//------------------------------// // Chapter 1 // Story: Equa Non Grata // by Ivory Crash //------------------------------// --Chapter One-- You Pervert or Learning With Portals "This one looks interesting," remarked Twilight Sparkle as she lifted an exceptionally old book from its place. She was browsing the restricted section of the Canterlot Royal Library. With things calming down after the changeling invasion, Twilight was having trouble keeping her mind occupied in Ponyville as winter started to set in and everypony went about their seasonal activities. Twilight wasn't exactly fond of winter, so she decided to ask Princess Celestia for permission to enter the restricted section in order to learn more advanced forms of magic. "The restricted section is filled with books and scrolls from as far back as 10,000 years that have been deemed a potential risk to the reader or those around her." Twilight hung her head, thinking the Princess was going to refuse her request. "However, as my personal student, the Element of Magic, and having defeated many a foe who would have otherwise destroyed all of Equestria, I have faith in your ability to determine what might be too dangerous to use. Feel free to use the restricted section but please remember the potential danger involved." Twilight was suddenly beaming with joy as the Princess unlocked the door to the restricted section. Back at the library, Twilight added the book 'Trans-Dimensional Portals' to her saddlebag along with scrolls on ancient unicorn magic from before the forming of Equestria. While the scrolls were slightly tattered, the book appeared to be in pristine condition despite being anywhere from 7,500 to 10,000 years old based on the style of binding. The only flaw she could see was that the name of the author had been removed. "This should keep me busy for quite some time. I ought to get back to the library, it's getting late." ---------- "Hey Porter!" Responding to his name, the seventeen year old turned around, only to be greeted by a football colliding with his face. The impact caused him to stagger backwards as he regained his balance. Regaining control of himself, he looked from the football at his feet to the group of students it had come flying from. Letting out an inaudible sigh, he scooped up the football and threw it back to the others. Giving them a slight wave, he walked through the entrance of a path that went into the nearby woods. "I don't get it. Why didn't he get mad?" The majority of the group turned to look at the freshman who had spoken. "You really don't know? That's Lee Porter. He use to be the unofficial king of this school. He was a real terror. They say when anyone did him any wrong, his eyes would almost light up with the anger that would flow through him." "What changed? Why didn't he just charge up here and try to tear your arms off?" The freshman was confused, to say the least. "Who knows. All I see is the bastard who put me in a dumpster taking a football to the face. And he ain't stoppin' me." ---------- "This place is so far away from Ponyville. It's no wonder I've never seen it before." Twilight had studied the book 'Trans-Dimensional Portals' that she had borrowed on her way back home and discovered the location of one such portal, some miles from Ponyville near a far off edge of the Everfree Forest. Eager to discover what secrets it held, she took off without even stopping by the library to tell Spike where she was going. Twilight stood at the edge of the Everfree Forest, staring at what appeared to be an old stone gathering circle. It was covered in small plants and looked as thought it hadn't been used in centuries. There were a few broken pillars around the edge of the circle as well as statues of very odd creatures. Each statue had a stone bowl at its feet with a small black candle at the bottom. Twilight had never seen such creatures before. Almost all of them had an intimidating look about them, except for one. A tall creature stood out from the others. It had no visible fangs or claws and did not appear to have any form of armor plating, natural or crafted. And it stood on two legs, despite not having any tail to maintain its balance. "It must have simply fell off over the years" Twilight said to herself. Removing the special book from her saddlebag, she lay on the edge of the stone circle and began to study in greater detail how the portal was suppose to work. Time passed as Twilight lay there, lost in her studies. A wind came in from the forest and started to flip the pages of the book. Twilight simply cast a personal barrier bubble around herself to block out the wind and continued to read. An hour had passed. With a sudden glint in her eye, she shut the book, stood up and went about clearing the circle of all the overgrown plants. "Alright. I've cleared the portal area. Next, I need to light one of the candles." Looking back to the spread of fearsome statues that lined the outer circle of the portal, she looked upon the tall creature again. "This seems the safest bet. May as well start here." She quickly lit the candle with her unicorn magic and went back to the center of the circle. "Light candle.... check. All