//------------------------------// // Chapter 2 // Story: Equa Non Grata // by Ivory Crash //------------------------------// --Chapter Two-- Too Cheerful or The Pegasus Who Wasn't "There you are Twilight. Where have you been? First, I wake up to a note telling me that you're going to the Royal Canterlot Library and to expect you home around 3. Then you didn't even show up. It's almost 9. I was worried..." Spike was relieved that his friend had come back safe after being gone all day. The sun had begun to set when Twilight slowly backed through the open door to her library home, levitating an unconscious pegasus inside and gently placing him on the carpet. This came as a shock to the small dragon. "Who is he?" Spike was staring at the pegasus whom Twilight had been carrying. His mane was short and brown with a streak of red running through one side. His tail was somewhat short and trimmed, matching the color scheme of his hair. And his coat was nearly as white as Rarity's. "I don't know, Spike. Whoever he is, he needs my help. Go prepare the guest bed." The little dragon quickly scampered up the stairs, eager as always to assist the purple unicorn in her daily activities. As he disappeared from view, she dropped her saddle bag and opened it with her magic, removing a rather old book. "What went wrong? I followed the books instructions to the letter! The spell, in combination with the pedestal and candle marker, was supposed to open a portal to another worldly. But instead, I have an unknown pegasus passed out in my home. I know enough pegasi. If I wanted to know more, I'd go to Cloudsdale! Maybe I missed a step?" She skimmed a few pages in the book before closing it and letting out a sigh. She leaned over the stranger and brushed his tail off of his side to reveal his cutie mark. A red diamond with a snake wrapped around it, devouring it's own tail. "So odd... I feel like I've seen this before... but where?" "Twilight! The room is done!" Her dragon assistant came running down the steps. "Great. Let's get him to bed. Perhaps after a good nights sleep he'll be a bit more stable." Levitating her guest once more, Spike and her walked the pegasus into the guest room and tucked him in. Shutting the door behind her, she went back to the book. "I'm going to bed Twilight. Unless you need anything else?" "No thank you Spike. Get your rest. I'll be up soon. I need to make sure I didn't miss anything in this book..." She had re-opened the book and was already flipping from page to page. Spike gave a shrug and went upstairs to his waiting bed. The moon rose well beyond the horizon as Twilight sat in study, reading chapters aloud while fighting back yawns. After two hours, her eyes betrayed her and fell shut as she passed out at her reading table. ---------- The night passed without interruption. As the sun rose in the sky, a stray beam shone onto the pegasus's closed eyes. "Rhhmmm...nnnnnn.....no....NO....stupid wings...AAAHHHHHHH!" The Pegasus had sat straight up, sweating profusely and breathing rapidly. After taking a few moments to calm down, he let out a big sigh. "Note to self. Remember Sierra's shower schedule. God... whatever she did, it gave me one hell of a headache." He reached up to rub his sore head but stopped mere inches from contact. Closing his eyes, he began muttering to himself. "Please please please please..." Slowly bring his hands into view, he opened one eye. "Hooves... So it wasn't a dream..." He let out a loud sigh of disappointment. Noticing a tall mirror on the wall, he got out of bed and went to it. Taking a few minutes to examine his new body, it all finally sank in. "I don't think I'm in Kansas anymore..." Looking around the room, he spotted the door. Walking over and pushing it open, he discovered the next room; a library with the purple speaking unicorn from last night, slumped over a desk by his door. She was out cold. Careful not to wake her, Lee tip-toed passed her and began to browse the library shelves. 'Is it tip-toed? Tip-hoofed doesn't sound quite right...', he thought to himself. "Let's see... E, F, G, H. History... history... here it is. History of Equestria. Equestria? Must be the name of this place. May as well start here." Grasping the book in his mouth, he slowly crept to a desk on the opposite side of the room as his purple friend. Setting the book down, he ran into a slight problem. "Right... no fingers... How to solve this..." Lowering one side of his hoof to the cover, he gently lifted it up to reveal the first page. "Easy enough..." "Equestria.... home of ponies, unicorns, pegasi, griffins... center of the continent... ruled by two Princesses.... raise the sun and moon?" 'Alright, so they have magic here. That's cool.' "Surrounded on all sides by desert, dense jungle, mountain ranges and badlands. These areas are populated by various monsters, such as manticores and cockatrice, as well other sentient species, such as diamond dogs and dragons." 