Princess Celestia sat on her lofty throne with a stack of papers to her right, looking troubled as she read through them. There were a few she put off to the side; the ones that unnerved her the most.
She sighed and leaned back, her eyes trailing toward the smaller stack. "So much for peaceful times," she muttered sullenly, placing a hoof against her cheek.
"Your Majesty," said a mare with a white coat, dark brown mane, and glasses. "Is something the matter?"
Celestia shook her head, trying to shake the concern that clung to her. "Everything is fine, Raven," she replied. She sounded tired and slightly stressed. "I just have a lot on my mind."
Raven stepped close and placed her hoof on Celestia's. "I am one of your best aides; perhaps I could help alleviate your concerns?" she suggested, her light brown eyes, though usually hard and sharp, were soft and bright.
With a glow of her horn, Celestia levitated one of the papers she put off to the side into the hooves of her friend. She watched Raven's eyes slowly grow as the earth pony read the paper.
She glanced worryingly to Celestia and then back at the paper. "There are.... are reports of low rumblings; tremors," Raven Inkwell said uneasily, confused. "Appleloosa, Trottingham, Stallinggrad, Manehattan, and some parts of Western Equestria have been sending reports. What in the name of Aeternia is going on?"
"I don't know," Celestia murmured, rubbing her head with a hoof. "These came in a few days before the meteor shower. I do not know why these small tremors are happening, but if they continue on, they'll turn into earthquakes."
"Does Princess Luna know?"
Celestia nodded. "She's been wanting to investigate why they are happening," she told her aide, sitting up straight. "During the arrival of Alex and his guardian, she's taken command of the Shadow Troop to go out and investigate some of the cities and towns. I'll know more information in a week or two."
"Could it be tied to what Alex had told you?" Raven asked, sounding tense. "About our universe?"
Celestia shook her head firmly. "With Alex and his wayward sister here, our existence is safe; I have full faith and trust in his words. This is something else entirely, it has to be," she said darkly. "I refuse to believe that the tremors are natural occurrences, there's too much overlap with the locations affected."
"What are you thinking?"
Celestia gazed down at her friend. "I'm not sure," she answered. "Right now, it seems that there's nothing to worry about, but I would like to be cautious. Bay Banks and the rest of his troop will return with what they found, and judging by what any of them bring is when I'll start thinking."
The day shone bright in the tepid, cloudless sky, and the freshly wetted grass filled the warm air with a sweetly pleasant scent. It was quiet, aside from birds chirping off in the distance and the wind making the tassels of the grass sway rhythmically in the breeze. Indeed, the day promised good tidings.
Alex was sitting on the grass a few hoofsteps away from his newly acquired house graciously bestowed to him by Celestia and Luna. He held a journal and pen covered in his glistening white magic, given to him by Twilight. He was writing about his learnings of magic from the two sisters.
He was quite enthralled with the possibilities magic presented, absorbing every scrap of detail his new friends elucidated. Before his friends had to return home, he was briefly given magic lessons, and practiced and learned: the levitation spell, the conjuration spell, and the barrier spell.
In just under thirty minutes, Alex had shown great focus and magical control; he was a natural, and he had strong magic potential. Impressed, Celestia had summoned a book from the royal library he could read to begin more beginner-level magic all the way up to advanced magic; like self-levitation, permeation, and teleportation, but she advised Alex in practicing the spells he learned first, and he agreed.
When Luna had asked him if he wanted to learn any offensive magic, he had refused. He was only interested in spells that can aid oneself and others, foregoing any spells that were designed to harm.
Two days had passed since he came to Equestria, arriving on a meteor with his guardian, Nerissa. Alex was given numerous books detailing Equestrian history and some of the history from outside Equestria by Twilight Sparkle, and he balanced studying the material with his magic practice. So far, everything was going smoothly.
"Master," called a voice. Alex turned and saw Nerissa trotting up to him with Twilight Sparkle and a new pony, who looked meek and unsure. "We have tress...visitors. I found them traipsing along the pathway and intercepted them."
Alex closed his journal and laid his pen down before getting up. Whenever he was resting outside the confines of his tower in Dawn, Nerissa would patrol the area around him to ensure there was nothing that could threaten his life, no matter how many times he'd say that he's safe. He found it curious that Nerissa spoke of the two ponies as if they were intruders invading his territory.
He trotted up to the three ponies and gazed down quietly at Twilight, who was waving excitedly, and the new pony. It was a yellow mare with glistening blue eyes, short wings, and a long pink mane and tail. On her flanks had a set of differently colored creatures Alex learned were called butterflies.
