Accidental Warriors

Chapter 3

-???, ??? POV-

Slowly I blinked the dizziness out of my eyes, looking around all I could see was a burning crater surrounding me. Surrounding that crater was trees and bushes. Standing up onto my hooves I made my way out of the crater, careful not to fall back down. 'It seems that I have accidentally used a powerful long range teleportation spell in place of my summoning spell, looking around I concluded that I was in some form of forest. With a sigh I readied a spell to return to the castle only to realize that I was out of magic. Begrudgingly I began to walk out of the forest, the bells on my hat and robe jingling with each step. Looking around I noticed that the trees around me were beginning to spread out to reveal a small settlement full of both griffons and ponies alike. 'Intriguing, I don't remember there being any settlements like this in Equestria, I must have went further than I previously thought.

"Greeting, might I inquire as to where I might find passage to the castle?" I asked a nearby group of ponies as I got closer.

"Um... sure I guess, there's a train that can take you to Canterlot that should be here in about twenty minutes," A young stallion answered.

"Canterlot? what is this place thou speak of, I mean the castle of the princesses, where they have been ruling from since the defeat of Discord himself," I inquired.

"Huh? Two princesses? All I know is that Princess Celestia lives in the Canterlot Castle, I'm not sure about what you're talking about," He answered while giving me the strangest of looks. Deciding to move on I continued to ask others for ten minutes, but no matter what I tried it was the same answer. And in the place of Princess Luna the name I received in her place was Nightmare Moon. 'This is very troubling, where am I that so little in known about the rulers? I thought as I stroked at my long white beard. Going to what the ponies called a train station, I waited for this device to arrive to take me to this supposed castle. After around a 8 minute wait a large machine of metal and wood came screeching down the tracks, black smoke billowing from its front as it slowed to a halt before the very platform I waited on. Doors on the sides of this machine opened as more ponies and a few griffons exited. Moving forward I moved to enter one of the doors but a stallion wearing a blue jacket and hat stopped me.

"Ticket?" he requested as he held out a hand to me.

"I'm afraid I do not have the ticket thou need," I answered back.

With a sigh he responded, "Then you either need to buy one, or you can't get on the train".

"Where can I purchase one of these tickets?"

"Over there, in that booth is a mare who'll get you settled, but be quick about it, train leaves in five minutes," He said as he pointed over to my left. Looking over I saw a small booth with a glass window that held a rather bored looking mare. With a quick thanks I walked over to the booth.

"I would like to purchase one ticket to Canterlot," I said.

Looking up at me she grabbed a slip of paper and said, "that'll be twenty bits sir".

Grabbing my bits I pulled out the money and slid it through a gap in the glass before she slid the paper over to me. "Thank thee".

"Those are some pretty strange robes there, are you dressing up, or do you just like wearing weird clothing?" She asked.

"I am Starswirl The Bearded, these are no costume, but my finely crafted mages robes," I answered before turning around and walking towards the train.

-Canterlot dungeons, Jacob POV-

I had no trouble getting out of the original cell, though I did have to duck slightly to enter the new cell. Looking around I noticed that it was bare, save for a table in the center with a single guard and a tray of food & water. Moving over and sitting across from the guard I grabbed the glass of water in front of me and started to drink it. "Hello, I am major Solar Aura, what is your name, age, and species?" She questioned.

"My name's Jacob,and I'm a 19 year old human," I answered. Leaning back slightly in my chair.

"What goal do you hope to achieve in Equestria?" Her eyes seemed to bore into my very soul as she asked that question, her face the very definition of serious. Leaning back slightly farther I thought about the question and what to answer.

"I have no idea, it's not like I ever planned to end up here, it just sort of happened," As I answered I realized that I was still rather parched, so I reached over to the water on the table and started drinking more of it.

"How did you get here?"

"Also not sure, like I said, it just sort of happened," I had moved on from the water and was eating some of the fruit on the table.

"Final question, what is your association with Nightmare Moon?" As she asked that her gaze went from stern, to downright threatening, as though she was just daring me to say the wrong thing.

"None, I just know what Nate quickly explained in the other cell," I lightly shrugged as I talked. She took her helmet off and set it on the table while glancing at it. For whatever reason she shrugged to herself and produced a key and tossed it towards me. catching it I looked over to her to see her pointing to my cuffs. Understanding I began to unlock them before handing the key and the cuffs over to her. With nothing better to do we began to engage in small talk until we suddenly hear a shout.

