Chapter Two~ A Fantasy World

With the barren thought of contraband knowledge implanted into his young mind, Distort kept himself quiet as Melancholy led him through the library he was oh-so familiar with- but this time it felt different. There was a sort of distinction about the small, crammed room that he couldn't place. Perhaps it was all in his head.

Melancholy brought him to another door that was out of sight, behind a thick curtain. Nopony would even think to look there. It was hidden beyond recognition, coloured the same as the walls and the shadows of the curtain. Reaching and opening the door silently, the duo came across another room, however it was filled with such strange books with such strange titles.

"Have a look around," Melancholy giggled after shutting the door and letting themselves in, "I know you want to."

Lit up with torchlight and flickering candles and with bookcases that towered to the ceiling so high that it would need a pegasus to retrieve a book on the top shelf, this new atmosphere was something far greater than just amazing. He'd never seen anything like it. The colt ran around and examined every book. From titles such as Geography of Equestria to The Two Sisters, or Changelings: Good or Bad to Crystal Ponies and Their History, Distort had never seen anything like it. Grabbing a pile of books with a levitation spell, he skim read through them. From maps to texts, these books had it all; they were so much more interesting than the encyclopaedia in 21 editions. Apparently there was a world outside of the lab where all of the races got along… Mostly.

Something warm brushed against him and he turned to see Melancholy, snuggled up next to him, leaning on his side, peering over him. She seemed tired, although her dull pink eyes glowed with a hungry interest. "Can you read to me, please?" She murmured, exhausted. "Prism usually reads to me, but she's not here." To that, Distort nodded, letting a few cobalt strands of his mane fall over his eyes. He took a deep breath and began to read a passage from the book he'd picked out.

"Equestria, our homeland, is not only special because of the unity of the three main races of pony and the animals around, Equestria is special because of its two main rulers; Princess Celestia, the eldest of the two, and Princess Luna, her younger sister.

"Unfortunately, though, throughout the years, challenges faced the two and the entirety of Equestria, but they pulled through, with the help of others and the elements of harmony."

Distort turned his attention to the now silent, limp, Melancholy. She snored as she slept, causing him to swallow back a laugh. Waking his friend would be cruel, so he decided to flick back to the contents page of the book and read on, switching to the chapter about the so-called 'Elements of Harmony'.

Consisting of six ponies, the Elements of Harmony is a force that saves Equestria in desperate times. Before these ponies wielded these elements, they were held by our very own two princesses. They are so powerful, they managed to trap Princess Luna within the moon during her reign of Nightmare Moon.

At that point, Distort tossed the book as far away as possible, furious of his own incompetence to recognise such fantasies earlier. It slammed against a bookcase, causing it to wobble, but he didn't care. No way was such thing possible. This Equestria place was just a fantasy world. Pure fiction. But, it had a nice ring to it. Whoever had written it truly had a talent for stories.

Angry still, he shook Melancholy awake. Her eyes opened slowly as she yawned profoundly. "What is it, Dis?"

"Do you honestly believe this nonsense?" He demanded, standing up on all fours, leaving her to fall down. She had no reply other than a blank expression. The cobalt green earth pony watched him with big, defeated eyes, curling up disappointedly in her small, black sweater. "Equestria is just a fantasy world. It doesn't exist." His words may have been too hard on her, because he saw her spirit slowly start to crack like a mirror.

"Even if it doesn't…" She looked up at him sadly. "Don't you want to go there?"