He craned his neck down at his visitors. "Welcome," he said, sounding pleased. "It is good to see you again, Twilight Sparkle."
"Good morning!" the purple alicorn said heartedly. She guided the yellow mare closer to him, who was trembling slightly. "I want you to meet Fluttershy, a good friend of mine."
Fluttershy slowly rose her hoof in the air and waved it shakily. "Welcome to Equestria..." Her voice was so low that Alex had to swivel his ears forward to hear her better.
"Greetings, Fluttershy," he said, his deep voice soft and warm. "I am Alexander, but you may refer to me as Alex if you wish. I was informed that I'd a few neighbors if I accepted this house. It is a pleasure to meet you." He saw her tensing muscles relax a little.
"I am Nerissa, his guardian," the bat pony said, peering at Fluttershy closely. "You have a burden on your back. What is it?"
"Oh!" Fluttershy exclaimed. Her wings were holding something in place on her back. It revealed to be some kind of white and pink frosted treat with little red bulbs on the top. "When I heard I had a neighbor, I wanted to welcome them, so I baked a cake...if that's okay."
Alex tilted his head. "What is that?"
Twilight let out a gasp, much to Nerissa's annoyance. "You don't know what a cake is?!" she shouted, instantly spawning her quill and parchment. "You never ate one before?!"
"In Dawn, we don't need to consume food for energy," Nerissa informed, trotting over to Fluttershy and sniffing the cake suspiciously. "We are self-sustaining creatures; food and the consumption of liquids are a choice, not a need." She wrinkled her muzzle and stepped away. "This...cake you call it. It doesn't seem to be laced with anything."
Fluttershy's eyes grew round. "Of course not!" she protested, shrinking under Nerissa's unblinking gaze. "It's perfectly fine to eat, I promise!"
Twilight stepped in front of Nerissa, looking slightly perturbed. "Fluttershy is the kindest pony I know," she told her. "She just wants to make you and Alex welcome."
Nerissa gazed at Alex, looking incredulous but grudging. "Master, do you wish to sample this cake?"
Alex watched Fluttershy intently before examining the cake. He was sure it was fine to eat, and he wanted to put Nerissa's paranoia at ease. He bent down and took a morsel into his mouth and savored the taste. It was nice, creamy, and very sweet.
"It's good," he murmured, his compliment making Fluttershy's eyes shine, and he noticed she stood a bit taller than before. "I eat rarely, but I and my guardian will consume this treat. Nerissa, can you take this inside please?"
Though Nerissa still looked unsure, she obeyed with a dip of her head, taking Fluttershy's cake and heading inside the house to put it away for later.
"It is nice to meet one of my neighbors," Alex said, craning his head down towards Fluttershy. "I was informed that you have a likeness towards animals. That's a good skill to pertain."
True to her name, even if she held herself a tad more confident, Fluttershy lowered herself to the ground slightly. "Thank you," she muttered, graciously dipping her head. "I'm an animal caretaker, so I have a lot of experience. I always loved animals, and I am glad my cutie mark told me that my destiny was to be with them."
Alex tilted his head, looking confused. "What is a cutie mark?" he asked. "Is it the images etched on your flanks?"
Twilight Sparkle bobbed her head ardently; barely restraining her glee. "A cutie mark is something a pony discovers, typically at a young age, though some ponies don't have them until they're well into adulthood, like Princess Celestia and Luna," she explained, showing Alex her cutie mark. "My cutie mark is an indicator that I am good with magic. Many ponies can have the same cutie mark; many of them are a slight visual change, but it's always something that they are good at. All that is needed to acquire one is for a pony to recognize their special talent."
"Would this talent be the only skill one would be good at?" Alex asked.
Twilight shook her head. "Not really," she answered. "A pony can be good at many things, but their special talent is what they're best in. Let's take Flare Brimstone for example," she added, going on. "Her cutie mark is a burning compass with no needle. It's a symbol for adventure and navigating one's way, but since it has no needle, adventure for Flare can be found just about anywhere, and the fire around the compass signifies how often dangerous those adventures are or could be, in uncharted or less-than-familiar regions and locales on the planet.
"Even though Flare is an adventurer at heart and her cutie mark is tied to that, she works for Princess Celestia as an agent, she's a captain of her own ship and crew in Duty Shoals, she owns and runs a trinket shop that sells the treasures she's found on her adventures, an extremely fast and capable brawler, and is a talented tracker."
