A Man Of Science

Dimitri held his rifle tightly as he stood by one of the many houses in this strange new world he found himself in. He had been drafted but a few weeks ago, and had been sent to the Texas offensive. In his opinion, he didn’t understand why there had to be so much bloodshed and violence. Though, he can’t complain. After all, those who complained were arrested and never heard from again. He just wished that he could be back on his farm with his parents.

He slowly marched back and forth, his helmet tightly fastened against his head. The sound of the wind reigned supreme. This unknown town had been suppressed by the ‘mighty’ hand of the Soviet Union. He had been tasked to guard the small cages that housed what seemed to be horses. He didn’t understand why, but they looked awfully different from the ones he had trained back on his parents’ farm. These ponies had more colorful coats and manes, even having what he could only describe as some weird artistic brandings on their hind-quarters. He could’ve sworn that some of them had wings and or horns.

He continued to walk back and forth, his body moving on an invisible track, bound by the orders of his officer. Though, his curiosity kept on nipping at the back of his throat. He wanted to see what this… animal was up close. He slowly stopped, his head slowly turning to look over his shoulder. What he saw was one of those horses. Erm, ponies would fit them more. They seemed much smaller to qualify as a horse. He brought his gun up and over his head, quickly resting his now free weapon against the steps.

His body slowly turned towards the cage, his gaze slowly falling upon the mare that was held inside of it. Her head was slumped over, her ears pulled back. It doesn’t take a genius to figure out that she wasn’t happy that she was in the cage. His gaze softened slightly as he stared at her. Soon, he was caught by surprise. She now had her eyes on him.

The baby blues that were now trained onto him made him unnerved and left a bad taste in his mouth. Just the expression she gave him felt so human. Those big, expressive eyes stared deep into his soul. He felt as if he was being judged for his participation in keeping her locked up in that tiny cage. He could feel a knot slowly form at the back of his throat as he continued to stare at her. Then, to defy all logic he knew, she began to speak. Not only that, she was speaking English of all things. Or, that’s what he thought it was from all of those videos the training had shown him.

He didn’t know what she was saying, but the tone of someone’s voice is universal. She was clearly discontent with this entire situation. That bit of conscience in the back of his head was begging for him to let her go—that this wasn’t right. That sentiment would only grow as time went on. He sucked in a breath of air through his teeth, letting that breath out after a few seconds of holding it in. That small voice in his head had won out. He couldn’t just sit idly and leave her trapped there. He knew that only bad things were to come from his actions, but to hell with that.

He knelt down on one knee, his eyes now level with hers. He reached his hand forward, his fingers grazing across the locking mechanism of the cage. He slowly began to roll the numbers in place. A small click was heard as the lock was removed. The mare’s eyes widened as she watched him open the door. She didn’t think that he would actually open the door for her! She slowly backed up, her hoof raising slightly. She was still very cautious about what his intentions were. He got back up to his full height, taking a few steps back so he gave her some room.

She slowly emerged from the cage, her eyes welling up in tears. She looked up to him and muttered a couple of words which he could only assume were ‘Thank you’. He watched her gallop off, a weight slowly lifting off his chest. He couldn’t help but have a smile on his face as he watched her make her escape. He could only hope that what came next wasn’t that harsh. He made his way back to his rifle, his right hand firmly grasping the pistol grip while his left hand reached forward and held the barrel of the gun. He slowly pulled the gun up and held it near his chest.

Suddenly, a loud explosion rang out. He looked to his left, smoke rising up from a far away building. He quickly gathered the strength to run towards the source of the commotion. He let out a desperate gasp as he finally closed in on the source. There, he found something that would chill him to the bone. A mare with a pristine white coat and rainbow-esque mane hovered a few feet off the ground. What accompanied her were other ponies, this time dressed in what looked like armor. She would yell up at the top of her lungs, causing him to wince in pain. After her voice died down, he would watch in disbelief as the English interpreters from his company threw down their weapons and walked over to the enemy with their hands held high in the air.

A silence filled the air, the surrounding area slowly growing more palpable by the second. He didn’t know who fired first, but soon the town was embroiled in street to street fighting. A loud ringing filled his ears as the screams were drowned out. This was the first real action he’s seen in his life, and it scared him. It scared him so, so much. Instead of fighting, he ran. He just dropped his gun and ran. He pumped his arms back and forth as the noises slowly grew louder. Eventually, he ducked into an open house, his breath hot and soft.

