The God Particle

Chapters

2 - First Contact
3 - Dungeon Meeting
4 - Canterlot
5 - The Road to Ponyville
6 - A Fashionista's Welcome
7 - Twilight Sparkle's New Student
8 - A New Day in Ponyville
9 - Mythology and Science
10 - Solaris
11 - Meeting the Ponies
12 - Changing Seasons
13 - Diverging Paths
15 - Into the North
16 - The Outpost
17 - The Debriefing
18 - Her Dark Premonition
19 - Dreamscapes
20 - The Weaving of Fate
21 - Dimensional Spaces
22 - Canterlot Life and Times
23 - Summer's Eve Omen
24 - Summer Sun Morning
26 - And the Sun Rises
27 - Unfriendly Skies
28 - Firewing
29 - The Loyalty of Dragons
30 - Fealty
31 - The Royal Council
32 - Lament
33 - The Crisis Deepens
34 - Darkness Falls
35 - The Windy City
37 - Confessions of Alicorns & Humans
38 - The Magic of Dreams
39 - Princess Luna, Goddess of the Night
40 - Interrogation of a Griffin
41 - The Road to Montana
42 - A Town in Ruins
43 - Project Oz
44 - The Coming Storm
45 - Captain Swordstorm
46 - The Griffins
47 - Two Missions Begin
48 - Chrysalis
49 - Megan
50 - Reunion
52 - The Battle Begins
53 - Two Questions of Loyalty
54 - Enemies and Allies
55 - A Devastating Discovery
56 - Commander Auraria
57 - Gilda
58 - Theory Point
59 - Equestria Catches a Break
60 - Interrogation of a Captain
61 - A Mission to Plan
63 - Everfree
64 - A Plan Set in Motion
65 - The Emissary
66 - To Rescue The Moon
BOOK II: 67 - A Heated Argument
68 - Missing Threads
69 - A Confession of Love
70 - A Dangerous Idea
71 - Dorylini's Secret
72 - The Genesis Spell
73 - The Looming Battle
74 - Chariot Down
1 - Lab 49
14 - Fly Into the Night With Me
25 - The Summer Sun Celebration - Day 1
36 - Return to Canterlot
51 - Betrayal
62 - Gilda's Demands

2 - First Contact

Chapter 2: First Contact

Twilight Sparkle's horn glowed with a delicate lavender aura as she dipped her magically held quill in the inkwell once more. Then she moved the quill back to the scroll she was writing on and began adding more details to her spell diagram.

Suddenly, the door to the library flew open. She jumped in startled surprise, her leg hitting the writing desk and jostling the scroll, causing the quill to leave an ugly jagged string of ink on the paper. Annoyance quickly rising inside of her, she looked at the door.

"Fluttershy! You startled me. Now I'm going to have to start over on this magical diagram I was making for Princess—"

"In the forest!" the yellow pegasus stammered, doing her best to talk between deep rapid breaths, "There's something in the forest! It's … it's … it's—"

"Whoa, Fluttershy! Calm down. What's in the forest?" Twilight raised an eyebrow, her mood quickly changing from one of annoyance at Fluttershy for barging in, to one of concern.

"I don't know," Fluttershy responded, her breathing slowing somewhat as she appeared to calm down a little. "In all my years of taking care of the forest animals, I've never seen anything like it before. I was looking at some strange … junk in the forest when it fell out of a thicket. It was oddly shaped. And … and it could talk!"

"It could talk?" Twilight's eyes lit up in excitement. A new creature? Something never before seen in Equestria? A new sentient creature that could talk? Oh yes, talk to it she would! She would study it. She would learn everything there was to know about it. She would write books and articles about it. She would —

"Twilight, are you listening to me?" Fluttershy asked in an exasperated tone.

"What? Oh … yes … sorry," she said, coming out of the side spur her train of thought had run down. "This creature. Tell me more about it. What did it look like?"

"Well … It was wearing clothes. Although they were kind of torn up and ragged. The parts of it that weren't covered with clothing didn't look like they had any fur. I think it was male … it had a deep voice like a male anyway. And it had a short brown mane, but no tail."

"Fascinating," Twilight responded, excitement growing inside of her. "And did it move? How did it walk?"

"Well … it didn't really. It was lying on the ground when I saw it. It might have been injured. I was moving towards it … to try to help it. And that's when it … it …" Fluttershy stopped and shuttered visibly.

"It what?" Twilight prompted.

"Well, it had some kind of weapon I think. A small black box. It threatened me. Then it pointed it at me and pushed something with … I guess its hoof? Or claw? or paw? It was strange looking. Anyway … it pressed something on the box. And this strange noise came out of it. A noise like nothing I've ever heard before."

Twilight frowned upon learning that the creature had tried to harm the timid pegasus. "But you are fine, right? I mean whatever it tried to do … You didn't actually get hurt, did you?"

"No," Fluttershy said quietly. "I'm fine. It must have missed, or something. But that's when I left. I flew away as fast as I could."

Twilight thought for a moment, then looked at Fluttershy again. "How far away were you from Ponyville when you encountered this creature?"

"About … fifteen thousand strides, I think," Fluttershy said in her usual quiet voice.

Twilight frowned at that. "If the creature is hostile, it could find its way to Ponyville in less than a day at that distance … Even if it is relatively slow." She thought for a moment again, shaking her head slightly in frustration. Oh how she wished Spike weren't away at young dragon summer camp. She knew she needed to get a letter to Princess Celestia as fast as possible, given how quickly this creature might be able to reach Ponyville. "Fluttershy, go find Rainbow Dash. I need to write a letter to The Princess. Without Spike here, Rainbow is the fastest way to get it to her and get a response back."

Fluttershy nodded "Okay …" she said quietly, turning and leaving the door, closing it much more gently than she had opened it. Twilight went over to her writing desk, moving the damaged scroll out of the way. She replaced it with a new one, magically dipped her quill in the ink again, and started to write:

Dear Princess Celestia,

I have just received disturbing news from Fluttershy. While she was out in the forest near Ponyville, she came across some strange debris—she called it junk—and started to investigate. In the process of looking into it, she encountered a sentient being of unknown species, but believed to be of male gender, that stumbled out of the undergrowth. This being was able to speak and was apparently armed with some type of unknown weapon. When Fluttershy attempted to approach the creature, it attempted to use the weapon on her. Thankfully, other than making a strange sound, the weapon did not injure her and she was able to escape unharmed.

My biggest concern now is, that this creature is approximately fifteen thousand strides away from Ponyville. At that distance, it could reach the town in less than one day of travel, even if it is relatively slow.

I request your immediate assistance and advice on how to best handle this matter.

Your faithful student,

Twilight Sparkle

A bumping noise outside, and another loud bang as the door to the library opened roughly again. A cyan pegasus stood in the door way, a look of annoyance on her muzzle.

"Rainbow, I need you to take this to Princess Celestia," Twilight said as she rolled up the scroll, affixing her wax seal on it.

The pegasus gave her an incredulous look, her eyes narrowing slightly. "Are you serious? Do I look like a mail pony? I mean it's just a letter. Can't you find somepony else to do something as mundane as deliver a letter for you?"

Twilight sighed and glared back at the other pony. "Rainbow! This letter is very important! Ponyville might be in danger, and you are the fastest flier in Equestria! I need you to get this letter to The Princess as soon as possible! Deliver it to her personally and wait for her to write her response. Then bring it back to me. Time is very important."

Rainbow raised her eyebrows at that. "Danger? What kind of danger. Whatever danger there might be, just let me know where to find it. I can kick its tail!"

Twilight rolled her eyes at the pegasus' antics. "From what Fluttershy said, it doesn't have a tail to kick. But there's no time to explain it right now, Rainbow. This potential danger could reach Ponyville in less than a day. In a matter of hours really. If it is, in fact, coming here. Just go. Please?"

The pegasus hesitated for a moment, then gave her another annoyed look, taking the floating scroll out of the air with her teeth, mumbling through her clenched jaws. "Fine! But I should be out finding this so called danger and kicking its nonexistent tail instead of acting as a mail courier."

Rainbow was out the door before Twilight got a chance to respond, not that she wanted to respond anyway. Rainbow could say whatever she wanted, as long as it got her on her way to deliver the letter. She watched as the cyan pegasus spread her wings and leaped into the sky, disappearing from sight quickly. A few seconds later, an ear shattering boom shook the library's windows. The shelves vibrated, several books falling to the floor.

"That would be her creating a sonic rainboom," Twilight muttered to herself as she started to magically pick up the books that had fallen, although she acknowledged she had no pony to blame for that but herself. She had asked Rainbow to hurry after all. When she had finished putting the displaced books back on their shelves, she went back to her writing desk, dipping her quill in the ink again and starting to redraw the magical diagram she had been working on. There was nothing else she could do now, except wait. But despite her best efforts to concentrate on the diagram, she found she could not. Instead, she kept looking out the window, hoping to see some sign of Rainbow Dash's return.

James jumped as he heard a loud BOOM that echoed off the trees around him. "What the hell was that?" he said to himself, looking up. Not thunder. It was a clear morning and there wasn't a cloud in the sky. Some kind of object was streaking past above him. Behind it, as if coming from the object itself, was a rainbow, like a multicolored smoke trail from a jet fighter. It didn't take long for him to come to the conclusion that what he had heard was a sonic boom, and the object traveling overhead was responsible for it. Some type of supersonic aircraft, he surmised.

That prospect both intrigued and frightened him. The object, and the trail behind it, was nothing like any human designed aircraft he was familiar with. Was it something created by the race of sentient ponies he had encountered earlier? If so, they were far more technologically advanced than he had originally assumed they were. After his initial encounter with the yellow pony, he assumed she was part of some kind of primitive tribal society. If the object he had just seen shooting across the sky was any indication, they were far more advanced than he had originally given them credit for.

Mentally, he chided himself for leaping to his original conclusion based on an isolated encounter with just one of their kind. He knew better than to do that. But there would be plenty of time to beat himself up over it later. For now, he had bigger problems. They might be coming for him sooner than he thought if they were that much more advanced than he gave them credit for. And they might be better prepared to deal with him once they found him. He was no fighter … no warrior … He really had no idea what to do at this point. He could run, but where would he go? Surely, they would be able to track him. And how far could he run anyway? He had no food, no water. He could go for awhile without food, yes. But the lack of water was already making his throat feel parched. Any water he found in the forest might not be safe to drink, and he had no way to purify it. No container to boil it in. No way to start a fire even if he had had a container.

He tried to analyze what the best course of action would be, but the situation he was in was just to incredibly foreign to him. All of his scientific knowledge was coming up with nothing at all. And so he simply sat on the ground, drawing his knees up to his chest. He wrapped his arms around them, rocking back and forth in a rather pathetic manner. He had no idea what to do.

Twilight Sparkle ran back to the door of the library as she heard the sound of a pegasus landing outside. Before she could get to it, it had already flown open. Rainbow Dash stood in the door frame, wearing a pair of saddle bags now. She reached into one of them, removed a scroll, and tossed it at Twilight. The unicorn's horn glowed slightly as she caught it out of midair. After checking the royal seal to make sure it was authentic—it was simply habit that made her do so, rather than any distrust of Rainbow Dash—she unrolled it and began to read:

My Dearest, Most Faithful Student, Twilight Sparkle,

I agree that this situation is indeed a potential threat to Ponyville. I am sending a wing of Pegasus Guards to find and apprehend this creature. Unicorn Guards will accompany them in case the creature is capable of using magic. They will stop at Fluttershy's cottage as they will need her to accompany them and show them where she found the creature. If at all possible, the Royal Guards are to apprehend the creature without harming him, as we do not know if he poses any threat to us. Once he has been captured, and is safely in custody, my guards will stop to get you. I wish for you to accompany them to Canterlot as I may have need of you in this situation. Once the creature has been brought to me in Canterlot, I will determine how he should be dealt with.

Please wait for my guards at Fluttershy's cottage outside of town, as I do not wish for them to bring the creature into Ponyville and cause a commotion. As a precaution, I would suggest you inform all ponies who do not need to go outside to remain indoors until an all clear is given. The Royal Guard will be well on their way by the time you receive this. Please await their arrival.

Princess Celestia.

She finished reading, remaining silent for several moments, just looking at the letter in front of her.

"Twilight? Are you alright? What's going on?" Rainbow asked, interrupting her thoughts from behind.

She turned to look at Rainbow. "The Princess has sent a wing of Royal Guards to capture him. Once they have, I am to accompany them to Canterlot. For now, please spread the word asking ponies to remain indoors if they don't need to be outside. We will let them know when the threat has passed. But first, please stop by Fluttershy's and let her know that the Royal Guards will be stopping by to get her."

"I'll spread the word, but you don't think I'm letting you go to Canterlot alone do you? With some strange creature?"

She shook her head. "I won't be alone, Rainbow. There will be an entire wing of Pegasus Guards with me, as well as several Unicorn Guards."

The pegasus scoffed. "Guards or no guards, I'm coming with you."

"We'll talk about that later, Rainbow. For now, please just go talk to Fluttershy and warn the ponies around town."

"I'm on it! But Fluttershy's not gonna be happy about having to go back out there with the guards. And she's really not gonna be happy about the plan to bring that creature to her place," Rainbow responded, giving a salute with her forehoof, backing out the door and taking to the air again before Twilight had a chance to respond.

James finally got back to his feet, then winced in pain as he stumbled on his twisted ankle. Catching himself, he slowly put weight on it. It was definitely sore, but it didn't seem to be broken. Still, it was going to slow him down, at a time when he could ill afford it. He knew he had to move now. They were certain to come back to this spot where the yellow pony had encountered him. He definitely didn't want to be here when they returned.

Quickly, he tried to remember which direction the pony had flown off in, then turned around, heading the other way. He stopped, almost forgetting his makeshift weapon. Bending down, he picked up the long piece of jagged steel again, then started off, his injured ankle slowing him down and causing him to limp.

Bushes, ferns, and other forest growth blocked his path, acting like a thick wall that impeded his progress. Vines tried to grab his feet, attempting to entangle them and make him fall again. He found himself using the long piece of steel to try to slash his way through the thick foliage. Of course, that was going to leave a trail even a blind bat could follow. But he had no other options if he was going to make any progress.

A few minutes passed, and he was sure his progress was agonizingly slow. He heard a rushing sound above him, looking up to see another one of the flying ponies, a pegasus he guessed. But this one wore golden, Roman style armor. The flying pony was pure white in color, larger, and of a more muscular build than the yellow one he had seen earlier. His heart, already racing from the exertion of forcing his way through the thick forest, started racing even faster. Some type of guard, police officer, or soldier, no doubt. Searching for him by air.

He looked back down, trying to move faster. But the dense forest growth and increasing protests of his ankle fought his attempts, keeping him moving much slower than he would have liked.

From somewhere behind him, he heard a male voice. "He went this way, sir. He didn't try to hide it either. The trail he slashed through the brush will be easy to follow."

Another male voice. "Spread out. I don't want to come up on him unexpectedly. And keep vigilant. We can't see very far in this thick brush and could be on top of him before we even realize it."

The same male voice called out loudly then, clearly intended for James to hear it. "I am Captain Swordstorm. Commander of the Pegasus Guard division of Her Majesty's Royal Guard! Her Majesty, Princess Celestia, demands your surrender! There is no way out of here and my guards will have you surrounded shortly. Show yourself peacefully, with your hooves where we can see them, and you have my word of honor as Captain of Her Majesty's Pegasus Guard, that you will not be harmed and will be treated fairly and with respect."

What good is your word of honor to me James thought to himself. For all he knew, these pony like creatures had no honor. The Captain's word of honor could be completely worthless. Or he could have just said it to obtain his compliance. And this Princess Celestia? How was he to know she wasn't a veritable Elizabeth Báthory?

He stopped trying to hack his way through the brush now. That would only make noise and draw attention to himself. The impenetrable foliage that had been a curse before had become a blessing now. At least it would prevent them from spotting him until they were practically on top of him. Furthermore, it would prevent the flying ponies from landing. At least that's what he hoped. If it did, that would make it harder for them to slip in front of him and surround him.

He started walking again, trying to make as little noise as possible as he picked his way carefully through the thickets, though he wondered if they might be able to hear him anyway. From what he had seen on the yellow pegasus, they had raised, pointed ears capable of swiveling to gather sound, just like regular horses did. Horses also had much better hearing than humans, didn't they? He wondered if these horse like creatures did as well.

Realistically though, he knew it was only a matter of time before they found him. Even if he could hide well in this thick undergrowth, it seemed unlikely they would simply give up the search. Not when they knew he was in the immediate area.

He took shelter near some thick ferns, squatting close to the ground, and considered his options. Running didn't seem like it would get him anywhere. They were close enough to hear him now, and there was no way he could outrun them forever—especially not with his injured ankle. Not to mention the fact that they were horses, weren't they? Surely, they could run him down easily. He could simply surrender, but he had little faith in the Captain's promise that he wouldn't be harmed and was not keen on the idea of placing himself at the mercy of a bunch of 'aliens' he knew nothing about. Finally, he could continue to move slowly and attempt to stay hidden. But really, how long could he keep up a game of hide and seek with them? Especially one where there were multiple seekers? Perhaps if he could just avoid capture until nightfall, he could slip away. But nightfall was a long way off. He didn't think it could be any later than noon right now. That was a long time to try to stay hidden from multiple guards who were spreading out in a coordinated search.

"I think I've picked up his scent, sir. It doesn't smell like any forest animal."

My scent? They can track me by scent? Of course they can, they're horses! Stupid, James! Stupid! He chastised himself for being so careless and not trying to stay downwind of them. What could he do about it now though? Probably nothing. Now that they already had his scent, there was no way they would let him circle around behind and get downwind of them now. He knew he was rapidly running out of options.

Finally, he simply turned around, taking a fencing stance—he had been in the fencing club during his college years—and waited for them to appear. To face them head on was better than getting pulled down from behind.

"I see him, sir. Up ahead. He's facing us. He has a long piece of metal. His stance … He may have some skill with a blade, sir. No other visible weapons than the piece of metal."

"I'm giving you another chance to surrender peacefully!" the voice that he now recognized as the Captain of the guards called out. "Drop the object you are holding, come out peacefully with your hooves where we can see them, and you will be treated with fairness and respect, and will not be harmed."

His feet stayed still, but his mind scrambled and his breathing was rapid. "I haven't done anything wrong! I just want to go home!" he responded, swinging the long piece of jagged metal wildly, as if fending off a pack of unseen wolves.

"We can talk about that," the Captain responded. "Her Majesty will be willing to listen to your concerns. You should know that. And she will do what she can to help you. I'm willing to help you as well. But I can't if you don't cooperate with me. What is your name? It will make it easier to talk with you if I have a name to call you by."

I should know that? Why would I know that? "It's James … My name is James … Stay away!" He swung the long piece of metal in an arc again, like a batter swinging at a fastball. He may have never been in trouble with the police before, but he knew the Captain's negotiating tactics and talk of helping him was probably only a ploy to gain his surrender without incident. And once he was in custody, chained and defenseless, there was no telling what they would do to him. Still, he thought there was no harm in giving them his first name.

"Well, James. The only way out of here is by coming with us. That can be as easy or as difficult as you want to make it on yourself. But the end result will be the same. Don't squander the good will I'm extending to you."

"Stay away!" he yelled once more, again swinging his makeshift club. Any fencing skills he remembered were completely lost to him right now overwhelmed in the face of fear.

Suddenly, something slammed into him from behind. Furry forelegs wrapped around his neck above his shoulders and an impact drove him to the ground, face first. He yelled out in surprise, quickly trying to push himself up off the ground. He was immediately forced back down as the pony that had attacked him from behind sat down on the small of his back, pinning him firmly. There was a flash of armored white hoof out of the corner of his right eye, as another one of the guards quickly removed the metal stick from his grasp.

"We've got him, sir," the guard seated on top of him called out. "And he's disarmed."

He slapped the ground in frustration with his fist. Stupid! he chastised himself again. When the Captain was talking to him, it never occurred to him that he was simply keeping his attention so some of his guards could circle around unnoticed and pull him down from behind. He tried to push himself off the ground once more, lifting his head and pushing up with his forearms.

"Hold still and keep your head down!" The guard seated on top him ordered, easily keeping him pinned.

It would do him no good to wear himself out struggling. He grunted, but held still. Armored white forehooves approached from his front. He tried to raise his head again to see what was going on. "I said keep your head down!" the pony seated on his back said in a gruff tone, placing a forehoof on the side of his head, pushing it back down to the ground, and holding it there. He winced, but made no further attempts at lifting his head.

"Search him," the Captain said.

James felt a strange tingling sensation moving over his body, like static electricity when you hold your arm in front of the screen of an old fashioned tube type television. Instinctively, he started to struggle again, trying to move away from it. "Hold still!" the pony sitting on his back ordered again, pressing him down more firmly. He did his best to try to stop moving again. Struggling wasn't making his situation any better. The tingling moved further down, over his side pants pocket now. Then, he felt his iPhone being lifted out. Strangely though, he could not feel any hands … or hooves reaching into his pocket. A few seconds later, the tingling moved to his back pocket, and his wallet was lifted out. Again, he felt no physical contact. He strained his eyes as far as he could in that direction, trying to see what was going on. But head pressed to the ground by the pony's forehoof, he could see nothing.

"This must be the weapon Fluttershy told us about, sir," another guard, who's voice he hadn't heard before said. James was thankful he'd had the foresight to turn the iPhone off after he'd gotten done with it. He might need the battery later. If he ever got it back, that is.

"It's not a weapon," James protested through gritted teeth, the pony's hoof still firmly holding his head to the ground.

"Is there anything else?" the Captain asked.

"Just a small folder like object, sir. It contains some personal effects. Some photographs, a few plastic cards with strange writing on them, something that looks like some sort of identification card. It has his photo on it. That's it, sir."

James considered protesting the fact that they were going through his personal affairs, but thought better of it. Not knowing how these ponies might use anything he said now against him later, he decided the best course of action was to simply not say anything. He didn't think there would be any sympathetic ears listening anyway.

"Get the restraints on him. Lets get him in the chariot," the Captain responded.

At the mention of the word 'restraints', James started trying to struggle again. "Keep him still!" the Captain called out … Captain Swordstorm he thought he had said his name was? He felt another one of the guards move to assist the one that was already pinning him, grunting as his legs were pinned now. Gathering all the willpower he could muster, he forced himself to hold still again, reminding himself that it would do no good to wear himself out right now, when escape seemed out of the question. Better to save his energy for an opportunity where it might do him some good to use it.

Again, he felt the weird tingling sensation, this time around his ankles, felt something cold closing around each one, hearing a metallic clink as they closed. The tingling sensation moved to his arms. As if being pulled by some unseen force, his arms started moving behind his back, like they had been grabbed by invisible hands. Instinctively, he tried to struggle against the mysterious feeling. But the two ponies restraining him held him firmly. Another cold feeling around his wrists, a metallic clank, as what he knew were iron or steel manacles locked into place. The tingling went away, the unseen force releasing his arms. Experimentally, he tried to move them back in front of himself. As expected, the two manacles were connected by a short length of chain, preventing him from doing so.

The tingling reappeared, this time around his neck. From the corner of his eye, he saw an iron collar floating towards his neck … Floating? It seemed to be. The edges of it glowed with a strange green fluorescence, as if it were illuminated with neon lighting. Then, the same cold feeling he had felt around his wrists and ankles as the collar closed around his neck, clicking and locking into place.

"Get him up," the Captain commanded. "And be careful about it. Don't injure him."

The pony sitting on his back finally stood up and stepped off of him. At least it felt good to finally have that weight off his back. Two forelegs hooked under his shoulders and he was quickly, although not roughly, pulled to his feet. His muscles had become stiff from being pinned in one place for so long, and he winced as they protested at the sudden movement, sending small jolts of soreness through him. It passed quickly though, and was replaced by the relief of finally being able to stand up, finally no longer having his head pinned to the ground by a hoof, finally no longer being held down, even if he was in iron restraints now. It was, at least, a small improvement over where he had been a few seconds ago.

For the first time, he was able to clearly see his captors. In front of him, a white pony, winged like the first yellow one he had seen, but of a more stocky and muscular build. He wore golden armor like the ones he had seen flying, including armor plating around his hooves, golden greaves around both forelegs and hind legs. A golden curiass, inlaid with silver trimmings, protected his chest, connected to gold back plates that ran down most of the length of his back and sides. In the center, a five pointed crimson star—the crimson a symbol of his Captain's rank, James assumed—the other winged ponies next to him wore a similar curiass, but their stars were light blue in color. Gold pauldrons covered his withers, and a polished golden Roman like helm with a blue crest protected his head.

James turned his head to the left. His jaw dropped for a moment. Three unicorns stood there, similar in size and wearing similar armor to the winged ponies. They were gray in color, and had white crests on their helms, highlighted with light blue. This has to be dream, he thought to himself, quickly picking up his jaw again.

The Captain spoke again in a firm but gentler tone of voice, grabbing James' attention back. "James, sir, you are now a prisoner of Her Majesty, Princess Celestia. You will be treated fairly and with respect if you cooperate. You are to be taken to the capital city of Canterlot for an audience with Her Majesty, at which point, she will decide what happens next. You will be taken care of there. Given food, water, shelter, and medical attention if you need it. Do you understand what I have said so far?"

James only nodded in response, keeping his mouth closed. The Captain continued.

"You look a little scraped up. There is a town nearby with a clinic we can take you to if we must. If it's not serious, we can wait until we get to Canterlot."

James considered that for a moment. It was tempting to delay going to Canterlot and facing this Princess Celestia, whoever she was. But then again, delaying would only put off something that seemed inevitable. Better to get it out of the way as soon as possible. The suspense of not knowing seemed worse than whatever the ultimate outcome might be. He made up his mind. "My ankle is sore from falling earlier, but it's not serious. And the cuts and bruises are minor. I'll be fine."

The Captain nodded and smiled at him slightly … a smile that James thought meant he had in some way earned a modicum of respect from him. Perhaps the Captain admired his willingness to endure his injuries without holding them up by making them stop to get him tended to? He wasn't sure.

Captain Swordstorm turned his attention to the two winged ponies flanking James on either side. "Get him in the chariot."

It was now that James realized there were chains attached to the collar and to the manacles restraining his hands behind his back. The other end of the chains were attached to a golden ring around the right fetlock of each of the two guards standing next to him.

"Let's move," the one on his left said firmly, but without shouting. A gentle but firm tug on the chain connected to his collar provided extra motivation.

Now that he had been still for awhile, the injury to his ankle had had time to stiffen and swell. He walked with a limp, the soreness slowing his progress some, as did the manacles locked around his ankles that prevented him from taking full length steps. His guards seemed sympathetic, and did not try to push him to move faster.

Emerging from the thicket, into the clearing and debris left by his arrival, his eyes widened. In front of him, were three open chariots, white as freshly fallen snow. On their doors, the emblem of a sun, blazing like a golden flame. The inside of the chariots were covered in plush crimson upholstery that looked fit for royalty. In front of each chariot, stood two winged ponies, armored like the others and connected by sturdy harnesses.

Approaching one of the chariots, a third guard put his forehoof on the door latch, then pulled the door outwards. The two guards flanking James stood on their hind legs, helping him into the chariot, their forehooves lifting under his shoulders, the chain connecting his ankles together preventing him from lifting his leg far enough to step up onto the chariot's platform. Once inside, the two guards, along with Captain Swordstorm himself, climbed into the chariot with him, and the guard outside closed the door, making sure it was secure.

Looking to his right, James noticed that the unicorns had climbed into another chariot. They can't walk like the ones pulling the chariots will have to? he thought to himself.

"We're ready, sir," one of the winged ponies outside of the chariot called out.

"Good. Let's move out," the Captain responded.

The two winged ponies pulling the chariot James was riding in started walking. Suddenly, with a small jolt, the ground begin to fall away underneath them. He scrambled in panic, instinctively trying to jump out of the chariot while it was still low enough for him to fall to the ground safely.

"Stop him!" Captain Swordstorm shouted, all three ponies instantly scrambling to grab him. He hadn't even gotten half way over the side of the chariot before he was grabbed and yanked to the floor, two forehooves pressed to his back pinning him down firmly. He squirmed violently, kicking his legs as he tried to escape. His ankles were pulled back down, then held to the floor by the manacles—one of the ponies standing on the chain connecting them, he assumed. For a few more seconds he tried to struggle, but then, recognizing the futility of it, he gave up. Now, he just laid still, breathing rapidly from exertion mixed with anxiety. The Captain and the two guards continued to hold him on the floor for several more seconds, making certain he had given up the struggle before lifting him back up.

"Certainly, you didn't believe you could escape," Captain Swordstorm scolded him, his eyes narrowed in anger. "Are you afraid of flying?"

James glanced over the side of the chariot. The ground was passing by far below them now, clearly way too far to jump safely. He shuddered slightly, looking back at the Captain. "In an airliner? No. But this way?"

Captain Swordstorm gave him a confused look, then shook his head. "I will have you know my Pegasus Guards have an extremely safe flying record. I assure you, you are in good hooves, and very safe in this chariot."

James gave no response, instead, simply leaning back and trying hard to keep himself calm. He stared across the isle of the chariot, blank expression falling on the two guards across from him. From time to time, he moved his eyes from one to the other, but said nothing. He continued this behavior for a good ten minutes. The guards across from him became shifty, fidgeting slightly and moving their eyes nervously when he would shift his gaze to them. Finally one of them spoke.

"I don't like the look on his face, sir. He's planning something. I can see it in his eyes."

"Well, then keep an eye on him. So you can stop him before he has a chance to do whatever it is he's planning," the Captain responded simply.

The guard was right. James was, in fact, planning something. Flying chariots, winged ponies, unicorns. This had a to be a dream. it had to be. Since it had to be a dream, there was no real danger in anything he decided to do. It was a long fall to the ground, at least a few thousand feet. If he jumped from this height, it would be nearly impossible to tell exactly where he came down. The ground below them was covered in solid green forest. Once he was in there, he would be nearly impossible to find. Like searching for a single drop of blue in a sea of green. The guards would never expect him to jump from a flying chariot. If he were quick about it …

In a flash, he lunged for the side of the chariot, attempting to scramble over the side.

"Grab him!" the Captain shouted, the two Pegasus Guards across from him lunging across the center isle. One of them gave a rough yank on the chain attached to his wrist cuffs, pulling him backwards. In desperation, he tried to scramble forward again. But this time, his legs were yanked out from under him by a rough jerk on the chain connecting his ankle manacles. Quickly, one of the guards stepped over him sitting on the small of his back again, holding him firmly to the floor. His head was roughly slammed to the floor and pinned there with a forehoof. He struggled only for a moment before holding still again. It was useless to struggle in this position, he knew. If he couldn't get out from under the pony before his arms had been bound behind his back, there was certainly no way he was going to be able to do it now.

"So help me, I'm tempted to keep you pinned down here for the rest of the flight to Canterlot!" the guard on top of him, who he now recognized was the Captain himself, shouted down at him. Despite his words though, he stood up and stepped off. Then, James was roughly yanked back to a sitting position by the other two guards, facing Captain Swordstorm's glaring eyes.

"What in Celestia's name were you trying to do?" the Captain shouted in his face, close enough that he could feel the warm breath hitting him. "Are you suicidal? Do you think you are a bird or something? Or that you were suddenly going to sprout wings?" the Captain continued lecturing him loudly.

James said nothing in response, simply glaring back at the Captain now, who shook his head and threw a foreleg up in frustration before continuing in a slightly quieter, but no less stern voice. "You've used up your last drop of good will, prisoner. As soon as we land in Ponyville, I'm having you sedated for the rest of the trip. I'm a tail's hair breadth from not waiting until we get to Ponyville and sedating you myself with a hoof to your head."

Sedated … He tried not to show any reaction. But inside, his mind was terrified at the thought. In retrospect, maybe trying to jump from the chariot had been a bad idea. Once he was sedated, he would be completely at their mercy. Who knows where he would wake up? Or what they would do to him while he was unconscious?

For the next few minutes, James sat motionless and silent. Now, he tried to be a model prisoner, hoping that if he remained on his best behavior, Captain Swordstorm might change his mind about the sedation before they arrived wherever it was they were stopping; although it would have been difficult for him to try anything now even if he had wanted to. The guards weren't about to give him another chance it seemed, keeping the chains connected his neck and wrists short, giving him virtually no room to move at all. His heart started to race as the chariot began to descend.

He tried to lean to the side slightly, to see what they were descending towards, but he quickly ran out of slack in the chain attached to the collar around his neck. Turning his head, he looked back at the pony holding it, who only shook his head slightly in a 'no' motion. James did nothing in response, just looking forward again, and waiting.

A small bump, as the chariot touched down a couple of minutes later, a smooth landing any airline pilot would be proud of. James looked around, taking in the scenery. They were just on the edge of the forest now. A single multilevel cottage of natural construction stood near the edge of the forest. The roof, he noticed, was covered with growing grass or plants of some type, following the recent trend of green eco-friendly roofing construction he had seen on some buildings in Chicago. Multiple birdhouses hung from trees surrounding the cottage and a small river ran lazily in front of it, an arched stone bridge providing a crossing. Several small gardens surrounded the cottage that appeared to contain various types of vegetables and herbs. He recognized some of them, including a row of lettuce, and another row of carrots. Other than the cottage, there seemed to be nothing else resembling civilization nearby.

The chariot came to a stop in front of the cottage. Captain Swordstorm opened the door and stepped out, turning to look back at the guards holding his chains. "Make sure he stays put. Don't let him out of the chariot," he commanded.

The captain trotted over to the chariot the unicorns were riding in. "Can one of you sedate him?"

"Sedation is a specialized field of medical magic, sir. Battle mages are not trained in—"

"I'll take that as a no," the Captain responded, turning and trotting towards the cottage. "Maybe Miss Sparkle can do it."

The Captain knocked on the door of the cottage with a forehoof. James blinked as a lavender colored unicorn emerged, the door quickly closing behind her, practically before she had even gotten all the way through it. It looked to him as if it must have been slammed from the inside, if the way the unicorn turned her head back over her withers and glared sharply at whoever was on the other side of the door was any indication. She resembled the yellow pegasus he had seen earlier more than she resembled the unicorn guards. He surmised she was female, based on the similarities to the female pegasus, and differences from the male guards.

Captain Swordstorm spoke with the unicorn in quiet tones, occasionally looking back at the chariot as if to make sure his prisoner were still there, and still behaving. James could hear nothing of what was said. The unicorn's eyes moved back and forth between the Captain, and the chariot he was sitting in. She looked excited, like a child turned loose in a candy shop and told to pick anything they wanted might look. After a few minutes of talking, the Captain turned, and the two of them began trotting towards him and the chariot.

The unicorn stopped not far from the chariot, simply looking at him now. He looked back at her. Her eyes seemed to scan every part of him, taking in all of him. In her eyes, he recognized the same twinkle of wonder and curiosity he often felt when encountering something new. The desire to learn, the need to discover. The insatiable thirst and yearning for knowledge. Had he met her in other circumstances, he probably would have had the same expression in his own eyes. But right now, he was too frightened to be concerned with wonder over what she was, or to want to strike up a conversation with her.

She continued to look at him for a bit longer, her large violet eyes penetrating his soul. Yet, in their wide gaze of excitement, of wonder and yearning, he could detect something else. Compassion, he thought it was. Compassion for him, seeing him chained up and collared. In some small way, it comforted him. Even though she had not spoken a single word to him yet, he felt she were someone he might be able to trust. Someone who might be on his side and would speak on his behalf. Finally, she did speak.

"My name is Twilight. Twilight Sparkle. I'm Princess Celestia's student and I will be accompanying you to Canterlot." She stopped and looked at the ground. A look of sadness, or regret in her eyes for a moment. Then she looked back at him and frowned slightly. "I'm sorry to have to do this, but Captain Swordstorm has insisted that I sedate you for the remainder of the flight."

He opened his mouth to protest, but immediately closed it again, staring at the unicorn now. Her horn had started to glow with a purple aura and he could feel that strange tingling sensation in his head. Fatigue and sleepiness instantly started to overwhelm him. Desperately, he fought to stay awake. Instinctively trying to jerk backwards and away from the unicorn, as if putting greater distance between the two of them would some how stop what was happening. The two guards controlling his chains held him fast. His eyes widened with fear, still looking at her. Fight it! Fight it! he told himself in his mind. But as his vision faded, he knew it was a losing battle. Still, he could see her horn glowing, the look of regret on her face as she gazed at him with compassion. But as sleep closed in around him, the vision of her began to fade as well. You have to fight it! he tried to tell himself again … No you don't … His eyes closed, thought left him, darkness overcame him.

3 - Dungeon Meeting

Chapter 3: Dungeon Meeting

James awoke to find himself lying on his back on a hard mattress. As his vision cleared, slate gray stone ceiling came into focus above him. Turning his head to the left, then right, stone walls of a similar color. None of the walls had any windows.

He sat up on the mattress—it was directly on the floor with no bed under it—attempting to raise his hands and rub his eyes. About midway up, they were yanked to a sudden halt. Looking down, he saw the iron cuffs still securing his wrists. The cuffs, he noticed now, had a strange tingling, warming sensation about them. It was annoying, but not painful. Short lengths of chain bound them to an iron loop anchored to the stone floor next to the bed, preventing him from raising his hands any higher than his stomach. They would also prevent him from standing up, leaving barely enough slack for him to even sit up where he was. Looking down, his ankles were also still bound with manacles. The collar he had been wearing continued to press lightly against his neck, although no chain was attached to it anymore.

Looking at the far wall in front of him now, he noticed thick iron bars. Like a ship fading into view through an ocean fog, the events that had lead him to this situation started to come back. "I'm in prison … or some kind of dungeon," he muttered to himself, his heart starting to race as he remembered the equine like beings that had captured him.

"Oh good! You're awake!"

He looked in the direction of the voice. The lavender unicorn he had briefly met earlier—the same one that had done something to him that had made him sleep—was trotting down a torch lined corridor toward the bars of the cell he was in.

"I'm awake? Are you sure about that?" he questioned, raising an eyebrow.

The unicorn gave him an odd look, but then shook her head slightly, as if forgetting about it. "How are you feeling?" she responded.

"Where exactly am I?"

"You are in Canterlot, the capital city of Equestria. Specifically, you are in the dungeon beneath the castle of her Royal Highness, Princess Celestia."

He almost panicked at the word 'dungeon'. "I want a lawyer, Miss … You'll have to excuse me. I forgot your name. A bit of amnesia from whatever you did to put me to sleep I guess."

"It's Twilight. Twilight Sparkle. But what's a lawyer?" She gave him another strange look.

He looked back at her just as strangely. "It's someone who understands the legal system, and helps you get out of trouble when you get arrested."

She shook her head once. "We don't have anypony like that around here. That's not how the legal system works here. But as the Royal Guards no doubt informed you, you will get an audience with Princess Celestia, and a chance to plead your case to her … Although I don't think you will have to plead anything."

"I didn't do anything wrong," he protested. He knew the fear was evident in his voice.

"Actually, there are several charges against you." The unicorn frowned. "Entering the nation of Equestria illegally; fleeing a royal guard; threatening a royal guard; a weapons charge because you used a sharp metal stick while threatening the royal guard; resisting arrest; and attempted escape after being arrested. And then there was the incident with Fluttershy … That's the yellow pegasus you first met in the forest. You haven't been charged with anything for that. At least not yet."

"I never had any intention of hurting her," his voice quivered with fear now after hearing the list of charges. "I was scared. I was only trying to frighten her away. The thing I used … it's not even a weapon. It's not dangerous. It just makes dumb noises."

"You were afraid of Fluttershy?" The unicorn raised an eyebrow, looking like she didn't believe him. But then shook her head, letting it pass. "No matter. I couldn't find anything dangerous about it either. That's why you haven't been charged for that. I am very curious about what it was though."

"It's a communication device … And it does other things, like give directions and store photographs." He decided to keep the explanation short and simple for now.

"Fascinating. In the future, you will have to tell me more about it. Oddly, I have never seen anything quite like it."

In the future. Hopefully, that was a good sign. Hopefully it meant, at least, he's wasn't going to be sent to the gallows, or the headspony, or however they did executions around here. He decided he might as well ask anyway.

"I'm not … gonna be executed or something, am I?"

"Executed?" the unicorn asked in an astonished voice, recoiling at the suggestion. "Why would you ever think Princess Celestia would do something like that? Of course, you aren't."

He breathed a sigh of relief. But he was also confused. Like the guards who had captured him, she spoke of this Princess Celestia almost as if he were expected to know who she was. He shook his head slightly. "I don't know … I was just worried. That's all."

She gave him another strange look, then seemed to shrug it off. "You never gave me an answer as to whether you were feeling alright or not."

He looked down at his arms and legs now. Although the rips and tears from the thorns were still there in his clothing, there was no evidence at all of the wounds the thorns had caused. Not even scratches remained. For the first time, he also noticed the pain in his ankle was completely gone, as if it had never been there at all. He had even forgotten he injured it until she asked if he was feeling well. His eyes widened in amazement. Not only had they kept their promise that he would be given medical attention once he got here, but to leave no scratches, not even a dull soreness? They must have some truly advanced medicine indeed!

"Did you hear me? Are you alright? I apologize about the clothes. We would have gotten you new clothes, but we didn't have any available to fit your body type. And given you were wearing clothes when the guards found you, we weren't sure if you'd be comfortable if we just took them off and left you naked."

Her voice brought him out of his thoughts, looking back up at her. She had a concerned look on her muzzle. At least he thought it was concern. He wasn't quite sure how horses showed concern. "I'm fine … Thank you …"

She nodded and smiled slightly, that excited gleam he had seen in her eyes when he first saw her had returned now. That gleam of wonder, curiosity, the need to discover and learn. "Well, I guess we can move on to the questions then. Are you comfortable? Can I get you anything?"

"These cuffs feel strange. Like they are tingling."

"I apologize for that. They are enchanted to prevent the wearer from using any kind of magic to escape. We didn't know if you were a magic user or not, so we had to be careful."

"Magic?" He raised an eyebrow. "No … I'm not a magic user."

She nodded, continuing to look at him, apparently still waiting for his answer.

"Can you have the guards remove the restraints? It's kind uncomfortable not being able to stand because my hands are practically chained to the floor."

She shook her head. "I'm sorry. Only Princess Celestia herself can authorize the removal of the restraints," she said apologetically.

