Grace in Equestriaby BleedingRaindropsChaptersIntroductionsDragons and UnicornsAliensCouches and StairsIntroductionsShe was hurtling through a vortex of electricity and light. It was not an unfamiliar feeling, but it carried the same sense of disorientation as it always had. The lightning prickled at her fur, making her giggle as the tunnel opened up and deposited her at her destination. “Ooh, tingly.” She rubbed her antennae as the static electricity crackled around them, before turning to address her tail as well, waving it around as she twirled in place. She had always enjoyed this form—something about it felt more connected to her roots. Looking around, she found herself to be in a courtyard, adjacent to a castle. “Halt! Who goes there?!” Grace turned to see a winged white horse in gold-plated armor galloping over to her. “Oh, hello Mr. Pegasus Horse, sir. My name’s Grace and—” “Who are you, and what are you doing in the Canterlot Gardens?” “Well, my name’s Grace, and...” Grace scratched her head for a moment and gazed upward. “Well, I’m not really sure what I’m doing here. I don’t even know where this ‘Canterlot’ place is. Where exactly are we?” she asked, turning back to the guard. “You are in the royal courtyard, just outside of Canterlot Castle.” Grace’s eyes became all sparkly and her mouth opened wide in a big smile. “A castle! You mean, like, for a princess? Oh this is so cool. Where is she?” The guard motioned to his right. “She’s right over—Wait, hey! No, I’m not letting you see the princess!” His eyes narrowed as he turned back toward her. Grace's smile vanished, her lips drawing tightly together as she leaned away from the horse's accusing glare. “What are you, exactly?" the horse said. "Clearly you are not equine." Grace's smile returned at the mention of her appearance. “Ooh, would you like me to look like a horse? I could do that.” The horse became even paler. “I—What?!” Her antennae melting back into the rest of her head, Grace began to morph into a horse. Her bushy tail from earlier returned, and her hands and feet became hooves at the end of far more horse-like legs. Dropping onto all fours, she addressed pegasus, mare to stallion. “Hi.” “What in Celestia’s mane are you?” he exclaimed, shivering as beads of sweat rolled down the side of his face. Grace looked up, as if trying to see the fuzzy brown horn now protruding from her forehead. “Well, technically, I’m what’s called a seyunolu.” “And just what in the hay is that?” The pegasus took a step backward. “Just a human–uryuom hybrid, with some lespuko DNA mixed in as well.” Grace squeed. “What the buck is a uryuom?!” The pegasus was now slowly retreating. “Shapeshifters.” Grace shrugged. “And t-the les—whatever thingy?” His voice faltered as his wings proceeded to pin themselves to his side. Grace put a hoof to her chin. “The lespuko? A super powerful alien race with incredible magical abilities.” The white winged horse froze. “I— you—” He tried to give her a stern look, but Grace could hear his armor rattling as he stood there. Whatever he had been trying to say, however, was silenced by the appearance of an even larger and much more majestic-looking pegasus. Upon closer inspection, Grace noticed that this one was also a unicorn. "Quiver, what's going on over here?" said the large white unicorn pegasus, with a soft but firm voice. The guard still nearly jumped out of his fur. "Wha—oh, it’s you, princess.” He gathered himself to gether and stood up taller. “We have an intruder, Your Highness," the guard tried again. "This—this creature just appeared out of nowhere and asked to see you. It could be dangerous, Princess. We should send it away." The taller one eyed Grace for a moment, before looking back to the guard. "No, that's quite alright, Quiver. I'm actually very interested to learn how she got here." "But, Your Majesty—" "It's alright, Quiver. I think I'll be perfectly fine. I am Princess Celestia after all, am I not?" She stared at the guard for a moment. "Of—of course, Princess," Quiver replied, stuttering a little. Celestia turned to Grace, then nodded her head in the other direction, and followed the motion with one of her wings."Why don't you tell us, Miss... " "Grace!" Grace answered. "Miss Grace." The unicorn nodded, and began walking toward the castle. ~ ~ ~ “So then he shot me with the gun, and that’s how I ended up here.” Celestia turned to look at the guard. He lifted his wings momentarily in response, and she returned her gaze to the dark brown unicorn standing next to him. “And, what is your name again?” “Um, Grace, your majesty,” the unicorn replied, scratching at one of her hooves with the other. “And you are a... what, exactly?” “A seyunolu. I’m a human-lespuko hybrid.” The unicorn’s mane then sprouted two very thick tufts of hair, which she proceeded to wave around like antennae. “See?” “I do.” Celestia smiled. “Oh, and, um... squirrel, your majesty,” Grace added. “Squirrel?!” the guard exclaimed. Celestia ignored him. “Well, Grace, there’s really no need to be so formal. You can just call me Tia, if you’d like,” she added, walking over to where Grace stood. Grace laughed. “Do you drink a lot of it?” Tia blinked. “I’m... sorry?” “Tea,” Grace replied. “You asked me to call you ‘Tea’. You must drink it a lot if everyone calls you that.” Celestia thought about it for a moment, then let out a chuckle. “You know, I think I might know somepony you would get along with very well. You said you were stuck here, and you don’t know how to get home?” she asked, walking over to her balcony. “That’s correct, Tia,” Grace replied, nodding fervently. “Excellent,” replied Celestia, turning back toward Grace. “Quiver, see Grace to the train, please. Next stop: Ponyville.” “Of—of course, your majesty,” the guard replied with a quick salute, before turning on his hoof and exiting the room. When they were gone, Celestia let out the breath she’d been holding. “Whew, at last. I thought I’d never get them out of here.” She trotted back up toward her throne and knelt down. “Thank goodness she has no clue who I am. And a lespuko, no less.” She rubbed her head with her hoof, before lying down to take a rest. “Oh well, she’s out of my hair now.” She laid her head down and closed her eyes. “Tia!” a familiar voice called from just around the corner. Oh, no. She had forgotten. “Sister, we seek your counsel at once.” Luna. Dragons and UnicornsWhen the train came to a complete stop, the conductor returned and gestured to Grace. “Miss, this is your stop. The princess has arranged for you to stay with somepony here in Ponyville.” Grace looked up from her seat. “Aww, we’re here already? I’m in the middle of a really fun game.” “Oh, that’s quite alright,” said the pony sitting across from her. “I think you beat me again anyway.” A small, yellow unicorn with glasses began levitating a set of colored figurines from the checkered board between them, into a box beside him. “I must say: It’s been a while since I met somepony who could give me enough of a challenge for it to be enjoyable, let alone beat me three times over.” “Aww, it was nothing, really,” Grace replied. “I just used to play this game a lot with my boyfriend back home. He’s really bad at it too, so don’t feel bad.” “Uh, huh.” The unicorn reached up and wiped a few beads of sweat from his forehead. Grace turned and trotted happily over to the conductor. He led her out onto the platform, whereupon she was flattened by something with thick, pink hair. “Hi!” it said, climbing off of her. Grace looked up to see a small horse standing over her, but this one was bright pink, with even pinker curly hair. “I’m Pinkie Pie! You must be Grace. Twilight said you were coming but I didn’t think you would