A small creak echoed through the house, causing Dimitri to sharply turn his head to the left. What he saw was a filly staring at him like a deer in headlights. He slowly got up, his mouth beginning to open before he was hit in the back of the head by something hard. His body slumped to the ground with a small thump.

Rigdon gently straightened his shirt, his nervousness expressing itself at his fingertips. He straightened out every crease that his eyes caught. Twilight stared at him, confused at his sudden compulsion of neatness. Usually he would be the one to scold her about her neat-freak habits. Then again, they all had been summoned to the castle for the trial of those captured earlier this month, so she understood his sudden need for presentability. After all, she did take an embarrassingly long amount of time getting ready as well.

“Here, let me fix that for you,” Twilight cooed softly. Her horn lit up, encasing Rigdon’s torso in her purple light. His shirt would move around slightly as she thoroughly unwrinkled his shirt. “There! Now you shouldn’t have any wrinkles on your shirt.” She gave a warm smile as her magic dissipated from his body. Rigdon reached his hand to his chest, dragging his soft digits against his shirt, finding no wrinkles anywhere. Well, that was one problem relieved from his conscience.

“Y’know you don’t have to be this dressed up. It’s just some jury duty thing,” Rainbow Dash piped in as she rested her hooves over the seat of the train as her eyes trained onto the both of them. This caused both Twilight and Rigdon to stare at her with a vengeance, causing her to back off to her seat. This gained a chuckle out of Applejack, of course.

“Well, Rainbow, it doesn’t hurt to arrive in style! It’s great to have at least some standards!” Rarity would pipe in with her nonsense fashion talk that no-one understood, but nodded in agreement anyways. Pinkie and Fluttershy were both asleep. Rigdon expected Fluttershy to be the one to sleep on a train ride, but Pinkie certainly didn’t strike him as the type to sleep on rides.

The train whirred to life, letting out a loud scream as its wheels gripped onto the metal framing of the rails, slowly halting its mindless march onwards. The sudden change from motion to brakes jerked everyone from their seats. Fluttershy stirred in her sleep, her eyes slowly opening and adjusting to the light. Pinkie on the other hand had already sprung to life, her energy quickly returning to her. He will never understand how a mare like her can have so much energy. The train continued to loudly screech before finally, it came to a complete halt.

Everyone stood up and headed towards the now open doors. Rarity took a while since she had insisted on bringing a “couple” of bags with her. That was a very subjective word to describe how much she had packed. Though, despite all the things with her, it didn’t slow her down one bit.

“Now ah’ don’t think I’m ever gonna get used to this place. It always continues to amazes me,” Applejack complimented the architecture of Canterlot, her eyes gawking at the beauty around her. Twilight gave a prideful smile, taking great content out of Applejack’s praise of the city. She then let out a soft cough, quickly yanking her mind back into professional mode.

“Remember everypony, we’re here just for the trial. We aren’t here to check everything out… Despite how enticing the library might be.” She looked back to everyone. Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes at her words.

“Yeah yeah, we got it. We’re just here for that trial thingy…” She would scoff lightly at Twilight’s scolding.

A small cough would grab the attention of the group. They all quickly looked forward, only to find two guards standing in front of them. “Ah!” Twilight quickly chirped out. “These must be our escorts,” She announced.

Escorts? Twilight never told him that they were to be escorted to the castle. This seemed a bit too much for his taste. Was this their way for witness protection? He isn’t going to argue, though. He’s seen how tough these ponies can be firsthand. Rarity unloaded all of her stuff onto the unlucky guard that was closest to her. He gave a worried expression as he grabbed the puller with his wing. Looks like someone was going to get a workout.

Pinkie was the first one to enter the castle, amazement filling her face as she took in all of the sights. “Oh my gosh, this place is so beautiful! I’m so excited to go into the main throne room!” She voiced her excitement before turning to Rigdon, who was the second person to enter. “Aren’t you excited, Rigdon?”

He gave a small shake of his head. “I guess it is a bit nerve wracking to see Celestia again.” He nodded off to her. Rarity gave a puzzled look as she stood next to him.

“Again? You’ve already met her before?” She interrogated him. Rigdon gave a firm nod in response. “When was it? I don’t remember you telling us that you have done so before.” She quickly added on.