"Don't you think the restraints are little bit excessive? I'm locked in a cell. It's not like I can be a threat to any of you from behind these bars."

"Actually, the restraints are for your protection." The unicorn frowned.

"My protection?" A note of indignation had crept into his voice. "You have me bound up, chained to the floor with chains so short that I can't even stand up. I can barely even sit up. I can't raise my hands enough to even reach my face. And I'm behind bars. How can the restraints possibly be for my protection?"

"The Royal Guards say you tried to jump from the chariot while it was in the air." Her frown deepened. "You don't have any obvious features that would allow you to fly. The Princess is concerned you might be a danger to yourself. Are the guards lying, James?" She had said it with a strong hint of concern in her voice, her ears swiveled back, drooping against her head. Was it concern for him? He sure hoped so.

He winced, then sighed. "No … No, they aren't," he admitted. No sense getting on the bad side of the guards by accusing them of lying when they were, in fact, telling the truth.

"Why would you do such a thing?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Because … I thought I was dreaming. I still think I probably am."

Her look became even more confused. "Why would you think you are dreaming?"

"… Isn't it obvious?" He thought his own look of confusion probably matched hers now.

For a few moments, the two of them just looked at each other as if neither one of them could figure out why the other was confused. Finally, Twilight shook her head.

"I guess I'll ask again … Why would you try to jump from the chariot while it was in the air? Surely you didn't think anything that happened to you here could be so bad it was better to commit suicide. I mean this is Princess Celestia we are talking about."

"First the Royal Guards, and now you!" he responded in an exasperated tone, trying to throw his hands up in frustration, forgetting about the cuffs. The chain link pulled tight against the rung in the floor, stopping his hands in their tracks with the sound of metal clapping against metal. "How was I to know something terrible wouldn't happen to me once they brought me here?"

The unicorn recoiled slightly at his raised voice. Then her eyes went wide, her jaw dropping. For a few long seconds, she looked at him in silence, with a look of surprise on her muzzle. Finally, she spoke again.

"You … You've never heard of Princess Celestia, have you? You have no idea who we are, do you?" she said with a tone of amazement, like one might have when realizing for the first time that they were talking to an alien from another world, which, of course, she was.

He didn't give her an answer. He just looked at her. He didn't need to give her an answer. He was sure his flat expression said everything that needed to be said.

"James … Where did you come from? How did you get here?" Her tone was softer, quiter now, but it held a strong mixture of excitement, concern, caution, and amazement.

He shook his head slowly and responded as calmly as he could. "I don't know, Twilight. I don't know where I came from because I have no frame of reference about where I am now. And I don't know how I got here. There was an accident at a science lab I was working in. An earthquake. Alarms, system failures." He paused for a moment, looking at her. Her jaw hung open, her eyes wide, ears intently swiveled towards him. He had her full attention now. He continued. "Something opened up. I fell through it. Like falling through space. I lost consciousness. When I woke up, I was in the forest where Flutter … the yellow pegasus found me."

He finished speaking, but the unicorn's eyes remained wide, staring at him in wonder and amazement. Finally, she composed herself enough to offer a response.

"James, I … I'm sorry. I thought you were from some distant society in our own world. Perhaps one we had never made contact with until now. I mean our whole world knows about Prin … Is there anything else you can tell me about how you got here?" She held a foreleg in the air for a few seconds, before gently putting it back down on the floor, her eyes still wide.

He shook his head. "Please, I just want to go home. Please … just let me out of here so I can go home." He was surprised at how pleading his own voice sounded in his ears.

The unicorn frowned again. "I'm sorry, James. But I can't let you out right now. Not until Princess Celestia says it's okay. And that won't happen until after she's spoken with you."

"You think … you think she'll let me out of this dungeon? Even with all the charges against me?" His voice sounded terrified.

Twilight nodded slightly a few times. "I think, if you cooperate with me so I can give her some answers, she will drop all the charges, given the circumstances. Princess Celestia is very fair and understanding. She won't keep you in here if she thinks what you did was justified."

He nodded, feeling slightly more at ease. At least as much at ease as one can feel at ease when being held in a dungeon by an alien species they've never met before and know nothing about.

"Good." A small smile on her muzzle. If it was an attempt to reassure him, it didn't have very much effect. "Let's start again. Can I get you anything?"

"A stiff drink?"

Her face had an apologetic look. "Sorry … Ethanol intended for the purposes of consumption is forbidden in Equestria. So unfortunately, I can't do that either."

He sighed to himself. "Just some water will be fine then. I haven't had anything to drink in … I don't know how long it's been."

"Be right back." She nodded and trotted away, disappearing around a corner. When she came back a couple of minutes later, he stared at her dumbfounded. A glass of water was floating slightly above her horn, surrounded by a soft purple glow. It moved with her, as if she were controlling it with telekinesis. She stopped in front of his cell. The glass of water floated through the bars and up to his lips—he couldn't hold it in his own hands, bound as they were. Immediately, he recoiled backward from it.

"Is something wrong?" she asked, looking at him strangely.

An uncomfortable silence, a few seconds, before he responded. "And this … this is why I still think this must be some kind of crazy dream. Because what you just did? It violates all kinds of scientific laws. I mean there are people where I am from that claim telekinesis exists. But it has never stood up to scientific scrutiny. It always turns out to be some kind of sleight of hand … It … it …"

The unicorn waved a hoof to stop him. "There will be plenty of time to discuss that later. For now, we have more important things to discuss. Things I need to return to Princess Celestia with answers for."

"Right. Of course," he nodded.

"First, I'll need your full name. I assume it's not just 'James' There is some additional part to it?"

"Peterson. Doctor James Peterson."

"And what are you a doctor of?"

"Physics. And nuclear engineering," he responded, deciding to keep his answers short and to the point.

"Physics?" That gleam in her eyes became even brighter. That thirst. That yearning for knowledge. If this wasn't a dream, and that was a big if, she was someone he'd like to get to know better. Perhaps, going home could wait a little while. "And what areas of physics do you study?"

"It's kind of technical. I'm not sure you'd understand," he said without really thinking about it first.

She gave him an annoyed look. A look that clearly said he had insulted her. "Try me," she challenged.

He nodded. "Alright. I mostly study high energy subatomic physics. Using something called a particle accelerator. It accelerates protons and antiprotons to speeds almost as fast as light, and extremely high energies, then collides them together. We were—"

"Fascinating. Were you looking for an elementary particle by any chance? One with an intrinsic angular momentum of zero that would solve many inconsistencies in theoretical physics?"

His jaw hung open as he stared at her. How did she know? How? For several moments, he didn't respond, then he finally closed his mouth again. "How did you know … Wait! I got you! Hah! I got you now!" he responded, smiling to himself smugly. She recoiled backward slightly. "Of course you know that! You know that because I know that! And you are a figment of my imagination! It's like I said, this is a dream. And you, being a figment of my imagination, have all the abilities my subconscious mind wants you to have. But I bet you don't have any of the abilities it doesn't want you to have, do you?" She rolled her eyes in annoyance now, but he continued anyway. "If I want you to have the ability to understand high energy particle physics, than you have that ability. If I want you to have the ability to understand quantum … mmmf!"

Suddenly he was cut off, feeling his mouth forced shut. He tried to open it again, but couldn't. It was only then, that he noticed the unicorn's horn glowing. She glared at him and held him like that for a couple of seconds. The glow on her horn dimmed, like a piece of red-hot iron cooling after being removed from a forge. His jaw unclenched, and he was able to speak again.

He glared back at her now. "What was that all about?" he asked, annoyance in his voice. "And how did you—"

"Why don't you tell me, Doctor Peterson?" she responded, glaring back at him. "After all, if I have all the abilities you want me to have, and none that you don't want me to have, that must mean you want me to have the ability to make you shut up!" Her glare turned into something resembling more of a smirk now.

He continued to stare at her for another moment, but he couldn't really argue with what she had said. "Touché," he finally acknowledged. "Please just call me James though. You call me Doctor Peterson and it's like using the full name. Makes me feel like I'm in worse trouble than I already am or something … So how did you know anyway?"

Our scientists at REA have postulated the existence of a similar particle. It's believed to have important fundamental properties to the fabric of the universe itself, as well as being very important to the theoretical understanding of how certain types of unicorn magic work."

"Magic … right," he said dubiously. "So what's this REA?"

"Royal Equestrian Academy. It's the branch of Princess Celestia's government responsible for higher education, science, and research."

"It's called an academy? Sounds almost military to me. Like West Point or something." He frowned.

"Well, Academy officers and staff are very disciplined and held to extremely high standards at all times. After all, they are required to be good role models and set good examples for the younger ponies to emulate. And they have to mold their students to be the best ponies they can possibly be."

He absorbed everything she was saying without interrupting her. He didn't like what he was hearing so far. It would be imprudent to judge so early and with so little information, but he was starting to get the impression that this was a rather dictatorial society ruled by a monarch with near absolute power and authority. A monarch who controlled the entire higher education system, which 'molded' students into being the best ponies they can be. To him, that smelled like an education system based on indoctrination rather than free thinking. A monarch with absolute power over education. But even more important right now, at least to him, a monarch who had absolute power to judge and pronounce punishment on him. The power to pronounce a sentence as cruel and as harsh as she wanted. The power to be compassionate and have mercy on him. He could only hope, she would choose the latter. He pushed that thought to the back of his mind for now.

"They haven't found it yet, have they? This particle that is?"

"No, they haven't."

He breathed a sigh of relief at that. If he got home … No, when he got home, because he was determined that he would get home, he wanted to be the first person to find it.

"So what do you plan to do? Now that you are here?" she asked him.

"Well, try to find a way to get back home to where I came from, I guess … I'm intrigued by this whole thing. But I have a lot of work to do back home. And as interesting as this all is, I'm a physicist, not an anthropologist. An anthropologist would no doubt be fascinated by the opportunity to study a completely undocumented culture that has never had human contact before. But I don't belong here."

"And how do you plan to do that? To get home?"

"Well, you will understand if a large part of me still thinks that all I have to do to get home is wake up. I'm still not convinced any of this is actually real. It's not logical."

She nodded once. "And those cuffs holding your arms near the floor … are they real?"

He raised an eyebrow. "I … don't know."

"Well, if they aren't, if this is all a dream or a figment of your imagination, why don't you just break the chains? Just lift your arms and break them."

He blinked, but then tried doing as she suggested. Neither the chains or the cuffs yielded at all.

"So which is more illogical, James. The idea that those cuffs and chains are real and that's why you can't break them? Or the idea that they are a figment of your imagination, but despite the fact that you know they aren't real, you are still unable to break them?"

"The fact that I'm having a debate about logic with an intelligent talking purple unicorn is, itself, illogical," he retorted, not answering her question.

"Can you logically prove there are no intelligent talking purple unicorns in existence anywhere in the universe? Or in any alternate universes that might exist other than your own?"

"Well, no … but the mathematical odds of me running into one are astronomically small."

"Are astronomically small? Or should be astronomically small? Do you actually have enough data to compute the mathematical odds of you having an encounter with an intelligent talking purple unicorn?"

"Well, no … but—"

"And is the alternative hypothesis any more mathematically feasible? That you imagined chains and cuffs into actual physical existence? Such that even though you believe they don't exist and are only in your mind, you are still unable to break free from them?" She looked at him like she was actually expecting an answer to that question.

He looked back at her in stunned silence, unable to come up with an immediate answer. He wasn't sure what seemed more strange. The fact that he was having a debate with a talking unicorn? Or the fact that she seemed to be winning.

She stopped waiting for an answer to her last question and continued. "Besides, for the sake of argument, even if this is all a dream, or in your imagination, it would seem that for now, you are unable to escape from your own mind. And if it's not in your imagination, and it's all real, then it seems I hold all of the cards right now. Either way, you don't really have any other option except to play along."

He sighed slightly. She was right, of course. He didn't have any other options right now. "Okay … You win … So what happens next? And how long am I here for?"

"Well, next I will talk to Princess Celestia. Then you will get an audience with her. She may ask you some more questions of her own at that time. Then she will decide what is to be done with you."

"She will be the only one making the decision?" he asked, the nervousness and fear returning to his voice now as he thought about his coming judgment.

The unicorn nodded. "She has advisers who she will consult on the best course of action. She also values my input greatly, being her student. But yes, she is the highest authority in Equestria, and she will ultimately make the decision."

He frowned slightly. At least she had advisers. Nevertheless, he would have felt more comfortable with a jury type system, instead of one individual having sole power to decide his fate, even if she did have advisers. He nodded in acceptance though. What else could he do? "So how long until she sees me?"

"A few hours probably. Three, maybe four," she said. He only nodded in response.

The expression on her muzzle changed to one of compassion. "Try not to worry. I assure you that Princess Celestia is a fair and just ruler. Whatever she decides will be fair. And I really do believe you will be out of this dungeon before the day is finished." She gave him a reassuring smile. "The Royal Guards will be here in a few hours to get you. I look forward to the opportunity to talk with you more once this matter is resolved." She turned and started trotting away from the cell.

Once she was out of sight, he looked around the cell he was in. Nothing to see. Just three solid gray stone walls, a set of bars on the remaining wall, solid gray stone floor, and a ceiling to match them. He may as well simply try to get some sleep, he decided. He lay back down in the bed—a slightly tricky feat given his bound and chained wrists—and closed his eyes. Exhaustion and fatigue weighed heavily on him, but the bed was not the most comfortable bed in the world, and with his wrists bound close to the floor, he couldn't find a truly comfortable position. Combined with the fear of his coming audience with this Princess Celestia, and his coming judgment, sleep eluded him …

Princess Celestia lay on an oval rug in her private chambers, her ethereal mane and tail flowing in some unseen magical breeze, wings folded neatly at her sides.

"Your Majesty?"

She looked up from a scroll she was reading. The Royal Guard who had spoken bowed in the doorway to her chambers. "Your student, Twilight Sparkle, is here to see you."

"Thank you," Celestia responded, smiling, "Please, send her in."

"Yes, Your Majesty." The guard bowed again before stepping out. A few seconds later, Twilight Sparkle appeared in the doorway, stepping inside.

"How is he doing?" Celestia asked.

"He's afraid, Princess. But other than that, he is doing well."

Celestia nodded. "His fear is understandable."

"He … doesn't know anything about us, Princess … He's not even from our world. Maybe not even from our dimension or universe. He's never even heard of us before," Twilight said, bewilderment evident in her voice.

"Did he say why he was here?"

Twilight shook her head. "He doesn't even know how he got here. It was some kind of physics accident caused by an earthquake. He was working on an experiment that involves accelerating particles to extremely high amounts of energy. When the quake hit, the energy may have caused some kind of dimensional rift that he fell through." She shook her head again. "I don't really know, and neither does he. He did not come here intentionally though."

Celestia considered for a moment, nodding again. "Tell me everything you learned, Twilight."

Twilight spent the next several minutes telling her about James, and the brief conversation they had had. Celestia maintained a calm exterior, but inside, she was concerned. What Twilight was able to tell her was not very much at all really, since even James didn't how he got here. It would be difficult to make a decision about him without having a reason why he came here, or knowing what his intentions might be now that he was here.

"Thank you, my faithful student." Celestia smiled now. "I will send for you when I am ready to see him and make my decision."

Twilight nodded. There was an excited, yet cautious look in her eyes. Celestia watched her turn, exit the chamber, and close the door. Then, she let out a sigh of concern she had been holding in the whole time.

She looked at the ceiling, as if trying to see the sky through the solid domed roof decorated in stars, planets, and other celestial objects. "What is the pattern up to?" she spoke quietly to herself. "A strange thread The Weaver has thrown at us indeed. I did not see this one coming. What does it mean?" She looked back down at the scroll between her forelegs now. "What does it mean …" she repeated.

A few more moments of contemplation before she stood up and started towards her door. Leaving her room, she turned to one of the golden armored Celestial Guards outside her door. "Is the Royal Council assembled?" she asked.

"They are, Your Majesty. And awaiting your arrival."

Celestia nodded, thanked the guard, then proceeded down the corridor, and down a spiral staircase as she made her way to confer with her Royal Council …

4 - Canterlot

The God Particle

Chapter 4: Canterlot

"Her Majesty will see you now, Doctor Peterson." A voice that James recognized as Captain Swordstorm. "Sit up on the bed and do not move until I tell you to."

He did as he was told, sitting up and remaining still. Outside the cell door, Captain Swordstorm stood with three unicorn guards. One of the unicorns lowered his head towards the lock on the iron cell door. A neon green glow shown around the lock as he inserted his horn into it, a metallic clang echoing off the walls of the dungeon as the lock disengaged and the door swung open. The Captain and one of the unicorns entered the cell. The other two unicorns remained outside, guarding the door.

The unicorn lowered his head to the iron loop in the floor that the chain around James' wrists was attached to. Another green glow, and the loop released the chain. It was all James could do to resist the temptation to stretch his arms above his head after not having been able to raise them above his stomach for so long.

"Stand, and line up in front of me, to the left of the unicorn," Captain Swordstorm ordered.

This time, James hesitated. He could already feel his pulse quickening, his breathing becoming more rapid, the adrenaline starting to go to work as anxiety built over the meeting to come. He turned his head to look at the Captain.

"Captain … sir … I've never been in the presence of royalty before. I don't know how I should …" He didn't need to finish the question.

The pegasus looked at him for a moment, then answered. "Address her as Your Highness or Your Majesty. Do not speak until she has spoken to you first. Kneel and bow to her when you enter her presence. But one knee only. Show her respect, but do not grovel. She doesn't like groveling, and neither do I."

James nodded slightly. "Than … thank you, sir."

The Captain seemed to smile at him again, at least slightly, and briefly. Quickly, it was replaced with a serious expression again. "Now off the bed, line up behind me and to the left of the unicorn."

This time, he did as he was told. Then, the Captain ordered him to walk. He walked towards the door, the unicorn next to him keeping pace beside him, the Captain following close behind. The cell he had been in was not very big, and it was only a few steps before he was outside of the bars. Conflicting emotions ran through him. On one hand, he was glad to be outside the confinement of the cell, glad to have his hands at least freer than they used to be, and glad to be able to stand up again. On the other hand, part of him wanted to go back in the cell again. To have the chain attached to the floor again. The cell, at least, was certain. The upcoming meeting with this Princess Celestia was not. Part of him wanted to keep delaying it by just staying in the uncomfortable, but nevertheless, safe, confines of the cell. But what good would delaying it do?

"Halt," the Captain ordered. James complied immediately. Another neon glow out of the corner of his eye. He shifted his eyes towards it. Three more short lengths of chain, also surrounded by the glow, were floating towards them. One of them moved down to the cuffs on his wrist, attaching to the iron loop there along with the other chain that already hung off of it, dangling down his front. Then, the other ends of both chains glowed, lifting up and out to the sides. Another unicorn lined up next to him, so that he was flanked on both sides. The ends of the two chains attached to a loop in the armor of the two unicorns next to him, restraining his hands from both sides, ensuring he could not move them in either direction without the chain stopping them.

The two remaining chains floated up under his neck and attached to the collar. Then, in a similar fashion as the chains on the wrist cuffs, the other ends raised out to the sides, attaching to the armor loops of both unicorns walking next to him, making it impossible for him to bolt in any direction without one of the chains pulling taught and stopping him. The Captain continued giving instructions.

"When we arrive outside the entrance to Her Majesty's chambers, your ankle restraints will be removed so you can kneel properly. The guards will leave you alone in the middle of the floor. But I will warn you right now, Her Majesty is very powerful with magic and could destroy you in the blink of an eye if she so chose. Bear that in mind before you decide to try anything stupid just because the guards are no longer holding the ends of the chains."

"Yes, sir," was all he said in response. He had no intention of trying anything stupid. What good would it do him? They'd be able to recapture him quickly enough, and then his situation would only end up worse.

"Good, now move," the Captain barked, falling in behind him again, the third unicorn taking up position in front of him, boxing him in on all four sides. He started to walk, keeping pace with the unicorn that lead the way. Thankfully, the unicorn was moving slowly. He still couldn't take full length strides because of the ankle manacles.

The unicorn lead them down a narrow corridor. Shadows danced on the plain stone walls in the flicker of the torchlight. Coming to the end of the corridor, they turned left, walking down another narrow hallway that didn't look any different from the first one. As they approached the end though, the dim light began to reveal a heavy wooden door, two unicorn guards standing on either side of it. The one on the right of the door turned. His horn glowed as he inserted it into the keyhole on the door. It unlocked with another echoing clank, and the door started to open.

On the other side of the door, another short, torchlit corridor with a reinforced wooden door at the end—double doored to reduce the chance of prisoners escaping, he assumed. There were no guards posted at this one though. When they arrived at it, they stopped. One of the unicorns unlocked the door the way the guard posted next to the previous door had done, revealing a winding staircase leading upward. The unicorn guard in front of him started walking again and he followed. He lost track of how many times they had walked around the upward spiral, but eventually, they came to another locked heavy wooden door at the top. This one appeared to be heavier than the previous two—a last defense against escape. Again, the unicorn unlocked it with his horn.

He stepped out into a featureless square room—with doors on all four walls. Signs above the doors were written in a strange script he had never seen before. The unicorn in front lead him straight through to the opposite side of the room where he opened another heavy door.

Stepping out of the small room, he looked around in awe, stopping without even being aware of it. The room he was in now had high ceilings, painted in exquisite detail with scenes of unicorns, pegasi, and even two larger ponies that appeared to be a combination of both—one a pure white color, like fresh snow, the other a midnight blue color, like a cloudless night with a full moon. Stain glassed windows high up the polished smooth walls depicted battle scenes, including one showing the two ponies that seemed to be part unicorn and part pegasus doing battle with a strange Chinese dragon like creature. Multicolored light danced on the polished stone floor as the sun shown through the colored glass. Columns of exquisitely carved stone inscribed with stylized symbols of the sun and moon supported the high ceilings.

"Keep moving, Doctor Peterson," Captain Swordstorm said from behind, nudging him gently but firmly in the back to get his attention. He started walking again, but continued looking around in awe. It was as if he had stepped straight into an Arthurian legend, except instead of King Arthur, there was this Princess Celestia he was about to meet.

The guards lead him down another corridor. He looked left, and right, still in awe of everything around him. In contrast to the bare slate gray walls of the dungeon, the walls here were covered in colorful tapestries. A crimson tapestry bore a stylized image of the sun, woven into it with golden thread that appeared to emanate light. Next to it, a midnight blue tapestry with the crescent moon woven into it with fine silver thread, shining pinpoint dots around it representing stars. Interspersed with the tapestries of the sun and moon, scenes depicting ponies, pegasi, and unicorns. There were also scenes depicting those two ponies that seemed to be both unicorn and pegasus. The stylized sun was depicted on the flank of one of them, the moon on the other. James assumed one of them must be the princess he was about to meet, given the prominence they seemed to have in the tapestries. Another tapestry caught his eye. Six ponies doing battle with the same Chinese dragon like creature he had seen earlier. One of them, he thought, resembled the lavender female unicorn he had spoken to in the dungeon.

They turned another corner, climbed another flight of stairs, and walked down two more corridors, all tapestry lined like the others, each depicting various scenes that he assumed were part of their history, mythology, or had some other sort of important cultural relevance. It was clear to him now that he had greatly underestimated these beings when he had first encountered them. They were skilled architects, given the construction of the castle he was in. They were historians, and story tellers, and talented artists.

In front of him, to his left, two large doors, arched at the top. Guards stood on both sides of it. Once in front of the doors, he and his escort turned, facing them, and stopped. He estimated the doors to easily be the height of five men. Intricate artwork inlaid the reinforced, polished wood. On the left, the stylized image of the blazing sun, cast from solid gold. On the right, the crescent silver moon. Blazing torchlight caused them to shine brightly, casting reflections off the polished stone floor as from the surface of a perfectly calm, clear lake.

The unicorn in front of him turned around and lowered his head toward the restraints on his ankles. The strange green glow, the light, tingling sensation again, and the ankle restraints fell to the floor.

"Remember what I told you earlier, about Her Majesty's magical prowess, before you think of doing anything stupid," Captain Swordstorm reminded him from behind.

He only nodded slightly. Looking at the door again, a sea of emotions tossed him like a raft on a raging rapids—emotions ranging from intense fear, to amazement over his surroundings, to excitement over the fact that he was likely the first human in history to make contact with a sentient being not of his world.

A noise reverberated off the walls and ceiling, the sound of a large latch being undone. The twin doors started to open, swinging inward. He took a deep breath and let it out slowly, trying to reign in his fear.

Stepping inside, a lush red carpet ran the length of the isle down to the stairs at the front of the long chamber. At the top of the stairs, a throne that appeared to be cast from solid gold, covered in crimson upholstery. To the sides of the thrones, crimson and midnight blue banners that James now assumed must be the coat of arms of the rulers of this nation. On both sides of the foot of the throne, small waterfalls ran into pools of clear crystal. Armored unicorn guards stood on either side at the base of the stairs leading up to the grand throne.

The guards led him down the center isle. Looking to the left and right, marble pillars, inlaid with sun and moon designs carved by an exquisite craftspony. Behind the pillars, more stain glassed windows ran nearly the length of the floor to the ceiling. A design near the front of the chamber, to one side of the throne, depicted a large round planet with the sun shining on it. Other planets, including a ringed Saturn like planet seemed to orbit the main planet at the bottom of the scene. It seemed they believed their world was round. But judging from the drawing, he thought they might believe their solar system was geocentric—their planet at the center with the sun and other planets orbiting around it. But they had at least some knowledge of astronomy it seemed.

"Her Majesty will be here shortly," one of the unicorn guards in the room called out, drawing James' attention. He looked in the direction of the voice. Several other ponies were gathered there as well. Among them, he recognized Twilight Sparkle. She gave him a small nod and brief smile. Her presence comforted him, a small amount of reassurance that at least one seemingly friendly face who he shared something in common with was here.

From the corner of his eyes, he noticed that green glow again. The chains connected to his collar and to his wrist restraints came loose from the armor of the two unicorn guards escorting him and gently fell to the floor. The three unicorns escorting him moved to the sides of the chamber. The Captain gave him one final admonishment not to try anything stupid, then followed, joining the rest of his guards, leaving James standing alone in the center. Again, he focused on trying to control his breathing and slow his heart rate.

The sound of a door opening, somewhere in front of him. He looked towards the sound. Behind the throne, to the left, a door he hadn't even noticed was swinging inward. A white unicorn with wings—larger than any of the other ones he had met so far—with a long flowing mane of pastel colors and a tail to match walked gracefully through the door, so gracefully, he almost thought she were gliding a few inches above the floor. Her mane and tail seemed to flow gracefully. Silently. In some unseen ethereal breeze. Even from a distance, her presence inspired a sense of awe in him greater than any he had ever experienced in his life. He dared not look directly at her, averting his eyes downward in reverence. From the corner of his eye, he noticed the ponies in the room bowing as she approached. He did so as well, remembering the Captain's instructions and descending to one knee, his head bowed respectfully.

The beautiful winged unicorn continued walking towards him, stopping when she was right in front of him. She stood still for a moment as he kept his head bowed. He could feel her presence, as if the warmth of the sun had just started to shine down on him through an opening in a cloud. She started to walk a tight circle around him. He felt unnerved by that, having to use all of the discipline he could muster to keep looking forward with his head bowed rather than turn his head and try to follow her movement. After she had made a complete circle around him, which to him seemed like it took forever, but in reality had probably only taken a few seconds, she stopped in front of him again, pausing for a few seconds. Or was it an eternity? He didn't know. Then, she spoke.

"Let me see your face."

Her voice was gentle, but firm. Reassuring, but at the same time, commanding authority and demanding respect. James was as awe inspired by her voice as he had been by her appearance when he first saw her. He slowly raised his head so she could see his face. As he did so, she looked into his eyes. His sense of awe about her increased exponentially. It was as if light, air, life, and all existence itself emanated from her, and that without her, all would simply cease to exist. It required all of his discipline to avoid averting his eyes from her regal appearance. He wasn't a religious man by any stretch of the word. But if ever in his life he had felt any compulsion at all to worship something, it was the majestic winged unicorn standing in front of him right now. She looked at him for a few seconds before speaking again.

"I bid you welcome, to Equestria. I do apologize for the fact that your welcome up to this point has maybe been a little bit … awkward. But please, understand, we had to be cautious."

"Thank you, Your Majesty," he said, bowing his head in respect again. "I am honored to be here, and I understand the necessity of caution."

She started to walk another circle around him. He could see her golden clad hoof from the corner of his eye, but stopped trying to follow it once he would have had to turn his head to do so. "My student has told me about you, and how you arrived here. What little even you know about how you arrived here that is. Is there anything you would like to add at this point? Anything you may have thought of after Miss Sparkle left you to report back to me?"

He thought for a moment, trying to see if he could remember any details. Anything at all that might help figure out a way for him to get home. Nothing came to him. "No, Your Majesty. Unfortunately, I have not been able to remember anything more than what I have already told Miss Sparkle."

"Very well. Then we may proceed. To begin with, I believe your story that you did not intend to come here, and that you meant no harm. As such, I do not believe that you are a threat to any of us."

He breathed an inaudible sigh of relief, feeling at least some of the stress he had been under lifting away from him. She continued speaking.

"Twilight has spoken to me about what happened with Miss Fluttershy, and both she and Captain Swordstorm have spoken to me about what happened when they tried to take you into custody. I understand that fear made you react the way you did, given you had no idea who … or even what, you were dealing with. Because of that, I'm dropping all of the charges against you, and no charges will be made regarding the incident with Fluttershy."

More of the weight lifted off of him. Compared to how he had been feeling since the guards captured him, his spirit felt light enough to fly. Now there was only one issue outstanding …

"She also told me of your desire to return to your homeland." Her voice had taken on a tone of compassion now. Almost one of sadness and concern. "I am sorry, Doctor Peterson. I fully understand your desire to return home. But I have decided that we cannot, and therefore, will not, attempt to return you to your homeland."

The weight that had been lifted from him was back on him in an instant. A freight training slamming into him, oppressive and crushing. Gravity multiplied tenfold. He raised his head to look at her. "But Your Majesty, I—"

"I have spoken with my Royal Council. With my top science advisers and magic advisers. As you can no doubt imagine, it can sometimes be rather difficult to get them to completely agree on anything. But they are all in agreement that it is beyond our current capabilities in either science or magic to send you home." She stopped in front of him, looking straight at him before continuing. "You know this to be true, James. We don't know where you came from. You don't know how you got here. Neither you nor any of us knows where your homeland is in relation to here. We don't even know if it is in the same universe or dimension. The fact that you arrived here instead of somewhere in the cold interstellar vacuum, or the dark energy between dimensions, or simply disintegrated, is against all odds. It would be foalish, and almost certainly fatal for you, if we were to tempt those odds again. I have no desire to disintegrate you or teleport you to the vacuum of space, James."

"Yes, Your Majesty," he replied in a disappointed voice, bowing his head once more in deference to her. He knew she was right. He didn't want to accept it, but he knew there was no realistic way, other than the hope he still held that he would wake up from a dream, to return him back where he came from.

The winged unicorn looked at him sympathetically before continuing. "That being said, since I do not believe you are a threat to us, I have no desire to keep you imprisoned here in the dungeon. However, I am concerned you may be a threat to yourself. My guards tell me you attempted to jump from the chariot while it was in the air." He winced. That was really coming back to bite him. She continued. "I had considered placing you under psychiatric observation until it can be determined you aren't dangerous to yourself. But, given our doctors know nothing of your species, I'm not sure any good could come from it. Perhaps it is normal behavior for your kind to want to jump out of objects that are in flight."

He opened his mouth to protest that no, humans were not naturally suicidal, but then stopped himself. Better to let her think it was normal behavior for his species. At least for now. Better that than risk having her change her mind about keeping him under psychiatric observation.

"However," the Princess continued, "I do not believe it would be wise, for either you, or us, to simply send you out on your own in a world where you cannot read the alphabet, have no familiarity with our laws and customs, have no local currency, and do not know your way around. My student, whom you have already met, has offered to let you stay with her in Ponyville for at least the next three months. That is what I have decided to do."

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Twilight's expression. That sense of wonder was back. But he knew she'd probably bombard him with questions, want to know everything there was to know about him and where he came from. Yes, he wanted to talk to her. He no doubt had just as many questions for her as she had for him. But live with her? Where he could never get away from the bombardment? He winced internally before responding. "I greatly appreciate the offer, Your Majesty. But I do not wish to impose."

"You will not be imposing. And besides, I insist. And so does Twilight."

"Again, Your Majesty, I appreciate the offer. But I really do not want to impose."

She rolled her eyes, then spoke in a slightly more authoritative tone. "Doctor Peterson, I insist that you stay with my student, Twilight Sparkle, at least until you are somewhat familiar with Equestria and our laws and customs. If this living arrangement is not to your liking, your cell in the dungeon is still available if you prefer that instead."

He winced at the thought of going back to the dungeon. "On second thought, Your Majesty, I graciously accept the hospitality of your student, Twilight Sparkle."

"I'm pleased to see that you have changed your mind." She chuckled a brief moment, as if to lighten the mood. "Are all of your kind as stubborn as you are?"

"No, Your Majesty. Not all of us. Just the ones who want to succeed in life."

"There is more to success than simply being stubborn and inflexible, Doctor Peterson. And stubbornness can be a serious detriment to success if you allow it to prevent you from accepting help when you need it," she admonished him.

"Yes, Your Majesty," he responded calmly. But inside, he winced over the fact that he had just been rebuked by a talking pony … even if she was a winged unicorn who was also royalty.

Her voice became gentle and soothing again. "I know this is very stressful for you, and is a lot to absorb all at once. But I strongly advise you to do your best to enjoy your time with Twilight Sparkle. I'm sure there's a lot that you can both learn from each other."

"Your Majesty … I accept the hospitality, but I still do not want to be a burden."

"You won't be. Her normal assistant is away for the next few months. You can fill in for him and help her with her research until he returns."

"Thank you, Your Majesty. I shall do so to the best of my ability."

"I know you will," she smiled. "Tomorrow morning then, you will travel to Ponyville with her. I imagine you must be exhausted after all you have been through. To make up for the uneasy original welcoming, I have arranged for you to spend the night in one of the castle guest rooms. There are still a couple hours of daylight left. Feel free to have a look around Canterlot with Twilight if you would like. The castle kitchen is always open if you are hungry."

"Thank you, Your Majesty. I will be honored to stay in one of your guest rooms."

She leaned her head down and nuzzled the side of his face comfortingly and reassuringly. Her gentle touch was like pure cotton, like a spring breeze scented with flowers. It sent a shiver through his body as once again he was filled with a sense of awe and amazement. Then she touched the tip of her slightly glowing horn to the cuffs around his wrists. The locks on them opened and they fell to the floor, the collar releasing from his neck and falling next to them.

"I know this is hard for you," she continued. "But please do not be afraid to ask Twilight for help when you need it, or to share your troubles with her. Everypony will be willing to help you. Goodbye for now, James. We will keep in touch through letters and will see each other again in a few months time."

She took a few steps backwards. As she started to leave, every pony in the chamber bowed low again. James followed suit, bowing his head again, still down on his one knee. Only after she had left, did he finally rise back to his feet. Rubbing his wrists a little where the cuffs had been.

Vaguely, he was aware of someone talking to him, but he wasn't registering the words. Instead, he just continued to stare behind the throne at the door she had left through. His head swam, his thoughts jumbled, as if a million conversations were happening and he were trying to process all of them.

"Uh, James? Are you with me?"

He blinked and was suddenly aware of Twilight Sparkle standing in front of him, looking into his eyes. "What? Oh, yeah." He shook his head slightly. "Sorry about that."

"Yeah …" She cocked her head and looked at him oddly. "So do you want to just go to bed? Or would you like to take a look around Canterlot for a bit?"

"We can … look around for a bit. I'd like to see at least a little bit of the city before we leave tomorrow, I guess," he responded, trying to keep his mind from wondering back to the winged unicorn that had been there moments earlier.

Twilight nodded and smiled, motioning him to follow with a forehoof and leading him out the same doors they had come in. "Guards, you may leave us now. Thank you for your service, my good sirs."

The guards, including Captain Swordstorm, nodded at her before turning and marching away, disappearing down one of the corridors.

He walked down the corridors as if in a dream. As if they were simply tunnels of cloud—there, yet not really existing, until they came to the main castle entrance. The guards unlocked and opened the large doors. Twilight lead him outside and they walked down the marble steps, to the courtyard. She moved to the side so that he was walking next to her now as they descended the last step and entered the courtyard. He was vaguely aware of her looking up at his face a couple of times.

"What's on your mind, James?" she finally asked.

He hesitated for a few moments before he finally decided to just go ahead and say what was on his mind, speaking in a bewildered tone of voice. "So … so what is she? Is … is she … a deity? A goddess or something?"

"Do you think she is a deity, James?" she answered, in a tone that made him feel like she was a teacher asking a student a question. But also, a tone that suggested the question had not surprised her, and was not unexpected.

"I'm an atheist. I don't believe in deities. But she's definitely not just your average princess," he responded, coming out of his bewilderment now, almost like a switch had been thrown. It was as if he had forgotten, but suddenly reminded himself, that he didn't believe in goddesses or deities.

"And why don't you believe in deities?" She walked in front of him and stopped.

He stopped as well to avoid running into her. "Because I can't observe them or measure them. Because there's no evidence they exist."

"Can you observe a black hole?"

"Not directly."

"Then how do you know they exist?"

She was doing it to him again! Responding to his questions by asking him questions. It was annoying him. He wasn't necessarily annoyed with her, but more annoyed with himself. Annoyed that he was allowing her to trip him up. "We know they exist by observing the effects they have on objects around them," he finally responded.

"Ah, now maybe we are getting somewhere. You can't see the actual black hole itself. But you can determine where it is based on observing how gravity affects objects around it," she grinned at him.

"It's not the same thing with deities." He shook his head. "There are any number of more likely and more logical scenarios that can explain most natural phenomena without resorting to the idea that a deity is responsible. With black holes, the only logical explanation is an intense gravitational field that we logically deduce must exist, even though we cannot directly observe the object responsible for it."

"That may be true. There are other explanations, some of which may be more logical. So what it really comes down to is that you don't believe deities exist, because you've never seen one. Right?"

"I guess you could put it that way …"

"And what about this so called god particle that you and some of our own researchers are looking for. If it exists, how will you know it when you see it? Because you know what a god particle event should look like. So if you see one, you will know what it is. Right?"

"Right," he responded, still amazed at the purple unicorn's grasp on astronomy and physics."

"Well, do you know what a deity should look like?" she asked rhetorically. "Then how would you know if you have ever seen one or not?"

He hesitated for moment before responding. "So for the sake of argument, even if she is a deity … she's not omniscient or omnipotent … because she said she couldn't send me home and didn't know how to."

"Maybe she can send you home, but has chosen not to," the unicorn responded matter-of-factly.

"Why would she do that to me?"

"Well, consider the odds that you're here in the first place. How astronomically small they are given all the places you could have ended up. Maybe it's fate that you're here?"

He shook his head. "I don't believe in fate either."

"Well, for the sake of argument, if it is fate. Then maybe she cannot interfere with it? After all, imagine the potential consequences to future events and the fate of others if the fate of one pony … or human in your case, was interrupted. Given that so many events are intertwined and have a cause-effect relationship. Even deities may have to play by some Universal rules, James."

He was about to answer her when a cyan colored pegasus with a rainbow colored mane and tail suddenly landed directly in front of him, almost on top of him, causing him to jump backwards with a start.

"There you are, Twilight!" she looked at the unicorn for a second, then turned her attention to him, giving him an irate glare, causing him to back up a step.

"Rainbow, I thought you were going back to Ponyville. There was no reason you had to stick around here," Twilight responded.

"Hah! You didn't think I was actually gonna leave you here alone with him did you?" She glared at James again. He couldn't resist the urge to glare back at her.

Twilight rolled her eyes. "He's not a threat, Rainbow. And even if he was, I think I can handle him. Magic, remember?"

The cyan pegasus looked back at him now, the two of them glaring at each other. He was getting rather annoyed with her, but still, he was glad she had shown up and interrupted the conversation he had been having with Twilight. It had been starting to make him uncomfortable.

"Ten seconds flat. That's all I need," she said, glaring at him.

"For what?" he responded flatly.

"For me, the One and Only Rainbow Dash, to put you on the ground. Ten … seconds … flat!"

He rolled his eyes at the sassy, arrogant pegasus. "Yeah. Whatever," he responded dismissively.

She raised an eyebrow at him. "Don't believe me? You want to have a go? Right here? Right now?" she challenged, narrowing her eyes and glaring at him again.

Twilight stomped a forehoof, both of them turning their attention to her now. "That's enough! Both of you!" she said in an exasperated tone. "Rainbow, we are right in the middle of the castle courtyard! You'll end up sharing a dungeon cell with him for the night if you two fight here! Besides, you'll have plenty of time to taunt him later. He's coming back to Ponyville with me and will be staying at the library for the next several months."

Rainbow suddenly stopped glaring and blinked twice. Then, she started giggling, which quickly turned into all out laughter. "He's staying with you?" She had to stop talking as another burst of laughter hit her. "For several months? You two eggheads are gonna fry each other's brains in just the first two or three days!"

She resumed her laughter for a bit longer, before finally getting control of herself. Then she glared at him again. "We'll continue this later!" She reared up on her hind legs, spread her wings, and shot off into the sky faster than he thought it should be possible to accelerate.

"… Well, that was interesting," he said, turning his attention back to Twilight now.

The unicorn shook her head. "You'll have to excuse her, James. She's extremely loyal to her friends. Sometimes, it causes her to be a little overprotective and aggressive. But there isn't a more loyal pony anywhere in Equestria. Once she warms up to you, there isn't anything she won't do for you."

"I certainly hope so. I don't think I could deal with her doing that to me every day." He managed to chuckle a bit, then started walking again. "How did she know anything about who I was anyway?"

"She insisted on coming to Canterlot with me. I talked to her after I got done talking with you in the dungeon."

He nodded, then turned around and looked at the castle they had left. His jaw almost dropped. It was far larger and more impressive than he had imagined even from being inside of it. There were at least seven or eight towers, perhaps even more on the other side that he couldn't see, rising from the castle, reaching for the sky. He wasn't sure what they were made of, but they were white as fresh snow and glistened in the sun. The spires on top of the towers were covered in what appeared to be solid gold, brilliantly reflecting the light of the sun. Not only did this society of … ponies have advanced knowledge of architectural engineering, but they also obviously had access to a great deal of natural resources and the ability to harvest them. What he had originally assumed was a primitive tribal system of ponies was starting to look more like a vast and powerful empire.