Alex nodded seriously, steadily taking in Twilight's information. He was curious of his own cutie mark, and Nerissa's. He gazed down at his flank and shifted his huge wings to discern his own. His cutie mark was a white orb with a black marking in the middle.
"Curious," he murmured, showing his flank to his purple friend. "Would you be able to explain this?"
Twilight studied the cutie mark for a couple of heartbeats before shaking her head, befuddled. "Now that's a unique-looking cutie mark," she told him. "Those are rare, but out of all the ones that has been on a pony's flank, yours seem to be quite out there. Fluttershy?"
Fluttershy stared at the cutie mark, but she couldn't figure out what it could infer. "I'm sorry, but I don't know." She turned to Twilight. "Could it be tied to magic in some way?"
Twilight gave a hesitant nod, looking unsure. "Well, I was informed that Alex had displayed some astute magical potential, so it could be. I'm curious as to what type of magic he can use, but that'll be something for another day." She gazed at him. "So, what's on the agenda for today?"
"I was peering at the locations in Equestria and found one I'm curious about visiting," Alex said. "It's a village called Zebanda, a settlement for zebras in the far west. They seem to be a rarity in Equestria."
Twilight nodded. "It's a recent settlement after Zecora managed to convince some to come to Equestria looking for a new life."
"Is Zecora home?" he asked. "I would like to meet her."
"Sorry Alex, but Zecora went to her homeland, Farasi, to visit friends and family and won't be back for a good while," she told him apologetically. "I'm surprised you don't want to head into Ponyville; everypony liked you and Nerissa."
Alex's mind trailed back to yesterday: He was trotting into Ponyville with Nerissa, all eyes on him, as a pink pony called Pinkie Pie zoomed up to him and welcomed him to the village, proclaiming he should have a welcoming party commemorating his first visit in Ponyville. With help from Twilight Sparkle, she managed to convince the hyperactive mare to forgo the party for a brief song about coming to Ponyville.
He recalled back to Celestia and Luna and their concerns about the populace freaking out that a male alicorn had suddenly appeared out of nowhere. He was assured by Twilight that Ponyville was a place where weird and strange things were a common occurrence; and most of the ponies there weren't too shell-shocked to see him, though they were curious and eager to know him and his guardian.
"Though many were polite," began Nerissa, trotting up to Alex and standing beside him, "too many faces asking too many questions. We would like to ease ourselves into this world at our leisure, so we will be departing to Zebanda soon and will return a few days later."
"I hope you understand," Alex murmured to Twilight. "You must be disappointed."
Twilight gave a sheepish titter before waving her hoof. "No, no, of course not!" she told him, then her ears drooped a little. "I'm just sorry I couldn't make you feel more comfortable." She saw Fluttershy placed a hoof on her back for comfort.
Alex laid a wing on Twilight's mane. "When I come back, I will tell you about it," he promised. "We are friends, and friends share exciting experiences with one another. You can also aid me in my magic practice, if you have the time."
Twilight's cheeks went a little red and she cleared her throat. "I'd be more than happy to help you," she said, a delightful twinkle shining in her eyes. "Zebanda is quite a long way if you trot there. Do you know how to use your wings yet?"
Alex shifted his wing from Twilight's head to his side. "In Dawn I was able to fly, but it seems to be...unavailable. At least from the method I was usually familiar with."
"What do you mean?" Fluttershy asked.
"I was told by Enoch that I may be confined to a few rules," he explained. "My body has changed, and skills I used to retain are absent or currently unavailable. However, it seems the ability of flight wasn't lost to me completely."
"I heard you mention this Enoch before. Who is he exactly?" Twilight inquired, spawning a quill and paper.
Nerissa stepped forward and said, "Enoch is a servant of my master. He is aged, serving our Lords before I and my master's inception." Nerissa smiled fondly. "He is a good soul with a good heart. I assume you do not know what a warper is?"
Twilight shook her head. "What is that?"
"A warper is a creature with the power to create portals to travel through various distances, depending on how strong and how proficient one is," Nerissa began to explain, swishing her dark tail across the verdant grass. "Enoch is a warper, the first. His portals can travel through a whole universe."
Twilight was enthralled by the explanation. "The meteor from a few days ago... You said he created it."
"That's correct," Nerissa told her, sounding approving. "He's a bit special, imbued with a miniscule amount of energy from Lord Zain, granting him access to create very specific objects. One of these objects are meteors. With a snap of his finger, he can summon one, like the one we came in."