“It was around the time I first came here. She requested to see me a couple of days after I met Twilight. Anyways, we only talked for a little bit—nothing too crazy,” He added. Fluttershy slowly caught up with Rigdon, quickly giving her opinion on the matter.

“It was nice of her to invite you over to talk when you first came here… I bet you were quite nervous at first,” She gave a soft smile. “Did you get to drink some tea with her? Twilight told me that she has a good tongue when it comes to it.”

Rigdon swung his head back to look at Twilight, who was now hiding her face from his judging gaze. He slowly swung his head back so that his eyes were set on what was in front of him. “No, we didn’t drink anything. Though, if we do get to speak once more, I might keep that in mind.” He reached up, gently scratching his chin as he did so.

The pair of gigantic double doors screeched to life as it was opened up, exposing the insides of the room it kept safe. A handful of ponies were gathered on both the left and right side of the room. Princess Celestia was at the head of the room. Though, this time around, she was not alone. A mare with a coat as dark as the night sat next to her. Her dark blue, ethereal mane was speckled with tiny stars. From the history Twilight has taught him, he can only assume that this was Luna.

The guards would show them to their seats. Rigdon, still wanting to maintain his clean look, took a bit longer to sit down since he wouldn’t get any wrinkles that way. The moment they were all seated and comfortable, Celestia spoke up. “The royal court is now in session. Please, escort the first one in.” She nodded to one of her guards. The guard gave a firm salute before heading off into a nearby room. A couple of moments later, he returned. This time, he came with a Russian in handcuffs. It was the Captain—the one who gave the kill orders in the first place.
Rigdon could never forget a face like that. He was brought to the middle of the room, directly in the line of sight of the two sisters. Luna was glaring daggers at this man that was in front of her. Celestria, despite her ever growing anger, kept a calm and collected expression on her face.

The man was a hardened soldier and it clearly bled into his actions. He held a stern, serious expression as he stood there. Celestia gave a small cough, quickly clearing her throat before beginning to speak. “There are no words I can use to describe the heinous crimes that you have committed against my little ponies. I never believed that there could be a person that could be so cold towards another one’s life, and yet I’ve been proven wrong,” Se spoke with a stern voice. “The details that have been given to me from countless ponies are revolting. I hope to never bear witness to such carnage again in my life.”

The man would begin to say a couple of words. Luna’s face would contort into one of offense and shock. The nearby translator would let out a gasp. The man would then spit onto the pristine floor in an act of defiance. Rigdon was certain that Luna was about to go apeshit on him! Though, Celestia would calm her before it came to that. The two sisters now conversed, Luna still visibly pissed off as they spoke in a whisper. After a little while of talking, Luna would finally calm down, taking a deep breath afterwards for good measure.

“Not only have you harmed others, but you have taken to insulting Luna and myself. There are no words to describe how evil you are,” She called out, her voice a bit louder than earlier. “That’s why after some discussion, we have come to an agreement on your punishment. Not only is it just, but there is nothing below it that could ever be seen as the right punishment for you,” She paused for a moment. “You will be sent to Tartarus, where you will spend the rest of your natural life.”

If Rigdon had some type of drink in his mouth, he would’ve spat it out! Tartarus?! He was getting sent to literal hell? Well, besides the fact that he was going to get banished, this world actually had a hell? He couldn’t even imagine what this man was going to go through.

Luna closed her eyes, her horn lighting up a bright white. A blue portal would appear in front of the man. She then hopped up from her throne and down towards the rift to Tartarus. She nodded to the guards that were near him. He was brought up before being shoved in, the guards and Luna quickly following suit. After about a minute, Luna would return with the guards. She had a noticeable sly grin on her face. She trotted back to her throne, gracefully sitting herself back down. The portal would finally close once she did.

Rigdon leaned over towards Twilight, his voice coming out in a hushed tone. “You never told me that there was some kind of underworld for this place,” He would mutter out softly. Twilight slowly moved back towards him, a confused look on her face. Rigdon had told her about his culture and their view on the afterlife, but this was different.

“What, Tartarus? It’s a bit different than what you humans think about… what did you call it? Hell? Anyways, it’s just a jail for those who’ve committed serious crimes against ponies and others alike. I didn’t think I’d have to bring it up because I didn’t plan on this happening! Plus, no pony has been sent there in centuries,” She quickly replied back to him. Rigdon gave a soft nod as they exchanged information.

