//------------------------------// // 01 -- The Story Behind The Glass // Story: Mente Materia // by Arad //------------------------------// Tommy was bored. Bored, bored, bored. He was starting to wonder if ‘bored to death’ was more than just something people said when there was nothing to do. His mind had already begun to wander half an hour earlier after Mom had strongly encouraged him to behave himself since they were all invited as guests of honor to whatever boring place this was. At first it was exciting to be in a real castle but then the adults started talking and never seemed to stop. Tommy had glossed over the details but apparently it had something to do with the sister he had never met. That thought brought a new round of grumbles from the boy. Mom talked about Tommy’s sister like she was a saint, but he knew better. Billy, Tommy’s oldest brother, had a seemingly endless supply of stories about how they would get into trouble almost daily. When he had asked how the two seemingly got away with everything despite getting caught by Mom, he would merely pat Tommy on the head and answer, “I’ll tell you when you’re older.” When he was older. Tommy had learned to hate those words. He was twelve years old. Twelve! He understood a lot about the world but everyone insisted on treating him like a little kid. It aggravated him to no end. As Tommy’s family and a bunch of other people slowly marched their way through the hallway, Tommy caught sight of his salvation. An old wooden door sat slightly ajar just to the side of the hallway, and the corridor beyond it was dark and mysterious. It promised adventure and treasure and anything but boredom, just like in those Daring Do books that the exchange students brought with them that Tommy wasn’t interested in at all. Nope. When the moment was right, Tommy slipped out of the crowd and snuck through the open doorway. No shouts or scolding chased him into the darkness, so he took a moment to fish his little flashlight out of his pocket and started making his way deeper into the gloom. The floors were polished marble and the walls were so spotlessly white that a significant portion of the area was lit up wherever the flashlight beam travelled. Aside from the lack of illumination, the hallway looked almost identical to the one he had just left. Despite the monotony of the hallways, it increasingly felt like an adventure to wander them in the dark. Tommy had always loved exploring abandoned buildings, of which there were plenty in his neighborhood, but a castle? Seeing the looks on his friends’ faces back home when he told them about this story would totally be worth the scolding Mom and Billy would give him. The darkened corridors continued for several more minutes before Tommy spotted something rather strange. Multicolored light from the next room spilled out into the darkness of the hallway which practically begged Tommy to investigate. The soft sounds of his sneakers echoed down the forgotten corridor as he entered the room, followed by the clatter of his flashlight as it slipped from his fingers. He didn’t register the loss of his cherished exploration tool as all of his attention was captured by what he now saw. The hallway he had found had walls and ceiling composed entirely of stained glass windows. Tommy was vaguely reminded of the one time he and his family had gone to church and looking up at the massive scenes in tinted glass there. The painful memories of seeing Mom cry and Billy try not to surfaced briefly before fading back as Tommy stared up at the windows. His mind buzzed with several conflicting lines of thought as he recognized several shapes and figures in the windows from the news. He also tried to wrap his mind around just how all the windows were lit up as though the sun were shining directly upon them despite th— “Excuse me,” a voice announced behind Tommy which nearly caused him to jump out of his skin. “This area is off limits. Are you lost?” The voice was stern and filled with authority, and Tommy turned to face the scolding that would no doubt come. A unicorn stood in the entrance to the stained glass hallway wearing a dark blue suit that stated ‘security guard’ better than the small patches on the shoulders. A tan coat and a white mane only added to his forgettable appearance, and the dark sunglasses hiding his eyes was simply overkill. “Yes, sir. Sorry, sir,” Tommy said politely. The last thing he needed was a further scolding from Mom for being rude after being caught. “Oh, don’t worry about being in trouble,” the guard said with a slight grin. Tommy’s flashlight slowly levitated upwards long enough for the boy to take it before the guard continued. “Humans are curious creatures. Far be it from me to criticize you for your nature. In fact it’s one of the things I admire about your people.” Tommy wasn’t sure how to respond to that, so he simply remained silent as he pocketed his flashlight and stared. “Come on. I’ll take you back to your family,” the guard pony offered before he looked at the tinted glass himself and smiling mischievously. “Or perhaps you’d like to hear the story behind all this glass? Don’t tell me you thought it was simply there as eye candy? Equestrians like to record their history like this, and the story behind these windows is special to them.” “Yes, please! I’d love to hear the story!” Tommy agreed immediately. Anything to delay the scolding that was no doubt waiting for him. Despite the guard’s eyes being hidden behind his glasses, the smile on his face was clearly genuine. “Very well then! This story starts with a little lavender pony named Twilight Sparkle. Do you know who she is?” the guard asked as he led Tommy to the first window. When he nodded, the guard continued. “Very good! As I said, this story starts with Twilight Sparkle, and like a lot of her stories it starts with her nose in a book. This book, however, was a special book. Can you guess why?” Tommy considered for just a few moments before answering honestly, “No, sir.” “It was a book about you humans, and what she had learned from you…”