"SON OF A BITCH!" The voice was undoubtedly Theo's.

"What was that?" Solar asked as she went to stand up.

"Sounded like my friend Theo," I said as I stayed seated.

Looking at me curiously she asked, "And you're not worried?"

"Nah, in a place like this I could only imagine how many things would piss him off," I answered while picking up an apple and taking a bite out of it. With a sigh Solar sat back down and we began to engage in small talk.

-Canterlot dungeon, Nate POV-

I watched as a table was brought in along with two chairs, a pitcher of water and a cup, as well as some assorted fruits and vegetables. After everything was set up Celestia took the seat closest to the door while motioning to the other for me. "Smart, taking the seat closest to the door makes it so I don't have the advantage if I attempt to run, though I still wouldn't even if you sat here as I would have to fight past countless guards and abandon my friends," I commented as I sat down.

"I still know very little about you and what you're capable of, so I would rather have every advantage I can get," She shot back.

chuckling I said, "Fair enough Princess, though I'm sure at this point there is no need for introductions, so ask your questions."

"You seem to know a lot about my world, what is the extent of that knowledge?" As I looked at her I could see a warning in her gaze, a warning not to lie.

"I know quite a bit, not so much the specifics of the land, and I don't know exact dates for some things, but I know quite a bit about the important events to come," I answered calmly as I grabbed the pitcher of water and carefully poured myself a glass of water.

"Tell me what you know," She demanded in a low tone.

"Ah ah ah Princess, that would be spoilers," I shot back, doing my best to imitate River Song from Doctor Who.

"You will get nowhere by holding information about the future of my country from me," She said, a rather sharp edge bordering her words.

"Oh, is the Princess upset, well isn't that cute," I mocked, Celestia's gaze turning to a glare as I continued, "you think you can threaten me Princess, go ahead, cause I'm not going to tell you the future."

"Why do you refuse to tell me of what is to come?" She questioned.

"Because I know the timeline that the show told, not the one that that involves me and my friends," I answered.

"Then why won't you tell me?"

"Come on Celestia, I know you're smarter than this, and I'm sure you've already figured our why," Leaning back slightly I felt a strange appendage on my back and turned around to see a silvery wing hanging out of a hole in my clothes, while what I could only guess was another one bulged against the intact side.

"*sigh* you are right, I have figured it out already," She admitted with a sigh. Looking back over to her I smiled slightly as I decided to instead lean forward.

"Then how about you stop treating me like I'm stupid and begin asking the questions you know will have answers," I said. I could see the irritation in her face, and I knew that I should hold back on messing with her, but for whatever reason I was enjoying the moment.

"What do you know of Nightmare Moons return?" She asked. That question actually gave me pause as I stopped to think about what to say.

"I know when she will return, where she will return, and what is needed to beat her," I answered as I grabbed an orange and started to peel it.

"That doesn't answer the question," She said in irritation.

"Why of course it does, I told you what I know of her return, I just put what I knew into categories instead of explaining them outright," I shot back, hoping she would catch on to the little game I was playing. After a few moments of watching I saw Celestia's look of anger turn into one of understanding.

"You're not answering the questions I want answered, you're just leading me to questions you will answer," she theorized. Wanting to keep the game going I gave her a little wink and waited for her to continue. "What time do you know that she'll return?"

"She'll show herself to the public when the sun is ready to be risen during the summer sun celebration," I answered as I finished peeling my orange and pulled of a piece to eat.

"Where will she show up?"

"She'll show up where the summer sun celebration is being held," I mockingly said, enjoying my time. Making a game out of answering questions has given me the power in the conversation, especially with her playing my game.

"So she'll show up in Ponyville," She wasn't asking, she was saying. After nodding a realization hit me, that I was the one being played with.

"Very clever Princess," I said with a growing smile, receiving a look of curiosity from her. Elaborating I continued, "you already know what I'm telling you, so you're just keeping me talking until you can trick me into giving you the information that you're really after," her smirk told me I was right almost instantly.

"Surprisingly perceptive, even if it did take you awhile to notice."

"So if you already know what you want to know then how about we cut the shit then and get to talking about how to get me and my friends out of these cells, cause I'm not gonna tell you the future" I spoke evenly, my joyful mood all but disappearing as I decided to stop fooling around. The Princess gave a slight sigh as she interlocked her fingers on the table.