get here so soon, but I couldn’t miss you on the train so I came straight here to wait for you, and it’s a good thing I did because it’s only been an hour and you’re already here! I barely even had enough time to set up the party decorations and mail out the invitations!” Grace’s eyes became super large, as well as shiny, and sparkly. “Hi, Pinkie Pie! Yes, my name’s Grace. I can’t wait to meet Twilight and the other girls. Thanks for coming to meet me at the train. This is so cool!” Pinkie climbed off of her long enough to be glomped in return. “And it’s so cool that you’re throwing me a party! YEEEEE!” She Squeezed Pinkie Pie almost as tight as she’d ever hugged her boyfriend Tedd, but Pinkie Pie didn’t squirm. She returned the hug with equal tightness, wrapping her seemingly elastic appendages several times around the two of them. “THIS IS GONNA BE SO MUCH FUN!” the two of them exclaimed together. Grace laughed. “You’re way more fun than my friend Sarah back home. I can’t wait to play blast the turtle with you!” Pinkie Pie frowned. “Why would you want to hurt a poor innocent turtle.” Grace laughed. “Oh, don’t worry. It’s not a real turtle. I would never hurt my little woodland friends.” Sparkly eyes again. Pinkie laughed and began hopping up and down in place. “Hee hee, you sound just like Fluttershy.” “Fluttershy, who’s that?” Pinkie continued jumping up and down for a moment. “Oh, you’re going to love her. I hear she’s letting you stay in her cottage. That’s gonna be so cool, there’s all sorts of little critters and birdies that hang out there. But first we’ve gotta get you to this party!” She grabbed Grace’s hoof and the pair sped off toward the library. ~ ~ ~ “And then we’re gonna play pin the tail on the pony...” “Pinkie.” “And throw confetti and streamers...” “Pinkie!” “And eat cake and candy and drink punch and sasparilla...” “PINKIE!” Pinkie’s rant ceased immediately. “Yes, Twilight?” Pinkie Pie stopped bouncing, and began to blink her eyes rapidly. “You still haven’t told me who your friend is.” Twilight turned toward The unicorn Pinkie had brought with her. “I’m sorry, Miss. Pinkie gets a little overexcited sometimes. Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Twilight Sparkle.” “Twilight!” Pinkie’s friend then tackle-glomped Twilight. “Pinkie mentioned you on the way over. I’m Grace. You’re the town librarian, right? And you live in this tree with a dragon named Spike who has a crush on you for some reason.” Twilight stared, open mouthed, at Grace. “Huh?” “Was I right?” Grace asked. Twilight—whose face had suddenly turned pale green and begun to sweat—turned to Pinkie. “Why did you tell her Spike has a crush on me? I didn’t even know that.” “Know what?” They all turned to see Spike walk through a door underneath the staircase, carrying a small stack of books. “That apparently you have a crush on me?” Twilight stepped forward with a questioning look. “What?! No!” Spike dropped the books he was carrying as he stepped back, gagging once or twice. “Why would you think that, Twilight? I mean, come on, you’re almost like my big sister or something. Besides”—He motioned for her to move closer and whispered in her ear—“I like Rarity, remember?” Twilight stepped back, her eyes wide as her entire face began to turn red. “Wait, but then... Pinkie!” Twilight turned to Pinkie, eyes narrowed. “Why did you tell Grace that Spike has a crush on me?!” “I didn’t tell Grace Spike has a crush on you,” Pinkie replied, appearing as shocked as Twilight did. “Oh, I guess that’s my fault, sorry.” They all turned toward Grace, who was still standing in the middle of the room where they’d left her, and now wearing a very guilty-looking smile. She sat back on her hind legs, tapping her front hooves together in front of her. “Akiko said there was a dragon named Spike who was in love with a unicorn. I guess I kinda assumed she meant you.” With nothing left to say, Grace let out what could only be described as an adorable squeak. There was a long awkward silence, during which Pinkie scurried out the door, mumbling something about party preparations. Finally, Spike said something. “Who’s Akiko?” (convenient scene break) “So, let me see if I got this.” Twilight paced back and forth in front of Grace, who stood next to Pinkie and Spike in the middle of the library “You’re not a pony; you’re a part human, part”—she paused, trying to remember the word—“lespuko?” Grace nodded, so she went on. “Part lespuko, and part... sayoonowloo?” “Actually, I’m not part seyunolu, it’s what I am. Seyunolu just means ‘greater chimaera’. I’m a mix of human, lespuko, and squirrel.” “Uhuh. And what exactly are you doing in Equestria, again?” Twilight scribbled something on the scroll on her desk, taking notes on Grace’s story. “Well, I don’t really know. Tedd just said he was trying out a new form on his TG ray gun, and he wanted me to research its abilities. Something about”—Grace rubbed her head with her hoof—“teleportation?” Twilight zapped herself directly in front of Grace, grinning wide at the thought of a fellow jumper. “Teleportation?” Grace leaned back a bit, letting out a small “meep!” Twilight stepped back, her face relaxing a bit. “Sorry. Teleportation has always been one of my favorite abilities. It’s actually quite rare for someone to learn it. So, do you know how to teleport?” she asked, warping back to her desk with another pop. “Actually, no,” Grace called from across the room. “Tedd had only just shot me with the gun when I got sucked into this weird vortex portal thing. I ended up in some courtyard somewhere and met a very grumpy guard. After that, Princess Tia sent me here to Ponyville.” “Mhmm.” Twilight nodded, trotting back over to where Grace stood. That matched up with the letter she’d received from Celestia. “Well, given your lack of a cutie mark, that story almost makes sense, but it still doesn’t explain why you look like a pony if you aren’t one.” Twilight stopped, turning on her hoof to face Grace. “Oh, that’s easy. The guard was freaking out, so I turned into my pony form to fit in. Do you like it?” Grace turned around in poses, showing off her hurry pony form. “Ooh! Ooh! what else can you turn into?” Pinkie Pie burst out next to her. “A dragon? Maybe a lollipop? Oh, I know! you’re a werefrog, right?” Grace’s eyebrows grew closer together and her mouth pressed into a tight loop as she stared at Pinkie Pie. “Actually, I can only turn into forms I’ve logged with the TG gun, but I can do this.” She reared back onto her hind legs, which lengthened, and grew paw-like feet with fur and claws while the knees reversed themselves. The same thing happened to her front legs, and her tail grew thick and bushy. Her horn dissolved into her head, which was now covered in thick brown fur, and she stood erect on her hind legs without visible effort, indicating that this form normally stood that way. Pinkie Pie squinted her eyes for a moment, before bursting out. “She looks like a giant squirrel!” “Squirrel?” a soft voice called. Twilight looked up, as the others turned around, to see Fluttershy standing in the doorway. AliensGrace turned to see a yellow pegasus mare standing in the doorway. She wore a blank expression, and scanned the room. For a few moments, nopony said anything. Then, as her eyes found Grace, the pegasus blinked a few times, her eyes growing wider with each blink, then “Oh, wow!” the pegasus exclaimed in an excited tone. Using both her wings and legs she darted forward, bumping Twilight out of the way. Then she began—as though she had not just knocked her aside like a bowling pin—asking where Twilight had found Grace . Pinkie and Grace winced as poor Twilight landed head-first on a pile of books, causing