Turning around, he noticed that Twilight had started to get ahead of him a bit. He jogged for a couple of seconds to catch up to her before falling in next to her again. "Does Equestria control this entire world?" he asked when he had caught up to her.

"Not all of it. The western border is a town called Appleloosa. It's a long ways away from here though and is basically in the middle of nowhere. West of that is frontier country that's controlled by uh … tribes. There's also Everfree Forest. That used to be part of Equestria, but was abandoned over a thousand years ago. And to the east, there is …"

He turned his head, watching another unicorn walk past in the other direction. They were dressed in a formal uniform that looked rather military like. There were various patches sewn onto it, one of which depicted a unicorn rearing up on its hind legs, a pony in the same pose, and a flying pegasus, arranged in a circle. Around the edge of the circle, words were written in a script he didn't recognize. It was obviously some type of official emblem. Another patch sewn on the uniform, he clearly recognized as being Princess Celestia's coat of arms; the same one that he had seen hanging behind her throne in the castle.

"Is that one military?" he asked Twilight, looking back at her now.

"Him?" she glanced at the unicorn before looking back at him. "No. Not exactly. He's faculty at the Royal Equestria Academy I mentioned to you earlier."

"They have to wear uniforms?" he asked incredulously, the tone indicating he was disgusted by the idea.

"They are representatives of The Princess herself, James. All Academy faculty are nominated personally by her. Then they undergo extensive interviewing and testing. If they make it through that, they are finally personally approved by her. So yes, they have to wear uniforms."

Definitely a military indoctrination style of education, he thought to himself and frowned. He hated the idea. This Academy was even worse than the first impression he had gotten when she first mentioned it to him. Not only was it based on indoctrination, but The Princess herself personally chose all of the educators that worked there. Obviously she would only choose those loyal to her and her agenda—those who would indoctrinate the younger generation into her way of thinking and the belief that her rule was supreme and in their best interests. It was classic despotism.

"And the students? Do they have to wear uniforms as well?"

"No. Only faculty do. Again, they are selected by Princess Celestia herself. So they are required to look their best at all times and always set a good example in dress and behavior."

"It's too formal for my tastes." He shook his head. "Needlessly formal. At the lab where I worked, you'd be lucky to see anyone who wasn't dressed in blue jeans and a t-shirt. Why spend time worrying about things like formal dress codes when there are so many more interesting things to worry about?"

"Oh, so that's why you were dressed like such a slob when the guards found you?" she teased, grinning at him.

"Hey now! At least I was wearing some clothes. Which is more than can be said for you. You aren't wearing anything at all!" he retorted.

She chuckled. "Don't worry, James. You'll find that Ponyville is a lot more laid back and informal when it comes to things like dress code. The ponies of Canterlot really love their aristocratic traditions and formalities in dress and mannerisms. It comes with living in the city that is the center of power for all of Equestria I suppose. You'll find that most other parts of Equestria are far less formal … well, with the possible exception of Manehatten."

"That's a relief to know."

"And don't let your blue jeans and t-shirt bother you too much. I have a good friend back in Ponyville who would probably find you attractive in blue jeans and a t-shirt. She goes for that rugged cowpony look." She giggled again.

He rolled his eyes. "I hope you are as talented with magic as you seem to be from what I've seen so far, Twilight. Cause falling back on being a comedian probably won't work out to well for you," he retorted. She only giggled in response as they continued walking, finally coming to the edge of the large courtyard.

The main gate to the castle was an impressive sight. On both sides, guard towers arose with gold pointed spires. Narrow openings faced outward and inward at the top of the tower. Arrow slits, he assumed. Guard ponies walked on top of the outer wall, keeping a watchful eye on what was going on outside the walls. The gate itself, consisted of a drop down iron grating. On the sides of the opening, two large reinforced wooden doors. Four Royal Guards stood at the gate, two on each side. A drawbridge completed the gate assembly. Currently, it was down, crossing over a moat. From where he was now, he couldn't tell if it was a dry moat, or if there was water at the bottom.

They passed through the gate, the guards paying them no mind, and James got his first view of the city of Canterlot beyond the castle walls. Roman style architecture dominated the city, white stone construction with stone roofs. The wide streets were paved with stone and bustled with activity. To his left, a sprawling bazaar where ponies sold fruits, vegetables, and various arts and crafts. To the right, storefronts buzzed with activity. Outdoor dining areas in front of fancy restaurants served dinner to high class clientele wearing expensive looking dresses, suits, and other clothing. A lot of eyes fell on him, but there was no panic reaction as he would have expected. Perhaps word had traveled through the city quickly of his arrival? Some of the ponies simply stared at him. Others looked at him with disgust, eying his torn clothing, then shook their heads in disapproval. Still others came up to politely greet him, to which he responded in kind. Others kept their distance and seemed slightly unsure and frightened, although they did not run. And still others glanced at him and then paid him no mind, as if he were nothing out of the ordinary, or not important enough to interrupt whatever high class engagements they were entertaining.

The young fillies and colts, however, were a different story. Their young minds still untainted by fear, having never experienced a reason yet to mistrust, full of curiosity and a desire to learn. They rushed to greet him, jockeyed for position to get closer to him, intentionally brushing up against him. He felt as if he were a celebrity that was being fawned over, and it made him uncomfortable. He was an introvert, preferring to avoid social situations as much as possible. But he did his best to smile at them, say hi to all of them, and answer their questions.

The group of youngsters around him gathered strength in numbers. Keeping up with the flood of questions became more and more difficult. They flew at him from the left, the right, in front and behind, like hornets buzzing past his ears. He continued to do his best, but glanced over at Twilight, a look of distress etched on his face, silently pleading with her, please, get me out of here.

Suddenly, he was no longer circled by the crowd of fillies and colts. The world spun around him like vertigo and he had a massive headache. Within a couple of seconds, the headache was gone, the spinning coming to a stop. Looking around in confusion, he saw the youngsters about a hundred feet away, looking around themselves, appearing as confused as he was. Twilight nudged him lightly with her horn, then gestured back toward the castle courtyard. He nodded and quickly followed her.

"There he is!" one of the youngsters called out from behind. He glanced behind him to see the mob of colts and fillies quickly giving chase, like a stampeding herd of wild mustangs. Turning his head back forward, he and Twilight picked up their pace, passing back through the gate and into the courtyard.

A collective grown of disappointment arose from behind them. He stood panting and turned his head to look behind again. The crowd of young colts and fillies had stopped just outside the gate, apparently unwilling to pursue him into the castle courtyard. Once in a while, one of the bolder ones would try to enter, but the Royal Guards kept them at bay with threats of marching them home to their parents if they didn't start maintaining order amongst themselves.

James and Twilight breathed a collective sigh of relief. He felt kind of bad that he had taken away the young ponies' fun, especially given their curiosity and desire to learn about him, where he was from, and so on. But the crowd had been getting too large and out of hand, the questions becoming impossible to answer as they flew in from all sides.

"Sorry about that," Twilight finally said.

"It's alright … I can understand why they were curious. I feel kind of bad actually for leaving them like that."

"You don't need to feel bad. It was getting out of control and impossible to deal with. We had to break it up." He felt better hearing that, knowing that she was on the same page he was.

Now that he was safely inside the courtyard, he remembered what had just happened. How one moment, he had been surrounded by them, and in the blink of an eye, he was a hundred feet away from them. "What happened back there? Did you do that?" he questioned now, staring at Twilight.

"I teleported us. Away from the crowd. I'm sorry about the headache and the vertigo. It's a side effect of the teleportation spell."

He shook his head in disbelief. "What you did. It's not … It shouldn't be possible. The Heisenberg uncertainty principle states that … well, it shouldn't be possible to teleport us and put us back … we should be dead … we should be—"

"I'll explain it to you later, James," she said with a small grin. "Come on, I'll show you to your room. I just remembered, you must be famished. You haven't eaten anything since you arrived here. The castle kitchen will be more than happy to deliver a meal to your guest room."

He hadn't thought about it until she brought it up, but yes, he was starving. He followed her back into the castle and through several long corridors, up several flights of stairs, all tapestry lined like the other hallways he had been in. They came to a large door, a golden armored Royal Guard posted out front. The guard nodded respectfully to Twilight, then opened the door for the two of them.

He entered the room and stopped, blinking. "And I thought the Ritz Carlton was high class …"

"The Ritz what?" Twilight asked, tilting her head.

"The Ritz Carlton. It's a luxury hotel chain where I am from. But it's nothing compared to this," he responded, looking around. The room was larger than any suite he had ever stayed in. Pushed up against the wall on the right, the bed was larger than a traditional king sized bed. It's white and dark blue linens appeared to be made from fine silk, the posts at the corners of the bed carved by an expert craftspony, polished to the point where he could see his own reflection in the wood. Tapestries hung on the walls, depicting ponies, unicorns, and pegasi in majestic poses—posses intended to depict power such as rearing up on their hind legs, or charging. At the head of the bed, on either side, hung the royal crimson and midnight blue banners. The ever present reminders of Princess Celestia's power and rulership were a bit much for him, but he wasn't about to say anything about it. He looked around a bit more before turning his attention back to Twilight.

"So what's with the guard pony outside the door?"

"He's uh … your personal assistant in case you need anything."

"In other words, he's here to make sure I don't try to sneak out in the middle of the night."

"You could say that I guess … yeah." She looked at the floor sheepishly.

He nodded slightly. "Well, I can understand that I guess."

She looked back up and smiled slightly, seeming relieved he hadn't gotten upset about the guard. "Oh, about dinner. I guess I better help you order, since you won't be able to understand the script used on the menu. Uh … hay salad? Hay shake?"

"Hay?" He raised an eyebrow.

"Right … not your thing I guess. Hmm … green salad and oat bran muffin to go with it?"

"That will be fine. Thank you." He wasn't going to be real picky tonight. He had hoped for some kind of meat. A nice juicy tenderloin or something. But given they were horses, he thought that was probably not something that would be on the menu, and might even be a cultural taboo. Maybe he'd ask about it later. For now, he just wanted to get some food in him and then fall into bed. Now that he wasn't chained up and didn't have the prospect of a long dungeon sentence hanging over his head, he might actually be able to get some sleep.

"Alright. Salad and bran muffin it is then. Somepony will bring them to your shortly. I'll leave you for the night now, but I'll be back to get you early in the morning. At dawn."

He only nodded in response.

"Good night, James." She smiled before turning to leave the room.

"Good night, Twilight."

"Oh, and James?" She stopped, turning around to face him again.

"Yes?"

"Welcome to Equestria." She smiled again before turning and leaving the room.

"Thanks … I guess," he muttered to himself, too quietly for her to hear.

Now that he was alone, he looked around the room a bit more. On the opposite side from the bed, a large polished wooden door, engravings of the sun and moon carved into it. He didn't bother to check what was behind it, assuming it was probably just the bathroom. Against one wall, near a window, rested a large oak desk. There was no chair at the desk. Just a crimson colored velvet cushion on the floor for sitting on. It obviously hadn't been designed with a bipedal species in mind. There was a stack of blank paper on it, along with an inkwell and quill. Near another corner, a round wooden table with four cushions arranged around it. His eyes went back to the desk.

"A quill … How quaint," he said to himself, walking over to the desk and sitting down on the cushion. He unscrewed the cap from the inkwell, picked up the quill, dipped it in the ink, then placed it against the paper gently and tried to write.

December 22nd, at least I think it is,

Somehow, it seems I've been pul—

The ink smeared and ran in globs where he had written, then faded and ran out as he started to write the last word. Apparently, writing with a quill was an art that required a certain amount of technique and practice that he didn't have. He was about to try again, but was interrupted by a knock at the door.

"It's unlocked … At least I think it is," he called out.

The guard pony opened the door and a unicorn wearing something that resembled a tuxedo entered, controlling a covered silver tray floating above his horn, similar to how Twilight had controlled the glass of water earlier. James made a mental note to himself to talk to Twilight about the whole telekinesis thing again.

"Your meal, sir," the unicorn responded, setting the tray on the round table.

"Thank you," he said, putting down the quill and screwing the cap back on the inkwell before standing up. "I'd like to tip you, but I'm afraid all I have is a Visa credit card and a few U.S. dollars," he said, frowning.

"Your money's no good here, sir. In more ways than one," the unicorn responded and smiled.

James nodded respectfully. "Thank you, good sir." He felt stupid saying that, and wondered if it sounded as stupid as he felt. Not having any experience with high class aristocratic society, he really had no idea how to talk.

The unicorn nodded back. "You are quite welcome," he said before turning and exiting the room, the guard pony closing the door again behind him.

James sat down at the table and removed the cover from the silver tray, starting to eat quickly. For vegetarian food, it was amazingly delicious. Although given how long it had been since he had last eaten, he suspected anything would have tasted good right now. He consumed it quickly, washing it down with the glass of water that had been included with the meal.

He yawned, realizing just how exhausted he truly was after everything that had happened over the last twenty four hours. For a few more moments, he just sat there. Finally, he stood up and went over to the bed, climbing into it. Without a doubt, it was the most comfortable bed he had ever laid in. It was like lying on a cloud, floating lazily over a lush green meadow scented with flowers. He tried to go over everything that had happened in his head, but exhaustion and the comfort of the bed he was lying in worked against his attempts at thinking. Within minutes, he was sound asleep …

"Such major alterations in the pattern do not happen often, sister."

Celestia jumped, startled at the voice behind her, turning around to see Princess Luna standing next to the grand throne. "Luna, you scared me," she said, breathing a sigh of relief that it was only her sister.

"Ah yes. The ability to move silently. To remain unseen when I do not wish to be seen. It's one of my favorite abilities of the night," Luna responded, a smug look on her muzzle. Celestia couldn't tell if it was intended as bragging, intended to mock her that she had not detected her approach, or a little bit of both. She let it go though and changed the topic.

"Why do you think he is here, sister?"

"I do not know, Tia. It is a strange pattern she is weaving, bringing someone here from some far corner of the Universe, if it is even the same Universe. Perhaps it's not even the same dimension."

Celestia nodded her head, but remained silent. A few moments later, Luna spoke again.

"You should not have let him leave so easily, sister."

"What would you have me do, Luna? Keep him imprisoned in the dungeon? Even though he has done nothing wrong? Twilight Sparkle will keep an eye on him."

"He is here for a reason. That much I know, Tia. The Weaver does not cross threads from different macro patterns unless there is a very good reason. He will play a big role in the near future of Equestria. Whether for good or for evil."

Celestia nodded once in response. "Then let us make sure that it is for good, sister." Then she turned, walking behind the throne, leaving through the hidden door behind it.

5 - The Road to Ponyville

The God Particle

Chapter 5: The Road to Ponyville

So here it is another chance. Wide awake, you face the day. Your dream is over … Or has it just begun?

James awoke with a start, realizing he was in bed. It was a dream … No … It was Queensryche? He looked around, disoriented at first, but then remembering the magnificent castle guest room he had been brought to last night. No … it wasn't a dream.

He rubbed his eyes and stretched, the first rays of the morning sun starting to shine through the open windows. The sound of birds singing gently floated into the room, serenading him out of bed. Despite the stressful and foreign situation he was in, he honestly couldn't remember the last time he had slept so well. The fancy space technology foam mattresses and the air beds from his own world had nothing over the comfort of the bed he had just slept in.

He got out of bed and stretched again, shuffling over to what he presumed to be the bathroom and opening the door, blinking at what he saw. A personal hot tub, made from marble dominated the center of the room, a door behind it leading to a spa. There was a large bathtub, separate from the hot tub, and a separate shower. "They certainly don't spare any expense on their guest rooms," he said to himself. He only wished he had more time to enjoy the amenities. But alas, Twilight had said she wanted to get an early start. As tempting as the hot tub was, he settled for a quick shower instead, which in and of itself, felt very refreshing considering it was the first one he had taken since arriving here. Then, he put on his tattered clothing—he wished he had time to wash them, but they would never dry in time—and headed for the main door of the room, slowly opening it and stepping outside.

He nodded to the guard pony posted outside the door, although it was not the same one he had seen the night before. They must have changed shifts in the middle of the night sometime. The guard pony nodded back at him slightly.

"Good morning, Doctor Peterson. I trust you slept well? Miss Twilight Sparkle requests that you meet her in the Grand Foyer on the first level of the castle."

"Thank you," he responded and took a few steps away from the door. He looked left, then right. Long tapestry lined corridors led off in both directions, each disappearing into a turn at the end. In addition to the turn, there were multiple passageways in the middle of the corridors on both sides that snaked off in different directions. "Right … The Grand Foyer …" he said in a confused tone as he looked at the guard pony, his unasked question no doubt obvious.

"Oh yes. My apologies. I will show you the way," the guard pony responded as he started leading James down one of the halls and through several different passageways.

Eventually, they came to the Grand Foyer where Twilight was having a conversation with some other unicorns. With the exception of Twilight herself, all of them were wearing some type of official looking uniform, but they were not the same uniform the Academy faculty member from earlier had been wearing. Once again, the formality of it all bothered him somewhat. He had no idea what the new uniforms represented, but he assumed he would learn all of that as he became more familiar with the culture.

"Oh, Good morning, James," the purple unicorn said cheerfully, her ears perking up and a smile forming on her muzzle. "You slept well I hope?"

"Good morning, Twilight … Very well, surprisingly." He looked around a bit. The Foyer had a domed ceiling that divided similar to the Taoist taijitu, one half painted white, the other dark blue. On the white half, the golden, blazing sun that he now recognized as the royal symbol of Princess Celestia. On the other, a silver crescent moon, the same one he had seen on the door to the throne room. Stars were also painted on that half that seemed to glow, reflecting the natural light of the room, like the Adler planetarium in Chicago that he had visited several times.

"We'll be leaving shortly," Twilight said, drawing his attention back to her. "The chariot that will take up to Ponyville is ready. It's about a ten hour trip and the Royal Kitchen has packed food for us. I apologize that we have to eat on the run, but I have things I need to attend to back in Ponyville, so I'd like to leave as soon as possible."

"That's quite alright. I'm used to eating on the run. And I'm sure the food from the kitchen here is much better than the stuff they try to pass off as food at the McDonald's I stop at on my way to work every morning."

"McDonalds?" Twilight raised an eyebrow. "If the food from this place you call 'McDonald's' is that bad, why do you eat it?" She motioned with her horn for him to follow her as she trotted towards large doors of the castle's main entrance and exit.

"Well … because it's fast I guess. And we are always in a hurry," he said as he followed her.

Twilight shook her head a bit as she kept walking. "You should slow down and enjoy life a bit more, James. You are gonna burn out if all you do is focus on your work."

He couldn't help but chuckle at that. "One of my coworkers—Eric, his name is—back at the lab used to tell me that all the time. In fact, he told me that the … the night the earthquake happened … and I ended up here."

Their conversation was interrupted by the sound of the large castle doors unbarring and starting to open. Sunlight started to flow through the doors, forming a widening reflection on the polished stone floor. He could see the chariot waiting for them outside. It was a brilliant white color, with gold wheel hubs and gold trim. On the sides of the chariot, Celestia's coat of arms, or royal symbol, was once again, emblazoned. Two stallions stood ready to pull the chariot, wearing armor similar to that of the Pegasus Guards, although it had different symbols on it. James surmised the chariot must be part of The Princess's own fleet, given the royal symbolism.

As he approached the chariot behind Twilight, he saw an armored pegasus to the left that he recognized as Captain Swordstorm.

"Hey, Twilight. Hold up a moment," he said. She stopped and turned her head to look at him and he nodded his head towards the Captain, then started walking towards him, stopping a few feet in front of him.

"Captain," he acknowledged, nodding politely.

"Doctor Peterson," the Captain responded and nodded back. "I see you seem to be doing well. I thought I would come see you off."

James nodded slightly, then hesitated for a few moments before speaking again. "I … never thanked you before, Captain. So I want to do it now. Thank you. I mean that."

The Captain flicked his tail and raised an eyebrow as if in surprise. "For what?" he questioned.

"For saving my life yesterday … For not letting me jump from the flying chariot."

Captain Swordstorm only nodded in response, then extended his forehoof in the air. Assuming it was some sort of hoof shake gesture, James reached out and touched it with his hand.

"Good luck, Doctor Peterson. I'm sure you will do well in Ponyville. Next time you are in Canterlot, perhaps we will have more time to talk."

James nodded. "I'd like that, Captain," he responded. Then he turned and walked back towards Twilight again. She resumed walking towards the chariot, and he took up his place slightly behind her again.

When they had reached the chariot, a guard standing next to it opened the door and motioned for Twilight to step in. She did so, followed by James. Once the guard had closed and secured the door, he motioned for the two stallions pulling the chariot. They started towards the castle gate as James wondered at the efficiency with which the whole operation worked. It was like a well oiled machine, every pony knowing where they had to be, what they were supposed to be doing, when they were supposed to do it. As they approached the gate, a guard at the gate house called out.

"Open the gate!"

The iron grate made a loud noise as the heavy bars locking it closed opened and it began to raise up. Beyond those, large, heavy wooden doors creaked as they swung outward, the drawbridge on the other side lowering to cover the moat between the castle court yard and the road beyond. The stallions trotted through the gate, the chariot vibrating ever so slightly as their hooves clopped on the drawbridge.

"Close the gate!" he heard from behind him. He turned his head back, watching the doors swing shut again, the chains on the drawbridge drawing taught and pulling it back up. Once it had closed, he turned his attention back to Twilight.

"The gate was open yesterday. When we went out to look around Canterlot," he commented.

"They leave it open during the day as long as there aren't any suspected threats to security. But they close it when Princess Celestia lowers … uh … when the sun sets. And they don't open it again until seven o'clock the next morning. It's only about six thirty right now."

He nodded at the explanation as the stallions continued their trot, moving closer to the edge of the city limits of Canterlot. The irony of ponies pulling a chariot that contained a pony was not lost on him, and he thought it was a little strange. Perhaps even some form of class exploitation by the ruling aristocrats. He filed it away for later, since asking about it while they could hear him was obviously out of the question.

He turned around again, looking at the castle behind them. This was the first time he had been far enough away from it where he could actually see the whole thing. Even from up close, it had looked impressive. But now, it looked truly magnificent. Now that he could see the whole castle from a distance, it was even larger than he realized. It was like something straight out of a medieval fantasy novel. His eyes drifted upward. At the top of the towers, Celestia's banners flapped in the wind. He still thought the constant visual reminders of her rulership were overboard, but he did have to admit the banners made the castle look even more majestic, and gave legitimacy to it as the seat of power in Equestria.

After about twenty minutes, the bustling city of Canterlot began to thin out into smaller settlements, mostly farms, on the outskirts of town. Eventually, even the farms gate way to rolling hills dotted here and there with patches of woodland, mostly deciduous forests. He recognized trees that resembled oak, birch, and maple. The grand castle, although still visible in the distance, gradually faded into a light sunny haze as they moved further away from it. They passed several forks in the road they were following, the path becoming narrower after each fork. Eventually, the major road which had been wide enough to hold at least six chariots side by side, had narrowed to where it would only hold two. The road seemed well maintained though, and bumps were rare.

He turned around once he could no longer see the castle anymore, leaning back into the plush velvet upholstery of the chariot and trying to relax. Then, he noticed Twilight looking at him with that fascination in her eyes. That child like curiosity of needing to learn. Uh oh. Here it comes, he thought to himself.

"So tell me more about this place you worked," she asked.

"It was a place called Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory. In a nutshell, it used very strong electromagnetic fields to accelerate protons and antiprotons around a giant ring and collide them together at extremely high rates of energy."

"How much energy?"

"A lot."

"How much?" she demanded again narrowing her eyes at him slightly.

He blinked at her, then shrugged. "Around one trillion electron volts. Does an electron volt mean anything to you?"

She shook her head. "No. I'm afraid I'm not familiar with that unit of measurement."

"It's … well, it's …" he tried to think of a way to explain it to her. "Well, I'm not sure how to explain it because any explanation I give you is going to rely on other units you probably aren't familiar with either. Maybe we can come back to that later? Once we figure out how to convert units of measurement where I am from into units you are familiar with?"

She nodded. "Alright then. How fast? You said nearly the speed of light. How close to the speed of light?"

"You know what the speed of light is?" he raised an eyebrow.

"Of course I do," she said with a hint of annoyance in her voice. "Do you think just because I'm different than you, or walk on four legs, that it means I'm not intelligent?"

"No … that's not what I meant," he frowned. "I didn't mean it to sound that way. I just don't know much about you. I have no idea exactly how far along science is here … Anyway, over ninety nine point nine nine percent the speed of light."

Her eyed widened. "Really? That's incredible. Can you travel that fast where you are from? I mean can anything else move that fast?"

He shook his head. "It takes enormous amounts of energy to accelerate something even as light as a proton to that speed. We can't travel anywhere near that fast … at least I don't think we can."

"You don't think you can?" She raised an eyebrow and cocked her head slightly.

"Well, for the moment, if I'm not dreaming, and that's a big if, some type of relative faster than light travel is one possible explanation for how I got here."

"One of our most prominent magical theorists, Star Swirl the Bearded his name was, didn't think anything could travel faster than light. To this day, that's what most scientists and magicians here believe."

He nodded. "Albert Einstein, one of the most prominent physicists in history where I am from, came to the same conclusion. But there's always the possibility that they are both wrong."

Shadows reflected off the chariot as the road they were on entered a wooded area. He was glad for the shade of the tree canopies as the sun was starting to become rather warm.

"So this particle accelerator I think you called it? It must be quite the machine."

"Well, they built an even more powerful one in Europe … That's another continent in the world where I am from. That one is designed to accelerate them to seven trillion electron volts. Although so far, it's not running at full power. The government was actually planning to shut our lab down because with the new, more powerful one, they figured it was no longer needed and was too expensive to run." He hesitated for a moment before adding. "Although after the earthquake, I imagine it won't be starting back up again ever. So the shutdown date probably got moved up."

"And the particle you said you were looking for?"

"Well, there are some who believe the Tevatron … that's the main particle accelerator in our lab, wasn't powerful enough to find it. I believed it was powerful enough, and so did most of the other scientists on our team. We wanted to prove them wrong and find it before CERN did. It would have been so sweet if we could have done so. No doubt, we would have gotten more funding to stay open."

"CERN? Oh, the other lab I assume. I guess uh … it probably would have been kind of embarrassing for them as well," she added.

"Yes. The other lab. It would have looked like a very expensive mistake if we had beaten them. But even if the Tevatron never runs again, at least I can continue my research at CERN now. I will just have to go to Europe. So in the end, I'm glad it was built given what happened at Fermilab."

Twilight frowned slightly. "You still think you will find a way to get home," she commented in a sympathetic tone.

"I still think there's a very real possibility that this is all a dream."

"You are going back to that argument again?" She raised an eyebrow.

"There are just too many things here that don't make sense. And too many strange coincidences."

"Oh? Like what?"

"Well, to begin with … Where I am from, unicorns are mythological creatures that date back to Ancient Greece, which is a very old civilization … Although I admit none of them look like you. Or any of the other unicorns I have seen around here for that matter."

"And how are we different from the unicorns in your mythology?" she asked. She seemed to be genuinely interested.

"Well, for starters, they don't come in all the different colors I saw back in Canterlot. And certainly not in lavender … but then again, maybe my mind took mythological unicorns and mixed them with the Horse of a Different Color from the Wizard of Oz … uh … that's a classic movie where I'm from."

"Oh? But what's this 'Horse of a Different Color' you refer to?"

"Well, to make the movie, they took several horses and spray painted them different colors. Then they switched them out between short scenes to give the viewer the illusion that the horse was changing colors."

Twilight blinked and then giggled slightly. "That sounds … ridiculous?"

"Well, uh …" He chuckled. "I suppose it kind of was."

"And how else were they different from us?"

"Well, they didn't talk in the mythology. At least I don't think they did. Not in a language we could understand anyway. And that brings up another point. How is it that we are able to understand each other? And that we seem to speak the same language?"

"I don't know," she admitted and shook her head. "Do you have any ideas?"

"No. I don't know either. And that's part of my point. If I'm in a completely different world, or dimension, or Universe, and our two species have never had contact with each other before … what are the odds that we would speak the same language? More evidence that none of this can actually be real."

"Well, I do know that despite the fact that we're able to understand each other's verbal communication, we don't use the same type of system for written communication. Fluttershy described some writing on some of the debris that arrived with you. It didn't sound like any script I have ever seen before."

He just nodded and remained silent for now, lost in his own thoughts. It was several long seconds before Twilight spoke again.

"There are things I don't know the answer to. But I do know that you are here. I'm sure it's easier for me to accept that you are here than it is for you to accept that you are here. But there are some things you are eventually just going to have to accept that you will never have all the answers for."

He was silent for a few more moments. Then, he changed the subject. "So why do you have scientists and engineers here anyway? I mean if you have magic, why do you need …"

She looked at him strangely before responding. "Intellectual curiosity and the desire to learn how the world around you works is a good reason to practice science. Surely you understand that?"

"Well, of course I understand that. But well, at least where I am from, good luck trying to get research funding if the only reason you can come up with for wanting to study something is intellectual curiosity and understanding how something works."

"There are practical reasons as well. Only unicorns can use magic. So science and engineering are very useful to those who are not unicorns. And even when it comes to unicorns, most only have a relatively small amount of magic that's specialized for whatever type of work they happen to do."

"What about you, Twilight? You seem to have quite a bit of it available, and also to have a rather diverse range of magical skills based on what I have seen you do with it so far."

She seemed to blush a little bit at the compliment. "Well uh … I'm what I guess you would call exceptionally gifted when it comes to magic. That and my potential with magic was realized when I was very young, so I was sent to Princess Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns. But then The Princess took me in as her own personal student."

He simply nodded at that and looked up through the canopy of trees. It seemed a little darker now than it had been earlier. Gray cumulus clouds hid the sun and the temperature had dropped slightly.

"I think we are going to get wet," he said matter-of-factly.

Twilight looked up as well, then frowned and muttered. "Maybe I shouldn't have sent Rainbow Dash home yesterday after all."

"What was that?"

"Oh … I was just talking to myself. Wishing we had taken one of the covered chariots instead."

He looked at her a bit strangely. That wasn't what she had said and he knew it. But he decided to let it slide for now. After all, the fact that Rainbow Dash wasn't around was just as well with him, given she didn't seem to trust him or like him very much. He changed the subject.

"Alright, so that telekinesis thing you do? I'm having a hard time with that one. How does it work? I mean I would say it were a trick using magnetism, except I saw you do it with an object that magnetic fields clearly should not work on, unless the glass of water you gave me back in the dungeon cell had a lot of iron in it."

"We don't really know how it works. It's just something unicorns seem to be able to do naturally. With practice, we get better at manipulating the objects we lift, as well as moving larger and heavier objects. Hold out your hand. I'll give you a demonstration."

James hesitated for a moment before doing what she asked. Her horn started to glow. He felt that tingling sensation again, like when the guards had forced his hands behind his back to restrain them. The invisible hand pulled on his again. As the pull got stronger, he had to use more and more of the strength in his arm to prevent his hand from being pulled closer to her horn. Then her horn stopped glowing and the pulling sensation was gone, at which point, his hand flew backwards a bit from the reverse pulling of his own arm.

"How … How did you do that?" he questioned in amazement, his jaw dropping slightly before he picked it back up.

"Well, like I said, we don't really know. Trust me, if you can figure out how to artificially reproduce it, you will be a celebrity here. Our brightest unicorns have tried for years to figure out exactly how it works. So far they haven't been able to. We unicorns that can do it don't even know how it works. It's just sort of … a natural ability that we can hone with a lot of practice. Do you have any theories on how it might work?"

He thought about it for a moment before shaking his head. "No, I've got nothing really. It would seem to violate several established laws of physics, including the second law of thermodynamics and the law of conservation of momentum. But at the same time, I've actually seen … and now felt you do it. There might be an explanation buried deep within quantum mechanics that could explain how it works. But if there is, we are years, if not decades away from understanding quantum mechanics well enough to find it."

He paused for a moment before continuing. "Okay. I have to ask. What's the largest object you've ever lifted and moved?"

"Uh … Well, I lifted an Ursa minor—uh … that's a large animal that lives in the forest near Ponyville—and moved it once."

"And how large is that?"

"Hmm … Probably going to have a units of measurement problem again … but taller than most of the houses you saw back in Canterlot."

His eyes went wide and he stared at her for a moment. "Damn … Remind me never to make you angry." He chuckled a bit.

Twilight blushed a little again. "I … don't like to talk about the Ursa minor that much. It kind of feels like bragging sometimes. And I don't like to brag."

"Oh don't worry about that. I never thought you were bragging. I did ask after all. And, of course, I must say I am very impressed."

"Well, most of the time we just move very small objects. That's the first, and only time I have moved something that big. And I had an adrenaline rush helping me because it was attacking Ponyville. I don't know if I could lift something that large under normal circumstances."

James simply nodded and then went silent again for a long while. There were things he wanted to talk to Twilight about, but he didn't feel comfortable doing so with the stallions pulling the chariot potentially eavesdropping on their conversation. After all, they seemed to work directly for Princess Celestia, and he didn't know what they might take back to Canterlot with them and tell her. Twilight looked at him a few times, but did not say anything to him. He drifted off into his own thoughts again.

A splash of water on his face brought him out of his thoughts. He looked up at the sky to see it had fully clouded over. Gradually, the light rain increased to a full-on downpour.

"Yeah," Twilight grumbled in an annoyed tone. "Definitely should have taken a covered chariot."

The rain continued to throughly soak both of them. Although it did not last long, if left the air smelling of wet horse. Once it tapered off, the sun started to come out from behind the clouds again, its warming rays beginning to dry them off.

"There it is!" said Twilight as the mist from the rain started to clear in front of them, revealing a few tall buildings fading into view. "Look off in the distance ahead of us. That's Ponyville. We'll be there shortly now."

He continued to look where she had pointed with a forehoof, more of the taller buildings becoming visible as they got closer. Eventually, shorter houses faded into view as well. The roofs of the houses were made from some kind of thatching, the buildings appearing to be of a much more primitive construction than what he had seen in Canterlot.

"Definitely a lot different than what I saw earlier," he remaked.

"Most of the ponies in Ponyville are very traditional compared to many other areas of Equestria," she explained. "You won't find a lot of technology or anything to marvel at here. But the library is well stocked. And there is none of the bureaucracy and formal dress codes that you seemed to dislike so much in Canterlot."

James nodded and just continued to take in what he saw of the town they were approaching. The closer they got, the more nervous he became. Questions swam around inside his head. He already knew that cyan pegasus named Rainbow Dash didn't like him very much. That yellow pegasus … Fluttershy he thought Twilight had said her name was … probably wouldn't be real fond of him either, and might still be afraid of him. He had no idea how any of the other inhabitants of the town would react to him, even if Twilight assured them he wasn't a threat. He turned his head, looking back at Twilight.

"So now what? Now that we are here?"

"Well, the first thing we are going to do is stop at Carousel Boutique and get you some new clothes. Cause those torn up things you are wearing now? Yeah … Not gonna cut it. Not even for Ponyville."

He blinked and looked at his shirt sleeves again. His shirt and his pants legs did look pretty bad from getting torn up in the forest—not to mention some blood staining on the shirt from where some of the thorny bushes had gotten through to his skin.

Before he had time to worry too much about it, his attention was drawn to a whooshing noise above him. He looked up just in time to see Rainbow Dash land right beside the chariot. She folded her wings to her sides and started walking along side it, keeping pace with it.

"What took you two so long? Did he slow you down or something, Twilight?" the cyan pegasus mocked. She was already getting on his nerves again.

"Hi, Rainbow," Twilight responded. "No, he didn't slow us down. We actually made good time for ground transportation. Anyway, does the rest of Ponyville know we are coming?"

"Yeah, yeah. They know. They're gonna leave you alone today so he can get settled in. But tomorrow … All bets are off." She snickered in a way that made him nervous. He thought back to getting mobbed by the curious colts and fillies in Canterlot and wondered if something similar would happen here.

"Thank you, Rainbow," Twilight responded. "And yes, I'm sure tomorrow will be a full day."

James just looked back and forth between the two ponies without saying anything, although every once in awhile, he caught a bit of a mischievous glare from Rainbow, which he simply rolled his eyes at.

"I'm gonna leave you two alone for now then," Rainbow responded. Then she looked at him again, narrowing her eyes slightly. "But I still know I could put you on the ground in ten seconds flat. Don't forget that!" she said. Then she spread her wings and darted off into the sky before he had a chance to respond.

James shook his head in exasperation and turned to look at Twilight again. "Is she always going to be like that?"

"Nah. She'll warm up to you sooner or later. And try not to take what she says too seriously. But do watch out for her. She's uh … quite the prankster. Almost everypony in Ponyville has been a victim of one of her pranks at one point or another. You will be too. Sooner or later."

"Great. It's not enough that she wants to beat the shit out of me. Now I gotta worry about her practical jokes too."

Twilight couldn't help but chuckle slightly. "She'll warm up to you, James. Just give her some time."

James looked at her uncertainly for a moment, then looked back towards the approaching town. Despite Rainbow Dash's reassurances, he still prepared himself for a cold welcome from the small town. He took a deep breath and let it out slowly, trying to calm his nerves as they entered the outskirts of Ponyville.

6 - A Fashionista's Welcome

The God Particle

Chapter 6: A Fashionista's Welcome

Coauthored by Omnicron25

James and Twilight were starting their way into Ponyville proper now, and as Rainbow Dash had promised, there was no overabundance of young ponies jockeying for a chance to ogle him or ask him questions. Like back in Canterlot, however, many ponies would simply politely greet him at his arrival—to which he responded likewise. Some seemed to bare more curiosity and stared at the passing chariot and its passengers, while others appeared nervous, and some paid almost no attention to James's arrival whatsoever.

The buildings were what James would expect the structures of an older European settlement would have looked like. Almost all of the construction was made with pre-industrial era materials with the wooden beams clearly shown in the sides of the buildings. He even noted there was thatch roofing on many of the buildings which he could not help but be surprised at after seeing the architecture of Canterlot.

It was certainly nothing like the buildings he was used to back in Chicago. Even the oldest buildings looked nothing like this, and he could not help but feel that fanciful notion he was in some dream again. It was like he really was dropped into some type of fantasy world, or even back in time. He was having a hard time still believing this was all real, but his doubt was starting to fade faster the longer he was in this realm.

Twilight was right about one thing: if this is just all in my head, then there appears to be no way I can get out of it. The physicist thought with a sigh as he watched the crowd of pastel-colored ponies and archaic looking buildings pass by. I might as well play along, just in case.

That thought aside, he noticed they were now passing through what appeared to be the square in the center of town. An official looking building seemed to dominate the center of the area, and to James, the structure seemed to almost resemble a cross between a courthouse and a meeting hall.

"That would be Town Hall, James. Mayor Mare's office is located in it as well as most of the few political offices that Ponyville has. It and the square are also used in most public events, such as the various festivals, in a large majority of cases. We'll be meeting the mayor at some point."

"Er … Thanks," he said automatically. While slightly startled by Twilight's sudden explanation, it was not enough to cause James to jump, only merely turn his head toward her. He nodded at her explanation, but decided to keep any thoughts to himself for a bit longer. He really did not have much to say on the matter in any case since he had been trying his hardest to concentrate on the layout of the town as they went through it. He was sure that the meeting with the mayor of the town would probably only be in passing on his part anyway.

After a short trip through a few more of the town streets and into what seem to be part of the higher class district, the chariot neared an elaborate looking building that reminded James of a carousel one would find at a fair back on Earth. It seemed like this place was their final destination, and this made James assume that it was the 'Carousel Boutique' that Twilight had mentioned earlier.

"That's Carousel Boutique," said the lavender unicorn with a slight tilt of her horn toward it, reaffirming his thoughts. "It's owned by one of my close friends; her name is Rarity. So, we can hopefully expand your social network now as well as get you some new clothes."

"Delightful," he murmured. Despite himself, James found it hard to not roll his eyes at Twilight's choice of words, but kept his opinion to himself as the chariot slowed to a halt and the duo disembarked in front of the fashion shop.

"Thank you, kind sirs," appreciated Twilight to the stallions, which they returned with a respectful nod, before turning and making their way back to Canterlot.

Then, she turned to the door saying, "Welcome to Ponyville, James," as she approached it and knocked gently with one of her hooves. A few seconds passed, and a white unicorn with delicately styled, royal purple mane and tail and sapphire blue eyes answered the door.

"Oh, welcome back, Twilight. How was your …" She cut herself short though as she noticed James—or rather his appearance—then gave a loud gasp of horror before looking back at Twilight indignantly. "You let him walk around Canterlot looking like that?! Dressed like that?! Even worse, you actually let him see Princess Celestia dressed like THAT?! Oh! My stars! It's a crime against fashion!"

The other unicorn could not help but roll her eyes at her friend's dramatics. "It's not as if they had any clothes in Canterlot that would fit his body type."

Rarity turned her eyes back to James and continued almost as if she had not heard Twilight. "And your mane! It's such a mess! You simply must come inside before anypony sees you looking like that!"

"It's a little late for that," James mumbled, but then started to turn around as Rarity stepped around him and started to herd him into the boutique.

"Hey! Wait a moment. What are you doing?" he demanded in indignation.

"Why helping you with your fashion disaster, of course!"

He really did not have any other option except walk backwards into the building, glancing behind himself a few times to make sure he was not about to run into something or trip. James looked to Twilight for help, but she seemed to be only following him.

He thought that maybe Rarity would just shove him in front of a mirror and give him something to comb his hair with, but the way the other unicorn was staring so intensely at him started to make him think otherwise. Eventually, he was backed into a chair and could not go any further. Upon which, Rarity stood up onto her hind legs and placed her front hooves on his shoulders, pushing him down into the chair.

"Now, stay right there. I simply must do something with your mane." She requested before studying him again. "Actually, you really need a complete makeover along with new clothes!" She moved over to her rack of shampoos, conditioners, gels, and other products and started scanning over them.

