"Do you have anything to say before I begin?" The royal voice called down at the cloaked colt firmly, yet with an almost melancholy note. He looked up, the corner of his mouth turned up in a slight grin. "Nothing that would change anything, princess." He matched her tone, his eyes glancing to the guards posted at his sides. She sighed, looking up to the ceiling, then back to the pony in front of her. "I don't want to have to do this a second time but I have no choice. For your sin, you have even exiled. You will be sent somewhere your magic will have no influence or effect, and will be stripped of your title, rank, and privileges. Due to your past accomplishments and relations with the kingdom, you are allowed to be an observer of your new home, and report to me about any irregularities." her voice was flat, as if she had to force the words out. "Maybe there, you can hopefully learn something," the princess remarked, passing him an empty journal with a royal seal on the cover.
His horn shone for a moment and a pair of saddlebags appeared on his flank, nothing more than a few books inside. The guards raised their weapons in alarm, but the princess waved them down, allowing it. "Alright then. Anything else?" He inquired, his resignation evident. He wouldn't fight this. She was an old friend, and a powerful one too. She sighed once more and looked at him sadly, "I'm sorry for this. Truly I am. After I had to banish my sister, I'd hoped not to lose anyone else." The mysterious colt's responses brief, but it had the impact his words usually carried, "We never truly lose those close to us. They remain in our hearts."
At their exchange, the door behind the throne opened slowly, revealing an ancient mirror, shimmering slightly in the dusk. The last of the sun shone down on it, and as the darkness grew, the artifact began to emit an eerie light. The surface of the mirror shimmered, almost invitingly, towards them. As he stepped up to the mirror, he turned his head and grinned. "See you later, princess," he whispered, and, turning his back, stepped inside, leaving Equestria behind.
chapter 1: Routine
The school bell rang loudly as students erupted into the halls, eager to meet up with their friends at lunch. Grey had been there for two years, and he had yet to make any friends. Which was just as well; he was horrible at it, and he wasn't even sure he wanted any friends. Friends had never worked out for him; not in the last world, and not in this one. School, on the other hand, was nothing more than just being taught various bits of knowledge, and he had had his share of that already. The classes were easy, and he could have excelled in just about every class - except history. Grey had learned more about this prison of his every day, and he was still trying his best to figure the place out. Which was exactly what he was thinking about when he ran head first into the vice principal, who had traveling down the hall, making sure the students were in order. "Sorry, V.P Luna," he muttered, lowering his head, "It won't happen again." He kept walking, turning his emerald eyes floor-ward and continuing on. How strange it was that she looked so much like an old friend he once knew, even going so far as to sharing the same name.
He shrugged, chalking one up for coincidence and filing it away in his head, and walked into the lunch hall. He found his usual spot, a table near the corner that didn't stand out much. This was where he belonged after all; alone in the back of the room. Luckily, though, no one ever paid much attention to him. He was fairly average looking; with short, disheveled black hair, his grayish skin, common jeans, and a black button down shirt, which was unbuttoned to reveal a red t-shirt, everything about him simply blended into the crowd. Only three things about him actually stood out: his piercing emerald eyes, the symbol on his shirt, which this world called 'yin & yang,' and the fact that he never seemed to be comfortable wherever he was. That last trait, coupled with a strange 'sad, lone wolf' vibe he apparently gave off, tended to keep others out of arms reach of him. He pondered his situation to himself, sitting in his usual spot as he pulled his lunch out of the backpack he usually kept with him.
"Alright, so what does today have for me? I only have the one purpose anymore..." he thought sadly to himself, glancing at the journal given to him before his banishment. "So, what has changed recently?" He ate as he scribbled, taking notes on observations of how things worked and changed around high school. No one paid attention to him, so he could gather information easily enough. A group of younger girls, calling themselves crusaders of some kind, were talking about how their song was coming along. Another girl was commenting about her favorite muffins to her friends, who were commenting back and forth about different genres of music, both too engrossed to realize the other wasn't listening. Those two middle schoolers, Snips and Snails, were stilling nipping at the coat tails with the narcissist, Trixie. "Nothing much interesting ever happens anymore. Its just routine, day in and day out. i wonder when anything actually new will happen.. but oh wait.. There is the new girl." His eyes wandered to the other side of the cafeteria, landing on a young girl his age, with striking red and yellow hair. Sunset Shimmer was it? She had joined a few months back, and won the crown of the Fall Formal easily, but something about her always seemed off. It was like being the best wasn't good enough for her, as if she had someone she was trying to prove herself too. This could be worrisome, but then, he was just supposed to be an observer. He wasn't charged with being an interloper. And yet... he still couldn't shake this sense of dread and uneasiness. So Grey put his journals down and dug back into his meal, his eyes slowly wandering amongst the masses. Things could wait, even if just for a little while.