'They have dragons too? Not bad.' "Oh good. You're awake. Did you sleep well?" Lee's host had awoken, her purple mane slightly disheveled. "Well enough, all things considered." "My name is Twilight Sparkle. What's yours?" "Lee. Lee Porter." "Lee? That's a rather... unique name. You must not be from around here." "You have no idea." Lee gave a little smile and rolled his eyes at his comment. "And your cutie mark. It's also unique. What does it represent?" "My... cutie mark? What's that?" Twilight pointed to Lee's flank. Looking back, he saw what she was speaking about. "You mean my tattoo? I honestly have no idea what it means. I got it as a tribute to my father, because he had one just like it before he..." Stopping mid-sentence, Lee's ears drooped as his head sank low to the floor. "Oh no. Is that a sensitive topic? I'm sorry. I won't bring it up anymore." Lee gave his head a shake and wiped a tear from his eye. "So how did I get here anyway?" Twilight went returned to her desk and retrieved a large book, bringing it back to her guest. "This book told me of an ancient portal between realms. I succeed in activating it but the portal spat you out instead of a trans-dimensional being. I'm really very sorry about that." "Don't worry about it. It it helps you feel any better, I am from a different dimension. I'm also not a pegasus. I'm a human. Your portal worked, but it seems I'm now covered in fur and feathers." Twilight seemed frozen in time. Her eyes didn't move, not even to blink. And her hooves were planted firmly on the ground. What felt like a very awkward minute later, she snapped out of it and gave Lee a disapproving look. "Everyone knows humans don't exist Lee. If you don't want to tell me who you are, then you could have just said so." She scolded him before setting the book inside her saddlebag. 'Well that's not too surprising... I'd be skeptical too if some random guy told me he was from another dimension, but looked human.' Lee thought to himself. "Sorry." He shrugged his shoulders. Or atleast he assumed he did. The usual motion ended in his head ducking down into his shoulders. 'Close enough' "Anyway, I'm heading into town to get a bite to eat and then see if anything is on sale at the market. I'd send Spike to do it but he promised he would help our friend Rarity find more gems for her boutique. Would you like to come with me?" "If there is food involved, I'm in." He gave a weak smile as his stomach began to grumble at him. "Excellent. Why don't you wait out front for me? I just need to take care of something." She motioned to the front door and Lee complied. Waiting for the door to fully close, she used her magic to grab two pieces of parchment and a quill pen. Wasting no time at all, she started on the first piece: '-Spike I have gone into town with our guest. I need a letter delivered to Princess Celestia whenever you wake. It will be left by this note. Please do this before you leave for Rarity's house. -Twilight Sparkle' She left the first letter open and began on the other. Dear Princess Celestia, In my studies on magic, I have accidentally teleported a pegasus of unknown origin to Ponyville. He says his name is Lee and he claims to be a human in disguise. Normally I wouldn't give such a ridiculous notion any thought but the only reason I was able to summon him was with a book from the Royal Canterlot Library. You warned me of the potential dangers inside and I would like to be certain my guest poses no threat. If there is anything you might be able to find out about him, It would ease my mind. I'll keep him busy in Ponyville until you respond. Also, here is a sketch of his cutie mark. It might help identify who he is. Your student, Twilight Sparkle She tucked a small drawing of Lee's tattoo within the letter before closing it. Placing her saddlebag on her back and locking the door behind her, Twilight set out with Lee towards the town. ---------- "Is it always like this here?" Lee asked, his head flitting back and forth as they passed between several pastel colored ponies. Some were idly chatting, while others were seen doing business at the various shops and stands littering the town center. "Like what?" asked Twilight, stopping to inspect several quill pens that appeared to be on sale. "It's so... cheerful. Bright, even. Everyone is smiling and I swear I could hear spontaneous music one street over." "Well... yes. This is Ponyville after all. Apart from the occasional disaster, it's pretty peaceful around here." She raised an eyebrow. "Why? Are things not like this where you come from?" "Frankly, no. Most people have one issue or another that weighs on their heart, making it hard to be kind. There are some happy people, but nowhere near as much as here. And what few happy people there are, they rarely are this public about it. Most people are either too busy to be happy or are simply depressed. Kindness is a bit of an inconvenience." "That sounds horrible. How can such a place exist? And how is it you are how you are? From your description, you shouldn't be nearly as calm or polite as you are." Twilight tilted her head slightly, her curiosity piqued again. "I use to be..." Lee turned his head, avoiding Twilight's eyes. "What do you mean?", she asked as she took a step closer, attempting to reestablish eye contact. "I don't want to talk about it.", he responded with a cold tone, taking a step back. "Oh. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to upset you." Twilight took a step back as well, widening the distance between them. They stood in complete silence for a few moments. After a some of the other customers left the stand, Lee looked back at Twilight, regaining his smile. "So, who is Rarity? You mentioned her back at the library." "She's a unicorn, like myself. She owns Carousel Boutique, Ponyville's tailoring shop. Her and Spike are probably out now gathering gems for her creations. With winter setting in, she needs to gather as much as she can to last through the season." Twilight had also regained a smile as their conversation reignited. "Do you have any other friends? We haven't run into anyone yet." "Yes. My other friends are Applejack, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash. Applejack is busy harvesting the last of the fall apples from her family orchard. Fluttershy is preparing the warrens for all the critters of Ponyville to hibernate in during winter. Pinkie Pie is busy at Sugarcube Corner baking all sorts of sweet treats. And Rainbow Dash is volunteering in Cloudsdale, helping prepare new pegasi on how to make clouds produce snow." "And Spike is...?" "Spike is my dragon assistant who lives with me at the library." "Assistant... dragon..." His face turned very serious, as though the entire future of the world depended on Twilight's response. "Um... yes? He's a dragon alright." "So let me get this straight. There was a dragon in that library and you didn't tell me because...?" "I didn't think it would be that important. Dragons aren't that uncommon you know. Besides, he's still a baby." "Awwww... I really wanted to see a dragon while I was here." "Twilight Sparkle!" A bright burst of light exploded in front of the pair, revealing a tall and elegant pony. She had wings larger than any Lee had seen before as well as a horn. Adorning her figure were very regal leg covers and a large gold raiment around her neck. A golden crown encrusted with a purple gem sat on her head. Upon her appearance, everypony, except Twilight and Lee, bowed before the magnificent pony. She had a very serious look on her face. "Princess Celestia! Did you get my letter?" Twilight looked very excited to see her teacher visit her in Ponyville. "Yes Twilight. And it led me to a very troublesome discovery. Is this him?" She motioned to Lee. His eyes went wide. 'So this is one of the royal sisters? She's alot bigger than I imagined she would be,' he thought to himself. When Twilight gave a confirming nod, Celestia grabbed them both to her side with magic. She then began concentrating as a yellow glow overtook her horn. "Stay close to me and don't move.", she said very sternly. The yellow glow expanded rapidly, encompassing the three of them. With a flash as solid as when she arrived, Celestia, Twilight and Lee vanished, leaving all the nearby citizens of Ponyville with a perplexed look. ---------- A timberwolf walked the edge of the Everfree Forest, sniffing at the stone circle that sat dangerously close to the wild lands. A bright spark emanated nearby, scaring the wolf back into the forest. A bright light quickly expanded and popped, revealing the Princess along with Twilight and Lee. While the two smaller ponies looked around confused, Celestia wasted no time in walking to the circle. "Is this this the same place where you summoned Lee?" Her voice portrayed a sense of great urgency. "Yes Princess. What's going on anyway? Why did you bring us back here?" "Lee. Go stand by the pedestal in the center." Not wanting to argue with royalty, Lee did as he was asked. "Twilight, do you still have the book you borrowed?" "Yes. But why are we here? The spell didn't work the first time..." "He's a human, Twilight. He cannot stay here." "How can he be a human? Those are just myths!" Twilight looked very confused by what the Princess was saying. "Allow me to show you. Lee, I need you to place a hoof on that keystone on top of the pedestal." Doing as he was told, Lee stood still as Celestia charged a beam of yellow blue light into the keystone, causing the circle floor to light up. The circle began to show an image. In it was a red haired girl, slumped on the floor. And she was crying. "Sierra? Princess, does this thing do sound?" The princess nodded. Her eyes closed and she began concentrating harder. A voice began to project from the image. "Give him back! I promise, I won't ever try to hurt him again! Please! Oh god, please! I didn't mean it! I didn't mean it!" The image faded away as Celestia ended the beam. She turned to her student. "He must go back. His kind do not belong in Equestria. They were the catalyst that spawned Discord. We cannot risk him returning a third time. What does the book say about sending somepony through the portal?" Twilight removed the book from her saddlebag and quickly flipped to a specific page. "In order to travel through the portal, he just needs to stay in close proximity to the keystone on the pedestal." She quickly ran to the human statue and lit the candle at its feet. Celestia then turned to Lee. "Are you ready?" Lee placed both of his hooves on the pedestal and gave a nod. As Celestia began to charge her horn again, Lee looked to Twilight. "It was nice meeting you, even if you didn't believe I was a human." Twilight gave a smile back and was about to respond when the Princess shot another beam into the keystone. It glowed bright blue and lit the hidden marks of the circle once more. In a blinding flash of blue, the pegasus was gone. Celestia let out a sigh of relief. "I'm glad we could handle that without an incident. Twilight, would you please gather the keystone for me? Something this dangerous can no longer remain out in the open for anypony to accidentally activate." Twilight walked to the pedestal and picked up the strange sphere with her magic. Before she even turned around to give it to the princess, several timberwolves leapt from the forest, howling loudly and startling the unicorn. In her panic, she lost control of the keystone and it fell to the ground, cracking open to reveal a vivid purple gemstone. It glowed so bright, it blinded the timberwolves as well as the princess. "Twilight?" Blinking rapidly, the princess's eyesight returned. Looking around, she barely spotted the wolves running back into the forest. But her student and the keystone were nowhere to be seen. "Twilight!"