"… We call it hair, and it was fine until we hit that heavy rain on the way here," James protested in vain before casting another get-me-out-of-here glance at Twilight. But this time, she only shrugged and gave him a sympathetic look as her ears tilted back some. Once it became obvious that she was not going to help him out of this one, he decided to take matters into his own hands. James simply stood up and was about to start walking toward the door.

Rarity suddenly turned from her hair supplies as he was about to take his first step. "SIT!" she commanded in a very firm tone and glared at him with ears turned back and tail swishing in annoyance. In this time, he noticed she had also donned a pair of stylized, pink rimmed glasses when he was not looking.

The man winced at both the loud rebuke and the spectacled glare, quickly sitting back down and sighing in resignation. White unicorn then turned back to her hair care products before using her horn to magically move a few of the bottles off the shelf—much like Twilight had done with the water glass.

"Oh! I have just the thing that will give you nice, glowing, radiant hair!" she said confidently as she glanced at him with her eyes shining in a similar manner of how Twilight's did when she was eager to learn something new.

"Uh … I don't think I want glowing, radiant hair," he protested weakly. That shining in her eyes was unnerving him more than even Twilight's did.

As if on cue, Twilight finally spoke up again. "I'll … uh … come back to get him in a little bit. Just remember, Rarity, the clothing doesn't have to be too formal. It's just for wearing around Ponyville."

James's eyes pleaded to Twilight in one last ditch effort so she would not leave him here with this insane fashionista. But once again, it seemed she was not going to aid him in this one.

"Yes, of course, darling. Informal. Simple, yet elegant looking," Rarity responded with an acknowledging flick of her tail.

Satisfied with the fashionista's response, Twilight left, making James sigh as he watched Rarity return with several bottles of hair care products and a pair of scissors.

"Whoa! Whoa! Whoa!" James started to object, "A pair of scissors? How do you … I mean you don't have hands … How are you gonna …" However, she cut him off with a questioning brow.

"Are you questioning my skills with scissors? Trust me, you will be very pleased with the results."

James sighed again in resignation, letting her get to work as she moved behind him. Then, he raised his eyes to see the scissors above him with a light blue aura surrounding them as Rarity manipulated them expertly in trimming his hair. Then, a comb was surrounded by the same aura on the nearby table, joining the scissors in combing his hair in conjunction with the trimming.

"Okay," he admitted, "I'm officially impressed. I mean, I knew unicorns could move objects around with telekinesis, because I saw Twilight do it … but I didn't know you could control them so expertly … especially not two objects at once."

"It comes with years of practice, darling," she said as she continued working. "Unicorns actually write letters this way. With practice, we can achieve extremely high dexterity over small objects."

"Amazing. Do you always have to have line-of-sight with whatever you are manipulating?"

"It helps, but it's not always necessary as long as you don't need fine tune control," Rarity explained as she started trimming the hair around his right ear. "You sound as if you've never heard of magic before."

"Not real magic," James said as he felt her switch to trimming around the left ear. "In my world, there is no magic whatsoever … only hard science, sight of hand and parlor tricks, and fantasy novels."

"Oh my stars! How dreadful!" Rarity exclaimed dramatically. She was working on the back of his head now. "I can't imagine how much of a shock this must be to you then! I apologize for not noticing earlier, but I was simply so caught up in my work I …"

James gave her a dismissive wave as he said, "It's fine. You couldn't have known. I'm as new to this world as this world is to me."

"I still cannot imagine what it would be like without magic," commented Rarity as she looked over her work and started fixing minor imperfections. "Even earth ponies have integral magic that helps them with the crops and the like … Ah, much better," she said as she finished with his hair, putting down the comb and scissors.

Those last few comments made James even more curious on what all magic influenced here. At first, he thought it was only unicorns and the winged unicorns that could use magic, but now … He broke his train of thought as he noticed Rarity canter back in front of him. His eyes widened as he saw a straight razor hovering in front of her horn.

"Uh … I'm sorry, but I don't think so. I don't care how skilled you are at magically manipulating small objects. There is no way I'm letting you get near me with that thing.," he said firmly, crossing his arms.

"Well, you simply must shave. Lets be honest here, facial hair does not suit you. Would you rather do it yourself?" the white unicorn responded—a bit over-dramatically—then offered it to him handle first.

James eyed the straight razor for a moment. He had never tried shaving with a straight razor and was honestly more worried he would end up getting cut if he did so himself, rather than let her do it.

"But, how will I know you won't cut me with that?" he asked weakly. She gave him a reassuring smile in turn, turning the razor back around.

"As long as you hold still, I assure you I won't. Trust me, darling, I've been doing this for a very long time."

He still looked a bit nervous, but finally, he nodded his head a bit and let her move the straight razor closer to his face and neck, doing his best to hold still. It was not as uncomfortable as he feared it would be as she expertly started to shave three days worth of unchecked hair growth off his face. James usually kept himself shaved, so he had to admit it felt good to get rid of the hair.

After a bit longer, Rarity stood back to admire her work on his hair and face. "Oh, that is definitely a significant improvement. Now, to get you measured for some clothes … I've never made attire for a biped before. This is going to be an excellent challenge." She smiled almost like Twilight had smiled when the lavender unicorn found out he was a physicist.

Yep, Rarity definitely loves her job, he thought as he observed her.

"I need to get my tape measures. I'll meet you by the platform with all the mirrors," she said as she gestured a hoof in the general direction of the platform and cantered off excitedly to gather her things.

He nodded as she cantered off and got up from the chair before heading over to where she indicated. A few moments later, Rarity had returned—a tape measure, chart, and some writing utensils floating over her horn.

"Arms up please," she requested as she started to magically move the tape measure around him, taking measurements at various places—arm length, chest and shoulder broadness, barrel length, pant length, waist size, and neck circumference among the various measurements taken.

James thought the process was taking a bit to long, and that she was taking more measurements than necessary. However, he wrote it off as her being a perfectionist, and she was the expert after all, so he let her work.

The door opened again as Twilight Sparkle came back in, looking at James and his freshly styled hair and shaven face. "Oh … Looking sharp, James." She grinned, to which James rolled his eyes in response.

"Hold still, please," Rarity scolded as he had moved a little when rolling his eyes.

"Oh … Right … Sorry." He did his best to hold perfectly still again as she finished up her measurements.

"Alright, I should have the clothes ready by tomorrow morning. You can stop by then and pick them up," she stated as she finished writing down notes about her measurements.

"Rarity …" James began, feeling guilty, "I can't pay you for any of this, and I doubt you accept credit cards from my world."

"Credit cards? No. Credit? Yes. Don't worry about it, darling. Consider this a gift, as I do like a challenge," she said with a smile as she looked up from her notes. Then, she started off towards a few rolls of differentiating fabric against one side of the room.

He frowned, as he was not satisfied with simply giving her nothing in return. He would think of someway to repay her. For now though, James turned to look at his hair and freshly shaven face in the mirror. She did a really good job, he admitted to himself in thought before turning to fashionista again.

"Thank you, Rarity. It does look really nice. I appreciate it and can't wait to see what you come up with for the clothes."

She turned to him with a proud smile. "You are very welcome, James." Then, she turned back to the fabrics and started pulling on a few of the rolls. "Well, I should get to work on them, and I should let you and Twilight get home and get started on … whatever it is you have planned to get started on." She gave a nonchalant wave of a hoof.

James nodded again, wanting to give the fashion designer her space, and went over to Twilight. "Ready to go?"

Twilight nodded to him before turning to her friend. "Thank you, Rarity. We'll be back to see you in the morning."

"Ta, ta, you two," Rarity said and merely nodded in response as the alabaster fashionista was already absorbed in her task.

Then, with a mutual nod to each other, the two of them left the boutique, and James followed Twilight as she lead the way to the place that would be his new home for the next several months.

7 - Twilight Sparkle's New Student

The God Particle

Chapter 7: Twilight's Sparkle's New Student

"Here we are," Twilight said as she stopped in front of the place where she lived.

James looked at it, then looked back at her strangely. "You live ... in a tree?"

"Don't knock it until you have tried it," she giggled and opened the door, going inside and motioning for James to follow her.

He stopped as soon as he was far enough inside of the door for it to close, looking around again. Other than the fact that it was a library, he also noticed a couple of science stations, and a telescope observatory on the upper level.

"You live in a library? And a science lab? ... And I thought I was a nerd," he shook his head a bit.

"Oh come on. It's great. You will love it here," she smiled and let him look around a bit.

He walked over to one of the bookshelves and took one of the books off, opening it and sighing at the strange script when he did not recognize it at all. Then he put it back on the shelf and turned to look at Twilight again. "Now I know I'm in academic hell," he stated in a dry tone.

"Why do you say that?" she asked quizzically.

"Because here I am, locked in a library full of literature from another world-volumes and volumes of literature and knowledge that has never been seen by anyone from my world before ... And I can't read any of it because it's written in a script I don't understand. This has to be what hell is like for an academic."

Twilight snickered and shook her head. "First, I'm not gonna lock you in here. You are free to come and go as you please as long as you don't go running off. Second, as far as you not being able to read the script? Well, we are going to work on remedying that. Starting today actually." She started looking through her bookshelves for an appropriate book he could start with as she continued talking. "If you are out at dusk or after dark though, do stay away from the edge of the forest. There are nasty creatures in there that are most active at night. And you might end up drawing one of them out."

"Uh huh. Thanks for the safety tip. So what makes you so sure I won't sneak off in the middle of the night?" he grinned, testing her.

"Oh I'm not worried about that, James. Where would you go if you did sneak off? You wouldn't be able to survive on your own in the forest. And it's not like you could blend in no matter which city you went to. The Royal Guard would pick you up pretty quickly once they found out where you are. And if you betrayed Princess Celestia's trust like that, you'd end up back in a dungeon cell. I don't think she would be quite so willing to let you go as she was the first time."

He nodded. "Fair enough. I just wanted to see how you would respond. I'm not actually planning to run off or anything ... So anyway, those stallions that pulled the chariot. Isn't that a little ... If you will excuse the term, exploitative? Like the aristocrats making ... well, lower class members of society pull chariots for them?"

"Not at all. Only the fastest and strongest athletes are offered the chance to pull a royal chariot. It's considered a great honor actually. Many athletic stallions practice for years in the hopes of getting selected for that. Also, they're more than just fast runners. They're also highly trained in defensive combat tactics. Just in case a royal convoy would ever come under attack."

"Ah. So best of the best, secret service type stuff. I get it now. I'll make a note not to piss them off," he chuckled.

"Secret service?"

"Those are the people where I am from that protect the president of the country."

"It sounds like a good analogy," she finally pulled a book off of the shelf with her magic. "This should be a good book to start with. Uh ... the subject matter may not be all that intellectually stimulating for you because it's well below your level. It's a children's book. But it's an easy read, and it has pictures and drawings to help reinforce learning the words."

James took the book as it floated over to him and started paging through it. Judging by the maps and pictures in it, he thought it was most likely a geography book.

"Geography huh? Well, that should be interesting even if it is written for children. Considering I know almost nothing about this land yet."

"I tried to find something that would be at least somewhat interesting for you, as well as help you learn more about where you are,", the unicorn pointed with her horn at a set of cushions on the floor in a corner. "Have a seat over there."

He went over to the cushions she had pointed at and sat down on them, opening the book again to the first page as Twilight sat down on her haunches next to him.

"So, James. What kind of writing system do you use where you are from? Is it an alphabet? Or is it based on symbols or glyphs?" the unicorn looked excited and had that child in the candy shop look again.

"We use an alphabet. Well, the country where I am from does. Some other countries still use symbols and glyphs. A lot of ancient cultures did as well." That look she had unnerved him slightly. Although it seemed she just really enjoyed academic discussions, and possibly teaching others.

Twilight smiled. "That will make things easier. We use an alphabet, although there are some ancient glyph based writing systems around. Nopony in Equestria uses them anymore though. Where to start ... The modern Equestrian alphabet uses forty-four characters, not including numbers. Each character represents a distinct sound. That way there is no confusion with characters having different sounds depending on where or how they are used. Fewer grammar rules to memorize at the expense of having to memorize some extra characters ... Turn to page eight."

James nodded. Of course, he had to count the pages as he turned to page eight since he could not yet read the page numbers. He made sure to make a note of the numbers on the bottom of the page and what they looked like though.

On page eight, was a pull out map of Equestria that unfolded into something about the size of road maps that he was familiar with.

"This is a good place to start," Twilight said as she used her horn to point at one of the dots on the map. "That's Ponyville, where we are right now," she pointed to a star on the map Northeast of Ponyville. "And that is Canterlot, where we came from. You can probably figure out what the characters in the city names sound like just by looking at them now."

James nodded and looked at the word, matching each character to one of the sounds in the name of the city and starting to memorize them. Twilight spent the next two hours working with him, pointing out different cities and regions on the map as James became more familiar with the alphabet. Given it was a phonetic alphabet with a separate character for each sound, it was easier to learn than he thought it would have been. But it was still strange to him to have that many characters. He was gradually becoming familiar with the characters and their sounds, and by the end of their two hour session, he could read very simple sentences—albeit rather slowly and he often he had to ask Twilight for help with certain words. It would take a while to master the writing system of course, but he had definitely made good progress for only two hours of work. And writing the language, he realized, would be a lot harder than reading it since he wouldn't have any visual queues to remind him what the characters looked like or how to arrange them. He closed the book after a while.

"Well, that's probably enough geography and alphabet for the day. I'm impressed at how much progress you made in just a couple of hours," the unicorn smiled at him. "You want to move onto something else? Obviously, we need to talk about culture and history so you know ... well ... why things are the way around here."

"Culture ... Right ... This should be the interesting part where we get into a lot of arguments," he deadpanned.

"Oh come on, it will be fun discussing it with you," she smiled at him despite herself. His expression was so emotionless that she could not tell if what he had said was sarcasm, pessimism, or a combination of both. She used her horn to magically put the geography book back in place. Then she pulled another book down off of a different part of the bookshelf and paged through it for a few seconds before stopping on the page she wanted.

James looked at the page she had stopped on, It contained a drawing of several different colored gems of some sort arranged in a pentagon shape around another larger gem in the in the center. He looked at it for a moment before Twilight continued.

"These represent the Elements of Harmony. They are ... Well, originally they are what I was sent to Ponyville to learn about. For together, the five elements on the outside combine to create the sixth element at the center, which is magic."

James nodded and tried to maintain a poker face. It all sounded very superstitious to him. As if it were some type of primitive pre-scientific almost religious like belief system. He was inwardly surprised that a pony who seemed as academically and scientifically minded as Twilight would actually believe any of this. Nevertheless, he kept it to himself for now and listened as she continued.

"The first, is the Element of Honesty. It is especially important among friends in order to build solid relationships based on trust. The second is the Element of Kindness. Kindness is important even to someone you perceive to be your enemy. Kindness can often bring even the most powerful adversary over to your side. The third is the Element of Laughter. Because laughter can defuse even the most tense situations. The fourth, is the Element of Generosity. Give generously of what you have. After all, you never know when you will be the one in need of generosity. The fifth is the Element of Loyalty. Loyalty to your friends, to the Princesses, and to Equestria and its ideals and values. The sixth element is revealed when the other five are in balance. Those five combined are what give ... the spark for the sixth element, which is magic," she stopped and gazed at James again.

"So that's it huh? That's all there is too it?" he said skeptically. "All you have to do is be honest, kind, laugh, give to charity, an be loyal to friends, rulers, and country ... and that's where magic comes from?"

"... You don't sound very convinced," she frowned.

He shook his head. "It all sounds very nice and Utopian. But it just doesn't work that way in reality. I mean the only one that really makes any sense is laughter. The rest of them ... In reality, dishonest people walk all over the honest ones, people take advantage of your generosity and kindness, and they betray your loyalty. In reality, the only way to advance and succeed in life is to do it on your own."

The unicorn titled her head towards the ground, frowning deeper. "What sad words, James. It does work for us here in Equestria. Why doesn't the system work where you are from?"

He shrugged. "Because it sounds too socialistic in nature. And socialism only works if everyone is willing to play by the rules. I mean, these Elements of Harmony. If even a few decide they don't want to follow these ... guidelines of honesty, loyalty, kindness, and generosity, those few can take advantage of and exploit the honesty, loyalty, kindness, and generosity of the others that to decide to accept the guidelines. Game theory models can mathematically prove that."

"But what if everyone does want to follow the code?" asked Twilight.

"It's been tried where I am from, Twilight. It's never worked for very long. Too much of society is based on self-image. Keeping up with the Jones's as they call it. If the neighbors get a new car, you have to get a new car that is better than theirs. It's a never ending cycle of trying to outdo everyone else. To rise to the top of a system that rewards greed."

"The system has worked for us for over a thousand years, James. Because almost all ponies strive to follow it and realize that it creates a better society and better life for everypony. It's been our experience that most of the ones that do not want to follow it and prefer to be selfish will usually change their ways and be brought into harmony, if we only show them how much harmony improves the lives of everypony by living it on a daily basis."

There was that phrase again. 'Brought into'. Again, James didn't like what he was hearing. And again, he thought the whole system here was sounding more and more like it was based on forcing everyone to believe and behave a certain way. "And what of the few that won't change their ways? What happens to them?" he asked, trying to trip her up into saying something that would confirm his suspicions.

"Nopony can be forced to change if they don't want to," she lowered her head to the ground sadly. "There are some who will remain self-centered. But what you said isn't true James. They will not take advantage of the rest of us. Just because we follow the principles of the Elements of Harmony doesn't mean we will allow ourselves to be taken advantage of when it becomes obvious that's all somepony is trying to do. We still love and tolerate them. But we will not be taken advantage of."

He frowned as he noticed her sadness. "You can't change or help everyone Twilight. So you have to help the few people you can and be content with it," and hope those people don't stab you in the back later he mentally added, but did not say out loud.

She smiled a little bit again, "Well, I can help you at least."

"I don't know. I'm a tough nut to crack," he snickered. "And so as part of loyalty, you mentioned loyalty to the princesses. Is that how you convince everyone to follow this system of harmony? By using the monarchy? Because you have all powerful rulers that can tell the ponies what they should and should not believe? And how they should and should not behave?"

Twilight narrowed her eyes a bit at what was obviously a thinly veiled insult. "We don't have a monarchy. Technically we have a diarchy. There are two princesses. They are sisters. You've only met the elder sister, Princess Celestia so far. But the two of them share power. As the elder princess, Celestia is the highest authority and has final say if conflict arises. But for the most part, they share power," she tapped her fore-hoof on the floor once, flicked her tail rapidly up and down once. James wasn't exactly good at reading equine body language, but he got the impression she was annoyed with him. She continued. "And what type of government exists where you are from? It would seem it has its fair share of problems if most are only living for themselves and it rewards greed."

"We have a representative democracy. The people elect representatives that they want to govern based on the will of the people. We don't much care for absolute monarchies ... or even diarchies where I am from because absolute power tends to breed absolute corruption. For the reasons I mentioned previously."

"I've studied this type of government system in theory", the unicorn answered. "It leads to grid lock. Nothing ever gets done because you have too many individuals making decisions. And all of them are serving their own interests, or the interests of some special group. None of them are doing what is best for the nation as a whole."

"The system is intentionally designed to be difficult to change so that no single individual or group can gain too much power and usurp the government," he retorted as the two of them continued to butt heads.

"And because of that, progress grinds to a halt and the nation remains stagnant. A strong leader like Princess Celestia inspires the entire nation to work towards common goals, for the good of Equestria as a whole."

"Hitler inspired the majority of a nation to work towards common goals as well," he deadpanned.

"Who's Hitler?"

"He was the leader of a nation where I am from at one point. He believed he could create utopia by committing genocide against certain races and classes of people. He convinced a large portion of the country he lead to work towards that goal. And over eight million people died because of it."

"That's awful! You really have leaders that corrupt where you are from?"

James looked at her again, she seemed startled, disgusted, and baffled all at the same time. As if the concept of such barbaric, unbridled cruelty was so foreign to her that she couldn't even grasp the idea.

"Yes. It is. And yes, we do. And now you have a real-world example of why we don't like systems where one or two individuals wield absolute power where I am from. Because that's what can happen when one individual or small group of individuals is allowed to become too powerful."

"Not all leaders are corrupt like that James. In fact, I admit I'm having a hard time even contemplating the idea of a leader that corrupt. I assure you our princesses are not like that and would never do anything like that," She stomped her fore-hoof harder now, lashing her tail once again. yeah, definitely angry, James thought.

"It might be true that not all leaders are corrupt like that. But is it worth the risk? Is there any system or set of procedures for removing a ruler here? If they should become corrupt?"

Twilight blinked. "Removing the Princess from power? The very idea is treason," she responded indignantly.

James gazed at Twilight again. He knew she was young, although he didn't know her actual age. He was certain she was younger than him though. Once again, it seems the concept of removing a corrupt ruler from power was so completely foreign to the young unicorn, that she could not even grasp it. Did she truly believe her rulers were infallible? Incapable of making mistakes? Incapable of any kind of corruption at all?

"What's her name?" he asked finally, changing the subject to avoid upsetting her further.

"Her name? Who?" she finally looked up from the floor and back at him.

"The younger princess. I don't know her name yet."

"Princess Luna," she responded impassively. The anger seemed to be mostly gone now, but there was still a tension between the two.

So these Elements of Harmony ... Are they actual physical elements? Like in the drawing? Or are they just symbolic?"

"A little bit of both. The elements are real physical objects. But they are really just representative of the power that is inside of us. And it's inside of you as well James. It may take you awhile to accept that. Maybe you will never accept it. But I hope you will," she managed to smile at him again.

He nodded and tried to keep a poker face, not wanting to betray his obvious skepticism. It was clear that Twilight saw through it though. She chose to ignore it for now. Arguing with him about it would not convince him. He would have to come to his own conclusions, she decided.

Twilight spent the next few hours teaching James more about Equestrian laws, customs, and history, as well as more about the geography and various cities and towns in Equestria. James listened intently and occasionally asked questions. The local geography was the topic that seemed easiest for her to teach him. After all, it's the one topic he really couldn't argue with her about on a philosophical level. Customs and laws were the hardest topics. As an academic, James was 'debative' by nature, although Twilight sometimes thought a stronger word like 'combative' might be better suited. Often, her attempts at teaching him would end up in a debate about the merits, or lack there of some particular law or custom. She decided to end on a high-note, teaching him some of the history of the earth ponies, pegasi, and unicorns—leaving out the magical aspects for now so as not to overwhelm him.

"I think that's probably enough for one day," she smiled. "Later this week I've got an object lesson in astronomy for you. I hope you are up for an all nighter, because you get to help me out with some star cataloging."

"That sounds like fun. Although I must admit, I haven't done an all nighter since cramming for exams during my college days," he chuckled.

She smiled. "Also, I should warn you that sometime soon, Pinkie Pie will be having a welcoming party for you. You haven't really met her yet. But parties ... Well, it's kind of what she does. Especially anytime somepony uh ... or someone new shows up in Ponyville."

"I'm uh... Not much of a party person really," he responded a bit dryly.

"Well, you won't really have a choice. Because when she does throw the party, it will be when you least expect it," she grinned. "Anyway, I need to run out for a couple hours and take care of some things. I need to talk to some of the other ponies and such. You are welcome to come along if you like, otherwise you can stay here."

"I think I'll stay here. There will be plenty of time for socializing tomorrow. And besides, I still don't have anything decent to wear around town. I'll wait for Rarity to finish those clothes."

Twilight nodded "I'll be back shortly then," she said as she headed out.

Once she left, James started looking around the various bookshelves and pulling out various books to page through. He still couldn't read most of them of course given he'd only been studying the Equestrian alphabet for a few hours. He picked a few that looked well illustrated and that he thought he would at least be able to learn something from. He then took the stack of books and headed off to the guest room Twilight had pointed out to him earlier. He laid down and started to look through the books-mostly relying on the illustrations for now, although he was able to read some of the text, albeit very slowly.

Twilight arrived back at the library a couple of hours later, noticing it was rather quiet. She looked around and didn't see James anywhere until she peered into the guest room. He had fallen asleep while reading, and there were two open books resting on his chest. She smiled a little bit and stepped in the room quietly, careful not to wake him, using her magic to take the books off of him. Then she picked up a light blanket and covered him up with it, looking at him for a moment and sighing. He's just like I was before I came to Ponyville, she thought to herself before turning and leaving to head off to her own bed up in the loft. Soon. Twilight was asleep as well.

8 - A New Day in Ponyville

The God Particle

Chapter 8: A New Day in Ponyville

Twilight awoke early the next morning and stretched before getting out of bed and getting down from the loft. The first rays of the morning sun were just starting to show through the window. She noticed James was already up and was sitting in the spot where they had been reading the other day. He looked to be rather lost in thought as he stared at something he was holding.

"Good morning, James," she finally said as she walked over to him.

"Oh ... Good morning, Twilight," he said in a forlorn tone of voice without looking up from what he was staring at.

"Is something wrong James?" she said as moved over to him and sat down on her haunches beside him, a look of concern on her face.

"Today is Christmas Day. It's the biggest holiday of the year where I am from ...", he paused for several long moments, the unicorn just watching him and waiting for him to continue. "It happened ... This is all real ... I admit that now ... I don't know how it happened but it did, and I am really here. I accept that now Twilight," he said, still sounding sad.

Twilight just continued to sit next to him and listen... Although she glanced down at what he was holding. It was a photograph with James himself, and several other people on it.

"That's my mom, and my dad. And my sister, and her two children," he said pointing at the different people in the picture, answering Twilight's unasked question. "And that's my grandmother and my grandfather," he pointed again, pausing several moments and sniffing a few times. Twilight could tell he was on the verge of tears. "I should have listened to my colleague Eric ... I should have left the lab that night and gone home for the holidays. I should have at least called them ... Because now I am here ... and I can never go back ... And now ... I'm never going to see any of them again," he could no longer hold back the tears and he started to sob silently.

Twilight looked at him with sympathy and wrapped a foreleg over his shoulder and neck, pulling him towards her until the side of his face was pressed against the warm fur of her shoulder. He buried his face against her shoulder and mane and continued silently sobbing for about a minute while Twilight kept her foreleg wrapped firmly around him. There wasn't really anything she could think of to say that might comfort him. She hoped that just being there for him and letting him cry on her would help him. Finally she spoke.

"I'm sorry, James... I truly am," she spoke compassionately. "But you shouldn't second guess your decision to work late. You could not have foreseen the earthquake. Neither can you know what would have happened if you had not worked late." She wanted to mention the fact that instead of ending up here, he might have ended up dead if a building collapsed on him during the quake or if he fell into a sink hole, or any number of other ways the quake might have killed him. She decided against it though. Even though she was sure he had already thought about it, bringing up something that would remind him that those closest to him might not have even survived the quake would only hurt him more.

He sobbed into her shoulder and mane for a bit longer, her foreleg still wrapped firmly around him as she tried to comfort him. Finally, he lifted his head off of her shoulder and wiped away a few remaining tears as she released him from her grasp. "Thanks ... Twilight," he managed to say with a small smile.

Twilight patted him on the back with her hoof gently. "Come on, lets get ready to go. Rarity will probably have your clothes ready by now. And a lot of the other ponies want to meet you," she said, hoping that giving him something to do would take his mind off of the depression.

James nodded slightly and stood up, wiping the last few tears away from his face as Twilight lead him to the door.

She looked back at him as she opened it. "Oh, I talked to Cheerilee last night. She's the school teacher here. She can't wait to meet you and would very much like for you to give a guest talk to her students on science."

"A guest talk to her students?" James raised an eyebrow. "Sure ... I suppose I can do that. Just ask her what day she wants I guess, since it seems my schedule is pretty free right now. But make sure to give me enough time to gather things together to use for the talk."

"Great! And you are, of course, welcome to take anything from my lab here that you need for the talk," Twilight smiled. "Cheerilee will be thrilled, and I'm sure her students will be too."

James nodded and smiled a bit again as he followed her outside. They hadn't gone very far before before Twilight suddenly stopped. "Oh my gosh! I almost forgot! I have to talk to the mayor this morning! Uh ... I hate to leave you hanging on your own James, but you remember how to get to Rarity's right?"

James nodded. "Yes, I think I can find it."

"Alright. I'll catch up with you later then," Twilight responded as she pointed at a vibrantly colored building decorated with cupcakes and candy canes. "That's Sugarcube Corner. Feel free to stop by there after you are done at Rarity's if you are hungry."

James nodded and waved at her as she trotted off to meet with the mayor. Then he turned around and looked left, then right, and then off ahead of him. He realized now that, in fact, he really didn't remember how to find his way back to Rarity's. He sighed and just started walking forward, figuring sooner or later he would run into someone he could ask, although it was still pretty early in the morning.

He hadn't walked for more than a couple of minutes before he suddenly heard a sound behind him. Before he could turn around to see what it was, he felt something slam into his shoulders and back from above and behind him. He gave a muffled yelp of surprise as the wind was knocked out of him and he was roughly slammed to the ground face-first. In a panic, he quickly tried to push himself up off the ground with his hands, but two hooves quickly pressed down on both his shoulders, pinning him back down with surprising strength. The creature pinning him down spoke.

"Where is she! Did you ditch her somewhere? Where are you holding her? Are you a spy?"

He grunted as he instantly recognized the voice of Rainbow Dash. "Not you again," he groaned and tried to push himself up off the ground again, once more to no avail. "Get off of me, would you?" he said in an annoyed tone.

"Not until you answer my questions!" the cyan pegasus responded, pushing down more firmly on him and preventing him from moving. "Where is she?" she demanded again.

"She had a meeting with the mayor she had to go to!" he responded indignantly, having now given up on trying to escape from her. "And I was on my way to Rarity's to pick up some new clothes!"

"A likely story ... If you were trying to get to Rarity's, you were going the wrong way!"

He sighed again, shaking his head as best he could considering how tightly he was pinned. "You know Rainbow Dash, I've met some crazy girls in my lifetime ... But you ... You take the grand prize," he said exasperatedly as he tried to free himself from her pin again to no avail.

"That doesn't answer my question! And besides, if you think I am the crazy girl around Ponyville, wait until you spend some time with Pinkie Pie. Now, why were you going the wrong way?" she demanded again.

"Oh for god's sake, give me a break, would you Dash? I haven't even been in Ponyville for a whole day yet. Excuse me if I don't know my way around town and get lost easily!"

Rainbow Dash hesitated for a moment as she continued to keep him pinned. "I suppose that makes sense," she finally conceded, but still snickered a bit. "I was wrong about it taking ten seconds flat to put you on the ground. It only took me one second flat!" she giggled.

"It was hardly fair. I wasn't ready and I wasn't expecting it," he rolled his eyes.

"Well, it's not my fault you let your guard down and weren't aware of your surroundings."

"Where I am from, humans don't have to worry about crazy predators trying to pounce on them from the sky!" he retorted. "Now, will you please let me up?"

The pegasus snickered again and finally stepped off of him as he got back to his hands and knees, brushing the dirt off of himself and spitting a little bit of dirt out of his mouth before standing up again and glaring at her, to which she just responded with an innocent smirk.

James shook his head again and sighed. "So which way is it to Rarity's anyway?"

Rainbow giggled a bit again, "Come on. I'll take you over there," she said as she motioned in the opposite direction he had been walking. "But I'm watching you!" her voice became serious again. James blinked and started walking along side her. For a moment, there was just silence between the two. James decided that as long as she was here, he might as well take the opportunity to ask her some questions.

"Do you have aircraft here? Like supersonic ones? When I was out in the woods earlier, I saw something fly over me at very high speed and it made a sonic boom. But it was also trailing a strange vapor trail behind it. It looked almost like a rainbow."

Rainbow grinned proudly. "That was me. I flew right over you I guess. I'm the only pegasus in all of Equestria that can pull off the sonic rainboom!" she said in a tone that sounded too arrogant for James's liking. He stopped walking and just looked at her oddly. She stopped and looked back at him.

"You don't believe me, do ya?" she finally asked.

"As a matter of fact, no I do not. I don't believe you can break the sound barrier. I see no way you could possibly produce enough forward momentum to do that."

"Come on then! I'll show you! The rest of the ponies don't like it when I do it over town cause it breaks their windows sometimes. So I have to go outside of town, Come with me and I'll show you!"

James raised an eyebrow. "Let you drag me outside of town? So you can beat me to a bloody pulp without Twilight around to stop you like she did last time you tried to pick a fight with me? No thanks."

Rainbow giggled, "That's tempting. But no, I'm not going to do that. I just wanna show you I really can create a sonic rainboom. Now hop on," she said, motioning at her back, "We can fly out there."

He had a surprised look now as his eyes scanned over her over for a few moments before responding again.

"Uh ... Looking at your wings, and taking various aerodynamic constraints into account ... some quick mathematical calculations in my head suggest that ... well ... you wouldn't be able to carry me ... And even if you could, your center of gravity would be so far off with me riding you that you would not be able to land safely ..."

"Oh come on!" she punched him in the side with a hoof lightly, but still enough to cause him to wince. "Have a little faith in my flying abilities. Just get on," she prompted again.

"Oh yeah ... That's just what I want to do," he deadpanned. "Ladies and gentlemen, from the cockpit, this is Captain Dash. Our flight today will take us over Ponyville where we will narrowly avoid crashing into trees and other objects. After that, we will barely miss smacking right into the side of those mountains over there before finally coming in for a landing, in which we will just miss landing on other living beings. So sit back, relax, and try to enjoy your terrifying flight," he said sarcastically.

Rainbow Dash sighed and smacked him with her hoof again. "Just get on!" she said one more time.

James stared at her for a few more moments, sighed in resignation. "This is, without a doubt, the stupidest thing I've ever done in my life," he said as he gave in and started to climb onto her back. "Be gentle ... I've never even ridden a horse before ... Much less a flying one," he pleaded with her.

Rainbow Dash just grinned back at him, making sure he was secure before taking off into the sky. James closed his eyes and held on for dear life. To Dash's credit though, she was being gentle and being careful not to do anything that would cause him to fall off.

James finally opened his eyes, still amazed that she was actually able to carry him as they flew over Ponyville. Finally, he got up the courage to look down. Even though he was still rather nervous about flying on Dash's back, and of the potential of falling off, he was still interested in the aerial view of Ponyville, which gave him a new perspective on the land. It didn't take long before the town of Ponyville started to thin out and he noticed they flew over a farmhouse with a large barn and a huge apple orchard. He tapped her on the shoulder—since it was hard for them to hear each other with the wind noise from the flying—and pointed down at the orchard below, leaning down close to her muzzle so he could hear her response.

"That's Applejack's family orchard. We can stop there on the way back," she said rather loudly to make sure he could hear her over the wind noise.

He nodded in response, and then resumed scanning the ground below them as even the orchards and farmlands began to thin out into rolling hills and meadows. Every once in awhile, they would hit a few small bumps—areas of light turbulence that caused James to hold on a little tighter. The cyan pegasus wasn't protesting though. He turned to look behind them as the buildings in town were rapidly starting to fade into the distance, become concerned that they were getting a little too far away from Ponyville. He was just about to voice that concern to Dash when she started to circle an open field and begin her decent. He closed his eyes again. This was the part he worried about the most. Even if she had been able to fly while carrying him, he was still concerned that with him on her back, she would not be able to control her pitch at these slower landing speeds. That she would stall out, and crash.

The pegasus swooped down low, spread her wings like an eagle, slowing her decent as she floated on the air just above the ground before landing far more gracefully than James would have thought possible given the previous aircraft carrier deck style landings he had seen her make. For a moment, he didn't even realize they had landed, having felt only the slightest of bumps when her hooves touched the ground. He opened his eyes after realizing they were on the ground and breathed a sigh of relief before getting off of her, looking at her with a look of disbelief.

Rainbow Dash looked back at him for a few moments before giggling a bit. "Well, go on. Say it," she said to him in her arrogant voice again.

He shook his head and sighed again. "Fine ... You were right and I was wrong ... I don't know how you did it without getting us both killed. But somehow you did."

"I told you all you had to do was trust me," she smiled. "Now, I'll show you my sonic rainboom. You might want to cover your ears. I'm gonna make a low pass when I do it."

"Uh ... Ok ... But be careful with the high speed low pass stuff, ok? If you dig a crater in the ground and get yourself killed, Twilight will have my head. That and I don't want to have her worried ... Or have the royal guard after me if she thinks I ran away or something ... So lets try to make it quick and get back to Ponyville soon."

"You're with me. What could possibly go wrong?" Dash responded indignantly.

"Yeah ..." he deadpanned. "Well, how about we get this little air show started so we can get back. Come on and show me."

"Watch and learn ... And prepare to be amazed!" she grinned as she took off into the sky rapidly, quickly turning and flying down range for a distance until she was just a spec on the horizon. She did a knife edge turn and starting heading back towards James again.

James yawned a bit as he watched her coming back, but his eyes got wide as he saw a vapor cone start to form around her. Suddenly the vapor cone expanded and a rainbow disc exploded behind her, followed by a rainbow trail following her. He didn't hear any sound or even wind noise coming from her, but she was approaching at a very high rate of speed.

"Oh shit ..." he said to himself as he quickly covered his ears, realizing what was going on, still unable to hear any sound He knew that would change soon as she continued to close in very fast. She silently passed him at close range. Then it happened. A split second after she had passed, sound caught up with where she had been. All of the sound of the sonic boom hit him with a shock-wave powerful enough that it threw him off his feet, causing him to hit the ground, cussing again as he got even more scraped up from the fall. He rolled back to his knees and got to his feet, looking off in the distance at the rainbow trail she had left, although he was no longer able to see her since she had traveled so far so quickly.

"That crazy ... she actually did it ... No way, she couldn't have ... But I saw it. And more importantly, I heard it," he said to himself, his mind working overtime to try to figure out how it was possible, but drawing a blank. He saw her—actually the rainbow—make a loop as she turned around and came back towards him. "Shit!" he said as he hit the dirt again, thinking she intended to do another supersonic pass near him. But then she started to slow down and the rainbow trail began to disappear. He stood back up as she continued to slow down and eventually landed in front of him, smirking at him. A few seconds later, the sound from the other direction caught up with her. A second loud crack echoed across the land as the sonic boom hit again.

"Oh yeah! Don't you just love that sound?" she giggled.

James just stared at her for a moment before speaking again. "How did you ... I mean what ... How can you do ..." he stammered and just stared at her.

"You should see the look on your face!" Rainbow Dash giggled at him as he just continued to look at her dumbfounded. "Come on ... say it," she said arrogantly again.

James blinked a couple of times. He sighed. He hated being wrong. He especially hated being wrong twice in one hour. And what he even hated worse, was that it was an arrogant cyan pegasus pony with a rainbow colored mane and tail that had proven him wrong. Twice, in one hour. She looked at him again and her smirk became even bigger.

"Say it," she demanded again.

"Fine ..." he looked at the ground. "You were right ... And I was wrong ... Again."

Rainbow Dash giggled as he acknowledged that. "See? That wasn't so hard was it?" she continued to taunt him.

He rolled his eyes. "I still want my rematch. It wasn't fair that you pounced on me from the sky. You and your one second flat thing ..."

Rainbow Dash raised her eyes at him and giggled "Oh you want to fight? Stubborn aren't you. Don't know when to quit? Alright, even without the element of surprise, I can still take you in ten ... seconds ... flat."

He glared at her. "You keep saying you can. Lets see you back it up," he taunted her back.

She glared at him and backed up a few steps, stomping one of her fore-hooves a couple of times. "Alright, it ... is ... on. Ready when you are. Lets see what you got," she said as she got into a four point defensive stance, waiting for him to come at her.

He glared back at her and circled her slowly trying to hide his nervousness as he, looked for an opening to lunge at her. She didn't offer any however, turning with him and always making sure he had to face her head on. Finally he took a chance and tried to lunge forward and tackle her, but she quickly darted out of the way. He scrambled to recover and get back to his feet, spinning around to try to find her again. Suddenly he felt two forelegs wrap around his shoulders and pull, flipping him over and sending him crashing down on his back. Before he had a chance to get back up, Rainbow Dash was on him, pinning his shoulders to the ground with her fore-hooves and grinning down at him.

"Shit ..." James said, unable to help himself from laughing a little bit when he said it. Thankfully, it seemed to be a game to her rather than actually trying to hurt him.

"See? What'd I tell you. Ten seconds flat!" she taunted and smirked at him.

"Uh ... Two out of three?" he looked up at her.

"Sure. If ya want. But it won't do ya any good," she stepped off of him, allowing him to get back up.

He stood up and turned to face her again—more dirt, scratches and scrapes to show for his efforts. He circled carefully for a few seconds again before lunging one more time. This time she didn't move out of the way, instead allowing him to grab her. He tried to twist her to the ground, but she turned out to be be stronger and better balanced then he thought. After a few seconds, she wrapped her fore-hooves around his shoulders and started twisting back. Soon both of them ended up on the ground, grappling for position and kicking up clouds of dirt as they wrestled. It wasn't long before the dust and dirt settled, finding Rainbow Dash on top, pinning James to the ground again.

"Hah! Gotcha again! In less than ten seconds!"

"Shit ..." he said again, shaking his head and laughing slightly. "Alright. You win. Now let me up," he said, squirming to try and free himself.

She stepped off of him and let him up, giggling again.

James stood up with yet more dirt, scratches and scrapes to show for his little skirmish, although she had gotten fairly dirty as well from the last grapple on the ground.

"Alright, you are more capable than I thought you were," he said. "I still don't know how you did that sonic rainboom thing though, or even how you manage to fly for that matter. Uh ... Do you mind if I take a look at your wings?"

"Not at all, go right ahead," she smiled and spread her wings out for him. She appeared to be quite proud of them.

He looked at them closely trying to take a rough estimate of their size and estimate her wing area before asking nervously, "Can I uh ... touch them?" He wasn't sure if it was an appropriate question.

"If you want to," she giggled.

He reached out and touched them, lifting a few of the guard feathers carefully and examining every aspect of her wings with all the careful detail expected of a scientist that was examining something he had never seen before. He took note of the coarseness of the feathers, flexibility, how much depth there seemed to be to them, and several other things he thought might be useful in trying to figure out exactly how it was possible for her to achieve flight—and supersonic flight at that. He finally finished examining them, backing up a little bit, and looking at her again.

"Fascinating. I'll have to work on this one for awhile. And rework my mathematical estimates ... Thanks for letting me get a closer look at them."

"Not a problem," she snickered. "You know, I guess you aren't such a bad guy after all."