them to scatter from their semi-neat piling into full-mess mode. Twilight popped up with her eyes rolling in her sockets and a book speared on her horn. She seemed not to notice the book for the moment and she pushed herself to her hooves, swaying a little. Twilight shook her head to clear it and then frowned at the newcomer, who was still examining Grace, from her over-sized fuzzy paws to her bushy tail. Grace was smiling just as enthusiastically, and she grabbed the excited pony in her paws and pulled her close, rubbing her fuzzy head against the newcomer’s pink mane, and prodding with her antennae.d she grabbed the excited pony in her paws and pulled her close, rubbing her fuzzy head against the newcomer’s pink mane. “Hi!” Grace chuckled. “Nice to meet you.” The pegasus gasped loud, and pressed against Grace’s chest with her soft hooves. Grace let her go and she stumbled backward. “It can talk. Oh, my. I’ve never met an animal that could speak equine before.” The yellow pegasus stood and gazed at Grace through glossy—and very sparkly—eyes, her mouth hanging loosely. “Ugh, she’s not an animal, you idiot,” A gruff voice called from somewhere behind the yellow pegasus. “Clearly she’s a pony who’s been morphed into a giant squirrel form by Twilight. I mean, come on!” The pegasus turned toward a small white rabbit beside her that Grace hadn’t noticed before. “What’s that, Angelbunny?” the pegasus asked. “You say she’s really a pony?” “Actually, yeah,” Grace replied, reverting back to her pony form. The yellow pegasus’s eyes went wide, while ‘Angelbunny’ just rolled his. Grace then looked down at Angelbunny. “Although, I designed this form myself. Twilight didn’t do anything to me.” “You can understand me?!” Angelbunny and the yellow pegasus exclaimed simultaneously. “You can understand him?!”Angelbunny and the yellow pegasus exclaimed simultaneously. Even Angelbunny’s eyes were as wide as they would go. Twilight, Spike and Pinkie Pie all joined the chorus after that. Apparently, it wasn’t common in to be able to communicate with animals this world either. “Well, yeah. I’ve always been able to communicate with animals,” Grace said, shrugging. “Oh,” The yellow pegasus replied. “I thought I was the only one.” She had collapsed onto the ground, shaking slightly. Her eyes were avoiding Grace’s gaze, although her mane blocked most of her face anyway. Grace walked up to her, slowly. “Well, I am part squirrel.” The shivering stopped. The yellow pegasus looked up at her. “Squirrel?” Grace smiled, closing her eyes for a moment. “Yup. Name’s Grace.” She extended a hoof. “Oh, um... Fluttershy,” the yellow pegasus cooed in such a soft voice that Grace could barely hear her. Grace’s eye’s got big and sparkly again, and her mouth opened wide. “Fluttershy?! Oh, my gosh. It’s so great to meet you.Pinkie said you’d be so fun to meet. I can’t wait to see your other little woodland friends too.” She grabbed Fluttershy and hugged her again, almost as tightly as she had Pinkie Pie earlier. Fluttershy, however, seemed to go limp in her would be arms. At this point, Twilight stepped in. “I guess I forgot to mention when you walked in, Fluttershy. This is Grace, she’s the pony who’ll be staying with you until we can find a way to send her back to her world. ~ ~ ~ While Twilight and gang were familiarizing themselves with the accidentally-interdimensional traveler, one nosy mint-green Unicorn was watching and from a window. She had known there was something odd about this newcomer from the second she'd seen her, but she didn't know what it was. This 'Grace' seemed like a normal enough Unicorn at first glance, but upon a second, the window-watcher discovered something about the newcomer's shadow: it did not match her body. For some reason, even when this 'Grace' was walking on all fours, her shadow strode along with her in a similar fashion to a minotaur. Grace's shadow's back hooves connected together, but her fore-hoofs did not. In fact, they did not look like hoofs at all, and the rest of the shadow-body walked upright, also like a minotaur. The main difference between a minotaur and this shadow, though, was that the head lacked horns, and possessed a mane on its head. The rear hoofs were also much larger than those of any creature she'd seen, and lastly, it seemed to be wearing ,garments, which Grace was not. “What are you, stranger?” she murmured. “Your shadow is familiar, but—” Just then, Grace transformed into her regular form, and the window-watcher's eyes grew very wide. Her shadow now fit her body, and her body was very similar to something she'd seen in a book from her 'History of Mythology' class back when she was still a foal. “No. Way.” Her body wasn't the same as the drawings in the book because of the giant bushy tail, as well as the ears being the wrong shape and she was covered in fur, but it was close. Perhaps the myth had gotten the form wrong? Whatever the reason, this was something she needed to investigate, and the best way to do that was— “Lyra, what are you doing?” “GYAH!” Lyra nearly jumped out of her skin, tripping over her hooves as she struggled for balance. She collapsed on the ground, gasping for breath. Her room mate, Bon Bon, stood behind her, wearing a quizzical look on her face. Lyra gathered herself up, and trotted quickly in place. “Bonbon, you're not going to believe this, but Twilight's got a real live alien in the library!” Bonbon raised an eyebrow. “An alien.” Bonbon stated, skeptically. “Yes!” Lyra squeaked, nodding rapidly. “In Twilight Sparkle's library.” “Yes!” “Twilight Sparkle has an alien in her library.” “YES! Just look!” Lyra insisted, waving a hoof at her and motioning at the window. “It looks like one of those Anthro-things back in mythology class! This one looks like a squirrel! Take a peek!” She indicated the set of binoculars she had mounted in front of the shades. Bonbon rolled her eyes and walked toward the window. Looking through the binoculars, she saw Twilight, Fluttershy, and Pinkie Pie standing inside around another pony. She was unfamiliar to Bonbon, and had a brown coat with very large bangs on her mane, but was otherwise unremarkable, and certainly not an alien. Bonbon sighed, and looked over her shoulder at Lyra through half closed lids. “Heartstrings.” “Yes?” “I don't know what you're smoking, but I want some of it.” Lyra blinked. “Huh?” “There is a pony in there that I've never seen before, and her choice of mane-style is certainly original, but she's hardly an alien.” “But- but-!” Lyra pushed Bonbon out from in front of the window and peered inside again. Just as Bonbon had said, there was no alien. And also as she'd said, there was a pony she'd never seen before. Funny thing was, the pony was standing in the same place the alien had, and it had the same color fur as well. Magic, maybe? An illusion? Author's Note This chapter was written almost solely by WorldWalker128 , who requested to help write it way back when. Speaking of, as you can see, this story is not dead. Dan's been laying the pony references in pretty thick lately, so it's clear that he's a diehard brony. I decided I should finish this up, then see if I can get him to read it. I really wanna see how he reacts ^ ^. What this means is that, yes, I am pulling this story out of hiatus, and you may see some updates as I slip between stories in an effort to evade the persistence of writer's block. Couches and Stairs*THWUMP* A wisp of smoke hung in the air where Grace had stood a moment ago. It lingered a moment, then dissipated, leaving a very startled Tedd Verres catching flies with his mouth… at something completely unrelated to Grace’s unexplained disappearance. Tedd turned to find his friend Elliot