“Ahem.”
He froze, and his stomach sunk like a sack of bricks in a lake. The voice didn’t belong to Preceptor Whitestone; it lacked that middle-pitched nasally droning quality that he grew to resent. It was deep, bass-y even. And it spoke to Ezra again.
“I hoped we could have met under better circumstances, Mr. Stoutbrook.” Ezra finally stood up to see the person addressing him. It was a middle-aged (by human standards, at least) looking elf, with swept-back, grey-streaked black hair and a short beard. He wore square rimless glasses, and the standard attire for male faculty members of the Institute; a black suit vest, grey dress shirt, and black slacks. Even with his sleeves casually rolled up, he looked very professional. With his hands behind his back, he stood with an air of relaxed authority.
Ezra’s eyes flicked between the elf and the door behind him. It had stayed closed the whole time Ezra was in the room, he was sure of it. Cautiously, he rose his hands up to show he was unarmed as he panicked to find something to say. Before Ezra could stammer out an excuse, the elf staff member halted him with a hand and spoke first.
“Do not be alarmed, Mr. Stoutbrook. I believe we are here for the same reason.” He walked around the sizable desk, which prompted Ezra to keep his distance; he walked opposite, and kept the desk between them. The elf sighed.
“I’m not asking you to trust me. I’m only asking that you cooperate.”
Ezra was irked. “Well I don’t really have much of a choice, do I?”
“While I have no incentive to turn you in... no, I suppose you do not.” He motioned for Ezra to sit down at the chair in front of the desk. Ezra complied, but only after hesitating for a moment. In the few instances where Ezra was caught where he shouldn’t be, the person catching him wasn’t usually as... diplomatic as this man.
“My name is Morren Ambersong,” he began. Morren produced an envelope from a back pocket and placed it onto the desk. “I believe you’re looking for this.” Ezra eyed the envelope, then looked askance at a now-seated Morren. Morren simply rested his elbows on the desk and propped his chin up, waiting. Ezra looked back down at the envelope for a moment, then lifted it from the desk and tore it open.
There they were in front of him. His exam papers, fully graded.
Ezra flipped through the three papers in his hands. He hadn’t made many mistakes, no doubt thanks to his habit of studying ahead. He had received a passing grade as well; 90 percent, marked by the initials M.A.
“I took the liberty of grading it myself. Kudos for delving into the Applied Abjuration material ahead of time,” Morren praised, a small smile spreading across his lips, “Your classmates would have lost their minds trying to stu—“
“Who are you, really? What do you know?” Ezra suddenly demanded. Morren’s smirk was replaced by a frown.
“Sorry. I suppose now isn’t the time for such... lightheartedness. I work as a counsellor here, Ezra. I help guide students onto the right track upon their graduation. A few days ago, I noticed an issue amongst the staff. There’s been some discussions between your teachers and a few - erm... — less than pleasant parents of your classmates.”
He looked back to Ezra, who’s ireful gaze stared back at him. Morren bit his lip for a moment as he felt some guilt over what he had to say next.
“Word got around that a ‘troubled youth’” — Morren punctuated the phrase with air quotes, and looked Ezra right in the eyes as he did so — “was accepted into the program through a sponsorship. Despite your benefactor’s high status amongst the nobles of Astra, they felt as if something was afoot.”
Ezra kissed his teeth in irritation. “And I suppose they know about what I used to do too, huh?”
“Quite. I know it may not sound like much, coming from me, but you did what you had to do to get by. How they cannot see that... Well, frankly, it’s ignorant.” Morren leaned forward, elbows on the desk and hands clasped together. “Your history as a... thief, shall we say, should have no bearing on your magical potential. And yet...”
Ezra began sinking into his chair. It seemed his past was still haunting him, despite his best efforts to better himself. After living so long in an orphanage, being passed around from home to home, he had taken it upon himself to search for something better. It just so happened that ‘something better’ was always out of reach. He took to working odd jobs just fine, but he longed for the nice clothes and warm homes he saw on every other corner of Astra.
And so, like many of the impoverished youth of Astra, Ezra turned to more illicit deeds to live more comfortably. It was only pickpocketing at first, finding easy marks in bustling markets who looked like they could afford to lose some coin. Then it was shoplifting when he realized just how much coin he’d need to make it out of poverty in Astra. The misdeeds had piled up on him over time until he realized he was neck-deep in them.
And it scared him. So much so that he wanted to quit that life, lest he finally get caught.
Morren cleared his throat, bringing the conversation back up to pace. “Some thought you were cheating your way through the curriculum, given your upbringing. Some even thought you somehow got in by a fluke... But... all of them believe the same thing.”
Morren’s eyes met Ezra’s in a sombre glare.
“They believe you don’t belong here. Hence, your altered exam. It was to serve two purposes; to ensure you weren’t cheating, and... to pressure you out of the program, should your skills not be up to par.”
“So I was screwed either way? What sense does that make?!” Ezra fumed.
For a moment, there was nary a word spoken. Ezra silently slumped further into his chair, letting his exam papers fall from his hands. He could only evoke aloud the one thing on his mind.
