Escaping East St. Louis

by StormLuna

A Discussion With Twilight

Author's Note:

This chapter will be done primarily in a back and forth dialogue format.

As Marcus followed Twilight to the cafe, he couldn't help but wonder what was going on and what kinds of questions Twilight was going to ask him. Once they got into the center of town, Twilight pointed towards the cafe and suggested, "Marcus, I don't know if you're hungry or not but I was thinking we could go to the cafe and talk further."

Marcus replied, "But I don't have any money on me."

Twilight said, "Don't worry about it, this will be on me."

Marcus nodded and they headed to the cafe. Once they got their menus Marcus would be shocked by what they had to offer. Most everything was either flowers and items made from hay. It was a couple of minutes until he found something in there that looked familiar, eggs and hash browns. After deciding what he wanted he asked, "So princess, what is my limit."

Twilight smiled and replied, "Marcus, I am a princess, don't worry about it, money is no problem."

Marcus nodded and realized that he was going to be able to eat something that he had not eaten in ages, not just the eggs and hash browns, but also oats and have real milk instead of the powdered stuff he had had for what seemed to be forever.

When the waiter arrived he immediately noticed Twilight. He bowed and said, "Princess Twilight, it is so good to see you!"

Twilight replied, "It is good to see you as well."

He got his notebook out and continued, "So Princess, what will you be having this morning?"

Twilight replied, "I would like a daffodil and daisy sandwich, some hash browns and a large cider."

He turned to Marcus and asked, "And you sir?"

Marcus replied, "Well I would like four eggs, hash browns, a bowl of oatmeal, a large cider and a large milk." He turned to Twilight and asked, "That isn't too much is it?"

Twilight replied, "Not at all. Like I said, money is no problem."

The waiter nodded and took their order back to the kitchen. Once he was gone Twilight said, "Now that we have placed our orders, let's get down to business, tell me a bit about yourself."

Marcus began, "Well in my world I lived in a city called East St. Louis, Illinois. The city I live in is full of poverty and violence, like the gun violence you experienced in that closet."

Twilight nodded, "Sounds like an unpleasant place, what else?"

Marcus continued, "When I crossed over I was living alone but at one time things were not like that. When I was growing up I had a loving mother who worked hard to provide what she could for my older brother and I. When I was young, things were not as bad in the hood as they are now."

Twilight asked, "Hood?"

Marcus knew that Twilight nor any of the other inhabitants of this strange world would know what a hood was. He replied, "It is short for neighborhood." Twilight nodded and he continued, "While my family was not well off when I was young, we were happy for the most part but several years ago mom got sick and we lost her to cancer."

Twilight replied, "I'm sorry about that. What about your father? I haven't heard you bring him up yet."

His father was one thing that Marcus did not really want to talk about but knew that it would likely be in his best interests to do so. He sighed, "When I was four, dad cheated on mom and ran off with this rich woman."

Twilight replied, "I'm sorry about that."

Marcus continued, "It just wasn't right. It wasn't right that he would leave ma like that, it wasn't right that he would put money ahead of his family."

Twilight could tell that talking about his father was really bothering Marcus so she wanted to change the topic. She asked, "You mentioned your brother. What about him?"

Marcus replied, "My brother always looked out for me. In school when I'd get bullied, he would stand up for me. Once he was old enough, he did things to help make sure we had food on the table and a roof over our heads. He was always there for me until a year ago today."

Twilight had a feeling that whatever had happened was likely not good but wanted to know as much as possible, "What happened a year ago?"

What his brother did was not exactly legal and he certainly did not want Twilight to know about it so he decided to be vague. He replied, "He was doing some business with someone who would help us get some money. The police thought he was doing something illegal so they shot and killed him. He was simply trying to make sure the two of us would have food to eat and they shot and killed him." He began to cry, "It just wasn't fair. He was trying to help us and the damn cops killed him for it!"

His cries brought out some sympathy from Twilight. She asked, "I'm sorry about that Marcus. I take it you are alone in your world now?"

Marcus replied, "Yes and because of how things are in that world, I have to do pretty much anything to keep a roof over my head and keep food on the table. Often times I have to get outdated food from the food pantry and I have to ration my food out so sometimes I go hungry."

Twilight asked, "Food pantry, as in the one in your home?"

Marcus replied, "No, it is what local charities put together. More well off people donate food for the poor and even if it is outdated, that is the only option for those of us who can't afford food at the store."

Twilight had not heard him mention what he had done for a living after losing his brother and wanted to find out what he did. She asked, "You mentioned how your brother and mother both worked hard to keep a roof over your head. What have you done since you lost your brother? How do you make a living?"

Marcus replied, "I pretty much take any job I can get. Sometimes those in the next town over, those who are well off, need someone to mow their lawn, they need someone to do basic repairs to their homes and pretty much anything else I know how to do, I jump on the opportunity."

Twilight asked, "So how good are you at doing those things?"

Marcus replied, "Well mowing a lawn doesn't take much but I am good at repairing people's houses. This might sound odd but sometimes I feel like it is something I'm supposed to do with my life."

When he brought up that he felt like fixing people's houses was what he was supposed to do with his life, the wheels in Twilight's head began to turn. She replied, "You may not be able to make that your purpose in your world but perhaps we could go to Canterlot and speak to Princess Celestia about seeing if you could stay here in Equestria and you could do what you think you should do."

Marcus asked, "You mean something like......."

Before he could finish his question the waiter arrived with their food, "Your Majesty, your food is here."

When the waiter sat the food down, Marcus was amazed by the amount of food that had been sat in front of him. He looked down and saw his silverware but then something crossed his mind, how in the world was he going to even pick it up, much less use it to eat his food. He noticed that Twilight was grabbing her sandwich with her magic and eating it. He asked, "Twilight, how are you doing that? How are you grabbing your food without touching it?"

The question caught Twilight by surprise at first but then she realized that he would have no clue on how to do so. She replied, "For somepony who has never used magic before, this may be tough but what you have to do is focus intently on the silverware, get an image of you using it to eat in your head and hopefully you'll be able to get your magic to work."

Marcus began to focus on the silverware and did as she suggested and much to his surprise, he was able to use his magic to grasp the silverware to eat. At first he dropped his spoon a few times but after a couple of minutes he was able to use his silverware effortlessly. For him, this was the best breakfast he could remember having and having real milk brought even more happiness to him. Once he was finished he had a look of happiness on his face, "Thank you your Majesty, this was delicious."

Twilight replied, "No need to thank me and you can just call me Twilight."

Once the two had finished their meals, Twilight suggested, "What do you say we go up to Celestia to see about you maybe being able to stay here in Equestria?"

Marcus's ears shot up, "Really, you mean that I might not have to return to my world?"

Twilight replied, "If it is ok with Princess Celestia, you won't have to. I was there for a brief moment and I certainly don't want you to have to go back."

Marcus said, "Thanks, I really appreciate this."

Twilight nodded and motioned for him to follow her to the train station. So many things were running through his mind, the thoughts of not having to return to his world seemed almost too good to be true. He just hoped that the princess that Twilight had been talking about would allow him to stay.