plastered face down onto his basement floor. Even more odd, however, than Elliot tripping down the stairs, was the sudden and severe lack of any staircase at all. “Um, Tedd? Should I be watching where I step?” Elliot asked, picking himself up off the floor. Tedd's mouth closed for a moment, then opened to speak. “Um... maybe, but not for the reason you're thinking.” “O… kay?” Elliot raised an eyebrow, meanwhile rubbing his new bruises. Tedd threw his hands up in the air. “All I know is Grace and I were designing and loading a new form into the TG gun! Do you remember Akiko’s birthday party?” Elliot frowned. “Nanase’s little sister?” “Yes,” Tedd replied, straightening his glasses and walking over to the missing staircase. “She turned eight a few weeks ago and I designed a pony form for Grace as a gift for her.” “Wait, how is that a gift for Akiko?” Elliot asked. “Oh, it’s actually pretty simple. Akiko likes some show called My Little Pony, so Nanase asked if Grace could change into a pony for her party. I didn’t see the harm, and Grace thought it sounded fun, so we loaded one up.” “Uh-huh,” elliot nodded, joining Tedd by the missing staircase and staring up at the open doorway near the ceiling. “It didn’t come with the ability to make stairs appear magically out of nowhere, did it?” “No, it just had a horn. We weren’t sure why but Nanase said it fit better with Grace’s telekinetic abilities. Apparently the horned ones have telekinesis.” “So, which one were you testing out now?” Elliot asked, still staring up at the living room ceiling. “Oh, that. Turns out some of the My Little Ponies have wings, and can fly. We wanted to see if we could incorporate it into the already existing form. We were just about to load it when you… fell… in. Speaking of which, where in blazes are the stairs to the upstairs?!” Elliot tapped Tedd on the shoulder, then pointed to the opposite end of the room. “Um, Tedd. You said Grace was down here helping you, right?” Tedd blinked, then grinned triumphantly at Elliot “Yes, brilliant. we can shoot grace with the winged form and fly out of here. And then figure out where my basement stairs went. Elliot shook his head. “No, Tedd. Forget the stairs. Where’s Grace?” Tedd finally turned to inspect the room behind him, and found nothing but his computer in the otherwise empty basement. “For that matter,” Tedd added, scratching his head. “Where’s my couch?” ~ ~ ~ “Luna I already told you, I don’t know where the couch came from.” Both Princesses rounded the corner from the main atrium toward Princess Luna’s personal chambers. “A student from the university was probably practicing a teleportation spell. Let’s just return it and get on with—” Princess Luna shook her head. “Sister, this has nothing to do with the couch—which I fully intend to keep, by the way; it’s quite comfortable. No, there is a wooden stair leading up from the summit of the Lunar Tower. They have been found to lead nowhere, though we have tried opening the door at the top. We thought perhaps it might contain a portal to some other realm.” Princess Celestia rubbed her head. “Well, let’s just leave it for now. It isn’t in the way is it?” “Neigh, but we sought your counsel hoping you might know where it came from.” “No, Luna, I don’t, but let’s keep an eye on it. Quiver?” Princess Celestia turned toward Quiver, who had just returned from escorting the squirrel-pony to the train station. He looked up upon mention of his name, ready for orders. “Yes, Princess?” “Head up to the Lunar Tower, you should find a wooden staircase there. Monitor it and report to me if it does anything strange.” She turned and followed Princess Luna toward her chambers. Quiver promptly saluted and waited until the Princesses had disappeared around the next bend before heading off to follow Celestia’s orders. The Lunar Tower was just across the main courtyard, up through the library. He took a few slow steps and looked around as he entered the quiet, empty hall of books. Quiver never got to tour this part of the castle, except when Celestia would visit Twilight Sparkle in here. He’d won some kind of lottery getting assigned to Princess Celestia’s personal guard, and rarely left her side other than small fetching assignments like this one. Come to think of it, Celestia had really never sent him anywhere beyond a hundred yards of her before now. How odd. Still, it was nice to be able to visit the Lunar tower. Quiver could always just fly up there himself, but it was off limits to all but the Lunar Guard and Princess Luna herself. He had to admit, curiosity had itched at him many a time, but at last all his patience had paid off. Quiver exited the library on the upper level, through a large oak door with a midnight blue crescent emblazoned on it. Oh, who forgot to light the torches? A deep blackness beckoned to him beyond the oaken door. Quiver made a mental note to inform Princess Luna that one of her guards had forgotten to light the torches to the Lunar Tower as he stepped inside. The steps looked like ordinary stone. Odd. The steps to the Celestial Tower shone from within, as though they were all miniature suns, and the walls were every color of the sunrise. As Quiver stepped up onto the first gray stone step, the large oak door shut itself behind him, enveloping him in pitch black. Then, as his hoof touched, the stone lit up, glowing a gentle white and illuminating the walls around him. Huh, nifty spell. It only took him a few moments to grow accustomed to the strange glow effect of the stairs, and then he noticed another magical phenomenon. The walls were designed to sparkle—no, they twinkled, lit by thousands of little specks of light littered across the circular walls of the long spiraling stair. But never directly next to him; only ever across, up or down. It was as though he was the moon, lighting up the night sky. Lunar Tower. Clever. Eventually he reached the top of the staircase, and opened the door out onto a small balcony, where he was met with another staircase. “Oh come on! Who puts a staircase at the top of—” He stopped, just noticing that the staircase was wood, and clashed horribly with the surrounding architecture. It turned toward the roof of the tower, which was too steep to stand on anyway, and had a pink door at the top. He trotted slowly up the stairs, wincing as the seventh one creaked loudly. Finally he reached the top, and gave the door a nudge. It swung open easily, but didn’t appear to lead anywhere other than onto the roof of the tower. How odd. After flying around and examining the staircase from every angle he could think of, Quiver grew bored and looked down over the castle below. Looking through the moon window, he could see the Two Princesses entering Luna’s bedroom chamber. Heh, they must be in for another night of fun, He thought to himself. As one of Princess Celestia’s personal guard, Quiver was often given the assignment of watching the door to Celestia’s private chambers while her sister was over. The doors to the outer chamber were soundproof, but the inner doors weren’t, and Quiver was usually stationed near the inner door. Quiver chuckled to himself as he watched Princess Celestia tackle Princess Luna to the ground, the latter having been immobilized by magic. Oh the secrets you could enjoy as a guard. Of course, he wouldn’t be on the Princess’s personal guard if he wasn’t ever so vigilant even with such distractions. He turned back to the staircase he was meant to guard and kept a close watch on it, not that he expected it to do much. Such an odd assignment, guarding a staircase that led to nowhere. Author's Note As promised, here is another chapter to this strange tale. I am working diligently for once, and am quite happy with the progress. Expect more soon.