"Yeah ... I'm glad you feel that way ... Hopefully it means I won't have to be looking up in the sky all the time whenever I am outside in case you decide to land on me again ...", he deadpanned.

"Yeah, well ... You spend too much time in the lab doing geeky egghead scientist things, and not enough time doing athletic stuff."

"Hey! It's not like I'm overweight or anything," he protested.

"I didn't say you were overweight. But ya got no muscle on you and you have no stamina. Don't worry though, I'll whip you into shape. Then it might take me fifteen seconds to beat you instead of ten," she smirked.

"Oh ... fifteen instead of ten. Thank you so much for that vote of confidence," he said sarcastically. "Now come on, we need to get back. Twilight's probably already been to Rarity's and is wondering where I am. And now I have to shower or bathe first cause I'm not gonna try on the new clothes Rarity made when I am all covered in dirt like this ... Thanks to you."

"Me? You're the one that wanted the rematch!" she responded incredulously.

"The damage was already done by that time because of the fact that threw me down into the dirt when you landed on me in town."

"Oh ... Right ... Good point," she said as she tried, and failed, to suppress another giggle. "Anyway, don't worry. I got ya covered. Hop on. We'll stop at the apple orchard another time."

He nodded and climbed on her back again. She looked back at him to make sure he was situated before taking off and heading back towards Ponyville. He was still rather nervous about the whole flying on the back of a pony thing. But at least he was getting over his initial concern that she might intentionally try to throw him off. He watched in front of them as he could see the town start to come into view again. Dash continued flying until she was close to the library, where she circled around it once and came in for another very gentle landing.

"Well ... Thanks for the ride I guess," James said as he got off of her back. "I need to take a quick bath and then get over to Rarity's."

Rainbow Dash was just about to respond when Twilight came bursting out of the library door. "Where have you been! I've been looking all ... What in the name of Celestia happened to you?" she questioned, noticing all the dirt, scratches and scrapes on him. Then she noticed Rainbow Dash standing not to far away and that she was rather dusty and dirty as well. She looked back and forth between the two of them and narrowed her eyes.

"You two were fighting ... Weren't you ..." she said more as a statement than as a question.

"Fighting? No," James said defensively. "We were ... Well, we were ... bonding?"

"Uh huh ..." Twilight responded in a tone that suggested she didn't believe him.

Rainbow Dash responded then, "Uh ... Building a foundation of friendship?"

"Uh huh ...", Twilight deadpanned again.

"Uh ... Finding common ground?" James tried again.

"Uh huh ..." Twilight said again.

Rainbow Dash giggled a bit. "Relax, would you Twilight? You worry too much."

"Oh sure," Twilight responded sarcastically. "Inquisitive scientist in a completely foreign world. Flying pegasus pony who according to physics, should not be able to fly ... The two of them getting together ... What could possibly go wrong?"

"Actually everything went extremely well?" James responded.

Twilight finally just rolled her eyes and facehoofed, "Guys and tomboys ... ugh ... Well, you can't go over to Rarity's looking like that. Get in here and take a bath!"

James winced at Twilight's reaction, but quickly went inside, waving back at Dash as he did so. Once inside, he took a quick bath, spending just enough time to wash the dirt off of himself before quickly drying off and throwing his clothes back on, running back out into the main area of the library.

"Ok. I'm ready!"

Twilight nodded and walked towards the door, heading outside again, with James following her.

"So what were you and Rainbow Dash doing anyway?" she asked.

"I got lost trying to find Rarity's ... And Dash wanted to show me her sonic rainboom. So we went outside of town so she could do it."

"That was quick. To get all the way out of town and back in that time?" she remarked.

"Well, actually ... We kind of flew out there," he said sheepishly, causing Twilight to stop in her tracks and look at him wide eyed.

"... Are you suicidal? Or crazy or something? What in the name of Celestia possessed you to do that?"

"Hey, it was her idea!" he said defensively. "She was sure she could carry me. And land safely. I had my doubts ... But she lived up to her word. I still don't know how she did it, but I plan to work on figuring that out."

Twilight started walking again. "Well, I did learn early on when I arrived in Ponyville that if Rainbow Dash says she can do something, she usually can."

A couple of minutes later, they arrived at Rarity's boutique and went inside. Rarity looked up from her sewing machine and smiled.

"Oh there you are, James! I've been so excited to show you what I came up with."

"Hi Miss Rarity. I'm sorry I late. I ran into Rainbow Dash on my way here and got sidetracked with a ... detour to see a one pegasus air show," he apologized.

"Oh please, just call me Rarity. And really, it's no problem at all. It gave me some time to make some final changes. Come over here, please."

James nodded and went over to Rarity as she started to shuffle through some hanging clothes, taking several outfits off of their hangers.

"I have to say, this was rather fun to work on. I've never tried making clothes for a bipedal creature before. It was an interesting challenge. I hope they fit well. If not, I might have to make some alterations."

"You made several outfits? Wow. You've been busy."

"Well, I figured you needed a few to wear around here. And despite what Twilight said, I couldn't resist the urge to make one formal outfit ... In case you have to visit one of the princesses again. Here, try this one on first," she said as she took one of the outfits and used her magic to float it over to him. "I thought some nice earth tones would work well for just wearing around here."

James nodded and took the clothes she handed him and went behind a privacy divider in one corner of the room to change. He unfolded the outfit and looked it over. The material it was made out of felt very comfortable. He wasn't exactly an expert on fabrics, but he guessed it was either 100% cotton, or perhaps linen. The main colors were earthy tones, with the shirt being beige color, and the pants being a bit of a darker brown color. The shirt had a few subtle green threads running through it as well, giving it a faint two tone color. It was obvious she had put a great deal of work into it. He removed the tattered clothes he was currently wearing and slipped into the new outfit. It was very comfortable and seemed to fit well. He came back out from the privacy divider and went back over to Rarity.

She looked him over and walked around him, checking the fit of the outfit.

"Well, it actually looks like it fits very well," she remarked. "That means I won't have to do any alterations. You don't have to try the other ones on since they were all made from the same measurements."

He nodded and smiled at her. "Thank you Rarity. I'm in your debt. It feels really good to get out of those tattered clothes I had been wearing."

"You're welcome, James," she smiled back at him. "Don't worry about any debt. Like I said, it was fun to work on since it was a new experience for me. And of course, you know where to find me now if you need any new clothes in the future."

"Thank you, again," he said as she packaged up the remaining outfits and gave them to him. He took the package and nodded to her once more before moving back over to Twilight.

"Have a good day you two. I'm sure I'll see you again soon enough," Rarity smiled.

"You too Rarity. Bye for now," James said as he and Twilight left, heading back outside.

"So you want to stop and get something to eat at Sugarcube Corner?" Twilight asked.

"Actually ... I kind of wanted to just get back to the library and practice reading. And maybe try to work out this whole pegasus flight and sonic rainboom thing."

"Can't those wait until later?"

"I at least want to get the stuff in my head written down before I forget it."

Twilight frowned a little at that. "Alright ... We can head back to the library then," she said, turning around and walking back with James following.

Once they had arrived back at the library, James found a quill and some paper and started sketching out the approximate dimensions of Rainbow Dash's wings, as well as other details he remembered. He found it rather awkward writing with the quill, often times either getting way too much ink and causing it to run and smear, and other times not having enough ink and leaving parts on the paper that were too light or had no ink at all—which he had to go back and redo The fact that he was writing using the Equestrian alphabet in order to gain additional practice with it didn't help matters either, since he was still rather slow with it. Twilight could see he was having some trouble and that he appeared a bit frustrated.

"Is something wrong?" she asked.

"I've never tried writing with a quill and inkwell before. Where I'm from, we haven't used quills or inkwells for well over one hundred years. We have self contained pens that you never have to dip into the inkwell ... When we write by hand at all anymore that is. Most of the time we write on a keyboard. But I guess I will just have to get used to writing this way with practice."

"A keyboard? What's that?"

"Well, it's like ... a rectangular object that has all of these buttons with all of the letters on it. You write by pushing the buttons with the letter you want. I guess a device like that would not be very practical for ... well, ponies like you though. Since you don't have any fingers to press the buttons with."

Twilight still looked at him like she didn't understand.

"Well... Here. I'll draw you a picture," he said as he dipped the quill in the ink again and got a fresh piece of paper on which he proceeded to draw a crude representation of a standard 101 key PC keyboard. "As you can see, our alphabet doesn't use the same characters that yours does. And we only have twenty-six letters."

"That looks like it would be awkward to use," Twilight commented as she looked at his crude drawing with fascination.

"It takes practice. Once we get good with it though, we can write very quickly with it. I can write about one hundred words per minute. There are people who are faster than me."

"One hundred words per minute? It sounds like this device allows one to write faster than they can actually think about what they want to write," she remarked.

James smiled at that. "That's a very good deduction, Twilight. And you would be right. Sometimes it is a problem. It does allow people to write and send things so quickly, that often times they don't really think very carefully about what they want to say, or how they want to say it, he said as he went back to working on some of his diagrams of Rainbow Dash and her flying.

"I talked to Cheerilee. She'd like you to come talk to her class in three days. Is that enough time for you to get everything together?"

"Uh huh. That will be fine," James said, not bothering to look up from the paper he was writing on, obviously very engrossed in his work now.

Twilight shook her head and frowned as she watched him. Once again, she noticed just how much he was like she had been when she first got to Ponyville—totally engrossed in research and learning. Other than his accidental, and somewhat forced encounter with Rainbow Dash; and his brief meetings with Rarity for clothing, he hadn't really taken any time out to meet the other ponies or try to make new friends. She decided not to say anything about it for now.

"I'll leave you to your work for now I guess. I have some work to do in the basement."

"You don't happen to have a graphing calculator do you?" he asked without looking up from his writing.

"I'm afraid not, considering I'm not quite sure what that would be. I do have some graph paper though if you need it. It's in the desk over there," she pointed with her horn.

"Alright. Thanks. I guess I'll just have to do all these calculations by hand then."

Twilight just nodded, which James didn't see since he was too engrossed in what he was working on. Then she headed down into the basement of the library, sighing a bit to herself on her way downstairs.

James continued to work for about another hour, cursing at himself as he still wasn't able to come up with any aerodynamically plausible way that pegasus ponies were able to fly at all, much less fly with his additional weight on their back. And he certainly wasn't able to come up with with any plausible way for Rainbow Dash to achieve supersonic flight. Finally, he decided to give it a rest since the only thing he was really accomplishing was getting more frustrated with himself and his inability to solve the problem. He put the quill back in its holder and replaced the cap on the inkwell, something he almost forgot about. Glad I remembered that ... Wouldn't want Twilight mad at me for letting all her ink dry out, he thought to himself.

Deciding to work more on his reading skills, he went over to the bookshelves and started browsing around, finally pulling one off the shelves that he thought looked like it might be interesting. He took the book and laid down in the middle of the floor on his stomach, looking almost like a child laying in front of a fireplace reading a book.

A couple of hours passed before Twilight came back upstairs and noticed James laying on the floor reading. She smiled a bit. Then she caught a glimpse of what he was reading. She stopped and winced. Oh no ... I really hadn't wanted him to know about this yet ... He's not going to be ready for it, she thought to herself nervously. On the floor in front of him, was a book with an illustration of two alicorns fighting with each other, along with an illustration of Nightmare Moon's banishment to the moon. On the opposite page, a diagram of Princess Celestia raising the sun and moon.

Twilight hesitated for several long moments. Then she gathered herself together and finally spoke. "So uh ... Enjoying the reading?" she said with a hint of nervousness in her voice.

"Oh ... I didn't hear you come back up," James said as he looked up from the book. "... This book ... It's just mythology right? I mean you don't actually believe any of the stuff in here do you?"

For a brief moment, Twilight considered lying to him and telling him that yes, it was just mythology, and no she didn't believe it. But that thought quickly left her mind. She couldn't do that. She had to be honest with him, whether he was ready—or she was ready for that matter—for it or not. She sighed a bit and walked closer to him, sitting down on her haunches as she got ready for what she knew was almost certainly going to be an unpleasant and heated discussion.

9 - Mythology and Science

The God Particle

Chapter 9: Mythology and Science

Twilight hesitated for a few moments longer, sitting down across from James, looking down at the book a moment before speaking. "Well, actually, James ... Yes, I do believe it. I have seen it and know that it is true."

He had a look of shock on his face now. "You? Of all ponies? Honestly, Twilight, I'm disappointed. I thought you were logical and reasoned things out. At least that's the impression I got from you when we had our conversation in the dungeon. I didn't think you were the kind of person ... uh ... pony that would buy into this kind of stuff."

Twilight felt a twinge of anger at his accusations against her, but she managed to control it as she responded. "Why do you reject it so readily? Without even knowing anything about it?"

"Because it's not reasonable Twilight. I mean, lets assume, and we reasonably can assume, that your sun is similar to our own sun where I am from, given that it supports life. That means it weighs approximately two billion billion billion tons. It has a circumference of around 2.7 million miles. It contains more than 99% of all of the mass in the solar system. It's not reasonable or logical to believe that a pony, winged unicorn or otherwise, is capable of moving an object of that magnitude. And second of all, the sun is far more massive than the planet. The planet orbits around the sun. Not the other way around. In other words, the appearance of the sun moving across the sky is an illusion. It's you and the planet you are standing on that is moving. Not the sun. I assumed someone like you who is into astronomy would have figured that out by now."

"What makes you assume I haven't looked into it, James? And why do you assume that just because that's how it works where you are from, it works the same everywhere?" she asked, stomping her hoof in annoyance.

"It's not an assumption. It's well defined based on a lot of observation of other planets and the stars they orbit. A star, by its nature, has to be much more massive then a planet. Otherwise nuclear fusion would not happen. A star that orbited a planet would fly in the face of everything we know about gravitational physics."

"So you think it is beyond Princess Celestia to be able to do this? Even though you said yourself that you thought she might be a goddess?"

"I was caught up in the moment, Twilight. I was stressed out, confused, and scared. I had an emotional response that I allowed myself to get sucked up into. That's all. And I kicked myself later for it."

"So now you are denying what you saw with your own eyes? What kind of scientist denies something they directly observed themselves," she said angrily as it was her turn to accuse him now.

"No. I am denying a trick that my mind played on me. Again, I got caught up in the moment which initially caused me to come to an illogical conclusion," he shot back at her, getting more angry himself now because of her accusation.

Twilight narrowed her eyes further at him to the point where she was practically glaring daggers through his soul. Then she turned away from him. He probably should have known when to quit, but he continued to tempt fate anyway.

"It's not like any of this is new, Twilight. Where I am from, rulers throughout history have used the same old song and dance for thousands of years. Convince the people you are a god, and it makes them easy to control. Don't you see that's all Celestia is doing? As far back as the pharaohs of ancient Egypt, rulers have—"

He stopped as Twilight turned around, grinning and magically tossing one of her saddlebags at him, which he managed to catch with one hand.

"Pack some things. We are going on a little field trip. We'll be gone for a couple of days," the unicorn said in a tone indicating she was a little bit angry with him.

"... What? As in ... right now?"

"Yes!"

"But I want to get back to work on—"

"We are leaving in five minutes. So get packing," she said in a somewhat annoyed tone.

James sighed in resignation as he fumbled with the buckles on the saddle bag, having more trouble with them then he normally would in his still slightly unnerved state. He finally got the bag open and started placing the rest of the clothes that Rarity had made inside of it.

"All you ponies are crazy. You know that right? I thought it was just Rainbow Dash, but no. All you ponies in Ponyville are crazy ... Maybe you should have the water here tested or something? Cause you know, back in Canterlot? Well, the guards and such that I met in Canterlot didn't seem to be as crazy as you ponies here are."

"I'm not in the mood, James," she warned as she packed her own bag before going into the kitchen to get some food and pack it as well. Then she quickly wrote a note to post on the outside of the door, letting the others know they had left and would be gone for a couple of days.

James finished packing the bag, catching some of the food Twilight magically threw at him and placing it in there as well before buckling it shut again, adjusting the straps until he could wear it on his shoulders like a backpack.

"You ready?" Twilight asked, still glaring at him a little bit.

"Uh ... I guess so ..."

"Good. Then lets go," she said as she herded him out of the library.

He followed her out and they walked to the edge of Ponyville, getting closer to the forest at the edge of town. For a long time, there was just silence, between them, a very thick tension in the air. James stopped as they reached the edge of the forest.

"Uh, Twilight? It's going to be dark in a few hours. I thought you told me it wasn't safe to be near Everfree Forest after dark."

"I said it wasn't safe for you to hang out near the edge at night because you might draw something out into Ponyville. We will be well into the forest before it gets dark. And besides, I know where the dangerous parts are that we need to avoid. Now lets go," she said as she started walking again.

He sighed and followed her, entering the forest behind her. "Where are you taking me, Twilight?" he asked, a little bit nervously.

"You will find out when we get there."

Both of them remained silent again for what must have been a couple of hours as they continued walking deeper into the forest, darkness starting to close in on them. James finally sped up a little bit until he had caught up to her and was walking beside her instead of behind her. He remained silent for a few more seconds before finally speaking.

"Twilight ... I'm sorry about what I said earlier. I should have been mode tactful about it."

"It's alright, James," she said in a calmer voice now. "I just wish you would be a little less stubborn ... But I'm also sorry for going ballistic on you like that."

They continued walking for quite a while longer until James began to lose track of just how long they had been walking, or how deep into the forest they had gone. His eyes had adjusted to the darkness so he could see reasonably well now. Thankfully, it was nearly a full moon. He looked off in the distance and thought he could see some kind of large structure, along with a hanging bridge crossing over to it. As they got closer, it became apparent that the structure he was looking at was abandoned and in a bad state of disrepair. Getting closer still, he started to recognize it from the book he had been reading.

"Wait a minute ... I recognize this place ... from the book. It's the ancient castle of the Royal Pony Sisters."

"That's very good, James. You are learning," Twilight said as she continued towards the suspended bridge and started to cross over it.

James followed her to the bridge. He stopped, looking down at it. He didn't think it looked entirely stable. Finally he shook his head and started to cross.

"And you thought I was suicidal for flying with Rainbow Dash. Crossing this rickety old bridge. This is what is suicidal."

"Relax, James. I've crossed it before. It's fine."

James looked nervous, but continued crossing the bridge carefully. He was relieved when they finally reached the other side and he was back on firm ground again. He looked around at the ruins as they got closer to the entrance. When they got to the door, Twilight gently pushed it open and James followed her inside. He looked at the Gothic stone architecture and the tall arched windows, most of which were broken by now. Most of the roof had long since collapsed in the section they were in. He also saw a pedestal in the middle of the room that appeared to contain something at some point in the past.

"So this is where it all happened, James," Twilight finally spoke. "What do you think?"

"I think this building is structurally unsound. And we will be lucky if the walls don't collapse on us," he deadpanned.

"You know what I meant," Twilight responded with a hint of annoyance.

James looked around a little more and examined the pedestal closely. "I think it's fascinating. And I think the Royal Equestria Academy should send some archaeologists out here to learn all of the history about this place ... But it doesn't prove anything, Twilight. I mean yes, it is obvious some type of battle happened here. But battle tales are like fish stories. They get embellished over time. Heroic actions become legendary actions, and so on."

Twilight sighed and looked at the floor, digging a fore-hoof into it a few times before looking at James again. "It was just a couple of years ago, James. And I was there. Using the Elements of Harmony, I helped release Princess Luna from Nightmare Moon ... In fact, that's the last time anypony has even been out to this place."

He would have questioned her about the Elements of Harmony, but he was too busy looking at the floor now, appearing to be focused on something which he followed for a few steps. He looked off into the distance before speaking again.

"Well, you are wrong about that Twilight. These are not your hoof prints. There are three different sets of them and they are fresh. The mud hasn't even tried on one set yet. There were others here very recently. They might even still be here."

Twilight blinked and looked the floor where James was pointing now. She saw three sets of hoof prints where mud had been tracked in from outside. They split off in different directions and followed two different passages.

"Uh ... You are right, James ... I'll take the North passage, you take the East passage? We meet up back here in 30 minutes. And be careful. If you see anything, don't try to confront it. Just leave, come back here, and wait for me."

"Uh huh ... Alright, I got it. But, it looks kind of dark down in those passages," he looked around, finding a torch on the wall and taking it down. "I have no fire source. Can you?" he said as he held it in front of Twilight's horn.

She looked at the tip of the torch and concentrated for a few moments as her horn started to glow, the end of the torch bursting into flames a few moments later.

"Impressive ... Thanks," James smiled a bit as he started to move towards the East passage, disappearing into it as Twilight went North, using light from her horn to guide her way.

James continued walking down the East passage, looking above him as the roof that had been collapsed into the large chamber started to become more and more intact. He could sense that he was walking down a slight grade, which meant he was going underground.

"Great ... That's just what I want. To have the roof collapse on me as well as the walls and get buried alive down here. This is just perfect," he grumbled to himself as he continued walking, the tracks slowly fading and eventually disappearing as the mud on the hooves of whoever made them eventually wore off completely. He walked a little further before coming to a branch, where another passage went off to the right. Since he couldn't see the hoof prints anymore, he decided to to simply continue going straight. It seemed like the most logical direction to go in his mind. After all, he figured whoever had come down here would also have kept going straight unless there was some compelling reason for them to go down the smaller passage to the right. "What the hell am I even doing down here anyway? Am I like detective James Peterson now or something? Did I suddenly get drafted into Her Royal Highness's equivalent of the Federal Bureau of Investigation or something?" he continued to complain quietly to himself. He was about to turn around and go back, deciding he wasn't willing to risk getting buried down here just so Twilight could satisfy her curiosity about who else was here—or for any other pony reason for that matter. But then, just before he turned back, he heard something. It was definitely the sound of a pony walking. He thought about what Twilight had said about going back if he found something and not trying to confront it on his own, but he only heard one set of hooves. Furthermore, he heard no talking, so he assumed that whoever was up ahead was alone. He continued on, walking slower and more quietly now. As he got closer to the sound, he could see a glowing light ahead ahead of him, and what appeared to be an antechamber at the end of the passage.

He quickly extinguished the torch he was holding now, not wanting its light to reveal his position. As he approached closer to the antechamber he could see a blueish purple pegasus pony, somewhat larger than Twilight, with its head lowered to the floor as if it was looking at something. He hesitated for a moment, not sure what to do. Then he took a breath, carefully entering the antechamber, still unseen by the pegasus pony at the other end of the chamber.

"Halt!" he called out, trying to sound as imposing as possible, and making sure he was loud enough that the pony could hear him.

The startled pegasus at the other side of the chamber lifted its head quickly. James now realized that the pegasus was, in fact, not just a pegasus as he could now see the horn on its head. It quickly turned around towards his voice.

"Princess Luna?" he quickly knelt and bowed before her, recognizing her from the book he had been reading earlier. "Please, forgive my manners, Your Highness. I did not recognize you from behind."

Princess Luna blinked in confusion, still a little startled as she looked at the creature that was now kneeling before her. She took a few steps closer to him and looked him over for a few moments before speaking.

"James? My sister told me about thee. It is a pleasure to finally meet thee."

"The pleasure, and the honor are all mine, Your Highness," he responded, still kneeling with his head bowed, finding her Old English style of speaking strange. Now was not the time to ask her about it, of course.

"Stand," Luna commanded. "Thou art not here alone are thee?"

"No, Your Highness. I am here with Twilight Sparkle. We split up when we realized someone ... somepony else was here. She took the North package back in the main room. And I took this one," James said as he stood back up.

Princess Luna looked slightly distressed when he said that.

"Is uh ... Is something wrong, Your Highness?"

Luna hesitated for a moment. "Unfortunately, thou hast wandered into something ... And seen something that thou were not supposed to see. So has Twilight ... We shall need to ask thee to return to Canterlot with Us ..."

The cold chill of fear moved through his body. He was familiar enough with royal customs to know that when the royal 'We' was used, it meant she was speaking with all of the authority of the entire nation.

"... I wasn't supposed to see this? The ruins?" James questioned nervously, worried he was about to have his freedom revoked, only four days after Celestia had given it to him.

"No, no ... It's not that. Neither thou nor Twilight were supposed to see that anypony else had been here ... Or that I was here. And because of that, thou will need to come back to Canterlot with Us."

"So ... So ... am I being arrested, Your Highness?" he asked nervously again.

"Oh no ... Not arrested. Well, unless thou are unwilling to submit to temporary voluntary detainment. Then We will have no choice."

'Temporary voluntary detainment' was not a phrase he particularly liked the sound of. However, he knew that resisting the will of Princess Luna would only make the situation worse. He simply bowed his head respectfully. "You will not get any resistance from me, Your Highness ... So ... I guess we better go get Twilight then?"

Luna nodded. "Thou shalt lead the way."

James turned and started to walk back up the passage from which he had come, Luna's horn lighting the way in front of them now that he had extinguished his torch. About fifteen minutes later, he emerged from the passage. Twilight was already back in the main room, looking nervous. She looked up when she spotted James and started walking towards him.

"James! I was starting to think you got lost down there, or got into trouble. It's been more than 30 minutes. Where did you ... Princess Luna?" She quickly bowed as she spotted Luna coming out of the passage behind James.

"Please, stand, Twilight," Luna responded. "Didst thou find anything down in the North passage?"

"No, Your Highness. Nothing. There was nopony down there. If I may ask, Your Highness. What's going on?"

Princess Luna sighed and then looked at Twilight. "We are afraid we can tell thee nothing more at this time. But, as we have already told James, thou have both wandered into something, and seen something that thou were not supposed to see. And because of that, We need to ask both of you to come back to Canterlot with Us and submit to voluntary detainment until my sister and I can discuss the matter and you can both speak with Us."

Twilight blinked and then looked over at James nervously.

"Don't worry about my stubbornness, Twilight. I already agreed," he reassured her.

Twilight breathed a sigh of relief at that and then simply nodded to Luna.

"Good. I will send a message to my sister and have her send a chariot then. It will be an aerial one and it's coming from not very far away, so it will get here quickly. It will take about two hours to get to Canterlot."

Luna's horn started to glow again, causing James to look at her a bit confused, before turning to Twilight, his unasked question obvious from his look.

Twilight leaned closer to James's ear and said quietly, so as not to break Luna's concentration, "She's sending a message to her sister. The princesses can communicate with each other magically, even over great distances."

He nodded at her answer as Princess Luna finished sending her message and then turned around, sitting down on her haunches and facing them.

"So what were thou two doing here anyway?" she asked.

James looked at Twilight, obviously expecting her to do the explaining. She was the one that forced him to come on this little excursion after all.

"Well, Your Highness. I brought James here on sort of a field trip. I thought it would be good for him to actually get to see some of the things he was reading about in the books at the library. I uh ... didn't expect we would run into you here, or that others besides you had been here as well. As you probably know, we saw two other sets of hoof prints, in addition to yours."

Luna nodded, "We ... I'm sorry, that this ended up interfering with your field trip," she said, switching from the royal voice to the common voice now.

"It's nothing, Your Highness," James lied. He was still rather nervous about what would happen to him back in Canterlot.

Luna smiled a bit, "Come then. We had better head outside and wait for the chariot."

The three of them stood up and Luna lead the way to the door. It was still completely dark as they exited the ruins, but thankfully, the light from the full moon still made it relatively easy to see. They waited about another twenty minutes in relative silence until a flying chariot could be seen in the sky, being pulled by two pegasus ponies. James watched in fascination as the chariot circled overhead, the two pegasi pulling it scanning the moonlit ground looking for a safe place to land. They circled one more time before coming in for a landing.

"I shall fly myself back," Luna said. "I'll see both of you back in Canterlot."

Princess Luna took off into the air and started heading back to Canterlot.

James watched Luna take off and then walked over to the chariot, opening the door on the side, and holding it open, bowing slightly to Twilight. "After you, my lady," he giggled a bit. "I've always wanted to do that."

Twilight rolled her eyes at his antics as she stepped into the chariot and took a seat. James stepped in behind her and closed the door, making sure it was securely shut. Then the two pegasus ponies pulling the chariot took off and started towards Canterlot. The two of them didn't say very much on the two hour flight to Canterlot. It was clear there was a little bit of tension in the air between them again. James tried to see as much as he could on the ground to get a better idea of the geography in Equestria. But even with the light of the full moon, it was difficult to see very much on the night flight. Eventually, he just leaned back in the seat and closed his eyes, trying to relax as much as possible for the remainder of the flight. He found it difficult, however. Despite Luna's reassurances that they were just being temporally detained, he was still nervous about the prospect of being detained in Canterlot for the second time in the short amount of time he had been here.

Twilight eventually tapped him on the shoulder with a hoof. He opened his eyes and she pointed in front of them. The bright lights of Canterlot were coming into view. The castle, with the lights in its towers, was clearly visible. Even the banners flying from the top of the towers could be seen at night in the lights of the city. As they got closer to the city and began to circle over it, James looked down at the ground over the side of the chariot, taking in the sites of Canterlot from the air. The city was even larger and more impressive than he had realized the first time he had been there but had only seen it from the ground.

The pegasi pulling the chariot started descending towards the castle, flying what almost seemed like it could have been a standard approach pattern for an airliner where James was from. They made a ninety degree turn and came in for a final approach on the straight road leading up to the castle gate, which was well lighted on both sides, almost like an airport runway. The castle gate started opening just as the chariot was was about to touch down. He felt a very light bump as the wheels on the chariot touched the ground, more gently, and with more skill than any airline flight he had ever been on. The chariot slowed down as the two pegasus pulling it trotted through the gate into the castle courtyard, the guards watching the gate starting to close it and raise the drawbridge again. Once the chariot had come to a stop, one of the royal guards moved and opened the door.

"Doctor Peterson, Miss Sparkle. Welcome back to Canterlot," he acknowledged as he motioned for them to step down.

James nodded to the guard and stepped down, followed by Twilight.

"I will take you into the castle. The princesses will be seeing you soon. Follow me please."

James and Twilight both followed the guard into the castle as he lead them down a couple of corridors. He lead them to a room that appeared to be a sort of waiting room, or holding room. It was somewhat sparsely furnished, but did have some comfortable chairs, and a couple of tables in it.

"Please, wait in here. The princesses are discussing and will be ready to see you when they are finished," the guard said as he motioned them into the room.

James and Twilight both walked into the room, the guard exiting the room and closing the door behind him, leaving the two of them alone. The click of a lock sliding into place, locking the two of them in the room only served to make James more nervous. Both of them took a seat and were silent for several minutes before James finally spoke.

"What kind of mess have you gotten me mixed up in Twilight? I mean if I'm not getting myself detained in Canterlot by dropping in from another world, you are getting me detained by dragging me off to castle ruins. If we had just stayed in Ponyville like I wanted to do, we wouldn't be here right now. But no ... nope! You just had to drag me out on this little field trip of yours."

"Would you shut up?" Twilight said as she rolled her eyes. "How was I supposed to know there was going to be anypony else there? Or that we were going to end up in this situation?"

"Yeah, well ... Did you notice how fast that guard whisked us through the castle and into this room? He didn't want anyone seeing us. The princesses don't want anyone knowing we are here. That's how I read it. You know what that means don't you?"

"What?" Twilight tilted her head at him.

"It means they are probably going to disappear us. Throw us in the dungeon to rot for the rest of our lives and just let everyone think we went missing and got eaten by some wild animal in Everfree Forest or something."

Twilight shook her head and rolled her eyes. "You're paranoid, James. You read to many spy novels or something."

There was silence for a couple of minutes before Twilight spoke again.

"I am glad you didn't give Princess Luna any trouble back there, or resist coming back here when she told you to. I was half worried that you would. For someone who doesn't believe any of the ... mythology as you call it about the princesses, you seem very willing to do what they ask without giving them any trouble."

"I respect the princesses because they are the rulers of this nation I seem to be stuck in. But that doesn't mean I believe the stories about them being able to raise and lower the sun and the moon."

"You respect them, but yet you criticize them whenever the subject comes up between us. I certainly hope it's not simply their political station that causes you to respect them? There must be something more to it then that?"

James appeared lost in thought for a few moments, as if he was pondering her question, not entirely sure himself why he had so much respect for the two princesses. Finally he responded. "I believe their intentions are good, and they are trying to make life the best they can for their subjects. I respect that, even if I don't agree with their methodology and the way they are going about it."

Twilight smiled some at his statement. "Well, that's progress anyway. You'll get there eventually."

He was about to respond, but was interrupted by the sound of the lock on the door disengaging The door opened and the royal guard reappeared.

"The princesses will see you now."

Both of them stood up and followed the guard out of the door. Again, he was moving rather quickly. They went through another door on the side of the corridor and then started climbing some stairs. Although James didn't remember his way around the castle very well, he definitely remembered that they didn't climb any stairs other than the ones from the dungeon the last time he went to meet Princess Celestia. It was obvious they were not being taken to the throne room where he had met her last time. They went through another door at the top of the stairs which lead into a circular room with several doors in it. The guard went over to one of them.

"Princess Celestia, Princess Luna. I have Miss Sparkle and Doctor Peterson here to see you."

The guard opened the door and motioned for Twilight and James to enter. Both of them walked through the door, the two of them, along with the royal guard who had escorted them kneeling down and bowing before the two royal sisters. The guard rose and took up his position in the room next to the door. Twilight and James continued kneeling.

"Twilight, my faithful student. It is good to see you again," Celestia regally spoke. "And James, it is good to see you again as well. But we really must stop meeting under these circumstances," she chuckled.

"I uh ... Completely share your sentiments, Your Highness," James responded.

"Please, stand," she said.

The two of them stood up and James got a good look at the room they were in for the first time. It appeared to be be the private living quarters of one of the princesses, although he could not tell for sure which one.

"As my sister has already told you, both of you, through no fault of your own, have accidentally wandered into something you were not supposed to see. I have discussed the matter with my sister and learned what you have seen. I know you both would like to know what this is all about, but I'm afraid we can tell you nothing more."

She paused for a moment, and James and Twilight both nodded slightly in acknowledgement of what she had said so far. Then she continued.

"We are going to release both of you, and allow you to return to Ponyville. But first, I must swear both of you to silence about what you have seen. You must not speak of this with anypony. Only my sister and I, and a couple of my most trusted Royal Guards, including the one in this room right now, know anything about this. Not even the royal council knows. You must not speak of it even to the other members of the Elements of Harmony," she stopped and looked at them awaiting their answers, with James speaking first.

"Of course, Your Highness. I will remain silent about it. I swear it to you," James said as he bowed his head respectfully.

Twilight, however walked closer to Princess Celestia.

"Princess ... I really wish you'd tell us more about what is going on. I'm your most trusted student. You know you can trust me with whatever it is. Is something wrong? Is it a threat to Equestria?"

It was all James could do not to facepalm at Twilight's actions. Even so, there was still an expression of exasperation on his face for a few seconds. Fortunately, Princess Celestia didn't see it as she was looking at Twilight. Princess Luna, however, did see it. She tried to give James a look of reassurance.

Princess Celestia nuzzled her student gently, then thought for a moment before looking at Luna. The younger sister nodded at her and Celestia sighed a bit. Twilight backed up and stood next to James again as Celestia looked at them and spoke again.

"Very well ... A couple of days ago, we became aware that at least two, and possibly more ponies had been visiting the ruins in Everfree Forest. Of course, for reasons of national security, I cannot tell you how we initially became aware of this."

They both simply nodded in response, before Celestia continued.

"My sister went to investigate, which is why you happened to run run across her there. This is all being done rather discretely. As I said, with the exception of a few of my most trusted guards, nopony knows about this. This is why Luna went there by herself with no guard escort. We think, but do not know for sure, that they were looking for the Elements of Harmony. Of course, they are no longer located there. But whoever was looking for them probably would not have known that. This might not mean anything ... They might have just been looters who were looking for something of value they hoped to sell on the black market. But I have my doubts. It's reasonably well known that virtually nothing of value is left in those ruins. But again, we don't know anything for sure right now. We don't know why they would have been looking for the Elements, if that is in fact, what they were looking for."

Twilight nodded at her mentor, while James just remained stoic, not betraying his emotion anymore. After a few moments, Twilight finally responded.

"Thank you, Princess. And yes, I swear I will remain silent about this."

Princess Celestia smiled at both of them. "I know it's late ... very late actually. Guest rooms have been prepared for both of you. You can spend the night here in the castle and have breakfast here before heading back to Canterlot in the morning. I will provide an aerial chariot for you in the morning so that you may get back to Ponyville as soon as possible."

"Thank you, Your Highness," James responded, while Twilight simply moved to nuzzle her mentor again. Princess Celestia smiled at both of them. Then both Twilight and James backed up a few steps and bowed respectfully again before turning to leave the room.

Once they had exited and were being escorted to their rooms, James breathed a sigh of relief and looked at Twilight.

"Is something wrong?" Twilight asked, noticing his exasperated gaze on her.

"... Twilight ... When a princess ... who has the power to banish you ... Or throw you into a dungeon ... Or banish you and then throw you into a dungeon in the place that she banishes you too ... Or whatever it she does to those who see something they are not supposed to see ... asks you if you will agree to swear secrecy about something? You don't argue. You don't ask questions ... You just say ... YES!"

Twilight looked a bit sheepish for a moment before responding. "Well ... She ... I mean I thought ... I mean come on, James. You are a scientist. Didn't you want to learn more about the situation?"

James was secretly a bit proud of himself now. It was the first time he had ever left Twilight speechless and stumbling to come up with a response. "I'm a scientist, Yes Twilight. And I would have been perfectly happy staying in Ponyville. Learning about history and mythology from books while trying to solve the mystery of pegasus flight. When it comes to matters of national security? And high level government secrets? It's not my concern. I'd really rather not get involved in them. As long as the government lets me work on my research? and isn't being tyrannical and suppressing basic human rights ... or pony rights for that matter? That's really all I want. I might bitch and moan from time to time about things I don't agree with. But I'm really not gonna stir the pot that much, you know?"

The guard that was leading them rolled his eyes, being forced to listen to the human and the unicorn argue with each other.

"... Sometimes, I really don't understand you, James ..." was all Twilight was able to come up with for a response. She looked at the ground and frowned. She hated the fact that he had used the 'mythology' word again. The field trip to the ruins had no effect on him at all it seemed.

James would have responded, but the guard that was leading them stopped as they had reached their guest rooms, which were directly across from each other.

"Miss Twilight, Doctor Peterson. Your rooms," his tone of voice betraying a hint of relief over the fact that he would soon be free of having to listen to the two of them.

"Thank you," Twilight and James both said in near unison before looking at each other for a few moments. Then they both turned and went into their rooms, closing their doors a bit rougher than necessary behind them.

The guard signed in relief. "Finally," he said quietly to himself, allowing himself to fall out of form for a brief moment since nopony was there to see him. He shook his head before turning and walking back down the corridor they had come from.

James sighed as he sat down on the bed in his guest room, undoing the buttons on his shirt and taking it off as he got ready for bed. "Why does she have to be so stubborn?" he said to himself.

Twilight sighed as she pounced onto the bed in her guest room, looking at the ceiling for moment as she laid there. "Why does he have to be so stubborn?" she said to herself.

Both of them stewed over their own thoughts for a bit longer before eventually drifting off to sleep in their respective rooms.

10 - Solaris

The God Particle

Chapter 10: Solaris

"Wake up, James," he heard a soft voice as he felt something brush against his face lightly. He tried to brush it away with his hand and then turn over in the bed.

"James, wake up," the voice said again, with a little more insistence, causing him to finally open his eyes. It was still mostly dark in the room, but as his eyes came into focus, he could see the muzzle of a white alicorn hovering over his face.

He nearly fell out of the bed he reacted so quickly in his startled state, kneeling before her and bowing. "Princess Celestia ... Your Majesty?" he said in a confused and rather surprised tone of voice.

She chuckled at his quick response. "Please, stand. You don't have to be quite so formal right now, James. Considering I basically snuck up on you while you were sleeping. Get dressed and walk with me."

"Yes, Your Majesty," he responded and stood up.

"I'll wait outside the door for you," she turned and left the room.

James watched her leave, then quickly pulled one of his shirts on over his head and put his shoes on. He didn't know what time it was, other than it was still dark outside. He tried to calm his nerves, his mind wondering what she could possibly want with him at this hour. Sure, she would trust Twilight, her most faithful student to remain silent and keep the secret they had sworn to. But she really had no reason to trust him, considering she had only met him twice and he was a complete outsider who wasn't even from the same world. He hoped she hadn't changed her mind about releasing him.

As he walked out of the room, he noticed she was alone and did not have any guard escort with her. She turned her head over her shoulder to look at him and then started to walk. James moved in beside her, walking with her as she lead the way. Princess Celestia remained silent for now. He thought proper protocol would dictate that he didn't speak until she did first, so he remained silent as well. She led him down a corridor with a couple of twists and turns along the way until she came to a large wooden door that she magically unlocked with her horn, revealing a spiral stone staircase that lead upwards. James assumed it must be one of the castle's many towers. As they started to climb the stairs, he heard the door quietly close behind him, followed by a click as the lock on the door re-engaged.

He wasn't sure how long they climbed the stairs, but eventually they came to another door at the top, which she again opened with magic. After passing through the door, they entered a circular unfurnished room, which James assumed must be the top of the tower. Princess Celestia led him to another door on the other side of the circular room, which she unlocked and magically opened. He followed her through it, finding himself outside on a balcony now, overlooking Canterlot. The two of them stood next to each other looking over the city below for a few moments before the alicorn turned her head and spoke to him.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?"

"Yes, Your Majesty. You can see the entire city and beyond," James said as he looked around at the various parts of Canterlot. The streets were still mostly quiet, although there was a small amount of activity below them. James suspected it was those ponies that had to get up very early to get ready for the morning rush of customers—bakers and such maybe. "Do you mind if I ask you a question, Your Majesty?"

"Of course, not. Ask away," she looked at him.

"Do you uh ... routinely wander the halls, enter your guest's rooms in the middle of the night while they're sleeping, and wake them up?"

She ignored the somewhat recusant nature of the question and chuckled softly. "It's not the middle of the night. It's early in the morning. And I wanted to speak with you alone before the two of you left this morning."

James simply nodded in response and Celestia continued.

"So, Twilight tells me you've been very dedicated to learning about our nation, and learning our writing system. And that you've been devouring the books in the Ponyville library."

"Well, I've been doing my best, Your Majesty," he responded, feeling a bit better that Twilight had spoken positively about him.

Princess Celestia smiled and nodded before continuing. "However, she also tells me that you are very ... resistant, for lack of a better word, to accepting some of the things we believe here in Equestria."