"He made a portal that you two went inside, and then he opened a portal to our universe," Twilight said, excitement layered in her voice. "He sounds very powerful; I would love to meet him one day!"
Nerissa gave a wry grin. "Then you and your yellow friend are fortunate."
"What do you mean?" Fluttershy murmured.
"Whenever Nerissa and I are ready, we call upon Enoch to open a portal to return us home," Alex told them, stretching his lofty wings. "He wouldn't know this planet or its areas, so he can't send us to Zebanda due to a lack of knowledge."
"He is connected to me and Alex so that he can always open a portal to us," Nerissa added. "Since his control over portals is so strong, he can virtually open one to us no matter how far away we are."
"We are going to call him so he can connect a portal to our new home," Alex said. "This way he can always send us back here whenever we call to him."
"And once you two are done in Zebanda, he will open a portal to the both of you that he can connect back to the house and send you there, making any return trip nonexistent!" Twilight shouted, her quill writing so quickly on the paper that smoke was coming from it. Fluttershy was trying to fan it down with her wings. "But how will he know he's needed?"
"Enoch is always watching over us, and he has informed that to summon him we must call him with some level of conviction," Nerissa told the purple pony. She glanced at Alex before looking back at Twilight. "I will be doing that part. Master?"
Alex nodded, moving over to Twilight and Fluttershy and enveloping them with one large wing, sweeping them close to his side. He stared down at their reddening faces. "Enoch likes to make a grand entrance, and I would like the both of you to stay where you are." With his two friends secure at his side, Alex told Nerissa to call Enoch.
Nerissa raised her head to the bright morning sky and shouted, "Enoch, I call upon you! Appear before me and my master!"
The wind began to pick up fiercely, and the thick-trunked trees around Alex's home began to creak and shudder. A current of air had begun swirling in front of Nerissa, and the wind howled. Then orange light suddenly appeared, creating a rectangular-shaped portal.
Two massive blue-gray hands gripped the sides of the portal followed by two dark blue legs with steel-black hooves, and a hulking body concealed underneath a tattered dark cloak. When the head came through, it was shrouded in a black hood with two glaring orange eyes that glowed with a fiery emission, and ominously sharp jet-black horns that looked as strong as obsidian ore.
Alex gazed down at his two friends and saw their eyes as wide as a moon. Clearly, they were surprised, and it pleased him to see how attentive and immersed their faces conveyed.
When the creature was out of the portal, the orange energy that held it together vanished, causing the portal to collapse on itself and fade away. The daunting figure was barely taller than Alex, and when it gazed at him with those orange eyes, it bowed its head low in deepest respect.
"Enoch, it's good to see you," Nerissa said, trotting up to the huge beast and giving him a heartfelt hug. "Didn't expect to be called so early?"
Enoch let out a hearty bellow of laughter before breaking the hug and thumping his chest with a fist. "Not at all, Nerissa; I'm happy to be of use! It's why I was created!" Enoch gazed at Alex. "May I say that you are looking immaculate as ever, sire. Nerissa too! I am glad the formchange went well!"
Alex receded his wing back to his side, allowing Twilight and Fluttershy, who stared dumbfounded at Enoch, to move around freely. "The formchange was fortunate for you as well, although I could not tell what kind of creature you've become."
"He's...a minotaur," Twilight Sparkle answered. "They are strong, versatile creatures. There are hardly any here; you can find them more easily outside Equestria."
Enoch examined himself and gave a light shrug. "It feels as if I've been this creature all of my life," he told her. He walked cheerily over to Alex and embrace him tenderly. "You seem to be in good spirits, sire. I assume you are comfortable here?"
Alex nodded, breaking the hug. "The inhabitants I have encountered have been most kind and helpful." He swept his sapphire tail at Twilight and Fluttershy. "These are my friends, Princess Twilight Sparkle and Fluttershy."
Enoch peered at the two ponies, squatting close to the ground. "Salutations!" he told the ponies happily. "I am Enoch, a servant of Alex and the two Lords. I thank you both from the bottom of my heart for being Alex's new friends!"
"G-greetings, Enoch," Twilight said meekly with a friendly wave of her hoof, stammering. "And welcome to Equestria." Fluttershy only waved back, too daunted by Enoch's hulking bulk to speak.
"My apologies if my presence disturbs you," Enoch said happily, stepping back and flexing his hulking muscles. "To be put back into a more youthful body was indeed quite fortunate; I never felt so great! GAWHAHAHAH!!!"