that's left is to channel the keystone." Placed in the very center of the circle was a small pedestal with a stone sphere placed on top. Carved into it was a rune she was unfamiliar with. Placing both hooves on the pedestal, she began to channel magic from her horn into the sphere. As she did, the rune on its face began to glow a bright blue. Once the rune was fully lit, the blue light started to seep out like a liquid down the sides of the pedestal, slowly filling in carved lines in the stone base that had remained unseen in the failing light. The wind from the forest picked up again and Twilight began to back away from the center circle, her eyes torn between staying wide open to witness the event or closing to avoid the wind. ---------- Reaching the end of the wooded trail, the trees parted to reveal Lee's apartment building on the other side of a somewhat busy road. He made his way across the street, checked the mailbox and then headed inside. Once inside, he began to relax, setting down his book bag and allowing his coat to slide off his shoulders. The bag held the books he needed for class that day along with his laptop and emergency note supplies. He then removed his cap, revealing his short brown hair which had a red streak on one side, and set about preparing to enjoy his afternoon. He started a fresh batch of tea ,threw a bag of popcorn in the microwave and adjusted his thermostat to maintain the current level of warmth his apartment held. He then walked over to his bookshelf and, after a few minutes of self-debate, chose to start re-reading his copy of 'Brisingr' by Christopher Paolini. Setting the book and his glasses down on the rather small coffee table, he headed for the restroom. Grabbing the doorknob, he swung the door open. His jaw dropped. Standing in his bathroom was a young woman. Lee wasn't wearing his glasses so she was not instantly recognizable. She had a towel wrapped around her midsection, held a brush in her right hand and an mp3 player in the other. She didn't hear Lee enter the building because of the music. To make things worse, she was suddenly startled when he opened the bathroom door, causing her towel to fall to the floor. Neither Lee nor the woman moved or broke eye contact for about 20 seconds. After the shock had worn off, her face turned red, almost matching her hair color. "Lee..." Squinting his eyes, he recognized his neighbor and childhood friend, Sierra. "Geez! I know you have trouble holding onto a girlfriend but that doesn't mean you can just ogle me whenever you feel like it!" "Why are you naked in my bathroom!?" "Because my shower is broken. Because I asked your permission to use yours until it gets fixed. Because I was here yesterday, taking a shower, at this exact same time!" Her whole body began to shake as Lee took a step back, realizing exactly how much pain was headed his way. "I didn't mean to! I'm sorry!" She launched herself at him screaming "Pervert!" He felt his body hit the ground as he fell backwards in an attempt to avoid the impact. However, what he felt underneath him definitely was NOT his floor. It felt like he landed on solid stone. And that hurt. With a pain filled grunt, he forced himself into a sitting position and took in his surroundings. He was right next to a stone pedestal which had blue lines glowing brightly down it's side. It also appeared to be at the center of a large stone circle. "Odd place... how did I get here? And where's Sierra?" Utterly confused by this recent turn of events, he reached up to scratch his head. But instead of fingers, he felt a solid lump rubbing his head. Quickly taking his hand off his head and bringing it into view, he began hyperventilating. He saw that, instead of a hand, he was looking at a hoof! "That's not mine! Where's my hand?!" He attempted to stand up but came crashing backwards, unable to hold his balance on two legs. He frantically turned his head to see what the problem was. What he saw made his pupils constrict. Not only had his feet turned to hooves as well, he had.... "Wings?!?" ---------- Twilight was shocked by this. All her hard work to open a portal to another dimension and all she had to show for it was a pegasus who acted like he belonged in the Trottingham Mental Asylum. Needless to say, she was aggravated. However, being one of the elements of harmony, she couldn't let this soul crushing failure blind her to the fact that somepony needed her help. She was about to introduce herself to the deranged pegasus when he took one of his wings in his mouth and began pulling at it, as if he was attempting to remove it from his body! "Stop that! You'll hurt yourself!" The pegasus froze. Releasing his wing, he slowly turned his head towards her. "Did you... just speak?" His eyes displayed a look of severe horror. Twilight raised an eyebrow. "Um.... yes. Yes I did. My name is Twilight Sparkle. I'm sorry for bringing you here. I was trying a new spell but it seems to have misfired. What's your name?" The pegasus sat still with his mouth ajar for a few moments. His eyes them proceeded to roll into the back of his head and he passed out on the stone floor. "Well that was interesting alright..."