Celestia cleared her thought once more before speaking up, “Bring the next one in.” She commanded. One of the mare guards, who was now closest to the door, gave a quick nod before opening the door and walking away. Rigdon let out a soft breath as he sat there. This was going to take a while, wasn’t it? He can only hope that time wasn’t so cruel to him.

Rigdon had his head rested against the wooden table in front of him. He used the surface as a pillow. Sleep had claimed him not long after the first couple of sentencing for the Russians. Soon, a hoof would begin to tap against his shoulder. His eyes slowly began to blink open. Fatigue and tiredness both still had a firm grip on his body. His senses slowly returned to him as his mind grew increasingly aware and active.

What he found was the stern face of a purple unicorn mare staring back at him. Twilight continued to push her hoof against his shoulder.. “Rigdon—Rigdon get up. We only got one more sentence to go through.” She announced to him in a hushed tone. He let out a soft grumble as he slowly pushed himself in an upright position. His eyes slowly but surely focused onto the scene in front of him. He could feel his worry grow as he witnessed a stallion push a handcuffed Russian in. Unlike the others, he was much younger. He looked like he could be no older than seventeen. He could even say he might’ve been at least late sixteen!

This made him think to himself… Why would the Soviets have a soldier this young in their ranks? Even if he was a conscript, they haven’t been letting in teenagers his age since World War Two! What the hell was going back at home that was so bad that even the Soviets had to conscript younger able bodied men? These thoughts would only further plant the seed of worry in the back of his mind.

Dimitri stood in silence, his hands shackled tightly to each other as he was put in front of the two princesses. He mumbled off a few words to the translator to his left, which of course caused the translator to go wide-eyed in shock. “He says that whatever his actions were, he’ll take full responsibility for them,” The stallion would squawk back to Celestia and Luna.

Luna, of course, liked this human. Unlike everyone else who begged for mercy despite not giving any, Dimitri didn’t think he was above consequences. Celestia gave a quick glance over at her sister. Luna gave a small nod before beginning to speak up. “We believe that some time in the dungeon should suffice. It shall only be but a few full moons, for you have not been found in violation of anything great,” She spoke softly. The translator would repeat Dimitri’s sentence to him. He took a deep breath before giving a small nod.

Just then, a voice would cut through the silence from the crowd of ponies. Everyone practically jumped at the yelling voice. Soon, they were all trained on the source of the voice. What everyone found was a mare, whose coat was a soft beige, and her eyes a vibrant blue. Dimitri stared at this mare, his eyes widening. This was the pony he had let go.

“Wait! Please don’t put him in the dungeon!” She called out once again, this time stomping her hoof against the ground to really project her words more. “You should just let him go!” Her words caused many in the room to gasp. Why would she still want to let him go even after all the crimes that he has committed?

Luna raised a brow at her words, wondering why she would ever want to let him off scott free. “Is there a reason as to why you would be so forgiving of this man?” She questioned her. The mare let out a small ‘eep’. At that moment, people could say that her confidence shrank three sizes.

“Well, he saved me! He could’ve left me in that cage, but he let me out,” She managed to bleat out. She let her head hang low as she spoke once again, her voice much softer, “I don’t know what would’ve happened if he hadn’t done anything.”

The two Royal sisters looked over at each other, exchanging a couple of choice words in the process. They quickly turned back to the mare, Celestia finally giving her opinion on the matter. “If what you say is true, then I suppose that it would be fair to give him a different punishment, would it not, Luna?” She questioned before turning her gaze to Luna.

Luna nodded in agreement. “Yes it would. It would be unfair to ignore this new development.”

“Instead of the dungeon, this man will instead get a stern lesson in our ways of treating others. He will receive a new education here, and will have to write a mandatory report every two weeks or sooner if applicable. He will stay here for the first few weeks so that we can keep a tab on him to make sure nothing goes wrong,” Celestia spoke out, “But, if he were to harm another one of my little ponies, then I will not be so kind with him next time.” Her voice became flat as she gave a warning.

The translator would relay all of this to Dimitri. He stood there, his jaw on the floor. She was treating him with kindness? He was a part of the problem, and she was letting him go, just like that—complete with a new education? He was stunned, along with a multitude of other emotions that he couldn’t form into words.