James mentally winced at that. He knew where this was going, and he really did not want to have this conversation with one of the The Princess. However, he was backed into a corner right now, and there was really no way he could get out of it. He thought for a few moments, planning his response very carefully. Angering Twilight was one thing. Angering Princess Celestia was quite another, he thought. Finally, he responded.

"There are ... certain concepts that are very foreign to me. And that violate everything I know to be true about the laws of physics ... So I am having a hard time reconciling what I know, with some of the things I have been reading, and some of the things Twilight has told me, Your Majesty," he responded, choosing his words as carefully as he could. He also intentionally left out the parts about rejecting what he perceived as the ruling style of the princesses, and his perceived indoctrination teaching style they used. He felt a twinge of anger rise in him at Twilight for having mentioned their disagreements to The Princess, but he tried to keep it hidden as best he could.

"I understand," Princess Celestia nodded. "Twenty-seven years of thinking about things a certain way is not going to change overnight. I would just encourage you to open your mind as much as possible."

"I always try to keep an open mind," he said slightly defensively. "But ... at the same time ... We can't be too quick to throw out well established laws and theories. More often than not, when something appears to violate established laws of science, or well supported theories in science, closer examination reveals that in fact, it does not actually violate those laws at all."

Somewhat to his surprise, Princess Celestia nodded and smiled at his response. "It can be difficult to find the right balance between jumping to conclusions that throw out established rules, and refusing to accept something just because it violates established rules. Throwing out the established rules too quickly can cause one to come to conclusions that are very wrong. But, if after careful analysis, you can show that something is happening that definitely does not fit the established rules, then the rules might need to be modified, or even thrown out."

James nodded slightly at that, but didn't give a verbal response.

"You have read about our ... laws of celestial mechanics? The sun and the moon?" she asked him.

"I have, Your Majesty," he nodded slightly. Any attempt at hiding his apprehension was futile now.

"And what was your impression of them? What do you think about them?"

"I'm uh ... fine with them ... I don't really have any problems with them," he mumbled, looking at the floor now.

"Did Twilight Sparkle teach you nothing of the Elements of Harmony?" she said somewhat sternly. "Specifically, the Element of Honesty? Do not try to lie me to me, James. I can see through it," she scolded him.

That caused James to wince. Somehow, getting scolded by Princess Celestia made him feel far worse than getting scolded by a boss, teacher, or even his own parents had made him feel when he was a child.

"I apologize, Your Majesty. I just didn't want to seem ... disrespectful. The truth is, I don't see how it's possible that things ... well, work the way I read they do the book. It doesn't seem reasonable or logical to me."

She nodded her head slightly. "So I take it things work vastly different where you are from."

"Some things, Your Majesty. Other things ... Well, I'm finding a lot of things here that are very similar to where I'm from. The main concept I'm having trouble with right now, of course, is magic. I've seen Twilight use it. And well, even felt her use it because she has used it on me a couple of times. I have no idea how it works, and much of it seems to defy well established laws of physics where I am from. But I'm not ruling out the possibility that the answer might be somewhere within quantum mechanics. Although no one where I am from has ever seen any documented examples of magic actually working."

She smiled at his answer again. "Also, please do not be angry with Twilight for having spoken with me about some of this stuff. She has never had to teach someone before, much less someone from a completely different world. This experience is just as new for her as it is for you. She needs my advice from time to time."

"I will try not to to be angry with her, Your Majesty," he said, wondering to himself whether he really wore his emotions so far on his sleeve that it was that obvious he had been angry with Twilight.

"I know you will," she said, looking out in the distance for a moment. "It is time ... You may want to back up some and stand over there," she said as she motioned to the other side of the balcony.

James blinked, not quite sure what she meant by that, but nodded respectfully and did as he was told, backing up until he was a fair distance away from her.

Then it happened. Princess Celestia spread her majestic wings. Her horn started to glow a brilliant orange, which then started to change to yellow, and finally to a brilliant white. The light increased in intensity until it appeared that Celestia's entire being, and even the air around her was glowing with energy. The brightness of the aura surrounding her was so brilliant that James had to shield his eyes from its intensity. Even then, the brightness kept increasing, until he was no longer able to look at her at all and had to turn his face away—sure that the increasing light would burn his retinas if he continued to look at it. Even from his position on the other side of the balcony, he felt a radiant heat wave wash over him and envelop him. The aura from Celestia's magic expanded outwards until it too, had enveloped him. The energy flowing from her was not directed at him, but so intense was its power that even being in the aura caused a sensation of energy flowing through him—like he had grabbed onto a continuous bolt of lightening and a million volts of electricity was flowing through his body. But the sensation was not painful or unpleasant. On the horizon, through the aura, James could see a faint glow in the sky that started getting brighter. The sun started to slowly appear, rising above the horizon. The entire event, so far, had lasted an eternity. No. It had lasted several eternities. And yet, at the same time, it had lasted only a few seconds, and a few minutes. Time; the movement of the heavens; even the very laws of physics itself, had all bowed in submission to Princess Celestia.

James could only stand there, frozen in bewilderment, awe, and admittedly, a little bit of fear of the alicorn goddess—for there was little doubt left in his mind that is what she must be—and her awesome power. The only movement he made was to lower his eyes towards the ground once the rising sun had become too bright to look at anymore. After a few more seconds and a few more eternities past, the aura began to shrink and diminish in intensity, eventually subsiding completely as she completed the magical act, revealing the freshness of a new morning, and a new day.

For several seconds the only sounds were the chirping of the birds in the morning sun. James was still overwhelmed and unable to move, trying to process everything he had just experienced. Finally Celestia spoke.

"We should go back down to the castle. Twilight is probably looking for you by now."

James was still speechless, and simply nodded slightly in response, starting to follow her as she magically opened the door with her horn again, leading him back inside and down the tower's spiral staircase again.

"Oh and James," she said looking back at him. "Perhaps from now on, you may find some things Twilight discusses with you to be a little bit ... easier to believe," she said more as a statement than a question.

James simply nodded slightly again, still overcome with a mixture of awe, confusion, and uncertainty about the fact that everything he thought he knew about science, philosophy, and even perhaps religion for that matter, was now suspect, and quite possibly, wrong.

o.O.o

"What do you mean he wasn't in his room?" Twilight questioned as she glared at one of the castle servants.

"I mean when we went to wake him up this morning, he wasn't in his room, my lady," the servant responded, looking a bit uneasy from her glare.

Twilight sighed in annoyance as she trotted down the corridor, and then down the stairs to the main foyer. "I don't understand him. Most of the time I can't even get him to leave the library. But then sometimes, he just wanders off without even telling me where he is going," she grumbled to herself. She continued trotting until she was in the main foyer, looking around and still not finding him. "Well, how far could he have gone? The castle gates are still closed. He couldn't have left the courtyard," she said to herself, trotting outside and looking around for him, not finding him anywhere in the courtyard either. After exhausting her search in the courtyard, she came back inside, finally finding James standing in the main foyer, albeit looking a little dazed.

"James, where have you been? Ive been looking all over for you! You knew we wanted to get an early start. Come on, we really need to get going," she scolded.

James didn't say anything in response, just nodding at her and walking out of the main castle doors to the aerial chariot that was waiting to take them back to Ponyville. Again, he opened the door for Twilight and held it for her so that she could enter first. But this time he didn't make any smart remarks, or give the slight bow, or anything. She looked at him with a concerned look for a moment before entering the chariot. He followed her in and then closed the door. The pegasi pulling the chariot looked back to make sure both of them were secure before starting to gallop down the path in the courtyard towards the doors which were opening, and the drawbridge that was lowering. Shortly after passing through the gate and over the drawbridge, the chariot took off and set a course for Ponyville. Normally, James would have taken the opportunity to get an aerial perspective of Equestria, since when they had flown to Canterlot, it was night and he couldn't see much. But he was still too overwhelmed by what he had experienced earlier. How much of what he knew ... of his twenty-seven years of experience, had just been rendered invalid? For Twilight's part, she cast a few concerned glances at him once in awhile, but did not say anything.

o.O.o

"You shouldn't have let the human leave, Tia," Luna said, standing next to her sister on one of the castle balconies, both of them watching the chariot depart. "We hardly know anything about him. How do we know he will not betray us?"

"What would you have me do, sister?" Celestia turned her head to look at Luna. "Lock him back up in the dungeon? Confine him to the castle? Just because he accidentally saw something he shouldn't have? When it wasn't even his decision to go out there?"

Luna just looked at the ground in response. She knew Celestia was right. It simply wouldn't be right of them to imprison him or confine him just to ensure he wouldn't talk about something he saw by accident.

"Besides," Celestia continued, "We don't even know for sure if there is anything to worry about. This could all be nothing. And we didn't share the most critical information with either James or Twilight anyway. Even if he did talk to somepony about it, the damage he could do is probably limited."

"You're right Tia," the younger alicorn responded, still sounding slightly uneasy as she looked to the sky again; the chariot now fading into the distance as it passed beyond the city limits of Canterlot.

Celestia gently nuzzled her sister's head in reassurance. "Sometimes, doing the right thing requires taking a chance on trust, sister."

11 - Meeting the Ponies

The God Particle

Chapter 11: Meeting the Ponies

"You can't go back home to your family, back home to your childhood ... back home to a young man's dreams of glory and fame ... back home to places in the country, back home to the old forms and systems of things which once seemed everlasting but which are changing all of the time — back home to the escapes of Time and Memory." — Thomas Wolfe

The chariot carrying James and Twilight arrived over Ponyville and circled for a landing near the library. James had been off in a near trance like state for the entire flight to the point where he didn't even really remember it. As they got out of the chariot, Twilight thanked the pegasi that had flown them back. James simply nodded slightly and walked into the library. A short while later, Twilight followed him inside and closed the door. She turned and looked at him.

"James, you haven't said a single word all morning. And you almost look like you are in some kind of shock or something. What's on your mind?"

James stared at her for a moment and then shook his head gently, as if trying to clear his thoughts. "Everything ... I saw ... I don't know what I saw," he said almost a little bit incoherently.

"You saw what? Where did you go this morning anyway?" she tilted her head at him and raised one forehoof off the ground.

"Princess Celestia woke me up ... Before dawn. She took me up into one of the towers and out on the balcony ... I saw ... It was like the sun was on the balcony ... Like being inside the sun ... The heat was so intense ... and the light ... although it did not burn me or harm me ... Most of it is a big haze ... It was like ... like time had no meaning there ... I ... I don't know exactly what I saw," he stared back at Twilight.

Twilight, of course, knew exactly what he had seen. For a moment, she just stared back at him, mostly out of surprise, before speaking again. "She took you up there and let you watch her raise the sun? James, she almost never does that. Normally the only time anypony gets to see her do it is during the Summer Sun Celebration, which only happens once a year. You are very fortunate she allowed you to see that in private like that."

James blinked, and started to come out of his trance like state, her mention of raising the sun starting to bring back more of what he had seen, the event becoming clearer in his mind. "Raising the sun ... Yes, that's it. That is what I saw," he fidgeted a bit as he said it, clearly still unnerved by the experience, even though it was now much clearer in his mind.

Twilight smiled at him. "I know it's a lot for you to absorb. But you might have to let it sink in later. You have to talk to Cheerilee's class tomorrow, remember?"

"Oh shit!" James cussed causing Twilight to frown. She hated it when he cussed. "Uh ... Sorry, he apologized. "I still have to get all the supplies I need!"

"Maybe I can help? What do you need?"

"Batteries and copper wire?" James looked at her.

"Got them. In the lab downstairs."

"Salt?"

"Of course, in the kitchen."

"A couple of flasks and some plastic tubing?"

"Got those too. In the lab downstairs."

"Balloons?"

"Uh ... Don't have them, but you can pay Pinkie Pie a visit. She'll be able to give you as many as you need," she looked at him oddly, wondering what he would want balloons for.

"Pinkie Pie. Right. Uh ... liquid Nitrogen?"

"What!" Twilight stared at him.

"Work with me, Twi," he pleaded.

"Uh ... I don't have any here, of course. But you might try Ponyville Urgent Care. I think Nurse Redheart keeps it around there for cyropreservation of blood samples and such."

He nodded and smiled in relief. "Alright then. Sounds like that should be everything I need for what I have planned. Can you give me directions to Pinkie Pie's? I know she works at Sugarcube Corner."

"She also lives there actually. In a loft above it," she said and then gave him directions on how to get there. "You want me to come with you? Pinkie Pie can be a little bit ... overwhelming ... for lack of a better term. Until you get used to her."

"It's alright. I'll be fine," James said as he rushed out the door in a hurry.

"Alright ... But don't say I didn't warn you about Pinkie Pie," she shook her head and giggled as she watched him go. "Well, I'm sure that's going to be interesting," she giggled to herself as she imagined James and Pinkie Pie interacting for the first time.

James quickly hurried through the streets of Ponyville, glancing down at the directions Twilight had written down for him once in a while. Several of the ponies blinked and stopped to look at him. All of them knew he was there by now, but there were still some looks of uncertainty and fear. Some looked very curious and interested in stopping him to talk to him. But since it appeared he was in a hurry, they all managed to resist the urge to do so. Eventually, he saw a building that looked, quite literally, like it could have been a life size gingerbread or graham cracker house. "Well, this has to be the place," he said to himself as he walked up to the door and entered.

As he opened the door, a bell hanging above it announced his entrance. He found himself in a very colorful, obviously very candy themed room. Shortly after, a pink pony who looked like she had a lot of very bad hair days ... or mane days for that matter, came bounding out of the back room. She stared at him for a moment before giving a large grin that almost scared James. Then she charged towards him. Just as he started to take a defensive stance out of fear she was going to plow into him, she suddenly stopped and then started bouncing around him in circles as if she had springs built into her, or were riding a pogo stick.

"Oh you must be James I'm so happy I finally get to meet you well I guess I sort of met you once before but I never got to talk to you cause you were asleep the whole time so this is the first time I've really gotten to meet you do you want a milk shake or some candy or just some raw sugar cause I will give you some for free as a welcoming gift since you are new here."

She stopped long enough to take a deep breath, while James started to get dizzy from watching her bounce around in circles in front of him. Then she continued.

"Of course I have to do more than just give you a welcoming gift I have to throw you a welcoming party because I throw welcoming parties for any new pony that arrives in Ponyville and I am the best party planner and party thrower in all of Ponyville and what kind of candy do you want?" she finally stopped bouncing around him and just stood in front of him, staring at him now.

He stared back at her for a moment, a little confused and bewildered by her behavior. He briefly wondered whether she had been snorting cocaine in the back room before coming out to greet him. Then he caught himself, and spoke. "Uh ... Yeah. Hi. It's nice to meet you too. Actually, I'm a little pressed for time so I may have to take a raincheck on the candy. But—" she cut him off before he could finish, rushing over to the window and looking outside.

"Raincheck? I just checked and it's not raining but you should have already known that because you just came in from outside you silly filly!" she said while bounding back to him and stopping in front of him, staring at him again.

"That's uh ... not really what I meant by raincheck. But anyway, I don't have time for candy right now. I actually came by because Twilight told me I could probably get some balloons from you."

"Of course I have balloons! Do you want the regular round ones or the long ones you can make balloon animals out of? Red ones? Green ones? Blue ones? Yellow ones? Do you want ones that have designs on them? Do you need any helium? Do you want—"

"Whoa, slow down there," he cut her off as the hyper pink pony bombarded him with questions. "Just a couple of normal round ones are fine. It doesn't really matter what color they are. I guess, maybe a red one and a green one would be good."

"Okie-dokie-loki! I'll be right back!" She disappeared into the back room again. It wasn't long before she came back with a small bag in her mouth that had eight balloons in it. He reached out and took it from her as she held it close to him. "I brought you four of each color, in case you break some of them," she smiled.

"Thank you, Pinkie," he smiled and reached into his pocket to get some money to pay her with, forgetting that the only money he had on him was a few a few U.S. dollars in his wallet. "Uh ... I can't pay you for these right now," he said apologetically.

"Oh you silly filly!" she laughed "I have thousands of balloons! You don't have to pay me for just eight of them!" she smiled.

He smiled and thanked her again. "As much as I would love to try some of your delicious looking confections, I'm afraid I have some other places I have to go, and some work I have to get done. But I will definitely be back soon to try out some of what you got here. It all looks very delicious."

"Okie-dokie-loki!" she said again. "See you soon!"

James smiled and then turned to leave, stopping and turning back to her again. "Do you know how to get to Ponyville Urgent Care?"

"Why are you sick? Cause if you need to see the nurses I can take you over there or you could go visit Fluttershy if you prefer natural healing or you want some herbal teas or something she also makes good soup that will help you feel better if you have a cold of the flu or something and she ..."

He had to cut her off again. "No, I'm not sick. I actually need to pick up something from her, for a presentation I am giving at the school tomorrow."

"Oh. Okay!" she smiled and gave him directions, after which he thanked her again and left.

He looked around for some of the landmarks she had mentioned to him as he walked, finally spotting the urgent care center by virtue of the red cross on the sign in front of the building. He walked into the building—a white pony with a nurse's red cross cap coming out from behind a curtain a few seconds later.

"Can I help ... Oh! You must be the ... visitor from another dimension I have heard about? James was it?"

"Yes, you got the name right. As far as whether it's another dimension, or another universe, or something else entirely, well I'll probably never know. You must be Nurse Redheart? It's nice to meet you," he smiled.

"That's right. And likewise," she smiled back. "So what can I do for you? You aren't sick are you?" she raised an eyebrow.

"No. Actually, Twilight told me you might have some liquid nitrogen. And I was wondering if it would be possible for me to get some."

She blinked and thought for a moment before responding. "I have some, yes. But that stuff is rather dangerous if not handled properly. I'm not going to just give it out to anypony who comes in here asking for it. What do you want it for?"

"Well, I'm a scientist who has worked with it before. You don't have to worry about me not knowing how to handle it safely. As far as what I want it for, Cheerilee ... I think that's what Twilight said her name was? Wants me to give a guest talk about science to her class tomorrow. I want to do some fun demonstrations rather than just lecture them."

"Hmm. I suppose I can give you some. But the only containers I have right now for it will only keep it in liquid state for four hours or so before it all boils away. So I'm afraid you will have to come back tomorrow before the talk and get it then."

"Thank you... Uh, how many ... bits is it? Will it cost?"

Nurse Redheart shook her head slightly. "Since it's for science and education, and it's helping out the school. Consider it a donation. I won't charge you anything for it."

"Thank you, Nurse Redheart," James nodded respectfully and turned to leave. "I will stop back tomorrow and pick it up then."

"Oh, James wait," she put a forehoof on his arm to stop him. "As long as you are here, you really should let me give you a check up and get some information about you. So if you ever do get sick, I have some baseline data to go on about what is normal. After all, we have no medical data on your species at all. So I wouldn't know what your normal vital signs should be and such."

James thought about that for a moment. The idea of letting a nurse who was a pony give him a physical felt extremely strange to him, but she did have a valid point. It would be hard for her to treat him in the future if he ever did need it and she didn't have any baseline data to go on regarding what was normal for the human species. "Alright, I suppose I have some time for a quick checkup."

"Oh good," she smiled. "Please come to the back then," she lead him behind a curtain to a large room with several cots in it.

To him, it looked more like an army field hospital set up in a tent then it did any kind of actual medical clinic he was used to in Chicago. It was fairly primitive by the standards he was used to. But then again, it was just an urgent care center—probably not equipped to handle serious medical problems or treat complex conditions. He supposed ponies who needed that had to travel to Canterlot, or one of the other larger cities such as Manehatten. Fortunately, other than himself, there were no other patients in the room right now—which would have made him feel even more awkward about the situation.

"Please, have a seat on that cot over there," she pointed to one. He sat down on it. She then proceeded to go through the standard check up procedures, getting his pulse rate, blood pressure, and finally his temperature. "Interesting. Your normal body temperature runs almost exactly the same as ours does," she said as she wrote down the information on his chart.

James just watched her, using the opportunity as a learning experience of his own. The scientist part of him paid attention with interest to how medicine seemed to have independently evolved here much they same way it had on Earth. She checked the same vital signs that any nurse of Western medicine on Earth would have checked. He was just about to comment on it when she started getting a needle and some vials ready.

"Uh, what are you going to do with that?"

"Just draw some blood. Why? You aren't afraid of needles are you?"

"No, of course not," he responded. He wasn't afraid of needles. That wasn't it at all. It was more that he was slightly nervous about letting somepony from an entirely foreign country stick an IV needle in him when he knew nothing at all about the quality of medical sanitation procedures in Equestria. "But you aren't a vampire or something are you?" he grinned.

"Of course not!" she giggled a bit. "But I have no idea what baseline normal would be for any of your blood parameters. So I want to run a complete blood workup on you so I have a record for future reference."

He thought about it for a moment. Her reasoning made sense. And further, he reasoned that as long as she was taking something out of him and not injecting something into him, the risk of contracting an infection from the procedure was relatively low.

"Alright ... I guess then ..." he said as he rolled up his sleeve and gave his arm to her.

"Do you know where they would normally draw blood on your kind?" she looked at him.

"Normally from one of the veins here," he pointed to the part on the inside of his elbow where blood is normally drawn from human beings.

She nodded and started to feel around for a vein in the area James had indicated. Given she had obviously never drawn blood from a human before, James prepared himself for the worst, expecting she would have to stick him with the needle multiple times before actually hitting the vein. But he was pleasantly surprised when she hit the vein perfectly on the first stick and blood started to flow into the vial.

"Well, maybe after you get the blood sample, you can tell me how many nutritional deficiencies I've developed since getting here and eating your strange diet," he gave a brief nervous laugh.

"Strange diet? What do you mean by that?" she said as she removed one vial of blood which was now full, and replaced it with another vial, starting to fill the second one.

"Well, most of my kind tend to be omnivores. We eat vegetables as well as meat. I've never seen meat on any of the menus anywhere here. Not even at Canterlot Castle. And Twilight doesn't have any in her house. I've just kind of assumed since I have never seen it, that it is probably a taboo here for sentient animals to eat meat. I thought it was probably best not to bring it up with Twilight."

Nurse Redheart nodded understandingly, and didn't seem surprised, shocked, or disgusted by the revelation. "It's not natural for ponykind to eat meat. And it is a cultural taboo for sentient beings to eat meat if they don't have to in order to survive. It might even be illegal. But it's such an accepted and followed part of culture that even if there is a law against eating meat, I've never actually heard of it having to be enforced. However, we do feed meat of non-sentient creatures to our pets sometimes. Some types of pets pretty much need it to survive. Does your kind need meat to survive, James?" she asked as she pulled the second vial off and replaced it with a third one that started filling up with blood."

"Well, technically we don't have to. Some humans do perfectly well as vegetarians or even vegans. They won't even eat dairy products. Although ... well... I'll admit I wasn't one of them that was a vegetarian. Not until I got here anyway and found that meat is pretty much unavailable. I haven't eaten any since I got here."

"Well, don't worry, James. Your secret is safe with me. Doctor-patient confidentiality," she smiled.

He smiled back at her, "Thanks, Nurse Redheart," he said as he looked down at the third vial of blood filling from his arm. "You know, I'm pretty sure I need to keep some of that stuff in me," he chuckled a bit.

She laughed briefly. "Don't worry. I've only got one more. I'm taking four vials to make sure I have enough to get all the data, as well as ship some samples off the Canterlot Royal Hospital to run the tests I don't have the capability to run here," she said as she removed the third vial and replaced it with the forth one. Once the fourth vial had finished filling, she removed the needle and quickly put a cotton ball over the spot, placing tape on it to hold it in place. "Leave that on for at least the next thirty minutes, just to make sure you don't bleed on that beautiful shirt. Otherwise Rarity will be mad at both of us," she laughed.

"Ok. I will," he pulled his shirt sleeve back down. "We are done then? I can go now?"

"Yes, we are done. You can go now. Thank you letting me get all of this from you, James," she smiled.

"I'm pretty sure I should be the one thanking you actually. Free medical check up and all that. I'd love to stay and chat longer, but I've got a science lesson to plan for tomorrow," he said as he stood up and headed for the curtain.

"Oh of course, I won't keep you any longer," she said as she walked him to the door. The two of them exchanged partings as James got his bearings again and started walking back towards the library.

"Oh, you are back!" Twilight smiled at him as he entered the library. "I was starting to think you got lost or something. What took you so long?"

"Well, when I stopped to talk to Nurse Redheart, she couldn't resist the urge to stick a needle in me," he chuckled. "And give me a physical exam. She wanted to have the information on hand so she would know what normal was when I am healthy, in case I was ever not healthy later and she had to treat me."

Twilight blinked, "I'm surprised you went along with it."

"Well, she had a good point, about not having any baseline data for my species that she could reference for what is normal."

"True, that makes sense. I suppose I should leave you alone since you probably have a lot of work to do getting ready for tomorrow."

"Thanks, Twilight," he smiled and started to work on his talk for tomorrow, spending most of the rest of the day on it before finally retiring to bed.

o.O.o

"James?" he heard Twilight calling to him fairly loudly from another room, waking him up from his sleep. He looked out the window and saw it was still completely dark out. He groaned and rolled over, trying to go back to sleep.

"James?" she called out again from the main room. "Rainbow Dash is here and wants to see you!"

He groaned again and finally fumbled for the switch to turn on the light, looking at the clock on the wall and noticing it read 5:00 in the morning. "Honestly? At this hour in the morning? What does she want?" he turned the light back off and rolled over in bed again.

Twilight called out again a few seconds later. "Something about whipping you into shape."

James was fully awake now after hearing that. "Oh gods! I thought she was joking about that!" he called out loudly in an exasperated tone of voice before grabbing the pillow and pulling it over his head, still laying in the bed.

A few second later, Twilight called out again. "James, she says she's not leaving until you come out here."

"Tell her to at least wait and come back at a reasonable hour. Like, you know, when the sun has at least started to rise," he called back to Twilight, pulling the pillow tighter over his head.

Rainbow Dash, however, had enough, barging into the library and shoving past Twilight, causing the unicorn to stumble a bit and blink. She watched as Rainbow Dash looked around, spotting the room James was in and trotting towards it.

"Oh you want to do this the hard way? We'll do this the hard way!" she yelled out as she reared up on her hind legs, placing her forelegs on the bed and shoving James with her forehooves, forcing him to fall out of bed and onto the floor.

"Damn it!" James cursed as he hit the floor, scrambling around to get himself untangled from the sheets which had fallen to the floor with him. He looked over at Twilight, only to see her looking back at him apologetically. Then he felt himself being dragged across the floor, looking down at his feet to see that Rainbow Dash had the bed sheet he was tangled up in her mouth, and was dragging him out of the bedroom.

"Alright! Alright! I give up! I'm coming! At least let me get dressed first would you?" he struggled again to get untangled from the sheets and get back to his feet.

Rainbow Dash finally let go of the corner of the sheet. "Hurry up though would you? We are meeting up with AJ and we are gonna be late cause it took you so long to get out of bed!" she scolded him.

James shook his head in response and quickly got himself untangled, standing up and going over to the closet, grabbing one of his shirts and throwing it on quickly. "Do you two have to watch me get dressed? Really?" he said in frustration, facing away from them as he noticed they were still in the room.

"Oh ... Right ... Sorry," Twilight said, embarrassed as she and Rainbow Dash left the room, closing the door.

"These ponies are gonna drive me to ... I don't know what they are going to drive me to," he grumbled to himself as he finally changed his pants now that he had some privacy. Once he was dressed he finally left the room, to find Rainbow Dash tapping her hoof on the floor as if she were annoyed that he was taking so much time. Twilight, on the other hand, was just giving him a glance of pity.

"Come on, would you?" Rainbow Dash said and glared at him.

He glared back at her a bit, but didn't say anything in response, instead just heading out the door and casting a glance back at Twilight.

"Uh, I guess I will see you when you get back, James? Don't forget your thing at the school is in three hours. Make sure you get back here in time to get yourself cleaned up after ... whatever calisthenic tortures Rainbow Dash is going to put you through."

James looked at Rainbow Dash, "You hear that? Make sure you get me back here in time to get cleaned up and ready for the thing I have to do at the school," he echoed as the two of them walked out the door.

"Yeah, yeah," she said boredly. "You're with me. What could possibly go wrong?"

James shook his head again. "That's what I'm worried about," he mumbled to himself as Rainbow led him to the edge of town. For now they were just walking. Eventually, he could see an orange pony standing under a street lamp in the distance. She was wearing a cowboy had and obviously looked like she was waiting for someone. She spotted them about the same time and started trotting towards them.

"You must be Applejack?" James nodded to her and smiled.

"Yep, that would be me, sugarcube. Nice to meet ya, James. Sorry our last meeting was a little uh ... well tense?" she said in a charming southern voice.

"It's nice to meet you too. And don't worry about that. There was fear on both sides ... So dare I ask what you two have planned?" he looked back and forth between the two of them.

"Oh I figured we'd start with a 5k run and see how it goes from there," Rainbow Dash responded, causing James's jaw to drop a bit.

"Ah brought some fresh apple cider for ya'all. Reckon we're gonna need it by the time we get done."

"5k?" was all James could manage to say in response.

"Don't worry sugarcube," Applejack responded with her southern charm. "We ain't running a marathon here. We will pace ourselves."

"Uh huh..." James still looked nervous. He had never successfully been able to complete a 5k run. After all, he was a nerd. Not an athlete. He couldn't remember the last time he had even tried to run 5k. It had been years. He knew that much. Probably the last time had even tried was during his high school days.

"Well, lets get started then," Rainbow Dash started trotting slowly, along with Applejack, James in between them and flanked on either side. After a short warm up, they had both picked up speed to a canter—James having to move at a fast jogging pace to keep up with them now.

It wasn't much longer before a small amount of light started to show in the sky as the sun began to rise. By the time the first rays were shining over the horizon, James already felt like his legs had turned to rubber and were going to give out any moment now. He started to slow down a little bit only to have Rainbow Dash yell at him as if she were some kind of drill sergeant.

"Come on! Pick up the pace, James! We're half way done!"

Somehow, that helped him find the motivation to speed up just a little more so he was keeping pace with the two ponies again. About five minutes later however, he was starting to slow down again, breathing heavily. He could barely even feel his legs anymore.

"Come on! You can keep going! We're half way there!" Rainbow Dash yelled out to him again.

"You ... said that ... five ... minutes ago ..." James managed to get out between pants. Although once again, he somehow found the energy reserves to pick up the pace again and keep up with them.

"So I was a little off last time! Just keep going!" she yelled out to him.

Still he managed to keep up with them, although he felt like his legs were going to give out any second now. But he kept pushing himself. After a while, he noticed that the sun was fully up now. He had last track of time and was unsure of how long they had been jogging. Finally, he started slowing down again, sure he was completely out of energy now and simply couldn't go any further.

"Come on James! Don't quit now! It's only one hundred more meters!" Rainbow Dash yelled at him again. "You've got one hundred more meters in you! I know you do! Now pick it back up!"

One hundred more meters? Is that really all? The fact that they were almost there, combined with Rainbow Dash's motivational shouting helped him find yet another reserve of energy he didn't know he had. He managed to keep up pace with the two ponies again, just when he thought that last energy reserve was gone, Rainbow Dash called out again.

"And, we are done! You can slow it down to a walk now," she said as both she and Applejack slowed down.

James, of course, slowed down as well. He felt like he had never been more relieved to hear someone tell him he could slow down than he was right now. But although he felt like he was about to collapse from exhaustion, he also felt a great sense of accomplishment. Dash really had helped him accomplish something he was sure he would not be able to do, and never had been able to do before. The fact that he had just pulled off a 5k run ... Before he started, he had doubted he would even be able to make it 2k, yet he had been able to pull off 5k. Despite his exhaustion, and the fact that the numbness in his legs was slowly starting to be replaced by pain now as the feeling came back them, he still started to smile.

Applejack reached in the saddle bags she had strapped to her and removed the bottles of apple cider she had brought along, holding the tops with her mouth as she gave them to James and Rainbow Dash. "Ah reckon we all could quench our thirst right about now, as well as use some electrolyte replacement."

"Thanks, Applejack," James panted as he kept walking between them. He looked at the bottle she had handed him. It contained an opaque, cloudy amber liquid. He smiled realizing that what he had been handed was REAL unfiltered, unpasteurized, and unsweetened apple cider. Not the piss colored, filtered, highly sweetened, from concentrate apple juice that they sold in super markets back home. This was the real stuff that he had not had since he was a child. The stuff you could only get by going to an independent apple orchard and getting it directly from the onsite store. He opened the bottle and took a sip, savoring the tart taste on his tongue. It was even better than he remembered as a child.

Unfortunately, it also brought back memories of his childhood—of the family he would never see again now that he was stuck here, apparently for the rest of his life. His euphoria from the run, sense of accomplishment, and wonderful apple cider, was suddenly tempered with a healthy dose of depression as the memories and sense of loss flooded his mind and his heart. After a long period of silence, he was finally brought back to the situation by Applejack speaking to him.

"James? Ya alright there, sugarcube?"

James stopped and looked at her, causing both her and Rainbow Dash to stop as well. He stood there in silence for a bit, looking at the ground now and just thinking to himself. He was hesitant to tell either one of them what was bothering him. After all, he didn't want to hurt Applejack's feelings by revealing to her that her wonderful apple cider had brought back memories for him that were painful for him to think about now that he most likely would never see the people in those memories again. And when it came to Rainbow Dash ... well, he still felt somewhat intimidated by her. He was hesitant to show anything that she might take as a sign of weakness.

"Come on, sugar. We know something is wrong. Talk to us," Applejack prompted him again.

James blinked and looked at her, finally giving in and deciding to just be honest with them—hoping Applejack wouldn't be offended, and Rainbow Dash wouldn't see it as weakness. "Well ... it's just that ... this is the best apple cider I have ever tasted ... And well ... It kind of brought back memories of my childhood. From when I used get in the car with my parents, and drive out to rural apple orchards. We'd buy freshly made cider right off the farm... Sometimes we'd even pick our own fresh apples right off the trees," he managed to force a smile, even though it was obvious he was trying, unsuccessfully to be sure, to hold back tears at the same time.

Applejack placed a reassuring hoof on his arm and looked at him compassionately. "I'm glad you like the apple cider. But I'm sorry I dun stirred up memories in ya that seem painful for ya to think about now."

James shook his head and sniffed a bit. "No, Applejack. It's not your fault at all. Don't be sorry. It really is delicious apple cider," he forced another smile. He also hazarded a glance over at Rainbow Dash. She hadn't said anything yet, but she did seem to be looking at him with compassion, rather than with any sign that she thought he was being weak for showing his emotions.

"Come on, sugar. Sit down," Applejack motioned to the side of the road, which was still deserted this early in the morning.

James nodded and went over where she had motioned, sitting down on the grass. The two ponies sat down on either side of him. They could both see the depression still obvious in his face.

"Look sugar," Applejack spoke again, placing a comforting hoof on his shoulder, "I can't tell ya ah know how ya feel. Cause well ... ah reckon ah rightly don't. But ah do know what it feels like to miss your family and friends and be stuck in a foreign city and culture ... At least for a little while. And we ain't gonna let ya go through this alone. We'all are here for ya."

He felt another hoof on his other shoulder as Rainbow Dash did the same thing. "That's right, James. And hey, I'm the Element of Loyalty. I'd never leave you hanging. I'm always gonna be there for you when you need me."

"That's right sugarcube," Applejack spoke again. "And if'in there's ever anything you'd feel more comfortable talkin to another stallion ... uh ... guy about ... than talkin to one of us girls about? You can always talk to ma brother, Big Macintosh. He'd be more than willing to listen and help ya."

James looked first at Applejack, then at Rainbow Dash, before wiping away a few tears and forcing another smile. "Thank you. Both of you. It's ... overwhelming how supportive, understanding, and friendly everypony I have met has been ... Even if I did get off to a rough start with Rainbow Dash," he taunted and grinned at her.

"Oh you don't know the meaning of rough yet pal!" she shot back. "Group hug!"

James quickly found himself sandwiched tightly between both ponies as they wrapped their forelegs around him and squeezed tightly. He made an "akk!" sound and squirmed as best he could to wiggle free—quickly finding he had no chance at all of escaping from what were certainly two of the strongest ponies in Ponyville. "Too ... tight! Can't ... breath!" he managed to get out.

They giggled and loosened their grips enough so that he could breath easier, all three of them giggling a little bit now and hugging for a little while longer before they finally let go of him. The sun was now well above the horizon, although James had no idea exactly what time it was. He didn't wear a watch, and his only portable time piece had been on his iPhone, which Twilight had taken apart.

"You two have both been amazing," he said as he got back to his feet. "I'd love to stay and talk more right now, but I promised Cheerilee I'd talk to her class today. And I probably should head back so I can get cleaned up before then."

"It was nice meeting ya, sugarcube. I'll see you again in two days," Applejack smiled.

"That's right," chimed in Rainbow Dash. "I'll let you have tomorrow off, but I'm gonna come get you at the same time the day after that. Make sure you are up and ready this time, or you're gonna be doing one-hoofed pushups with me standing on your back!"

James started to walk back towards the library. "Yes, Ma'am!" he called back to her in a slightly sarcastic tone that made it obvious he was ribbing at her, but that it was all in good fun.

As he walked back to the library, his legs started to become even more sore. "I'm really going to regret this tomorrow," he said to himself as the library became visible ahead. He opened the door and entered, Twilight looking up from a book she had been studying.

"Welcome back, James. Good to see you survived," she chuckled.

"I survived, yes. Although tomorrow morning I have a feeling I'm going to wish I had not," he chuckled. "I think I can feel my legs getting more sore by the minute. And I haven't even sat down for a long period of time to give them time to stiffen up yet."

"You might want to talk to Fluttershy about that. She makes some kind of oil out of plants she finds in the woods. Helps with muscle soreness and swelling."

"Fluttershy ... The one I scared when I first got here ... Yeah, I have a feeling that meeting is going to be a little ... awkward," he sighed.

"Don't be nervous about it, James. I've already talked to her. She knows it was a misunderstanding and that you had no intention of hurting her. And that the thing you pointed at her ... that iPhone I think you called it? Didn't have any capability to hurt her anyway. Only make stupid noises."

"Right ... The stupid noises from the phone," James laughed slightly, with an uncomfortable undertone to it at the reminder of how stupid he had been with the phone.

"You better start getting ready. Your talk is in two hours," she said, pointing at the clock with a hoof.

"Oh damn! I didn't realize that much time had past already! And I still have to stop back at urgent care and pick up the liquid nitrogen!" he responded as he rushed to the bathroom to get himself cleaned up and change out of the sweaty clothes he had been working out in. Not long after, he came running back out, grabbing the saddle bag that Twilight had been letting him use. "Gotta run! I'll see you in ... a few hours I guess."

"James! Don't forget the map I made for you on how to get to the school!" Twilight called out.

He rushed back from being half way out the door, grabbing the map. "Thanks, Twilight. Oh I'm late! Gotta go!" he said as he rushed towards the door again, scrambling out of it like he was a man late for an important business meeting or something.

Once he had left, he quickly hurried over to the urgent care center, entering and spotting Nurse Redheart. "Sorry, I'm late," he panted a bit from running.

"Oh, there you are James. I already got it ready for you. Hold on and I will go get it for you," she said as she disappeared into the back, reappearing not long after with a sealed insulated metal container. "Of course you know to be careful when you open this. It's under pressure. And there's enough of it there I hope?" she said as he took it from her.

"Yes, it's perfect. Small enough for me to carry, in this backpack ... Or saddle bag ... But enough to do what I need. Thanks again Nurse Redheart."

"You are welcome. And James, your iron levels are low according to your blood workup. I'm sure that's being caused by your recent drastic dietary change, and the fact you aren't eating meat anymore. Make sure you eat plenty of foods high in iron such as broccoli, beans, and lentils. Come back and see me again in a week so I can retest your iron levels."

James blinked. "A week? Ok. Right. And plenty of iron rich foods. Broccoli, beans, lentils ... Got it. Thanks again Nurse Redheart," he smiled as he left in a rush again, heading towards the school. "Great ... So now I have a pony teacher, a pony personal fitness trainer, and doctor's orders from a pony ... What's next?" he said to himself as he continued towards the school, glancing over at the clock tower which was visible from here. "Oh good. I'm not late," he said to himself as he rushed into the building.

He stopped and winced once he had completed his rude entrance. He had expected to enter a hallway, or find a reception desk. Instead, he had wandered into a one room schoolhouse that would have been at home in Little House on the Prairie. And it appeared he had barged in on a class that was in progress, given the look he was getting from the maroon colored pony at the front of the room, who was obviously the teacher.

"Uh ... Sorry ... Miss Cheerilee," he said sheepishly. "I didn't mean to interrupt."

"It's alright, James," she smiled. "We were just finishing up our first lesson, and then we will be ready for you. Please, sit down. Maybe you will learn something."

He nodded, finding a chair in the back and sitting down. Of course, most of the colts and fillies in the room had turned to look at him when he made his rude entrance. Some just stared at him. Others whispered excitedly among themselves. Still others, seemed to fidget around a bit nervously.

"Now pay attention class," Cheerilee called out. "You will get to see whatever it is he has planned for you soon enough. Now where were we. Oh yes ..."

James watched and listened as she continued the lesson she had been giving. She was talking about something called a cutie mark. She turned a page on a display stand and pointed to a much younger picture of herself on a dance floor. James had to cover his mouth to prevent himself from laughing. Her mane and tail were styled very similar to the glam rock style that was prevalent in the 1980s where he was from. Once he got over the picture, he listened more closely to what she was saying. As she talked about cutie marks being earned and appearing when a pony finds their special talent, he felt a little foolish for his assumption until now that they were simply tattoos that were part of Equestrian culture. Of course, what she was saying also raised many additional questions in his head. He made a note to talk about them with Twilight later since it didn't seem appropriate to ask a lot of questions now.

A couple of minutes later she finished with her lesson and introduced James to the class. He walked up to the front with his saddle bag, which was quite heavy and near bursting giving all the stuff he had in it. All of the students politely clapped, for their guest speaker and he smiled and nodded politely before speaking.

"Thank you. And thank you for that introduction, Miss Cheerilee. I'm glad I get the chance to talk to you all today. I guess I should start with introductions. My name is James Peterson. Uh ... obviously, I'm not from around here," that got a few giggles from some of the class. "Before I got here I worked as a physicist as Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory. I also often taught classes at Northwestern University ... So I'm used to teaching college level science, But I've been told you are all really smart. So we will see how this goes."