Nerissa stepped to him. "Reel in your excitement for a moment, Enoch. I summoned you to connect a portal to our new living quarters," she informed him.
Enoch looked at the large house and gave a whistle of amazement. "Seems adequate enough for Alex. And don't you fret," he assured her. "I'll have a portal whipped up in no time at all." He cracked his knuckles and rubbed his hands together. "Everybody, stand back!"
When everypony was at a safe enough distance, Enoch snapped a finger, the sound seeming to echo loudly in the air, and creating an azure ripple. Orange energy began to gradually manifest, shifting into the rectangular-shaped portal from before. It let out a low, continuous drone, the orange energy swirling madly inside the portal.
Enoch blew on his finger as if it was smoking. "All done!" he told Alex and Nerissa mirthfully, turning to them and placing his hands on his hips. "Whenever you two want to come back here, you'll be able to. Just give me a call!"
Twilight cantered up to the portal cautiously, Fluttershy following behind. She peered at it before looking amazed. "I was told that this was your energy," she said, turning to Enoch.
Enoch walked up to her and squatted down. "It's the energy of a warper. Its color is determined by our eyes, and mine displays itself as orange," he told her, gazing unblinking at Twilight's mystified eyes. "This energy is what gives me the ability to create portals. There aren't many warpers out there, only three. Other than me, there is one who serves a person called Knox. You may have heard of him from Nerissa or Alex."
Twilight nodded her head, narrowing her eyes trying to remember. "I vaguely recall Nerissa uttering that name."
"You'll learn more about him later," Enoch said, waving his hands dismissively. "The third warper used to be from Nerissa's village, a fellow Dark Resident, but she moved to another corner of the planet."
"That's interesting and I want to know more, but what is your energy called?" Twilight almost sounded impatient.
"Origin," Enoch said, sounding suddenly solemn. "There's two energies: Origin and Empyrean. Origin energy is what certain sentient beings contain in Dawn, and it allows us to fly and perform other actions, things Nerissa and I have. Empyrean energy is what Alex has as he is the son of the two Lords, and it allows him to do a variety of things we can't."
"Alex's presence is empyrean energy," Nerissa informed the purple alicorn. "You know, willfully shifting the weight of gravity. Our aura is origin energy, but not everyone in Dawn can be permitted to utilize it. Remember that Enoch has a small amount of Lord Zain's power?"
Twilight nodded slowly, trying to understand. "His empyrean energy!"
"Yes," Nerissa said. "Warpers normally can't cast portals that can travel to and from another universe, because they simply won't be strong enough."
"But Enoch can because he has empyrean energy, and that's what makes him special," Twilight said, her eyes shining with excitement. "I have a whole lot more questions, but I can refrain from asking them until later."
Fluttershy, who's been silent this whole time, nodded furtively. "I have to go back to my cottage," she mumbled to Twilight. She glanced at Alex with a small smile. "You should come visit. I can make us some tea."
Alex bobbed his head in agreement. "There aren't many creatures in Dawn, so I'm curious of what type of animals you have, and sampling what this thing you call tea is." He trotted to his two friends and placed his wing tips on their heads. "I will see you both when I return. Be safe."
Twilight giggled. "You too, Alex."
Fluttershy agreed. "Take your time and learn as much as you want..."
"We will," Nerissa said. She turned to Enoch, warmth in her blood-red eyes. "You may go; it was nice to see you."
He dipped his head to her and Alex, and then waved goodbye to Twilight and Fluttershy. With a snap of a finger, Enoch vanished, all evidence of him being here gone completely.
"Oh, I almost forgot!" Twilight exclaimed. "I heard from Pinkie Pie, since she's so aware of parties and celebrations, that Zebanda is holding a festival for a performer visiting them for a show. You might see them on the road, so keep a look out! It's bound to be a great experience!"
Waving to Alex and Nerissa, Twilight and Fluttershy took the paved path that would lead them out of the Everfree. Before they could get out of sight, Nerissa followed them to make sure they leave despite Alex telling her that there was no need.
As Alex watched the three leave, he turned his attention back to his journal laying on the softly swaying grass and trotted over to it. He levitated it and the pen that laid beside it, opening to a blank page and began to write until Nerissa returned.
"That cake Fluttershy concocted was delicious," he murmured, jotting down his experience in the journal. Then he shook his head, suddenly disappointed. "I will have to ask how to create one the next I see her..."