“I should’ve listened to Adrianne...” Ezra held his head in his hands. Morren struggled to find the right words as he watched the young man in front of him sink into turmoil. “Why are you telling me this?”
“Because you have a right to know,” Morren retorted. Ezra scoffed.
“Yeah, right. Like you actually believe that.”
It took a good deal of effort for Morren to not lose his cool. He let his irritation ball up into his hands as he clasped them together harder. “I do, Mr. Stoutbrook. I work here not to uphold the status quo, but to ensure the very best is put forth for this nation to utilize.”
With a deep breath, Morren let his brief anger go. Ezra was upset, he was entitled to a little cynicism.
“So... what do I do, now?” Ezra asked. He rose from his chair to walk towards the window he snuck in through.
“Now,” Morren grunted as he rose from his seat, “I replace the wards in this room, and confront Ennius Whitestone about this myself in the morning. And until then, you’ll keep your head down until tomorrow afternoon. Meet me at my office in this building. Ask for me at the front desk.”
Ezra stopped in front of the window and rested his hands on the sill. The view of the city still held him in awe, but something about it all just... seemed different. He wondered how many citizens out there were going through what he was. How many of them felt the way he was feeling.
“Why are you doing this? Why are you helping me?” Ezra nearly whispered. He didn’t look back at Morren. He couldn’t let him see him cry.
“Because I know what it feels like to be vilified solely for who you are.” Morren confided. He squeezed Ezra’s shoulder in an attempt to comfort him, letting go when he saw the young man barely react. “I shall see you tomorrow.”
Morren left the same way he came: in a snap and a rush of air. Ezra left through the window carefully as closed it behind him and climbed back down. He wouldn’t get much sleep that night.
After Ezra’s fairly detailed written recounting of his encounter with Morren, Twilight Sparkle reached the final paragraph of the entry.
“I don’t know if I can trust Morren, but I don’t have much choice. Right now, he’s the only person who knows what I’m going through right now... At least, he says so. I guess we’ll see tomorrow.”
The Elements of Harmony all sat in silence after Twilight finished the entry. Even Pinkie Pie, rambunctious and upbeat as she was, was lost in quiet contemplation over Ezra’s trials. Rainbow Dash spoke first in an effort to settle the feeling of unease the six of them were feeling.
“Wow...” was what she could muster at first.
“Yeah...” was what Twilight could retort with. “I-If it’s anything that has me worried about tomorrow, it’s this. I don’t know how trusting he’ll be. Such distrust seems to be the norm in Ezra’s world.”
“Well, can ya blame ‘im?” Applejack scoffed, “Workin’ so hard just to get a decent job and some high ‘n mighty nobles think he doesn’t deserve it?”
“I know all too well how that can feel,” Rarity added with a sigh, “The upper crust isn’t as gilded and shiny as they make it out to be.”
Twilight hadn’t heard much of the conversation between the girls after her reading of the entry. Ezra’s exam caught her attention first. While the questions weren’t much of a challenge to her, given her genius, they certainly weren’t easy either.
Pinkie Pie's signature smile finally returned to her muzzle, along with her excitement. “All the more reason to make sure he feels welcome! I mean, he must’ve gone through some trouble to get here right?”
Twilight nodded. “He did, if his last entry is any indication. He didn’t say that he just left his world, he escaped it. Something about a mad Queen, and getting separated from his friends...”
Pinkie Pie sprung up in her bed with a triumphant pose, flinging aside a pillow onto Applejack’s head. “Then that settles it! Ezzy-Wezzy’s out there with no friends in that scary forest. We gotta make tomorrow his best day in Equestria ever!”
“Ezzy-Wez—?”
“Wait, maybe not the best day ever, cuz then everything else wouldn’t be the best! What if his Welcome-To-Equestria party isn’t on his actual best day in Equestria ever?”
“Pinkie Pie—“
“Wait, but what if something AMAZING happens, like, two weeks and four days from now and it’s totally better than his Welcome-To-Equestria party day but he has to choose which one was the best day ever?”
“Pinkie Pie!” Rainbow Dash finally halted the pink pony’s hype train.
“Huh? What’s up, bestie?”
“Where are you going with this?” Rainbow Dash asked bemusedly. Pinkie Pie let out a giggle as she sat back down on her haunches.
“Well, I was getting to that, Dashie! What I’m saying is, we have a chance to greet a whole new kind of pony—“
“Person,” Twilight politely interjected.
“Thanks, Twi’ — Pony-Person to Equestria and we’re already getting jumbly-wumbly about him. We haven’t even met him yet! What we should do is greet Ezra like any other Equestrian: with smiles! And kindness. Maybe some sweets. But most importantly, smiles and kindness!”
A round of smiles spread throughout the Elements as Pinkie finished her speech. As sensitive as the situation was, she had a point. They all agreed that it wouldn’t be right to treat a new species to Equestria like a potential problem right away. The best they could do is put their best hoof forward and make Ezra feel at home. For the rest of the night, as the girls went to sleep one by one, they came up with different ideas to make their otherworldly visitor feel at home.
As the conversation stretched on into the night, their worries about the trip to the Everfree melted away, replaced by an assurance that things would work out just fine.