He paused for a moment to look at the blackboard behind him, which still had writing on it. "Miss Cheerilee, is it ok if I erase this?"

She nodded at him. "Yes, we don't need it anymore."

He nodded and erased the blackboard while addressing the class again. "I've been told, that you have just started studying science, a few days ago, and that you plan to focus on chemistry this semester. So I figured that's what we'd talk about."

That got a collective groan from the class, and an admonishment to said class from Cheerilee reminding them to behave, and that they had a guest.

James chuckled a bit at the groaning as he grabbed a piece of chalk and started writing on the chalkboard. "Now, can anypony tell me what the first element on the periodic table is?"

"Hydrogen?" a filly voice called out.

"That's right. Hydrogen. Very good. It has an atomic mass of one, and it has one electron. Can anypony tell me what the second element on the table is?"

"Helium?" called out the voice of a colt.

"Very good. It has an atomic weight of two and it has two electrons. The other two elements we are going to look at today are nitrogen, and oxygen. I don't expect any of you to know these two yet. Nitrogen has an atomic mass of fourteen, and seven electrons, and oxygen has an atomic mass of sixteen and eight electrons," he said as he wrote all of this down on the board. "We are also going to talk about water, which as you may know, is a compound element made up of two hydrogen atoms for every one oxygen atom," he wrote that down on the board as well before turning around to face the class again.

"Now that brings up the first chemistry question we are going to talk about today. What if we want to separate water into its two components: hydrogen and oxygen. How could we do it?"

The class looked kind of bored with his talking and writing on the board. No one volunteered an answer so after a few seconds he continued.

"One way we can do it is through a process called electrolysis, where we pass an electric current through the water. This is an example of a chemical reaction. Of course, I know you are bored listening to me talk about this. I think you will find it more interesting, and I probably will as well, if I show it to you instead."

The interest of the class perked up as he started to pull out batteries, wires, various flasks and a bottle of water from the saddle bag. He filled one of the flasks and then added the electrode setup, which was itself connected to some corked tubing to seal the flask. "Of course, I have to say it ... Kids? Don't try this at home. I am a professional," he grinned, although it didn't seem like any of them got the joke or the reference. No, of course they wouldn't? Why would they? He let it go as he connected the wires to the battery and attached one of the balloons to the top.

"Now as you can see, not much of anything interesting is happening right now. That's because water, by itself, doesn't conduct small amounts of electricity very well. So we are gonna add some salt, which is an electrolyte, to the water to make it conduct better."

After adding the salt to the water and replacing the cork, the water started to bubble, and the balloon slowly started to fill. "Now we have a reaction going. The bubbles you see in the water are hydrogen that has been separated from oxygen. And since hydrogen is a gas at room temperature, it bubbles to the top, and slowly starts to fill the balloon. This is going to take awhile, so lets move onto the other thing we wanted to talk about. Nitrogen."

He took a bowl out of the bag and put it on the table in front of him then removed the cap from the container of hydrogen and poured it into the bowl. As the liquid nitrogen boiled and released steam, the class definitely got more interested in what he was doing.

"This is liquid nitrogen. Nitrogen boils at -196 degrees Celsius. I'm not quite sure how that translates into temperature units that you use here in Equestria. But in the Celsius scale, it's almost 200 degrees colder than water freezes at. So that's why this liquid is boiling even at room temperature. Because it is nearly 200 degrees below 0. Now I can pour some of this on the floor," which he stopped and did, "and you will notice the floor is not wet at all. That's because the liquid evaporated before it even hit the floor."

The reaction from the class over that definitely indicated they were getting more interested now. Then he took a rubber ball and some tongs out of the bag.

"This is a normal rubber ball. Of course, normally, we throw this on the ground, and it bounces back," he said as he demonstrated that was, in fact, what it did. "However, as rubber becomes cold, it becomes rigid, and loses the flexibility that allows it to bounce. What happens if it becomes really cold? Lets find out," he said as he dropped the ball into the liquid nitrogen. He waited for a little bit and then took the ball out using the tongs. He dropped it on the floor, causing it to shatter into hundreds of pieces instead of bounce back up like it had before. "Well, so much for our bouncing ball."

This time the class actually clapped. All of the fillies and colts were intently watching him now.

"Ok, that was interesting, but I think we can come up with some things that are even more interesting," he said as he filled another bowl with water. Then he started to pour some of the liquid nitrogen into the water, creating massive amounts of steam that spilled over the edge of the table and rolled down onto the floor, creeping along it. Before long, the entire floor was covered in these rolling clouds of steam such that it couldn't even be seen anymore, as if the desks were all sitting on-top of a cloud. "And I assure, you, this is steam, not smoke. And it is harmless."

By now he had the class pretty excited about the demonstrations he was doing, they clapped again as he went back over to his other demonstration.

"And it looks like our red balloon here is full," he said as he took it off the pipe and tied it shut, attaching a string to it and tying the other end of the string to the table so that it could float. "This balloon is now full of hydrogen, which is lighter than the normal air around you. So much like the helium balloons you see at parties, this balloon rises into the air. However, hydrogen does have one ... small problem. Can anypony tell me what it is?"

"... It's flammable ... isn't it?" said a filly, with some uncertainty in her voice.

"Very good," he smiled. "Yes, it is," he said as he taped a candle to the end of a long measuring stick. He then reached under the counter and pulled out a fire extinguisher, placing it near him. "Just in case," he said as he proceeded to light the candle. Of course, by now most of the class had already figured out what was going to happen. Even Cheerilee had a slightly nervous look on her face.

He stepped backed a bit and held the measuring stick with the lit candle out to the balloon, gradually moving it closer... Suddenly there was a loud BOOM as the balloon exploded into a brief ball of flame, causing nearly everyone in the schoolhouse, including Cheerilee to jump a little bit, even though they had been expecting it. Of course, within a second or so, there was clapping, and gasps of "wow" among the class. Fire, explosions, and loud noises always went over well with kids, and apparently young ponies too.

"And that ... is why Pinkie Pie fills her party balloons with helium, and not hydrogen. And this concludes my science lesson for the day."

The class responded with more clapping, with Cheerilee clapping as well, James smiling and thanking them as he started to clean up everything he had on the counter.

"I'll stop by tomorrow with lesson plans so that Miss Cheerilee can go into more depth about the how and why of everything I demonstrated today."

Cheerilee approached James again and thanked him for coming, then turned to her class. "Alright class, lets all thank Dr. Peterson for his interesting and exciting demonstrations. Then we can take a short ten minute break."

James finished packing everything back into the saddle bag he had brought, disposing of the remaining liquid nitrogen. The students in the class thanked him and then started filing out for their break.

"Thank you for coming James," Cheerilee smiled. "It seems you got them really excited about some of the things they are going to learn."

"You are welcome. I had fun with it. I hope the exploding balloon wasn't too much. But back where I'm from, that's everyone's favorite."

"No, it wasn't. It seemed like you were safe about it. And they definitely loved it. I think I will definitely have to have you back again."

"I'd like that."

"The school sends payment once a month, so I'll make sure you get your guest speaker's payment then," she smiled.

"Payment? Oh no you won't. There is no way I'm letting you pay me for this."

"But James, it's standard school policy to—" he cut her off before she could finish.

"I'm not budging on this, Miss Cheerilee. Nopony here has charged me for anything they've given me yet. Rarity made these clothes for me and didn't charge me. Twilight is letting me stay at the library for free. You aren't paying me for this. Not now and not ever. Donating my time to help your students get excited about learning is the least I can do to thank Ponyville for the hospitality they have collectively shown me. It really is."

"Alright. If you insist," she smiled. "Thank you. Oh and James ... You can just call me Cheerilee when the students aren't around. I know you are trying to set a good example for them by calling me Miss Cheerilee. But really, when they aren't around, it's not necessary. Just Cheerilee is fine."

He nodded as they both exchanged goodbyes and he left the schoolhouse and started heading back to the library.

"Hey! Wait up!" he heard a filly voice call out behind him. He stopped and turned around to see three young fillies running at him—a small yellow earth pony, white unicorn, and orange pegasus.

"That was 20% cooler than anything else I've seen all year!" the little orange pegasus said ... in a way that sounded suspiciously to James like she was really trying to emulate Rainbow Dash. "Especially the exploding balloon!"

"Thank you. I'm glad you all enjoyed it ... And you three are?"

"I'm Scootaloo!"

"I'm Apple Bloom!"

"I'm Sweetie Belle! And we are ..."

"The Cutie Mark Crusaders!" they all said in unison.

"Maybe you can help us get our cutie marks?" Apple Bloom asked as all three looked at him.

"Me?" he blinked. "But I don't even really know what a cutie mark is. I only heard the very end of Miss Cheerilee's lesson. And I ..."

Apple Bloom cut him off. "Please?"

"But I ... Don't do that ... Not the sad puppy look ..." he protested as Apple Bloom started to give him that look.

In response, of course, Apple Bloom only turned up the charm even more.

"Stop that ... I don't even ..."

Apple Bloom was really pouring on the charm now, even making those tears start to form in her eyes.

"But I—" James sighed in resignation as he couldn't take the look she was giving him anymore. "Fine ... I'll try to help."

"Yay!" they all called out in unison.

"But I can't promise anything. And I need to talk to Twilight first. How does Saturday sound? Sometimes after noon?"

All three of them nodded excitedly. Then Cheerilee started calling them back to class.

"Oh, we gotta go," Scootaloo said. "But Saturday it is! Thanks!" she said as the three of them turned and trotted back to the schoolhouse.

James turned around and started heading back towards the library, stopping back at Ponyville Urgent Care to return the nitrogen bottle he had borrowed.

o.O.o

"Oh, hi, James," Twilight said as he entered the library again. She looked up from a journal she was writing in. "How did things go at the school?"

"They went well," he smiled. "Everypony seemed to really enjoy it. Cheerilee wants me to come back again later in the year and talk to them again. The exploding hydrogen balloon really got them excited about learning."

"Exploding ..." she blinked. "What else did you show them?"

"Well, I froze a rubber ball in liquid nitrogen and then dropped it on the floor so it shattered into hundreds of pieces. Uh ... I poured liquid nitrogen into water until I had the floor so covered in clouds you couldn't see your own feet ... or hooves anymore ... after all, kids where I am from get more excited about learning when you show them cool demonstrations of the principles you are talking about in action, rather than just lecture them. I assume it's the same here?"

"It is," she smiled. "I'm glad they enjoyed it. And I'm glad you enjoyed the experience as well."

James paused for a few moments before asking. "Twilight? What exactly is a cutie mark?"

"Well, it's a mark that ponies get on their flanks when they find their special talent. Like mine," she turned a bit and showed it to him. "I got mine when I discovered that my special talent was magic. Why do you ask?"

"These three young fillies from the school that called themselves ... the Cutie Mark Crusaders I think? They asked me I could help them find their cutie marks."

"Oh Celestia, You let them rope you into that?" Twilight couldn't suppress a giggle.

"I couldn't help it, Twi," he protested. "This little yellow one named Apple Bloom manipulated me with the most heart grabbing sad puppy impression I have ever seen."

"Ah right. Applejack's little sister. Don't feel too bad James. She had that effect on me too when I first arrived in Ponyville. The problem ... well, the thing those three fillies don't understand, is that you can't force the appearance of a cutie mark. No matter how many times you try. It doesn't show up until it's ready to happen."

"So ... it just appears? It's not like ... tattooed on or something once a pony discovers a talent they are good at?" James asked.

"Right, it just appears," she nodded. "But the thing is, some fillies and colts try to rush it. They will try all kinds of different things—including some things they really don't have any interest in, just because they want to get a cutie mark. It's kind of ... well, young ponies who already have their cutie marks often tease ponies who don't have one yet. We try to stop them from doing it when we catch it happening, but it still goes on anyway. It's just part of growing up as a pony I guess. But it does put pressure on young ponies who don't have a cutie mark yet to try and rush the process of getting one. But it doesn't work that way ... You see, you don't just suddenly get a cutie mark. You have to find a talent, and practice it for a while."

"What about you? You said you got yours when you discovered your special talent was magic?"

"Right, but I practiced and studied magic very hard for a very long time before my cutie mark appeared. That's one thing I'm afraid these three fillies don't realize. They think they will try a new skill once, and suddenly their cutie mark will appear if that new skill happens to be their special talent. They don't realize it requires practice and dedication. And it has to be something they really want. Do you understand what I am saying, James?"

He nodded a bit, "I think so, yes."

Twilight continued. "It's fine if you want to try and help them out, but please make sure they remember that. Otherwise they will just end up disappointed again if their cutie marks don't appear. Make sure they remember that even if they do find something they really love, that their cutie mark may not show up instantly. It sometimes takes practice, dedication, and a lot of hard work at a talent before it results in a cutie mark."

"Alright. I will," he paused for a few moments and then looked at her again. "So once a pony gets their cutie mark, is their future kind of fixed? I mean what happens if they find their special talent, but then some time later, when they are adults, decide they don't enjoy it anymore and want to do something else? I guess, where I am from, we would call it a mid-life career change."

Twilight thought for several moments before answering. "That's a good question, James. And I honestly don't know the answer. I've never heard of it happening before. I'll do some research on it and see if I can find an answer though."

"Alright, thanks, Twilight. Well, I guess I am going to go visit Fluttershy and see if I can get some of that oil you were talking about. I think I might need another map though. I know she lives somewhere on the edge of the forest, but I don't know exactly where."

"How about I just give you a town map of Ponyville," she opened a drawer in one of the bookshelves with magic and fished a map out of it, unrolling it and placing it on the table, pointing to one of the dots on the edge of the forest. "This is Fluttershy's house here, And you are currently right..." she traced a line from the house to the library. "Here. It's a bit of a hike really," she said and then rolled up the map again.

"That's alright," he took the map from her. "It will give me a chance to see some more of the area. Thanks, Twilight," he smiled.

"You're welcome. Remember, her cottage is on the edge of the forest. So try to leave before it gets dark. I still don't want you near the edge of the forest after dark."

"Don't worry. I will," he said as he headed out the door.

He walked for a while, eventually reaching the edge of town where he continued walking further. Oh, how he missed the GPS on his iPhone right about now. Just as he was starting to think that he was going the wrong way, or worse, had gotten himself lost, he finally saw the cottage off in the distance. He walked up to the door and stood in front of it for several minutes. A few times he almost knocked on it, but then stopped himself, still nervous and trying to work up the courage to face the pony who he had scared so badly earlier. Finally he sighed and decided he simply had to suck it up and get it done with. He raised his hand again to knock.

Just as his hand was about to connect with the door it suddenly opened, and he was met with the yellow pegasus—giving him the most frightening stare he had ever seen in his life. "Ahh!" he cried out, stumbling backwards, tripping over his own feet and falling on the ground, raising his hands defensively to shield his face as the pony started stalking closer to him, still giving him that stare.

"Alright you ... whoever you are! You've been standing in front of my door for several minutes now without knocking, or saying anything! What is it you are here for?" she questioned in a rather intimidating manner as she continued to stalk closer towards him.

"I'm ... I'm sorry ... It's me ... James ... the ... the human you found a while back ... I didn't mean to ... to ... I was just here to see if I could get some oil from you ... and too apologize ... well for ..." he stammered, still shielding his face and leaning further backwards away from her as she stalked closer to him, still giving him the stare. She was standing over him now, her face mere inches away from his.

Suddenly she blinked and stopped staring at him, her eyes going back to normal size and the angry expression leaving her face, voice going from angry and authoritative to soft, comforting, and somewhat shy again—like the voice he had heard her use when he first ran into her in the forest. "Oh ... It's you, James. I'm ... I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you."

James managed to finally slow down his breathing and lower his hands from their shield position. "Well, I guess that makes us even then," he chuckled uneasily, still a bit unnerved from the stare. I'm sorry I scared you when you first saw me as well. I never would have actually done anything to hurt you."

"Oh. It's ok ... Twilight told me all about it. I understand you were afraid. And that whatever it was you were holding wasn't even capable of actually hurting me ... You should come inside. I was just making some tea. It's herbal tea. Soothing and good for you," she moved to his side, offering her shoulder as a support to help him stand back up.

He accepted her help and pulled himself back up, wincing as the muscles in his legs protested about having been used way too much already, thanks to the run earlier in the morning.

"Oh ... are you hurt?" she looked at him with a look of concern in her eyes.

"No. Not hurt. Just sore. Rainbow Dash made me run further than I have ever run in my life this morning during a morning exercise routine ... How did you know I'd been standing in front of your door for that long anyway?"

"Oh ... Well, you see ... It has a peephole in it. And I noticed the light was blocked and not shining through it."

"Oh ... right," James looked at the door and noticed the peephole, which he had failed to notice the first time when he was standing in front of it.

Fluttershy started walking into her cottage and James followed her in, looking around and noticing it had a very traditional cabin look. He also noticed that it was full of small animals—mostly wild ones that would not normally be considered pets. She lead him over to a small coffee table. "Please, sit. I'll get tea for us," she said as she headed off to the kitchen.

There were no chairs by the coffee table, so James made the best of it and just sat on the floor. I guess maybe it's one of those Japanese style tea setups he thought to himself as he looked around a bit more. "You have a lot of animals here," he called out to the kitchen, trying to make small talk.

"Yes ... Well, you see, most of them are sick or injured. And I;m taking care of them and nursing them back to health. Except for my Angel bunny. He's not sick or injured. He lives with me all the time."

"So can all of these animals talk too?"

"Of course not silly," she giggled. "Animals can't talk. Well, not in a language we can understand anyway ... Are you sure you didn't hit your head when you fell or something?" she asked with concern in her voice.

"Uh ... No, I didn't hit my head. I just meant ... actually, never mind," he breathed a sigh of relief that he had caught himself before he said the first thing that came to his mind. That would have been a question regarding why ponies could talk, but other animals could not. It was clear from Fluttershy's response that they did not consider themselves 'animals'. Of course, this also raised many more questions in his mind. Why was it that most animals here were virtually identical to animals where he was from? The only exception he had run into so far were the ponies, which obviously were the dominant, sentient species here that had evolved human like reasoning abilities. They had also developed human like technology, although on a scale that was several decades behind human technology, with a couple of remarkable exceptions.

Fluttershy returned a few minutes later, holding a tray in her mouth. On top of the tray were a teapot, two teacups, and a small glass of some unidentifiable greenish brown liquid that looked very unappealing—as if could have been taken from a very dirty pond infested with algae, for that was what its color resembled. She set the tray down on the coffee table and put one of the teacups in front of him, as well as the small glass of vile looking liquid and a small glass of water he had not noticed on the tray at first.

"Drink that first. It helps reduce muscle pain and will make sure you aren't as sore in the morning," she said softly to him.

James stared at the odious liquid in front of him for a few moments. But finally decided to trust the yellow pegasus. He picked it up and quickly downed it in one large gulp, figuring it was best to get it out of the way as quickly as possible. Once he had swallowed it he nearly started gagging, thinking for a moment he was going to lose his lunch as his stomach tried to reject the offensive substance he had just ingested.

"Ugh ... That was awful," he coughed on the taste again. "What was in there?"

"Well, lots of things. You should wash it down with the water," Fluttershy responded quietly.

"Like what?" he coughed again as he quickly drank the water to wash the taste out of his mouth.

"Well, actually, it's probably better if you don't know."

James thought about protesting again, but decided she was probably right and he probably would be better off, and happier, if he didn't know what he had just consumed. Fluttershy then poured two cups of tea and placed one in front of him.

"Careful. It's still very hot," she said.

James nodded and carefully took a small sip of it. "This is delicious, Fluttershy."

"Oh, thank you," she blushed and responded shyly. "I'm glad you like it. I collect the herbs in the forest and make it myself."

"It really is very delicious," he sipped it again and smiled.

"Thank you," she said again. "So ... How have you been adjusting to life here? And how have you been handling things in general?" she asked shyly.

"Well ... there are good times, and bad times," he confessed. "Everypony has been extremely friendly and helpful. But ..." he sighed, "there are times when the memories from my homeland hit hard. And when that happens, it can be very difficult to deal with the emotions."

Fluttershy nodded and gave him an understanding and compassionate gaze. "Oh, you poor thing," she said, causing him to blush a little bit. "I know it must be hard for you. You should never give up hope though. Twilight Sparkle is a very talented magician. She might figure out a way to send you home someday."

There were a few moments of silence as James contemplated that, and both of them sipped their tea, which had cooled off to the point where it was more drinkable.

"Well, Princess Celestia said there would be no attempts to send me home. And that all her advisors agreed it wasn't possible to do so. So ... I don't even think Twilight is trying to figure out how. At least she has never said anything to me about it."

"Well, even if you can't go back home ... You have already made several good friends here ... And I'm your friend too," the yellow pegasus responded in a calming voice. "I know we can't replace your family or your old friends back home ... But you can have a good life here surrounded by good friends."

"Thank you, Fluttershy, for your kindness," he smiled.

"Well, I am the Element of Kindness," she said shyly.

James looked out the window and noticed the sun was just barely starting to set. He also couldn't help but notice that he was suddenly starting to feel unusually tired—more so than normal for this time of day. It was as if a feeling of drowsiness had come over him fairly quickly. He was also feeling strangely calm and relaxed as he finished the last of the tea.

"Fluttershy? Did you put something in that tea?" he asked with a hint of concern in his voice—concern that she might have just drugged him and that she might be some kind of crazy hermit pony living near the edge of the forest with too many pet animals. An image of Annie Wilkes from Stephen King's novel Misery briefly entered his mind, but he quickly pushed it out.

"Nothing that isn't normally in it," she responded, looking at him curiously.

"It's just that I suddenly feel strangely tired, and calmer and more relaxed than normal."

"Well, I make the tea from chamomile and valerian. They are both natural mild sedatives. And they also tend to have a calming effect."

So basically, yeah, she did drug me, he thought to himself.

She suddenly had a look of concern on her face again. "Oh, I'm sorry! I drink it every night. I thought it would help you relax and relieve some of your stress. The effect usually isn't that potent though. I should have told you. Please don't be mad at me," she looked nervous now.

For a brief moment, James was upset that she had given him something with sedative properties and not warned him about it first. But seeing the look on her face, he found he couldn't stay mad at her for more than a second. "I'm not angry with you, Fluttershy. The enhanced effect is probably just because I've had a really long day already, and the fact that Rainbow Dash got me up at five in the morning and made me do that 5k run. I should probably get going though. Twilight wants me back before dark."

"Oh yes, of course," she smiled in relief now that she was sure he wasn't mad at her. Just let me get something from my kitchen that I want you to take with you. It will only take me a moment," she said as she disappeared into her kitchen again. She returned a few moments later holding a cloth sack in her mouth. "This has the oil in it you wanted. I think you almost forgot it. Also, I put some more of that tea in here. You should drink it in the evening. It can help relieve stress. And once you get used to it, I don't think it will make you so drowsy."

"Thanks, Fluttershy," he smiled and took the bag from her. "I'll see you again soon," he said as he left through the door, Fluttershy waving to him with a forehoof as he headed back towards town.

The sun had nearly completely set by the time he got back into town. As he got closer to the library, he walked past a newspaper stand and glanced at one of the newspapers, stopping and doing a double-take. At first, he thought he saw a picture of the United States Navy Blue Angels on the cover. Of course after looking again, it turned out not to be that. It was a team of flying pegasi ponies in a tight diamond formation, along with the caption Interview with a Wonderbolt. James picked up the paper and started to read the subtitle of the article:

She has become a legend in Equestria. Spitfire, or Captain Spitfire as she is known to her team and in government circles, is well known throughout the land as the founder and leader of the world famous Wonderbolts flying demonstration team—the official symbol of Equestrian air supremacy. But the Wonderbolts almost never happened. We sat down with Spitfire for an exclusive interview. See the entire story on page 4.

"Would you like a copy of that paper?" the pony attending the news stand asked.

"Thanks, but I'm afraid I don't have any bits on me right now," James answered.

"Oh, but that is the Equestrian Royal News. It's the official royal news service. It's always free."

"Really? Sure, I'll take a copy then. Thank you," he said as he folded the paper and continued back towards the library.

"Have a good evening!" the news attendant called out.

"Thanks, you too," James called back, nearing the library and entering it.

"James, I was starting to get worried when it got dark and you weren't back yet."

"Hi Twilight. Don't worry, I left Fluttershy's just as the sun was beginning to set. Was away from the edge of the forest long before it got dark."

She just nodded at that. "Are you hungry?"

"No thanks. I think I'm just going to go to bed a little early actually. I've had a long and somewhat tiring day."

"Alright. Good night, James."

"Night, Twilight," he said as he retreated into his room and closed the door, setting the bag down, slipping out of his shoes and shirt, and flopping onto the bed. After laying for a few moments, he grabbed the newspaper he had picked up and opened it to page four, finding the interview with Spitfire. He skipped the title and subtile, having already read it on the front of the paper and found the main interview:

ERNS: Thank you for taking the time to talk with us today, Spitfire.

Spitfire: Thank you, I'm glad to be here.

ERNS: Well, lets start at the beginning I guess. Originally, you never had any intention of becoming an aerobatic flyer, is that right?

Spitfire: That's right. Originally I wanted to join the Royal Pegasus Guard, and I spent most of my fillyhood training for that. But well, as you can imagine, Royal Guards have to have a fairly substantial build and size. And when I applied, I was rejected because I didn't meet the physical build requirements.

ERNS: That must have been very hard for you.

Spitfire: It was devastating at first. Everything I had worked for since practically the day I was born was suddenly shattered in that one moment when they rejected me.

ERNS: What was the worst part for you?

Spitfire: I think ... knowing that there was nothing I could do to change it. No amount of practice or training would be able to get me into the Royal Guard. It was the first time I realized that the cliche phrase "You can be anything you want to be if you work hard" was a lie. Because no matter how hard I worked, I was never going to become a Royal Guard.

ERNS: You mentioned before the interview, that you went into a deep depression for a while after this. What brought you out of it?

Spitfire: Eventually ... I finally realized that sitting around being miserable and feeling sorry for myself wasn't going to make the situation any better. That's when I decided to start taking some real risks. I figured it was all or nothing at that point, and I had little left to lose. So I started doing aerobatics and teaching myself flying tricks. Some of them, in retrospect, were rather reckless. But again, at that time, I had a nothing to lose attitude. It turned out, I had a real talent for aerobatics. This was also right around the time I finally got my cutie mark.

ERNS: And then what happened?

Spitfire: Well, I started performing for small crowds, mostly in smaller towns—sometimes in exchange for nothing more than free room and board and maybe some food. Those were tough times. I got mentioned in a few smaller newspapers. But nothing really big at that point. I started to feel like I had hit a limit, and I couldn't go any further just doing solo performances and solo tricks. That's when I started trying to put together a team. I found two other talented fliers—Soarin and Ice Wind. We came up with the name 'Wonderbolts'. And that's pretty much where it all started. The three of us were the original Wonderbolts.

ERNS: So things just kind of, if you will pardon the pun, took off from there?

Spitfire: Pretty much, yeah. We started getting more press coverage, which got us invited to fly at larger events. It was overwhelming really. It wasn't long before we were on the cover of popular magazines. We even had paparazzi following us. We added Fire Streak, High Winds, and Lightening Streak around this time as well, creating the team of six that everyone knows as the Wonderbolts today.

ERNS: And this was right around the time that Princess Celestia herself took notice, wasn't it?

Spitfire: I think so, yes. I don't remember exactly when The Princess noticed us, but the next year, we were invited to perform at the Grand Galloping Gala.

ERNS: What was that like?

Spitfire: When we got the invitation, it was a combination of ... well, overwhelming excitement, but also overwhelming stress and pressure. Obviously, we were terrified of messing up. And we had tons of questions going through our head. What if they didn't like our performance? We were worried that everything we had worked for and achieved up to this point could be destroyed in one just one performance if we messed up at the Gala.

ERNS: Of course, those concerns turned out to be unfounded. The Princess was so impressed with your performance that she made the Wonderbolts the official flight demonstration team of Equestria.

As interesting as the article was, James was starting to fall asleep from the long day, combined with the sedative effects of the tea Fluttershy had given him. He put the newspaper aside and made a mental note to finish reading the article before turning out the light and quickly falling asleep.

o.O.o

James awoke early the next morning, trying to fall into the routine of getting up well before sunrise, knowing Rainbow Dash was going to force him into that routine whether he liked it or not. But this day, he also wanted to make sure he was up before Twilight. He quietly went out into the main room, finding that he had succeeded. Twilight wasn't around and he presumed she was still asleep upstaris—just like he had wanted.

Twilight woke up as the sun was just starting to rise, sniffing the air curiously. Whatever the smell was that came to her nose smelled delicious. She crawled out of bed and went over to her dresser, looking at her mane and giving it a quick brushing so she at least looked half way presentable before starting to climb down from her loft, sniffing the air again as she made her way into the kitchen, noticing that James had already set the table and was in the middle of preparing breakfast.

"Morning James ... You're making breakfast?" she blinked. "Do you need any help?"

"Nope! No help needed!" he said in a cheerful tone. "You just sit down and make yourself comfortable," he said as he continued working. He flipped some pancakes he was making on the stove and then quickly went to pour Twilight a cup of tea since he didn't find any coffee in her kitchen. "Breakfast is almost ready," he placed the tea in front of her and then went back to work at the stove.

"Thanks?" she said blinking at him again, before just watching him curiously as he finished up at the stove.

He continued working for a little bit longer before placing pancakes, eggs, hash-browns, and toast on one of the plates, he took it over to her and set it down in front of her, along with a fresh glass of apple cider. "Breakfast is served," he smiled.

She blinked again and gave him a confused look, before smiling. "Thank you James ... This was really nice of you ... But I have to ask ... I don't know what it's like where you're from, but here? If a stallion makes a full breakfast for a mare? It usually means he's trying to make up for something he feels guilty about," she gave a bit of a nervous laugh and looked at him again.

James looked at her with a sheepish expression before responding. "Well, first, I just did it cause I wanted to thank you for everything you have done for me since I got there. And second ... I should have taken your feelings, beliefs, and ideas more seriously. Not just flat out reject them like I was doing. I was being a jerk ... and I'm sorry," he said as he sat down at the table with her.

She blinked again, not really having expected that from him. Then she smiled. "Oh James, I appreciate it. But you don't need to apologize for—" she stopped as he cut her off.

"Yes, Twilight, I feel like I do. I was being closed minded."

"Well, alright. Apology accepted then," she smiled and continued eating the breakfast he had made. "This is really good, James. These pancakes especially."

"I'm glad you like them. They're one of the few things I know how to cook well. You know, like I said before, what with the fast food lifestyle and all of eating on the run most of the time on the way to work," he started to eat from his own plate.

There were a few moments of silence as Twilight continued to eat and appeared to be thinking about something, her tail swishing every once in awhile as she appeared to be lost in thought. "James? What do you think things would be like if our roles had been reversed? If I had somehow ended up in your world, instead of you ending up in mine?"

James frowned at the question, which caused Twilight to instantly get a look of concern in her eyes. "Oh James, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to bring up," she stopped as he cut her off again.

"No, it's fine really. It doesn't have anything to do with that. It's just that ... sadly, I don't think they would have gone nearly as well. I don't think you would have been nearly as welcomed or accepted in my world as I have been here."

"Why not?"

"Fear mostly. You probably would have been quarantined as soon as you were found to make sure you didn't have any parasites or viruses or anything that could infect species on our planet. And who knows how long that would last, or how many tests they would run on you. If they ever found out you could perform magic, that would just take things to a whole new level. You'd have every scientist in the world trying to study you. And the government ... well, they wouldn't know what to do with you. They would probably consider you too much of a threat to simply let you live free in our society, given your magical abilities."

"Oh..." she responded, not really sure how to respond to that. She looked down at her plate for a minute, fidgeting and swishing her tail a couple of more times before looking back up at him. "And what about you personally? What would you have done?"

"Me? I probably would have been a little frightened at first when I found you. Just as you were of me when I arrived here. But then I would have hidden you away to protect you from the treatment I fear you would have received if the government found out about you. I'd probably have to be the only one who knew about you. I don't know if I would have trusted even my closest friends back there to keep a secret that big ... probably not even Eric ... So yeah ... I think it's probably good that things worked out this way and not the other way around," he forced himself to smile, although, this conversation had gotten him thinking about home again, along with the feeling of loss that came from those thoughts.

The sun had was half way above the horizon when they both finished their breakfast and James got up and started to clear the table.

"Thank you James, that was really good," Twilight smiled.

"Oh you are quite welcome. I'm glad you enjoyed it," he said as he finished clearing the table and started to wash all the dishes he had used. Twilight started to try to help him, but he stopped her. "No, I got this. You just go relax or get started on your work, or do whatever it is you normally do at this hour in the morning."

"Well, actually, I have a full day for you, James. I got a letter from Princess Celestia, and there are some specific things she wants me to be teaching you. So we'll be starting to work on all of that. I hope you are ready for some serious learning."

"Oh you know me, Twilight. I'm always thirsty for more knowledge," he grinned. "I'll be out as soon as I get the dishes finished up here.

Twilight nodded and trotted out to the main area of the library to find the books she needed as James finished up the dishes.

After finishing up the dishes, he went back out to the main room. Twilight had already taken a few books off the shelf. They spent most of the rest of the day studying. James asked a lot of questions, but didn't start anymore arguments with her. He seemed much more willing to listen to her and take things she said seriously. Although Twilight was still unsure whether he actually believed anything she was telling him or not.

They finished up their day of studying, and were about to start dinner. Twilight looked through her cupboard where she kept the dry goods, then stomped a hoof lightly in annoyance.

"James? Can you do me a favor?"

"Of course. What do you need?"

"Can you run to Sugarcube Corner and get ... well, some sugar? Apparently, we are out of it. I'll give you some bits to pay for it."

He nodded. "Sure. I can do that." Then he watched as her horn started to glow, along with one of her saddle bags hanging over the back of a chair. A small pile of bits floated out of it and over to him. He opened his hand and she let them drop into it.

"Thanks, James," she smiled.

"Of course. Not a problem." He turned and walked for the door, going out into the night on his way to Sugarcube Corner.

12 - Changing Seasons

The God Particle

Chapter 12: Changing Seasons

James arrived at Sugarcube Corner only to find that it appeared to be already closed. The windows were dark and there appeared to be no activity inside. Still, he tried the door anyway. It opened.

"Hello?" he called out as he walked inside, the door closing behind him with a squeak. His hand fumbled on the wall next to the door, trying to find a light switch. The place shouldn't be closed yet, and he becoming concerned something might be wrong.

Suddenly, the room lit up like the Forth of July. "Surprise!" he heard a lot of ponies shouting together.

He blinked and looked around on the wall in front of him was a banner than read Welcome to Ponyville. Balloons of all different colors hung from various parts of the room, along with ribbon streamers strung across the ceiling. On a table at the front of the room were cakes, muffins, apple pies and various other apple pastries, and assorted types of candy.

"are you surprised? huh? huh? are you? are you?" Pinkie said, bouncing up to him as if she had springs on her feet.

He blinked "Yeah, I guess you could say, mmmf!" he was suddenly interrupted by Pinkie Pie shoving a piece of cake in his mouth.

"Pinkie Pie!" Rarity facehoofed, but the pink party pony seemed not to even notice.

"Is it good? Huh? Huh? Huh? Do you like it cause I made it myself," she bounced around excitedly again.

He frantically chewed on the large piece of cake she had shoved in his mouth, unable to respond just yet. Finally, he was able to swallow it. "Yes, Pinkie Pie. It's very good, he smiled. It was a double layer cake, with both chocolate and vanilla layers, covered in rainbow colored frosting.

"Twilight should be here very shortly," Rarity said. "She probably left as soon as she was certain you wouldn't hear or see her following you."

Suddenly, something was wrapped around his head. A blindfold he realized. "What the?" he started to protest.

"Time to play pin the tail on the pony," he heard AJ's voice from behind.

"But I—" he didn't get a chance to finish as he felt several ponies spinning him around in circles several times. "Enough spinning!" he protested. "I'm gonna be sick." The spinning stopped, or at least he thought it did, and he felt the paper tail being placed in his hand. He stumbled as he dizzily walked towards the wall, initially heading in the right direction, but gradually veering off course from the vertigo still spinning around in his head.

"Woah there! Goin' the wrong way, sugercube," Applejack said, nudging him back towards the right direction.

Over the next several hours, they played multiple different types of games and consumed way too many sweets. James was not a crowd or party type person, but eventually he started to warm up to some of the rest of the ponies in Ponyville he had not met yet. The party continued late into the night, and eventually early into the morning before ponies started leaving. The thin clouds to the east began to take on a pinkish-orange hue as daylight started ariving when Twilight and James finally left Sugercube Corner.

"I ate too much cake ... and pie ... and ice cream ... and candy," James groaned as he slowly walked back to the library—daylight having arrived by the time they arrived.

"I'm sorry I tricked you last night," Twilight said apologetically. "Into going to Sugarcube Corner like that. But I was afraid if you knew I was taking you to a party, you might refuse to go."

"Well, it's alright," he forced a smile. Even though he didn't like parties very much, he had to admit that he did have a good time last night. The truth is, he probably would have gone even after Twilight tricked him. Pinkie Pie had worked really hard on planning and preparing it, hew knew. And he knew she would be devastated if he didn't show up. That was something, he simply wouldn't do to her. He wouldn't do it to any human. And he wouldn't do it to any pony either ...

o.O.o

Celestia staring out the window in one of the castle towers with a contemplative look on her face. She looked off in the distance, to the north, as if she were trying to bore a hole in some non-existent object on the horizon. Her contemplative look slowly turned to a frown, but her attention continued to remain focused on the north horizon.

"Sister? Tia, something troubles you," Luna had a look of concern on her face.

Celestia felt a gentle rub against her shoulder as the younger alicorn lowered her head slightly, rubbing it up her older sister's side. She looked back at Luna and forced a small smile from the attention her sister was giving her. Then the smile turned back into a contemplative look. Her eyes betrayed a hint of worry. Finally, she spoke again. "I have been sensing ... distrubances in magic lately. No doubt you have sensed them as well, sister. They are very mild, almost imperceptable. Because of that, I cannot tell what they are, or where they are coming from. But they have a sinister feel to them ... as if something is testing the waters—experimenting and preparing for something much more powerful."

"And you think it is a threat to Equestria?" Luna now shared her sister's concerned look.

"I do not know yet, sister. The disturbances are too minor, and nearly imperceptable. I can't get a good feel for them yet," the Sun Princess shook her head slightly, tapping her right forehoof on the ground once in frustration at her inability to discern more information.

There was a pause before Luna spoke again. "Do you think the human is behind them?" she narrowed her eyes slightly, still distrusting James.

"No," Celestia shook her head again. "I do not. But my heart tells me that he will have a role to play in this. I don't know why he is here, or how he got here. But we will need him when and if the time comes. And he will need to trust us completely and absolutely," she sighed and looked at the ground. "Keep all of this between just the two of us for now, sister. I do not want to cause public panic. Not even the council knows of my fears."

Luna nodded her head softly. "Of course, Tia," she nuzzled up against her older sister gently, trying to comfort her and ease her concerns, elicting a small smile out of Celestia. But after this discussion that had just occured, Luna herself, also needed comforting.

o.O.o

Things began to go much smoother between James and Twilight after their last trip to Canterlot, and after the welcoming party. James immersed himself deeply in learning from the unicorn about all aspects of Equestrian life including law, customs, traditions, history, politics, geography, and culture. He also continued his study of science, but with a more open mind that was willing to incorporate magic into it when necessary. James, of course, could not perform magic himself. But he took an intellectual interest in it nonetheless—trying to understand how various aspects of it worked, and how it might be able to fill in the gaps that could not be explained through pure science.

He also helped Twilight with her own research, taking on the role of her scribe in Spike's absence—even writing her letters to Princess Celestia for her. All the writing duties helped him become much more proficient at both reading and writing in Equestrian script. He hoped that Princess Celestia could read all the handwriting in his letters though. His handwriting, even in his own world, had never been particularly good thanks to doing most everything on a computer. No doubt, his handwriting in Equestrian was far worse.

Over time, James and Twilight developed a very close and loving, although completely platonic relationship. James still had somewhat frequent episodes of depression about not ever being able to go home and see his family or friends again. When those occurred, there was nopony he felt more comfortable confiding in than Twilight.

As he had promised, he also tried to help the cutie mark crusaders. It hadn't taken Apple Bloom very long to get him completely wrapped around her hoof as she quickly figured out that she could usually manipulate him into giving her what she wanted by using her sad pony expression. Scootaloo once had the idea of building a rocket, which James agreed to. Model rockets were fairly trivial to build after all. Unfortunately, James had neglected the fact that solid fuel pre-made model rocket engines were not available in Equestria. Designing and building a workable engine turned out to be the most difficult part of the project. The first attempt, burst into flames on the launchpad and consumed the rocket, much to the dismay of the three fillies. However, James was able to turn it into an object lesson on learning from failure, analyzing what went wrong, and building it better the next time around. The second model rocket they built actually flew—making it to a height around 2,000 feet or 700 meters, before parachuting safely to a landing, which all of the crusaders—especially Scootaloo, throughly enjoyed. However, even after all this, none of them had gotten their cutie marks. James made sure to remember to enforce upon them what Twilight had told him about cutie marks only coming when they are ready.

James also found himself teaching at the school on a substitute teacher basis, often when Cheerilee just wanted to take a day or two off. Despite Cheerilee's insistence, he continued to refuse any pay for doing so.

He also received nutritional counseling from Nurse Redheart and Fluttershy on how to eat a balanced vegetarian diet. He followed their dietary advice as best he could, and his iron levels had returned to normal by the third time Nurse Redheart rechecked them. Fast food junkie that he had been before arriving in Equestria, he still had cravings for meat every once in a while. But he found that he could survive on the vegetarian diet, and that properly prepared vegetarian dishes were actually very tasty. With time, he got used to it to the point where he never even thought about wanting to eat meat anymore. Once he had managed to balance his new diet, he found he had more energy and stamina, which helped with the workout routines.