IntroductionsShe was hurtling through a vortex of electricity and light. It was not an unfamiliar feeling, but it carried the same sense of disorientation as it always had. The lightning prickled at her fur, making her giggle as the tunnel opened up and deposited her at her destination. “Ooh, tingly.” She rubbed her antennae as the static electricity crackled around them, before turning to address her tail as well, waving it around as she twirled in place. She had always enjoyed this form—something about it felt more connected to her roots. Looking around, she found herself to be in a courtyard, adjacent to a castle. “Halt! Who goes there?!” Grace turned to see a winged white horse in gold-plated armor galloping over to her. “Oh, hello Mr. Pegasus Horse, sir. My name’s Grace and—” “Who are you, and what are you doing in the Canterlot Gardens?” “Well, my name’s Grace, and...” Grace scratched her head for a moment and gazed upward. “Well, I’m not really sure what I’m doing here. I don’t even know where this ‘Canterlot’ place is. Where exactly are we?” she asked, turning back to the guard. “You are in the royal courtyard, just outside of Canterlot Castle.” Grace’s eyes became all sparkly and her mouth opened wide in a big smile. “A castle! You mean, like, for a princess? Oh this is so cool. Where is she?” The guard motioned to his right. “She’s right over—Wait, hey! No, I’m not letting you see the princess!” His eyes narrowed as he turned back toward her. Grace's smile vanished, her lips drawing tightly together as she leaned away from the horse's accusing glare. “What are you, exactly?" the horse said. "Clearly you are not equine." Grace's smile returned at the mention of her appearance. “Ooh, would you like me to look like a horse? I could do that.” The horse became even paler. “I—What?!” Her antennae melting back into the rest of her head, Grace began to morph into a horse. Her bushy tail from earlier returned, and her hands and feet became hooves at the end of far more horse-like legs. Dropping onto all fours, she addressed pegasus, mare to stallion. “Hi.” “What in Celestia’s mane are you?” he exclaimed, shivering as beads of sweat rolled down the side of his face. Grace looked up, as if trying to see the fuzzy brown horn now protruding from her forehead. “Well, technically, I’m what’s called a seyunolu.” “And just what in the hay is that?” The pegasus took a step backward. “Just a human–uryuom hybrid, with some lespuko DNA mixed in as well.” Grace squeed. “What the buck is a uryuom?!” The pegasus was now slowly retreating. “Shapeshifters.” Grace shrugged. “And t-the les—whatever thingy?” His voice faltered as his wings proceeded to pin themselves to his side. Grace put a hoof to her chin. “The lespuko? A super powerful alien race with incredible magical abilities.” The white winged horse froze. “I— you—” He tried to give her a stern look, but Grace could hear his armor rattling as he stood there. Whatever he had been trying to say, however, was silenced by the appearance of an even larger and much more majestic-looking pegasus. Upon closer inspection, Grace noticed that this one was also a unicorn. "Quiver, what's going on over here?" said the large white unicorn pegasus, with a soft but firm voice. The guard still nearly jumped out of his fur. "Wha—oh, it’s you, princess.” He gathered himself to gether and stood up taller. “We have an intruder, Your Highness," the guard tried again. "This—this creature just appeared out of nowhere and asked to see you. It could be dangerous, Princess. We should send it away." The taller one eyed Grace for a moment, before looking back to the guard. "No, that's quite alright, Quiver. I'm actually very interested to learn how she got here." "But, Your Majesty—" "It's alright, Quiver. I think I'll be perfectly fine. I am Princess Celestia after all, am I not?" She stared at the guard for a moment. "Of—of course, Princess," Quiver replied, stuttering a little. Celestia turned to Grace, then nodded her head in the other direction, and followed the motion with one of her wings."Why don't you tell us, Miss... " "Grace!" Grace answered. "Miss Grace." The unicorn nodded, and began walking toward the castle. ~ ~ ~ “So then he shot me with the gun, and that’s how I ended up here.” Celestia turned to look at the guard. He lifted his wings momentarily in response, and she returned her gaze to the dark brown unicorn standing next to him. “And, what is your name again?” “Um, Grace, your majesty,” the unicorn replied, scratching at one of her hooves with the other. “And you are a... what, exactly?” “A seyunolu. I’m a human-lespuko hybrid.” The unicorn’s mane then sprouted two very thick tufts of hair, which she proceeded to wave around like antennae. “See?” “I do.” Celestia smiled. “Oh, and, um... squirrel, your majesty,” Grace added. “Squirrel?!” the guard exclaimed. Celestia ignored him. “Well, Grace, there’s really no need to be so formal. You can just call me Tia, if you’d like,” she added, walking over to where Grace stood. Grace laughed. “Do you drink a lot of it?” Tia blinked. “I’m... sorry?” “Tea,” Grace replied. “You asked me to call you ‘Tea’. You must drink it a lot if everyone calls you that.” Celestia thought about it for a moment, then let out a chuckle. “You know, I think I might know somepony you would get along with very well. You said you were stuck here, and you don’t know how to get home?” she asked, walking over to her balcony. “That’s correct, Tia,” Grace replied, nodding fervently. “Excellent,” replied Celestia, turning back toward Grace. “Quiver, see Grace to the train, please. Next stop: Ponyville.” “Of—of course, your majesty,” the guard replied with a quick salute, before turning on his hoof and exiting the room. When they were gone, Celestia let out the breath she’d been holding. “Whew, at last. I thought I’d never get them out of here.” She trotted back up toward her throne and knelt down. “Thank goodness she has no clue who I am. And a lespuko, no less.” She rubbed her head with her hoof, before lying down to take a rest. “Oh well, she’s out of my hair now.” She laid her head down and closed her eyes. “Tia!” a familiar voice called from just around the corner. Oh, no. She had forgotten. “Sister, we seek your counsel at once.” Luna.
Dragons and UnicornsWhen the train came to a complete stop, the conductor returned and gestured to Grace. “Miss, this is your stop. The princess has arranged for you to stay with somepony here in Ponyville.” Grace looked up from her seat. “Aww, we’re here already? I’m in the middle of a really fun game.” “Oh, that’s quite alright,” said the pony sitting across from her. “I think you beat me again anyway.” A small, yellow unicorn with glasses began levitating a set of colored figurines from the checkered board between them, into a box beside him. “I must say: It’s been a while since I met somepony who could give me enough of a challenge for it to be enjoyable, let alone beat me three times over.” “Aww, it was nothing, really,” Grace replied. “I just used to play this game a lot with my boyfriend back home. He’s really bad at it too, so don’t feel bad.” “Uh, huh.” The unicorn reached up and wiped a few beads of sweat from his forehead. Grace turned and trotted happily over to the conductor. He led her out onto the platform, whereupon she was flattened by something with thick, pink hair. “Hi!” it said, climbing off of her. Grace looked up to see a small horse standing over her, but this one was bright pink, with even pinker curly hair. “I’m Pinkie Pie! You must be Grace. Twilight said you were coming but I didn’t think you would get here so soon, but I couldn’t miss you on the