Celestia slowly turned to face her personal, star pupil. “Twilight, would you like to be the lead teacher in his rehabilitation?” She questioned her. Twilight seemed to burst out from excitement. Though, as quickly as it came, another thought came onto her mind; what about her friends? She slowly looked over to the gang. They all voiced their support for her doing this—especially Pinkie. Rainbow, however, didn’t give an input because she was sleeping.

She slowly turned back to her teacher, finally giving an answer back. “I’d love to do it!” She gave a huge grin. “Wait, can Rigdon stay with me too?” She asked in a pleading tone, her eyes conveying one of begging.

Celestia stared at Twilight with confusion. Then, the reason as to her begging hit her like a ton of bricks. She gave a sly grin, her eyebrows wiggling slightly in the process. This caused Twilight’s mouth to hang open, her cheeks quickly flaring up. Lifting her hoof up, Celestia quickly suppressed a giggle. She then lowered her head. “Very well. If he would like to come along, then it would be no problem setting up accommodations for him as well.” She then raised her voice a bit as she announced, “Royal court is now adjourned! Twilight, would you and Rigdon stay behind so we can discuss bedroom arrangements?” She questioned.

Both Rigdon and Twilight stared at each other, before looking back to Celestia. They both gave a visible shrug, along with a nod. It took a while, but everyone had soon spilled out of the Throne room. Luna had left as well since she needed to tend to the dreams of everyone. Celestia quickly approached the pair. “So, how is this going to work? Do you two want your own separate rooms?” She started off. Suddenly, her entire demeanor changed. She seemed like a different mare all together. “Or would you both enjoy time in each other’s company?~” She carried her voice through the room. That grin on her face was just… so suggestive; like her previous words weren’t already.

Twilight couldn’t believe her ears. Her own teacher—who she regarded as divinity itself, had made a suggestive comment with herself and Rigdon. Well, she can’t exactly say that her words weren’t untrue, since they totally were. Now that there weren’t any nobles around, Celestia was free to release a bit. She let out a laugh at her pupil’s reaction. “Oh it’s fine, Twilight! I’m just pulling your hoof!” Rigdon was just friendly fire in this entire escapade.

Twilight let out a grumble, letting her head hang down so her hair covered her face. “Yeah, we’d like one room,” She mumbled softly. Celestia opened her eyes, her ears barely catching Twilight’s voice as she said those words.

“Hm? Did you say you would like just one room?” She repeated, making sure that she heard her right. Twilight gave a slow nod, causing Celestia to perk up. She slowly turned her head to one of the remaining guards. “Would you mind showing these two to one of the guest rooms? Do make sure it’s in a close vicinity to Dimitri’s room,” She added. The guard gave a salute before beginning to lead the pair away.

Of course, like with his expectations, the castle was as windy as he thought it would be. Twilight, on the other hand, seemed like she knew these halls pretty well. What closed them off to their room was a large, heavy set of double doors. “Thank you kind sir.” Twilight bowed her head at the guard. He took pride in her compliment before walking off. A purple magic would envelop the doors before they creaked open. Twilight looked back, Rigdon slowly following in after her. Once he was finally in, she shut the doors, a gust of wind escaping as they were sealed in.

Rigdon quickly found his way towards the squishy bed, his body making one half of the bed his. Twilight took a couple of steps forward, her body language clearly conveying an overall layer of nervousness. “I’ve… never been in a bed with another pony before.” She murmured softly as she took another step forward. Rigdon gave a small smile as he patted the spot open next to him.

Twilight, feeling a bit more encouraged, quickly found herself inching closer towards the bed. Once she ran out of room, she began to climb in. She was now laying on her side, her mind racing with thoughts on everything. “How am I going to do all this? I’m not a teacher? What if I disappoint Celestia?” She began to worry. Rigdon rolled his eyes before moving closer to the egghead in front of him. Twilight found herself in the arms of Rigdon. His grasp was firm, yet delicate. His warmth was unmatched from anything she had felt before. She slowly nuzzled into him, her muzzle finding itself against the middle of his chest.

Rigdon closed his eyes, his hand slowly combing through her hair. “It’s going to be alright, Twilight. I know you’re gonna do great… Plus, if you need any help, I got your back,” He reassured her. Slowly, he leaned down and planted a quick, soft peck against her forehead. Twilight gave a small breath as she laid there.

“I guess you’re right… It’s not going to be easy, but… It just takes some practice.” She slowly wrapped her hooves around him, her own grasp on him slowly growing tighter. Sleep came quickly and easy in but a few moments.