"Fine then, explain the affiliation you and your group have with my sister," Celestia ordered.

"We have no affiliation with her, all that we know comes from Paddies and my own knowledge from the show, all I can say is that at the very least, I would be willing to help you, Paddie would likely be willing to help you, and I'm not too sure if the others would be willing to," I explained. After my explanation Celestia just stared at me with firm eyes for what felt like eternity, until finally she smiled and nodded.

"Very well, in order to build trust you and your group will be given the choice of either staying in this dungeon as prisoners until Nightmare Moon has been dealt with, or traveling with my personal student, Twilight Sparkle and her assistant spike to set up for the coming summer sun celebration in Ponyville," Celestia smiled as she gave her ultimatum, to either fight what is basically a possessed goddess, or stay in a cell as a prisoner for who knows how long. Chuckling I already knew what Paddie and I would say, and I could guess as to what Jacob and Wesley would say, but I wasn't sure what Theo would answer.

"Alright princess, if you would allow us to talk this over I'm sure we can come to a consensus," I said with as much professionalism as possible.

"That will be allowed, I shall get the guards to bring your friends in and then we shall await your answer," She said as she stood from her seat and left. As I sat and waited I couldn't help but wonder what was in store for us.

-Third person POV-

After twenty minutes all the humans had been regrouped in the first cell where Nate sat deep in thought. "Hey Nate, you okay?" Jacob asked when he saw him.

"Yeah I'm fine, though I have two choices for our group," He answered as he stood from his seat.

"Why are you still in cuffs?" Wesley asked while looking at Nate's hands. Looking at his friends Nate realized he was the only one still in shackles and silently cursed to himself.

"Because I forgot to ask to have them removed, now do you wanna hear the ultimatum or not?" Nate said as he moved to stand in front of them.

"Just get on it with already, I'd rather just get this over with so we can find a way home already," Theo said in annoyance.

"Alright, our two options are to either stay in this cell until Nightmare Moon is dealt with, or help Celestia's Personal Student with the up and coming summer sun celebration in Ponyville," Nate said with finality. The friends looked at each other, each one considering their options before Nate continued with, "the obvious implication is that if we help her student, Twilight Sparkle, we are going to end up fighting Nightmare Moon herself, so it will be dangerous, but personally I'm not afraid, because we have something Nightmare doesn't," with a smile Nate looked at the others and waited to see if anyone wanted to try to guess.

"And what would that be?" Jacob finally asked.

"Human spirit, human ingenuity, and a predators instincts, the very things that has allowed our people to overcome the worst of challenges, that allowed us to become the most dominant species on our planet, that would allow us to beat her like every other challenge humans have faced, we were practically made for inventive fighting and killing" He spoke while flashing his canines at the end.

"I think we should help, it would defiantly help our position if we really are stuck here, and possibly open up avenues for jobs and income if need be" Paddie suggested. All the humans knew that he was right, and fortunately they didn't know enough about where they were so Nate and Paddie were having an easy time convincing them.

"Those who say we should go with the better option that comes with getting out of these cells and into the outside world raise your hand," Nate said as he raised his right hand into the air. The others each raised a hand into the air as well, coming to a vote the group had chosen to go to Ponyville and help Twilight Sparkle. with a nod Nate moved over to the cell door and gave it a heavy knock before moving back. After a few moments Celestia re-entered the room with two guards, Gleaming Shield, and Midnight Blossom.

"Have you made you're decision?"

"We've decided to help, though I think you knew that we would," Celestia's motherly smile was her response, though Nate had already seen a small piece of her devious side and knew she was probably already planning ahead.

"We appreciate it, though there will be one little complication until Nightmare Moon is defeated," She said, her smile not faltering.

"What kind of complication?" Theo asked.

"You'll have to be turned into ponies as to not cause panic and worry among my subjects," She answered.

"WHAT!?" All but Nate and Paddie yelled. "What the hell do you mean we have to be ponies!?" Theo demanded.

"She means that she'll use a spell to change us on a physical level so that we don't frighten others while we're helping, right Princess" Paddie said with a small smirk.

"That is correct, you will only be changed on a physical level, it would take to much time to change you all on a biological level anyway since we only have three days until Nightmare Moon's return," Celestia confirmed.

"Then let's get started," Nate said cheerily. Smiling Celestia motioned for the humans to follow her before leading them away from their cell to be changed.