train so I came straight here to wait for you, and it’s a good thing I did because it’s only been an hour and you’re already here! I barely even had enough time to set up the party decorations and mail out the invitations!” Grace’s eyes became super large, as well as shiny, and sparkly. “Hi, Pinkie Pie! Yes, my name’s Grace. I can’t wait to meet Twilight and the other girls. Thanks for coming to meet me at the train. This is so cool!” Pinkie climbed off of her long enough to be glomped in return. “And it’s so cool that you’re throwing me a party! YEEEEE!” She Squeezed Pinkie Pie almost as tight as she’d ever hugged her boyfriend Tedd, but Pinkie Pie didn’t squirm. She returned the hug with equal tightness, wrapping her seemingly elastic appendages several times around the two of them. “THIS IS GONNA BE SO MUCH FUN!” the two of them exclaimed together. Grace laughed. “You’re way more fun than my friend Sarah back home. I can’t wait to play blast the turtle with you!” Pinkie Pie frowned. “Why would you want to hurt a poor innocent turtle.” Grace laughed. “Oh, don’t worry. It’s not a real turtle. I would never hurt my little woodland friends.” Sparkly eyes again. Pinkie laughed and began hopping up and down in place. “Hee hee, you sound just like Fluttershy.” “Fluttershy, who’s that?” Pinkie continued jumping up and down for a moment. “Oh, you’re going to love her. I hear she’s letting you stay in her cottage. That’s gonna be so cool, there’s all sorts of little critters and birdies that hang out there. But first we’ve gotta get you to this party!” She grabbed Grace’s hoof and the pair sped off toward the library. ~ ~ ~ “And then we’re gonna play pin the tail on the pony...” “Pinkie.” “And throw confetti and streamers...” “Pinkie!” “And eat cake and candy and drink punch and sasparilla...” “PINKIE!” Pinkie’s rant ceased immediately. “Yes, Twilight?” Pinkie Pie stopped bouncing, and began to blink her eyes rapidly. “You still haven’t told me who your friend is.” Twilight turned toward The unicorn Pinkie had brought with her. “I’m sorry, Miss. Pinkie gets a little overexcited sometimes. Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Twilight Sparkle.” “Twilight!” Pinkie’s friend then tackle-glomped Twilight. “Pinkie mentioned you on the way over. I’m Grace. You’re the town librarian, right? And you live in this tree with a dragon named Spike who has a crush on you for some reason.” Twilight stared, open mouthed, at Grace. “Huh?” “Was I right?” Grace asked. Twilight—whose face had suddenly turned pale green and begun to sweat—turned to Pinkie. “Why did you tell her Spike has a crush on me? I didn’t even know that.” “Know what?” They all turned to see Spike walk through a door underneath the staircase, carrying a small stack of books. “That apparently you have a crush on me?” Twilight stepped forward with a questioning look. “What?! No!” Spike dropped the books he was carrying as he stepped back, gagging once or twice. “Why would you think that, Twilight? I mean, come on, you’re almost like my big sister or something. Besides”—He motioned for her to move closer and whispered in her ear—“I like Rarity, remember?” Twilight stepped back, her eyes wide as her entire face began to turn red. “Wait, but then... Pinkie!” Twilight turned to Pinkie, eyes narrowed. “Why did you tell Grace that Spike has a crush on me?!” “I didn’t tell Grace Spike has a crush on you,” Pinkie replied, appearing as shocked as Twilight did. “Oh, I guess that’s my fault, sorry.” They all turned toward Grace, who was still standing in the middle of the room where they’d left her, and now wearing a very guilty-looking smile. She sat back on her hind legs, tapping her front hooves together in front of her. “Akiko said there was a dragon named Spike who was in love with a unicorn. I guess I kinda assumed she meant you.” With nothing left to say, Grace let out what could only be described as an adorable squeak. There was a long awkward silence, during which Pinkie scurried out the door, mumbling something about party preparations. Finally, Spike said something. “Who’s Akiko?” (convenient scene break) “So, let me see if I got this.” Twilight paced back and forth in front of Grace, who stood next to Pinkie and Spike in the middle of the library “You’re not a pony; you’re a part human, part”—she paused, trying to remember the word—“lespuko?” Grace nodded, so she went on. “Part lespuko, and part... sayoonowloo?” “Actually, I’m not part seyunolu, it’s what I am. Seyunolu just means ‘greater chimaera’. I’m a mix of human, lespuko, and squirrel.” “Uhuh. And what exactly are you doing in Equestria, again?” Twilight scribbled something on the scroll on her desk, taking notes on Grace’s story. “Well, I don’t really know. Tedd just said he was trying out a new form on his TG ray gun, and he wanted me to research its abilities. Something about”—Grace rubbed her head with her hoof—“teleportation?” Twilight zapped herself directly in front of Grace, grinning wide at the thought of a fellow jumper. “Teleportation?” Grace leaned back a bit, letting out a small “meep!” Twilight stepped back, her face relaxing a bit. “Sorry. Teleportation has always been one of my favorite abilities. It’s actually quite rare for someone to learn it. So, do you know how to teleport?” she asked, warping back to her desk with another pop. “Actually, no,” Grace called from across the room. “Tedd had only just shot me with the gun when I got sucked into this weird vortex portal thing. I ended up in some courtyard somewhere and met a very grumpy guard. After that, Princess Tia sent me here to Ponyville.” “Mhmm.” Twilight nodded, trotting back over to where Grace stood. That matched up with the letter she’d received from Celestia. “Well, given your lack of a cutie mark, that story almost makes sense, but it still doesn’t explain why you look like a pony if you aren’t one.” Twilight stopped, turning on her hoof to face Grace. “Oh, that’s easy. The guard was freaking out, so I turned into my pony form to fit in. Do you like it?” Grace turned around in poses, showing off her hurry pony form. “Ooh! Ooh! what else can you turn into?” Pinkie Pie burst out next to her. “A dragon? Maybe a lollipop? Oh, I know! you’re a werefrog, right?” Grace’s eyebrows grew closer together and her mouth pressed into a tight loop as she stared at Pinkie Pie. “Actually, I can only turn into forms I’ve logged with the TG gun, but I can do this.” She reared back onto her hind legs, which lengthened, and grew paw-like feet with fur and claws while the knees reversed themselves. The same thing happened to her front legs, and her tail grew thick and bushy. Her horn dissolved into her head, which was now covered in thick brown fur, and she stood erect on her hind legs without visible effort, indicating that this form normally stood that way. Pinkie Pie squinted her eyes for a moment, before bursting out. “She looks like a giant squirrel!” “Squirrel?” a soft voice called. Twilight looked up, as the others turned around, to see Fluttershy standing in the doorway.
AliensGrace turned to see a yellow pegasus mare standing in the doorway. She wore a blank expression, and scanned the room. For a few moments, nopony said anything. Then, as her eyes found Grace, the pegasus blinked a few times, her eyes growing wider with each blink, then “Oh, wow!” the pegasus exclaimed in an excited tone. Using both her wings and legs she darted forward, bumping Twilight out of the way. Then she began—as though she had not just knocked her aside like a bowling pin—asking where Twilight had found Grace . Pinkie and Grace winced as poor Twilight landed head-first on a pile of books, causing them to scatter from their semi-neat piling into full-mess mode. Twilight popped up with her eyes rolling in her sockets and a book speared on her horn. She seemed not to notice the book for the moment and she pushed herself to her hooves, swaying a little. Twilight shook her head to clear it and then frowned at the newcomer, who was still examining Grace, from her over-sized fuzzy paws to her bushy tail. Grace was smiling just as enthusiastically, and she grabbed the excited pony in her paws and pulled her close, rubbing her fuzzy head against the newcomer’s pink mane, and prodding with her antennae.d she grabbed the excited pony in her paws and pulled her close, rubbing her fuzzy head against the newcomer’s pink mane. “Hi!” Grace chuckled. “Nice to meet you.” The pegasus gasped loud, and pressed against Grace’s chest with her soft hooves. Grace let her go and she stumbled backward. “It can talk. Oh, my. I’ve never met an animal that could speak equine before.” The yellow pegasus stood and gazed at Grace through glossy—and very sparkly—eyes, her mouth hanging loosely. “Ugh, she’s not an animal, you idiot,” A gruff voice called from somewhere behind the yellow pegasus. “Clearly she’s a pony who’s been morphed into a giant squirrel form by Twilight. I mean, come on!” The pegasus turned toward a small white rabbit beside her that Grace hadn’t noticed before. “What’s that, Angelbunny?” the pegasus asked. “You say she’s really a pony?” “Actually, yeah,” Grace replied, reverting back to her pony form. The yellow pegasus’s eyes went wide, while ‘Angelbunny’ just rolled his. Grace then looked down at Angelbunny. “Although, I designed this form myself. Twilight didn’t do anything to me.” “You can understand me?!” Angelbunny and the yellow pegasus exclaimed simultaneously. “You can understand him?!”Angelbunny and the yellow pegasus exclaimed simultaneously. Even Angelbunny’s eyes were as wide as they would go. Twilight, Spike and Pinkie Pie all joined the chorus after that. Apparently, it wasn’t common in to be able to communicate with animals this world either. “Well, yeah. I’ve always been able to communicate with animals,” Grace said, shrugging. “Oh,” The yellow pegasus replied. “I thought I was the only one.” She had collapsed onto the ground, shaking slightly. Her eyes were avoiding Grace’s gaze, although her mane blocked most of her face anyway. Grace walked up to her, slowly. “Well, I am part squirrel.” The shivering stopped. The yellow pegasus looked up at her. “Squirrel?” Grace smiled, closing her eyes for a moment. “Yup. Name’s Grace.” She extended a hoof. “Oh, um... Fluttershy,” the yellow pegasus cooed in such a soft voice that Grace could barely hear her. Grace’s eye’s got big and sparkly again, and her mouth opened wide. “Fluttershy?! Oh, my gosh. It’s so great to meet you.Pinkie said you’d be so fun to meet. I can’t wait to see your other little woodland friends too.” She grabbed Fluttershy and hugged her again, almost as tightly as she had Pinkie Pie earlier. Fluttershy, however, seemed to go limp in her would be arms. At this point, Twilight stepped in. “I guess I forgot to mention when you walked in, Fluttershy. This is Grace, she’s the pony who’ll be staying with you until we can find a way to send her back to her world. ~ ~ ~ While Twilight and gang were familiarizing themselves with the accidentally-interdimensional traveler, one nosy mint-green Unicorn was watching and from a window. She had known there was something odd about this newcomer from the second she'd seen her, but she didn't know what it was. This 'Grace' seemed like a normal enough Unicorn at first glance, but upon a second, the window-watcher discovered something about the newcomer's shadow: it did not match her body. For some reason, even when this 'Grace' was walking on all fours, her shadow strode along with her in a similar fashion to a minotaur. Grace's shadow's back hooves connected together, but her fore-hoofs did not. In fact, they did not look like hoofs at all, and the rest of the shadow-body walked upright, also like a minotaur. The main difference between a minotaur and this shadow, though, was that the head lacked horns, and possessed a mane on its head. The rear hoofs were also much larger than those of any creature she'd seen, and lastly, it seemed to be wearing ,garments, which Grace was not. “What are you, stranger?” she murmured. “Your shadow is familiar, but—” Just then, Grace transformed into her regular form, and the window-watcher's eyes grew very wide. Her shadow now fit her body, and her body was very similar to something she'd seen in a book from her 'History of Mythology' class back when she was still a foal. “No. Way.” Her body wasn't the same as the drawings in the book because of the giant bushy tail, as well as the ears being the wrong shape and she was covered in fur, but it was close. Perhaps the myth had gotten the form wrong? Whatever the reason, this was something she needed to investigate, and the best way to do that was— “Lyra, what are you doing?” “GYAH!” Lyra nearly jumped out of her skin, tripping over her hooves as she struggled for balance. She collapsed on the ground, gasping for breath. Her room mate, Bon Bon, stood behind her, wearing a quizzical look on her face. Lyra gathered herself up, and trotted quickly in place. “Bonbon, you're not going to believe this, but Twilight's got a real live alien in the library!” Bonbon raised an eyebrow. “An alien.” Bonbon stated, skeptically. “Yes!” Lyra squeaked, nodding rapidly. “In Twilight Sparkle's library.” “Yes!” “Twilight Sparkle has an alien in her library.” “YES! Just look!” Lyra insisted, waving a hoof at her and motioning at the window. “It looks like one of those Anthro-things back in mythology class! This one looks like a squirrel! Take a peek!” She indicated the set of binoculars she had mounted in front of the shades. Bonbon rolled her eyes and walked toward the window. Looking through the binoculars, she saw Twilight, Fluttershy, and Pinkie Pie standing inside around another pony. She was unfamiliar to Bonbon, and had a brown coat with very large bangs on her mane, but was otherwise unremarkable, and certainly not an alien. Bonbon sighed, and looked over her shoulder at Lyra through half closed lids. “Heartstrings.” “Yes?” “I don't know what you're smoking, but I want some of it.” Lyra blinked. “Huh?” “There is a pony in there that I've never seen before, and her choice of mane-style is certainly original, but she's hardly an alien.” “But- but-!” Lyra pushed Bonbon out from in front of the window and peered inside again. Just as Bonbon had said, there was no alien. And also as she'd said, there was a pony she'd never seen before. Funny thing was, the pony was standing in the same place the alien had, and it had the same color fur as well. Magic, maybe? An illusion? Author's Note This chapter was written almost solely by WorldWalker128 , who requested to help write it way back when. Speaking of, as you can see, this story is not dead. Dan's been laying the pony references in pretty thick lately, so it's clear that he's a diehard brony. I decided I should finish this up, then see if I can get him to read it. I really wanna see how he reacts ^ ^. What this means is that, yes, I am pulling this story out of hiatus, and you may see some updates as I slip between stories in an effort to evade the persistence of writer's block.
Couches and Stairs*THWUMP* A wisp of smoke hung in the air where Grace had stood a moment ago. It lingered a moment, then dissipated, leaving a very startled Tedd Verres catching flies with his mouth… at something completely unrelated to Grace’s unexplained disappearance. Tedd turned to find his friend Elliot plastered face down onto his basement floor. Even more odd, however, than Elliot tripping down the stairs, was the sudden and severe lack of any staircase at all. “Um, Tedd? Should I be watching where I step?” Elliot asked, picking himself up off the floor. Tedd's mouth closed for a moment, then opened to speak. “Um... maybe, but not for the reason you're thinking.” “O… kay?” Elliot raised an eyebrow, meanwhile rubbing his new bruises. Tedd threw his hands up in the air. “All I know is Grace and I were designing and loading a new form into the TG gun! Do you remember Akiko’s birthday party?” Elliot frowned. “Nanase’s little sister?” “Yes,” Tedd replied, straightening his glasses and walking over to the missing staircase. “She turned eight a few weeks ago and I designed a pony form for Grace as a gift for her.” “Wait, how is that a gift for Akiko?” Elliot asked. “Oh, it’s actually pretty simple. Akiko likes some show called My Little Pony, so Nanase asked if Grace could change into a pony for her party. I didn’t see the harm, and Grace thought it sounded fun, so we loaded one up.” “Uh-huh,” elliot nodded, joining Tedd by the missing staircase and staring up at the open doorway near the ceiling. “It didn’t come with the ability to make stairs appear magically out of nowhere, did it?” “No, it just had a horn. We weren’t sure why but Nanase said it fit better with Grace’s telekinetic abilities. Apparently the horned ones have telekinesis.” “So, which one were you testing out now?” Elliot asked, still staring up at the living room ceiling. “Oh, that. Turns out some of the My Little Ponies have wings, and can fly. We wanted to see if we could incorporate it into the already existing form. We were just about to load it when you… fell… in. Speaking of which, where in blazes are the stairs to the upstairs?!” Elliot tapped Tedd on the shoulder, then pointed to the opposite end of the room. “Um, Tedd. You said Grace was down here helping you, right?” Tedd blinked, then grinned triumphantly at Elliot “Yes, brilliant. we can shoot grace with the winged form and fly out of here. And then figure out where my basement stairs went. Elliot shook his head. “No, Tedd. Forget the stairs. Where’s Grace?” Tedd finally turned to inspect the room behind him, and found nothing but his computer in the otherwise empty basement. “For that matter,” Tedd added, scratching his head. “Where’s my couch?” ~ ~ ~ “Luna I already told you, I don’t know where the couch came from.” Both Princesses rounded the corner from the main atrium toward Princess Luna’s personal chambers. “A student from the university was probably practicing a teleportation spell. Let’s just return it and get on with—” Princess Luna shook her head. “Sister, this has nothing to do with the couch—which I fully intend to keep, by the way; it’s quite comfortable. No, there is a wooden stair leading up from the summit of the Lunar Tower. They have been found to lead nowhere, though we have tried opening the door at the top. We thought perhaps it might contain a portal to some other realm.” Princess Celestia rubbed her head. “Well, let’s just leave it for now. It isn’t in the way is it?” “Neigh, but we sought your counsel hoping you might know where it came from.” “No, Luna, I don’t, but let’s keep an eye on it. Quiver?” Princess Celestia turned toward Quiver, who had just returned from escorting the squirrel-pony to the train station. He looked up upon mention of his name, ready for orders. “Yes, Princess?” “Head up to the Lunar Tower, you should find a wooden staircase there. Monitor it and report to me if it does anything strange.” She turned and followed Princess Luna toward her chambers. Quiver promptly saluted and waited until the Princesses had disappeared around the next bend before heading off to follow Celestia’s orders. The Lunar Tower was just across the main courtyard, up through the library. He took a few slow steps and looked around as he entered the quiet, empty hall of books. Quiver never got to tour this part of the castle, except when Celestia would visit Twilight Sparkle in here. He’d won some kind of lottery getting assigned to Princess Celestia’s personal guard, and rarely left her side other than small fetching assignments like this one. Come to think of it, Celestia had really never sent him anywhere beyond a hundred yards of her before now. How odd. Still, it was nice to be able to visit the Lunar tower. Quiver could always just fly up there himself, but it was off limits to all but the Lunar Guard and Princess Luna herself. He had to admit, curiosity had itched at him many a time, but at last all his patience had paid off. Quiver exited the library on the upper level, through a large oak door with a midnight blue crescent emblazoned on it. Oh, who forgot to light the torches? A deep blackness beckoned to him beyond the oaken door. Quiver made a mental note to inform Princess Luna that one of her guards had forgotten to light the torches to the Lunar Tower as he stepped inside. The steps looked like ordinary stone. Odd. The steps to the Celestial Tower shone from within, as though they were all miniature suns, and the walls were every color of the sunrise. As Quiver stepped up onto the first gray stone step, the large oak door shut itself behind him, enveloping him in pitch black. Then, as his hoof touched, the stone lit up, glowing a gentle white and illuminating the walls around him. Huh, nifty spell. It only took him a few moments to grow accustomed to the strange glow effect of the stairs, and then he noticed another magical phenomenon. The walls were designed to sparkle—no, they twinkled, lit by thousands of little specks of light littered across the circular walls of the long spiraling stair. But never directly next to him; only ever across, up or down. It was as though he was the moon, lighting up the night sky. Lunar Tower. Clever. Eventually he reached the top of the staircase, and opened the door out onto a small balcony, where he was met with another staircase. “Oh come on! Who puts a staircase at the top of—” He stopped, just noticing that the staircase was wood, and clashed horribly with the surrounding architecture. It turned toward the roof of the tower, which was too steep to stand on anyway, and had a pink door at the top. He trotted slowly up the stairs, wincing as the seventh one creaked loudly. Finally he reached the top, and gave the door a nudge. It swung open easily, but didn’t appear to lead anywhere other than onto the roof of the tower. How odd. After flying around and examining the staircase from every angle he could think of, Quiver grew bored and looked down over the castle below. Looking through the moon window, he could see the Two Princesses entering Luna’s bedroom chamber. Heh, they must be in for another night of fun, He thought to himself. As one of Princess Celestia’s personal guard, Quiver was often given the assignment of watching the door to Celestia’s private chambers while her sister was over. The doors to the outer chamber were soundproof, but the inner doors weren’t, and Quiver was usually stationed near the inner door. Quiver chuckled to himself as he watched Princess Celestia tackle Princess Luna to the ground, the latter having been immobilized by magic. Oh the secrets you could enjoy as a guard. Of course, he wouldn’t be on the Princess’s personal guard if he wasn’t ever so vigilant even with such distractions. He turned back to the staircase he was meant to guard and kept a close watch on it, not that he expected it to do much. Such an odd assignment, guarding a staircase that led to nowhere. Author's Note As promised, here is another chapter to this strange tale. I am working diligently for once, and am quite happy with the progress. Expect more soon.