As far as the workout routines / drill instructor / boot camp with Rainbow Dash and Applejack, it became routine for James to be up well before sunrise to meet the two of them for a morning workout. The next few workouts were as bad as the first one had been, but they became easier with time. By the time the leaves had started to change color on the trees, James was able to keep up with the two ponies without Rainbow Dash having to constantly yell at him to pick up the pace. James got additional exercise during this period by helping Applejack with the apple harvest on her orchard. By the time the leaves had started to fall off the trees, and the first hints of the chill northern air could be felt on the wind, James had gained an estimated 20 pounds, or 9 kilograms of muscle. He didn't have a bodybuilder physique or anything. But neither did he have the scrawny nerd appearance anymore that he did when he first arrived in Equestria. He could even hold his own with Rainbow Dash now during their wrestling / sparing sessions. He still lost every time, but now it was entirely due to lack of technique and experience and not lack of strength or stamina.

It was on one of those autumn nights with the chill northern wind blowing against the windows that Twilight Sparkle entered the library guest room James was sleeping in. She watched him sleep for a few minutes as she mentally weighed the morality and ethics of what she was about to do to him. She needed information—information that, if it existed at all, only he had. But even he would not be consciously aware he had it. There was only one way to access it. She was about to violate him in a very personal way, she realized. Some would even go so far as to call it a form of magical psychic rape as she would have access to all of his thoughts and memories, both conscious and sub-conscious. She would have access to and be able to probe any and all energy fields that were flowing through him, around him, into, or out of him. But it was the only way to get what she needed, and she feared he would say no if she asked him while he was awake. That and she also didn't want to get his hopes up since she thought there was very little chance she would be able to make this work anyway, even if she did find what she was looking for. She continued to torture herself for several more minutes as she watched him sleep, weighing the pros and cons of seeing if he had the information she needed, against the act of violation it required to see if it was there. Finally, she made up her mind. She would get in and out as fast as she could. She would search only for what she needed, and she would ignore everything else she encountered and not examine it—at least not any deeper than required to determine it was not what she was looking for.

She sighed, resigning herself to what she was about to do, her horn starting to glow. She began by placing a deep sleep spell on him to make sure he would have no memory of what she had done after he woke up, then she started her second spell and began to probe his mind and his energy aura. The first thing she encountered on probing his mind where various thoughts of his family, as well as thoughts of herself. She was somewhat surprised to have run into his thoughts about her so early in the probe. As tempted as she was to examine them and find out what he really thought about her, she resisted the urge, knowing it would be unethical to read his private thoughts like that. She immediately stopped probing those thoughts before she determined what any of them were or what they were about. Then she encountered libraries worth of academic information on physics and other aspects of science. Again, she had to resist the academic temptation to probe deeper into those. What harm could come from it after all? It was just scientific knowledge. No, even if that's all it is. It would still be unethical, she thought to herself and once again moved on, probing deeper and deeper until she had reached past even his subconscious mind and into the realm of his metaphysical energy field.

Navigating this part was hard, as it always was anytime she had tried this spell on willing participants for practice. Hundreds of thousands of energy fields and streams whipped around here. She quickly probed and discarded quite a few of them, determining they were not what she was looking for. After another thirty minutes or so of probing, she was about to give up, thinking what she was looking for just wasn't there.

Wait! What was that? she thought to herself as she suddenly went back to an area she had just passed over. It was a magical thread! Very weak, but it was there nonetheless. But it was so weak, that she could not get a magical lock on it to probe it. She concentrated harder and increased the intensity of her spell as her horn glowed brighter. There! She had finally gotten the lock on it! She probed it and found that the thread was pulsing in and out of phase with this dimension. One end was connected to James. The other end was very far away and she could not tell where it went. But it should be possible to use it anyway. This had to be it! This had to be what she was looking for. She examined the thread closer. A sense of urgency rose quickly within her when she noticed it was badly frayed and unraveling. She might still be able to figure out a way. But even now she knew it was a long shot, and the odds of being able to figure out a way were very small, if they existed at all. Now though, she at least had something to go on, but she knew she was running out of time. Soon, the frayed thread would snap. And when it did, it would sever the only magical energy connection with James's homeland. When that happened, he really would be stuck here forever, with no hope of ever being able to return him home.

Twilight quickly released James from the spell once she had that information. She wanted to start working on the problem tonight. But it was very late—after midnight already. And the probe spell she had used had taken a lot out of her, given she had been at it for well over a half hour. It would do no good for her to try to work on the problem tonight given she was too exhausted to concentrate on it. She went back out to her desk in the library, levitating a quill and frantically scribbling down notes about what she had found to make sure she wouldn't forget any details in the night. When she finished, she locked it in a private desk drawer to make sure James wouldn't find them in the morning if he awoke earlier than her. Then, reluctantly, she climbed up to her loft and went to bed herself. But even in her weary state, sleep did not come easily for her. And so she lay awake, listening to the cold wind pound against the windows.

13 - Diverging Paths

The God Particle

Chapter 13: Diverging Paths

James awoke early the next morning and got ready for his normal workout routine with Rainbow Dash and Applejack. He didn't see Twilight anywhere and assumed she was still in bed. About an hour later he returned from his workout and opened the door of the library, blinking and shaking his head a bit at what he saw.

Open books were scattered all over the floor in a circle. In the air, several books were floating, surrounded by a glowing purple aura. Twilight was standing in the middle of them scribbling notes as she paged through the different magical texts. This wasn't the first time he had seen her like this when she became really engrossed in some problem she was working on.

"Good morning," he finally said, since it appeared she had not even noticed his entrance.

"Oh, James! Uh ... Good morning," she said with more than a hint of nervousness in her voice—or was it a hint of guilt? as she stopped taking down notes for a moment. "How uh ... was your workout?"

"It went well ... Are you alright? You seem rather stressed out about something," he said with a concerned look.

"Oh, yes. I'm fine," she lied. "Just a little engrossed in something I have been studying. That's all."

"Is there anything I can help with?"

"No ... Thank you. I've got this one handled. Uh ... Why don't you read that book on the history of the Pre-Classical Era that we talked about before."

James raised an eyebrow, trying to figure out why she seemed nervous and somewhat distant. He knew there was something she wasn't telling him, and that something was bothering her. He decided not to press the issue for now though and simply nodded his head. "Alright. I'll do that."

For her part, Twilight still felt guilty about what she had done to James the previous night. However, she continued to reason that it was justified and for the best. After all, she had very little hope any of this was going to work. Telling him she was working on a spell to send him home would only get his hopes up—hopes she would have to destroy and tear away from him later on when she failed and was not able to come up with the spell. It was simply better if he was none the wiser ... right? And besides, she had been as ethical as possible about it. She didn't look at any of his memories or knowledge in detail. The only thing she had probed deeply was the energy thread that she was now sure was the key to any spell that might be able to send him home. And then there was the fact that Twilight hated failure, and having to admit she had failed at something. This way, when failure did come, and she was sure it would, she could simply act as if she had never even tried and would not have to admit she failed. Nopony would be any wiser. She felt particularly guilty about that part. It seemed like such a selfish motivation to hide things from him. But still, not getting his hopes up seemed like a good enough reason. And she did what she did to help him. So that justified it ... Didn't it?

She shook her head a bit to clear her mind. Dwelling on the ethics of what she had done would serve no purpose right now. If she came up with a spell that would work, she would have to tell him then. But he wouldn't be mad at her then would he? He would just be so happy she had found the way and would overlook that little mind probing incident. Anyway, she would cross that bridge when she came to it. For now, she had work to do. And with that, she went back to scribbling notes, and paging through books.

Within a few days Twilight was mostly back to normal, but James could still sense something was bothering her and that there was a sense of urgency around her. She spent more time engrossed in work that she did not want him to help with. Whenever he asked if he could help with it, she would find something else for him to work on instead. Despite this, the two of them still managed to find time to jointly publish two articles in one of Equestria's most prestigious science journals regarding their star observations and conclusions.

o.O.o

The weather continued to turn colder and all the leaves had fallen off the trees now. James figured just the opposite was happening at home right about now. It would be late March in Chicago, and most of the snow would have melted by now. Equestria's seasons seemed to be approximately opposite of the seasons back where he was from.

James went out for his normal workout—the summer clothes Rarity had made him a few months back replaced with much warmer winter ones she had made for him. The workout time he spent with Applejack and Rainbow Dash was even more cathartic for him now. He found himself confiding in the two of them much more often now that Twilight seemed to be so engrossed in her work. It's not that he and Twilight were not close anymore, or did not talk anymore. They still did. But whatever she was engrossed in was taking up more of her time and she continued to refuse to talk to him about what was bothering her.

Applejack in particular, seemed to have a way with him with her southern charm and common sense down to earth advice. He would often take a jog out of town to her farm when he needed to unwind and clear his mind.

"She just seems distant, and really engrossed in whatever it is she is working on," he said while sitting on an overturned five gallon bucket, helping Applejack peel and slice apples for all the seasonal baked apple goods she would soon be making, as well as ones she would store for winter.

"Well, ah' wouldn't worry about it too much, sugercube. She gets in bookworm mode sometimes and then she gets like that. Nothin' personal I reckon. We haven't seen much of her either."

"I'm just concerned because it's been going on for a couple of weeks now."

"Two weeks is all? She's been known to go for a lot longer than that really engrossed in something. She'll come around ah'm sure. I wouldn't worry about it none."

"I'll try not too ... Thanks, AJ," he smiled, finished peeling and slicing another apple, picking up another one and starting on it.

"Ah reckon we will get the first snowfall of winter soon. Ah can feel it in the air," she remarked. "What's the weather like back where ya'all are from anyway?"

"Well, very similar actually. We tend to have short hot summers, and somewhat long cold winters. Although the seasons are reversed from what they are here. When I arrived here, it was winter where I came from. Spring would be starting right about now, and most of the snow would have melted by now. How long does winter last here anyway?"

"Usually about three months. That's why we have to get all these apples sliced, sealed, and stored. All of Equestria relies on the surplus food grown in the summer to sustain everypony through the winter. Ah' sure do appreciate your help gettin' all these here apples peeled and sliced, James. Looks like we are almost done."

"It's no problem at all, AJ. I'm glad I was able to help," he smiled.

The two of them continued peeling and slicing apples for a little while longer until the last apple in the pile had been finished.

"Thanks again for all your help, James. Would have taken a lot longer without your help."

"You are welcome AJ. It was no problem at all, really. Well, I suppose I should be heading back. I'll see you along with Rainbow Dash in the morning I guess?"

"Yep. Sounds good to me. I'll see ya in the morning," she waved as he started heading back to the library.

"Welcome back James. How'd things go at the farm?" Twilight looked up from what she was working on.

"Hi Twi. They went well. We got all the apples sliced and peeled, so she's ahead of schedule at getting started on the baked goods and getting the rest of them stored for winter."

"That's good. Thanks for helping her, James," she smiled. "I got a letter from Princess Celestia today. She wants to see you in Canterlot tomorrow. She's sending an aerial chariot to get us and we will be leaving very early in the morning—probably even before the sun comes up."

"That's short notice ... Did she say what she wanted? Or how long we'd be staying there?"

"Unfortunately, no. Just that she wanted to see you."

"Me? Just me?" he blinked.

"She only mentioned wanting to see you. But she did want me to accompany you there."

"Well ... I can't say no to The Princess I guess ... Alright, I'll pack a small bag just in case she wants us to stay overnight," he said as he headed off to his room and started to pack some of his clothes. Despite the fact he no longer had any reason to believe Princess Celestia would ever harm him without good reason, he still couldn't help but feel a little nervous any time she wanted to see him. After he had finished packing, he went back out to the main room. Twilight was slumped over with her head resting on one of her open books.

"Twilight? Are you ok?" he said quietly. He quickly walked over to her with a look of concern. Once he got close to her, it became obvious she had simply fallen asleep while working. He frowned and sighed a bit. "Poor girl ... She's working herself to exhaustion," he said to himself as he carefully and gently picked her up, cradling her across both of his arms. He carried her upstairs to the loft and gently laid her down in her bed before tucking the covers over her and giving her a light hug. "Good night, Twilight..." he said quietly before turning and going back downstairs. As he walked through the main room of the library, he turned his head and looked at the area where she had been working, the notes she had been scribbling, and book she had open. He started to walk over to them, but stopped once he was half way there. No ... he would not look at them. He respected her privacy too much and he knew whatever she had been working on was what it appeared she did not want him to know about. That and he had already seen one thing here in Equestria he was not supposed to see, which ended with him having to swear secrecy to the two princesses about it. He wasn't going to go out of his way to try to see another thing that he apparently was not supposed to see. He started walking again, resisting the urge to look, as he went into his own room and climbed into bed.

He awoke early the next morning and took a quick bath before shaving with the straight razor Rarity had given him. He had managed to get good enough with the straight razor that he could shave without nicking himself anymore. One of the winter outfits Rarity had made for him was very formal, and that is the one he chose to wear, of course. As much as he hated dressing up, he wanted to look his best for Princess Celestia out of respect for her position. Once he had finished dressing, he went into the kitchen, where Twilight had already started fixing them a simple breakfast of oatmeal and toast with peanut butter on it.

"Morning James," she said turning to look at him. "Wow, looking sharp there," she remarked at the clothes he was wearing. "How'd you sleep?"

"Morning Twi. I figured I should probably try to look my best for The Princess. I slept well ... ok I guess. Yourself?"

"I slept well ... Although I don't quite remember how I got into bed."

"Actually ... I carried you up there. You fell asleep while working. I'm worried about you, Twi. You are working too hard. You are exhausting yourself," he frowned.

"You carried me to bed? That was really sweet of you James," she smiled. "But you really don't have to worry about me. I'll be fine. It's not the first time I have fallen asleep studying after all."

"I know. I've done that plenty of times myself. It's just ... well, the habits you worked so hard to break me of ... all study, research, and work, and no fun ... I'm worried you are falling into them yourself now."

She winced at that internally. What he said was true. She was reverting back to her old ways somewhat—perhaps even neglecting her friends some because of it. But it was important, and time was of the essence she reasoned before finally responding. "I do appreciate your concern, James. I really do. But I just have some important research to finish. Once I am finished with it, I will be able to take a break and stop working so hard."

"I still wish you would let me help you with it so you don't have to work so hard," he frowned again.

"We've already talked about this, James. I can't share this with you or let you help me with it. I'm sorry, but I just can't."

"Alright, Twi. I won't push the issue. Just make sure you get enough sleep and that you take some time out for yourself."

Their conversation was interrupted by the sound of the chariot landing in front of the library. James looked out the window and was happy to see that this one was covered—a welcome site given how cold it had been lately. The two of them quickly grabbed their packed bags and went outside, not wanting to keep the pegasus ponies pulling it waiting. James opened the door on the chariot for Twilight and the two of them climbed in. Once the door was secure, the chariot took off for Canterlot.

About an hour into the flight, the sun started to rise and James could finally see the ground. He took in the geography of the route between Ponyville and Canterlot from the air. This was the first time he had been able to pay attention to it. The first time he had flown to Canterlot, he had been out cold thanks to Twilight's sleeping spell. The second time it had been pitch dark out. The third time, on the way back from Canterlot, he was still to overwhelmed from seeing Princess Celestia raise the sun to pay any attention. Even though the chariot was covered and enclosed, it was still rather chilly inside of it. James still seemed somewhat nervous and didn't speak much. Finally, Twilight broke the ice.

"You alright there, James? You seem a little worked up."

"It's nothing really. I still just get nervous whenever Princess Celestia wants to see me. That's all."

"If she meant you any harm, she would have done it by now, James. By now I would think you'd know that you can trust her. Why be nervous?"

"Well, I can't lie to you Twilight. The whole system of government here still makes me nervous. You have two monarchs who are sisters and have absolute unlimited power to do whatever they want, whenever they want, to whoever they want. And there's no system of checks and balances in place to prevent abuse of power."

"But overall, James, the system has worked for well over a thousand years. That's longer than any nation or government where you are from has survived and prospered from what you told me about when I taught you about Equestrian law. And the princesses do have a council."

"Yes, but the council is completely loyal to the princesses. And only to the princesses. And they serve a purely advisory function. At the end of the day, the princesses still wield absolute power and the council carries out their will."

"What about the president's staff where you're from? Aren't they also just in an advisory role?" Twilight asked.

"Effectively, yes. But here the Royal Council is absolutely unquestioningly loyal to Princess Celestia and Princess Luna. The president's advisors are not like that. Also we have three branches of government where I am from. The president can't pass laws on a whim. They have to go through congress first. And the judicial courts can rule laws unconstitutional. As we talked about before, this ensures no one person can become too powerful. Here in Equestria, there's only one branch of government. And two individuals have absolute power."

"Well, you've only been here a little more than three months, James. I hope that with time you'll become more comfortable with our system of government and law. After all, to be blunt, you have to live under it, whether you like it or not. And I'd like to think the fact that Equestria has survived for as long as it has, and that most of that time has been spent in peace and prosperity, means we're doing something right."

"I can't really argue with you on either point there. Yes, I have to live under it whether I like it or not. And yeah, the system has worked for longer than any government I am aware of on my planet ... I'm sorry, I didn't mean to bring this up again."

"It's alright. I did ask what was bothering you. And I'm glad you were honest with me about it," she smiled.

"So you got any spells that will warm it up in here a little bit? It's kind of cold," he said changing the subject. A layer of frost had begun to form on the inside of the window in the door of the chariot.

"Maybe," she grinned. "Or I could just do this instead," she suddenly lunged at him, tackling him to the floor of the chariot and trying to cover him with her warm fur as she giggled, her grin getting wider.

"Twilight! What the!" he said as he was pounced onto the floor. "Oh, you're gonna get it now!" he laughed playfully as he rolled her off of him and then reached out to tickle her.

"Eep!" she giggled and batted at his hands with her hooves to stop the tickling, giggling more as she tried to pounce on him again. He rolled out of the way this time though.

"Missed!" he laughed.

Both of them failed to notice that their rough housing had set the flying chariot to rolling back and forth.

"Would you two knock it off back there?" came the annoyed voice of a pegasus from up front. "We are trying to keep this thing going in a straight line!"

"Sorry!" both Twilight and James called out in unison as they stood back up and took their seats again, James straightening out and readjusting his clothes while Twilight fixed her mane, which was hanging down all sides of her face now from the rough housing.

"I think we made him mad," James remarked motioning with his head to one of the pegasi pulling the chariot.

"You think?" Twilight responded as they both grinned stupidly and started giggling about the whole thing again.

James had to admit, the brief period of rough housing had warmed him up quite a bit. But he was still glad when they finally arrived in Canterlot and started their decent to slightly warmer air. The entire flight had taken roughly three to four hours he guessed. Once the chariot had landed, a castle servant opened the door for them and they were met by two royal guards.

"Welcome to Canterlot, Ms. Sparkle, Dr. Peterson. Her Majesty is awaiting your presence, Dr. Peterson," one of the guards said as he motioned with a forehoof for them to step down from the chariot.

Twilight and James both stepped down, nodding respectfully to the royal guards. As they were led around to the front of the chariot, the same pegasus that had yelled at them earlier gave them an annoyed look, as if he wanted to pummel both of them right about now. It was all the two of them could do not to burst out laughing again.

"I will take you to see Princess Celestia, Dr. Peterson," one of the guards said. "And Ms. Sparkle, Princess Luna would be grateful to catch up on things with you while Dr. Peterson speaks with Princess Celestia."

The two of them were separated and led off in different directions—James being taken by one guard for an apparently formal meeting with Princess Celestia, and Twilight being taken by the other guard to an apparently informal chat with Princess Luna. Of course, this only made him even more nervous. All the other times he had met Princess Celestia in a formal setting, Twilight had been there as well. This would be the first time he had ever had to face her in a formal setting by himself. His mind raced as he walked, trying to figure out if he might have done something wrong that would have caused her to order him to back to Canterlot.

Eventually, James and the guard assigned to him arrived at the large set of double doors which he recognized as the entrance to the throne room. James took a deep breath as he tried to calm his nerves. This was the place he had met her the first time when he was still worried she might do something heinous like condemn him to spend the rest of his life in the dungeon. The guard escorting him knocked on one of the doors. There was a loud clang as the latch holding them shut opened and two unicorn guards on the other side of the doors began to open them. He looked inside and noticed Princess Celestia was already present, seated at the other end of the room. Once the unicorn guards had motioned him inside he started walking down the red carpet that led to the throne—the doors closing behind him again.

James continued walking towards the throne until he was a short distance away from the steps leading up to it. There he stopped, getting down to one knee and bowing before the alicorn Princess, lowering his head respectfully.

"It is good to see you again, James. Please stand. I trust you had a good flight here?"

"Thank you, Your Majesty," James said as he rose from his kneeling position. "I am honored to be here again. The flight was fine, yes," he said, deciding it was probably best not to mention that the chariot was a little chilly, or the fact that they had been chastised by one of the pegasus ponies pulling the chariot.

"How have you been enjoying life in Ponyville?" she asked.

"Well, Your Majesty, I've become good friends with a lot of ponies there. So that part has been great. Of course, Ponyville itself is ... well, a little ..." he paused trying to think of the best words to say what he wanted to say. Celestia finished for him, however.

"A little slow and quiet compared to what you are used to in Chicago," the alicorn stated.

"You could put it that way, yes, Your Majesty," James nodded slightly.

The Princess nodded her head understandingly before continuing. "Twilight's letters tell me you have learned a lot in the three months since I have seen you. And I see in the ones that you wrote, that you have even become rather proficient in writing in Equestrian script."

"I've been trying my best, Your Majesty."

"You have been doing well. I also received a letter from Cheerilee about the work you have been doing at the school. She is very impressed with you as well. And I was impressed with the journal articles you jointly published with Twilight."

"Thank you ... Your Majesty?" he said as both a statement and a question. He wasn't really sure where The Princess was going with this.

She stood up from her throne and stepped down the stairs, each hoof making tapping sound as she did so. She stopped directly in front of him at which point he bowed his head slightly in reverence to her again. She paused for a few moments longer before continuing.

"James, I want you to stay here in Canterlot," she said flatly.

He nodded slightly in response. "For how long, Your Majesty?"

"Actually, I want you to move here."

"Your Majesty ... Did ... I do something wrong?" he asked with more than a hint of concern and nervousness in his voice.

"No, not at all," she said in a comforting tone. "Quite the opposite. You've proven yourself to me, and I have decided I will no longer require you to be under Twilight's supervision. There are many more opportunities for your talents to be used here in Canterlot than in Ponyville. And Spike will be returning soon and will resume his normal duties as Twilight's assistant. If you were to remain in Ponyville, it would really be a waste of your talent and skill at this point," she paused for a moment, but James remained silent. Then she continued. "I do apologize for not giving you earlier notice of this decision. My sister and I only finalized this decision this morning."

James remained silent, appearing to be lost in thought. He really didn't want to leave Ponyville, given that the only friends he had here were in Ponyville. On the other hand, he knew The Princess was right. Ponyville was a fairly small town, and there weren't exactly a lot of opportunities there for someone with his skill set. Furthermore, Ponyville lacked extensive research facilities and only had the one library, which was very small by the standards he was used to. That wouldn't have been a problem back where he was from, of course, because most publications were now available electronically. However, here in Equestria, there was no Internet, and no electronic publication service that allowed journals, books, and articles to be accessed from anywhere. He really probably would be better off in Canterlot as it would give him greater access to research facilities and knowledge. But he would miss all of his friends in Ponyville. However, by now, he had accepted the fact that he was basically stuck in Equestria and would never be able to leave. Given that, he knew that eventually he had to become a truly productive member of this society he was now part of. Sure, he had helped out Twilight, Cheerilee, and Applejack in Ponyville, but he had to admit that was almost drifter like—working odd jobs in exchange for free room and board. It was a little demeaning in a way. Canterlot would give him the opportunity to chart his own course here, to live his own life without being dependent on Twilight for keeping him fed and sheltered.

Finally, he accepted this new development and nodded slightly. "I understand, Your Majesty. It's just that I am going to miss all the friends I made back in Ponyville ... But if this is what best serves Equestria, then I am content to remain in Canterlot."

The alicorn smiled at his willingness to make the best of it. "You will be able to go back to Ponyville and visit them sometimes. And you will make a lot of friends here in Canterlot. Of that I am sure."

"Yes, Your Majesty. I'm sure you are right." There was still a hint of depression in his voice over the new situation. But it was mixed with a feeling of optimism about the new opportunities that would be available for him here in Canterlot—opportunities that never would have been available in Ponyville.

"For now, go get some lunch with Twilight and spend some time together, and then get settled in. We have a guest room ready for you in the castle. We will discuss your future more in the morning," the alicorn smiled reassuringly at him.

"Yes, Your Majesty," he said and knelt before her, bowing again.

She placed a reassuring hoof on his shoulder. "It will be hard at first, but I think you will enjoy life in Canterlot, James," she said comfortingly before taking her hoof off his shoulder again.

He simply nodded slightly at that before rising back to his feet, backing up two steps, turning and walking towards the large double doors again which the unicorns guards opened for him. As he left, the original guard who escorted him to the throne room rejoined him and starting leading him back towards the main foyer of the castle. When they reached the main foyer, he saw Twilight turn to look at him. She smiled, but he could not find the resolve to return her smile as he walked towards her. She turned to go back out to the courtyard and he followed her outside.

"I hope your meeting with Princess Celestia went well. Are you ready to leave? It's going to be dark before we get back to Ponyville as it is. We should leave as soon as possible."

James paused for a few moments before looking at her. "Twilight ... Actually ... I won't be going back with you."

"What?" she blinked looking surprised. "Why?"

"Princess Celestia wants me to stay here."

"Ok ... For how long?"

"Well ... she wants me to move here. So I guess I will only be coming back to Ponyville for visits."

Twilight looked very disappointed. She had really been starting to enjoy his company and the conversations they had with each other. "Did she say why?" she asked after a long pause.

"She said she thought my talents could be better utilized here now that Spike will be returning to the library in a few days. But she didn't give me any specifics yet. She said I should come see you so we could have lunch together or something, then take the rest of the day to get settled in. And that we would discuss my future more in the morning."

The unicorn frowned, looking at the ground. Then her frown was replaced by a look of determination as she stomped her right forehoof on the ground. "I'm going to go talk to her," she said sternly. "I like having you around and I don't want you to leave Ponyville. I'm going to convince her to let you stay there." She turned on her hoof and started marching back towards the castle entrance.

James put a hand on her shoulder to stop her. "No, Twilight."

She stopped. Turned to look up at him, raising an eyebrow.

He looked at the ground, frowning himself for a moment before looking back at her. "She's right. It makes more sense for me to be here. You and I both know that. I'm going to miss all of you, but I will come back for visits when I can."

"... If you are sure ... that's what you want," she said, looking at the ground again and scraping it with her forehoof a little before looking back up at him. "Well, I know a good place for lunch. Let's go I guess," she started slowly trotting off and he followed her.

As the two of them ate lunch, Twilight started giving him tips and pointers as if she were a mother just sending her child off to college for the first time.

"Now remember, best place for breakfast. Pony Joe's. This is one of the best places for lunch ... uh ... There are two trains each day that go to Ponyville. One leaves at 6:30 AM, the next one 1:00 PM. I already told you where the railway station is. But there are signs for it as well in case you get lost. When you need to go shopping, the market over on Trottingham Ave. is usually the best place to go to find fresh produce."

"I got it Twilight," he said, trying to keep up with everything she was telling him.

"Well, I just want to make sure. I grew up here so I know where most things are. Oh, and remember, separate colors when doing wash. And wash the whites separate from the colors—"

James blinked and waved a hand stopping her. "I've been doing my own laundry since I was like seventeen, Twilight. I think I got that part handled," he managed to force a bit of a chuckle.

"Oh ... Right ... Sorry," she looked a bit sheepish as they paid for their meal and walked back towards the chariot. "So I guess I guess I'll ship the rest of your things to you first thing tomorrow," she said, still sounding disappointed as they arrived at the chariot.

"Thank you, Twilight ... I'm really gonna miss you. And everypony else I met in Ponyville ... Please tell them I'm sorry for leaving without saying goodbye."

"I'm going to miss you too, James. And don't worry about the rest of the ponies. They will understand. It wasn't your fault you left without saying goodbye to them. This trip was really short notice, and neither of us knew you wouldn't be coming back to Ponyville."

He nodded slightly and opened the door on the chariot for Twilight—stumbling and nearly falling when she reared up on her hind legs and wrapped her forelegs around his shoulders in a tight hug. For a moment, he felt rather awkward about hugging a pony like this, in public, with many others watching, but he quickly got over it and returned her embrace. He knelt down to make it easier for her so she wouldn't have to stand up on her hind legs. The two of them continued hugging for several more seconds.

"I really enjoyed having you around James, and all of the conversations we had," she said.

"I enjoyed them to, Twi. I'll come visit as soon as I can. I promise."

Then the two of them finally released their embrace. Twilight climbed into the chariot and James closed the door for her. They waved at each other before the pegasi pulling the chariot started off at a gallop, taking off for the sky.

Twilight looked out the window and watched the ground disappear beneath them, sighing and lost—the buildings of Canterlot becoming smaller as the chariot climbed higher into the sky. It was true, Spike would be returning in a few days. But she was still going to miss having James around. Trying to put a positive spin on it though, she thought maybe it was for the best. It would make it much easier to continue her work on trying to come up with the spell to get him home to his own world. Furthermore, she was becoming rather attached to him she realized. If she became too attached, she feared she might stop working on the spell altogether out of an unwillingness to let go of him and send him home. After all, she had almost been unwilling to let him go as it was, and he was just moving to a different city where he would still be able to come visit her. She would have been much less willing to let him go if she knew she would never see or hear from him again. Perhaps then, it was for the best, that the two of them would not be spending very much time together anymore. She sighed again and frowned. The knowledge that it was probably for the best did not make it any easier for her.

James stood at the main entrance to the castle watching the chariot climb higher into the sky as it departed Canterlot. He pulled his heavy winter robe tighter around himself against the chill wind that had started to pick up as the chariot became smaller and smaller—climber ever higher into the sky as it flew further away from the castle. When he could no longer see the chariot, he turned and went back inside. A waiting guard escorted him to his guest room. He thanked the guard, who nodded slightly and then turned to leave, resuming his other duties. James sighed as he sat down on the bed and began to unpack the small bag he had brought with him, placing the extra clothes neatly on the bed. He had been over it several times in his head, and he knew The Princess was right. There weren't many ways for him to use his talents in Ponyville and he would likely be better off here in Canterlot. But that didn't make it any easier to leave his friends in Ponyville—especially Twilight. Here in Canterlot, other than Princess Celestia, he knew nopony at all. And so he was alone again—as alone as he was the day he had first arrived in Equestria.

15 - Into the North

The God Particle

Chapter 15: Into the North

James awoke early the next morning to a cold chill in the room. The fire in the fireplace had burned down to just a few glowing embers sometime in the middle of the night. Shivering, he got out of bed and went over to stoke it back up, turning a few logs over until a flame erupted from them once again. As he added another log, he thought about how he missed some of the small, simple conveniences in life that he had taken for granted back home. Things like central forced air heating with natural gas that never required attention, and never went out in the middle of the night, leaving your room like an icebox in the morning.

The room slowly started to warm back up as he showered, dressed and prepared for his audience with Princess Celestia. He left his room early, fearing that he would need extra time to get lost while trying to find the throne room again. After taking a few wrong turns and getting lost in the large corridors of the castle, he finally stopped a royal guard to ask for help, who graciously led him to the throne room.

"State your name, and business with Her Majesty," a unicorn guard stationed outside the door challenged.

"Dr. James Peterson. I have a scheduled audience with Her Majesty to discuss ... my future here in Canterlot."

"Ah yes. She is expecting you," he responded as he turned along with his companion stationed at the other side of the door. The two of them unlocked the massive doors and they started to swing open.

James entered to see Princess Celestia already seated at the front of the room. He walked to the front, stopping several feet away from the stairs leading up to the throne, before kneeling and bowing, as had become routine when meeting The Princess.

"Good morning, James. I trust you slept well? Please, stand."

"Good morning, Your Majesty," he stoop back up. "Yes, I slept well, thank you."

"You snuck out of the courtyard with my sister last night," the alicorn stated flatly.

He felt a chill run through him as a twinge of fear hit him. "Well ... I ... we ..." he stammered.

She waved a forehoof to stop him. "Relax, James. I'm not upset with you. I know she didn't give you a choice. I've already spoken with her about it."

"How did you find out anyway, Your Majesty?"

"One of my pegasus guards spotted the two of you flying back."

"I see ..." he responded quietly.

"I wish she wouldn't sneak out like that ... I've tried to stop her from doing it, or at least get her to take some guards with her. But, she continues to insist on doing it anyway, and on doing it alone ... I suppose if she wants to take you with her, then I should be grateful that at least she isn't going out alone. So anytime she wants you to go with her, please do so."

"Of course, Your Majesty," he breathed an inaudible sigh of relief that she wasn't angry with him.

"And now that that's out of the way, lets get onto the two reasons I wanted to meet with you this morning. As I mentioned yesterday, I am very impressed with the progress you have made, with your willingness to help out at the school, and the articles you have written with Twilight."

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

Celestia paused for a moment before continuing. "James, I would like to place you in a research and teaching position at the Royal Equestria Academy."

James blinked in surprise. "Your Majesty, I—"

She waved a forehoof to stop him. "This is an offer, not a command. You don't have to accept it if you don't want to. I want you to think about it for a day or two before you give me your answer. It is a position of great prestige. But also one of great responsibility."

James thought back to when he first arrived in Equestria, and what Twilight had told him about The Academy, the fact that faculty were chosen by, and represented The Princess herself, the uniforms, etc. He still wasn't comfortable with the idea. Nevertheless, he would consider it. "I am honored that you consider me for this, Your Majesty."

"I believe you would be a valuable addition to the faculty." She smiled briefly, but then her expression turned to one of seriousness—perhaps more serious than he had ever seen her. She looked to the royal guards—both the ones stationed on either side at the foot of the stairs leading up to the throne, then to the ones guarding the double doors. "Leave us," she commanded, waving them off with her right forehoof.

The guards looked at each other uncomfortably for a moment, but then bowed respectfully to their princess before turning and leaving the throne room, closing the doors with a sound that echoed through the large room. Once they had left, James was alone with The Princess.

She stood up from the throne and walked down the stairs until she was standing directly in front of James. He bowed his head respectfully as she approached him.

"And now we come to the second matter ... There is something I want you to do for me," she spoke in a quieter voice, apparently to ensure that the guards stationed outside of the door wouldn't be able to hear her. "But what I am about to tell you, you mustn't share with anypony. This matter is of a serious enough nature that I will consider it high treason if you were to breach my trust and talk about it to anypony. Even Twilight Sparkle." She stopped and looked at him, her expression indicating she was deadly serious.

He hesitated. Whatever it was, he was sure he did not want to get involved. Clandestine government operations or secrets—especially ones that were so secret, that violating said secrecy would be considered high treason, a crime he knew was punishable by death, was definitely something he wanted nothing to do with. But on the other hand, he felt incredibly honored that The Princess now trusted him enough to even ask him. Despite his misgivings about the way government worked in Equestria, his respect for Princess Celestia had evolved to the point where he did not want to say no to her, even when he was allowed to. Some strong part of him had reached the point where he deeply wanted to serve her. His resolve not to get involved crumbled.

"Of course, Your Majesty. You have my word that this will remain secret ... What would you have me do, Your Majesty?"

"There's a small research outpost far to the north. Much further north than even the town of Whitepony. There are three science ponies up there doing climate research. A couple of days ago, I sensed some kind of energy disturbance coming from the far north. The researchers were supposed to check in yesterday in Whitepony, but they never showed up there. I want you to go up there and see if you can figure out what caused the disturbance, as well as see if you can find out what became of the researchers."

James listened intently, and hesitated before responding. "Your Majesty ... I'm a research analyst for the most part. I spend my days working inside a research lab ... I'm not a field scientist."

"Well, it's never too late to try new things, is it?" she smiled slightly at him. "And besides, you won't be going alone. There's a unicorn that works at the Academy. Theory Point is her name. She's very intelligent and I'm sure you will get along well with her. I want her to go with you."

"Yes, Your Majesty" he stated flatly, resigning himself to the fact that any further attempts to get out of this would likely be futile.

The alicorn's horn glowed slightly as she levitated a sealed scroll over to him, which he took out of the air. "I have not spoken with her. These are orders for Theory Point to go with you. Given the secret nature of what I am having you do, they do not explain anything. I want you to fill her in while you are on the way up there. You leave in one hour. One of my chariots will be waiting for you in the courtyard. It will be unmarked and the pegasi pulling it will not be wearing normal Royal Guard armor."

"Yes, Your Majesty,"

Her horn glowed again as she levitated a small cloth sack over to him, tied shut with a string. "There should be enough bits in here to pay for anything you need up there. Normally, if it were royal business, they would just charge it to The Crown. But again, I don't want you to attract unnecessary attention so I want you to pay with bits. That will be all for now. Go find Theory Point. She should be in the engineering building at the Academy."

"Of course, Your Majesty," he took the glowing sack out of the air, which stopped glowing when Celestia released her magic from it. He bowed low to her again before backing up a few steps and then turning, walking towards the large doors leading out of the throne room.

"Oh, and James?"

"Yes, Your Majesty?" he stopped, turning around again to face her again.

"Make sure you dress warm. It's extremely cold up there."

"I will, Your Majesty," he bowed to her again before turning once more and knocking on the large double doors. The guards on the other side opened one of the doors. He exited, heading for the grand foyer, and then out to the court yard, following the signs to the Academy.

As he walked towards The Academy, pulling his robe around himself against the chill morning air, he thought about the offer Celestia had made him to join the research and teaching faculty. On one hand he was overwhelmed by the offer. But on the other hand, he almost wished she hadn't asked him. Part of him really wanted to say no. He was still sure he didn't like an education system where all of the faculty were chosen by the monarchs themselves. But if he said no, what else would he do here? It was a chance to make a good life for himself here in Canterlot, as well as a chance for him to continue his research. And even if he wasn't fully comfortable with it, could he actually say no to Princess Celestia? Even if she was allowing him to say no?

He pushed that thought to the back of his mind as he arrived on the Academy's campus, following the signs to the engineering building. Students milled about the open areas, some going between classes, occasionally giving him odd looks. Multiple faculty members, all uniformed, also rushed between the various buildings in a hurry to make sure they got to whatever class they had to teach on time. The engineering building was of a Romanesque architecture that could have been designed by Gundulf himself. There were four stories to the main part of the building. On each corner of the building, a tower rose up containing eight stories. Carved stone spires reached to the sky from the top of the towers, the banners of Celestia and Luna flying on top of each point.

James walked under the high stone archway to the main doors of the building, entering and finding a sign pointing in the direction of the faculty offices. Reaching the hallway with the offices, we walked down the corridor until he found an office with her name on it. A note hanging on the door said she was in the physics lab. "Great, now I have to try to find that," he said to himself as he turned around and retraced his steps back to the entrance and following the guidance of a different sign.

Eventually, he came to the physics lab and peered through the window in the door. Inside, he saw a white unicorn with a black mane that was tied into a bun at the back of her head. She wore a more functional version of the dress uniform that he had seen other faculty ponies wearing. He assumed the uniform she was wearing now was standard lab attire since dress uniform wouldn't be practical in the lab. On her flank, was a cutie mark of several small balls orbiting around a nucleus in the center that reminded him very much of the symbol of the old Atomic Energy Commission where he was from. He opened the door, standing at the entrance.

"You must be Theory Point?"

She looked up from the lab station she was working at. "I am, and I assume you must be James? I've been looking forward to eventually getting to meet you. I read the journal articles you wrote with Twilight. Very impressive work," she smiled at him.

"It's nice to meet you too," he nodded.

Her eyes went down at his hand and noticed the scroll he was carrying with Princess Celestia's royal seal on it. "Orders directly from The Princess herself? She must like you."

"Well ... to go to the North climate research outpost. The one north of Whitepony."

She raised an eyebrow, "She's sending you up there?" she shook her head slightly. "Then again, maybe she doesn't like you. Better you than me," she snickered a bit, going back to work at the lab station, her forehooves resting on the table as she stood on her hind legs.

James shook his head and walked over to her, unrolling the scroll and moving to stand behind her. "Yeah, don't get too happy yet, my equine colleague." He reached his arm over her shoulder and dangled the now open scroll in front of her muzzle. "You're going with me," he snickered back at her now.

Her horn glowed as she took hold of the scroll with her magic, holding it in front of her and reading it as James took several steps backwards now and waited for her to finish.

Her eyes moved back and forth as she scanned the text, her eyes getting wide and her jaw dropping. "What! What! She's sending me up there?" her horn stopped glowing and she dropped the scroll.

"It's only for a day or two. I'll fill you in on the details once we are on the way. She did say that this is completely secret and all. And that if we talk about it with anypony it will be considered high treason. So yeah ... keep your muzzle shut I guess," he chuckled. "Anyway, meet me in the castle courtyard in about forty-five minutes."

"Forty-five minutes? She doesn't believe in giving us much time to prepare, does she ..." the unicorn griped.

"She has her reasons. You will understand more once we are in the air and I can fill you in on the details." He turned and left, going back to the castle and returning to his guest room to pack the warmest clothes he had available.

After he finished packing, he went back downstairs and outside again. A rather plain looking unmarked chariot was waiting for him. Thankfully, it was a covered one. A couple of minutes later, Theory Point showed up, two saddle bags strapped to her back and still looking none to happy about having to on this little excursion. He opened the door on the chariot for her, followed her in, and then secured the door. The chariot began to move, leaving the courtyard. The pegasi pulling it sped up to a fast trot before taking to the sky, James watching the ground disappear beneath them again. Once they were a few hundred feet in the air, the pegasi made a right turn and began flying north.

Once they were on their way, James relayed everything that Princess Celestia had told him to the white unicorn traveling with him.

"What did she mean by 'sensed some kind of energy disturbance'?" she asked him.

James shrugged slightly. "You are the unicorn here. I was hoping you could answer that. I just assumed it was some kind of Star Wars-esque Jedi 'I sense a great disturbance in the force' type thing."

"... A what?" the unicorn looked at him oddly.

"It's uh ... well a series of stories from my home. I'll tell you about them some other time."

She gave a slight nod. "Anyway, I'm not that much into magic really. I know that probably sounds strange for a unicorn. But I prefer to focus on science and just use what little magic I have to in order to make my job easier."

James looked out the window of the chariot again. As they continued to fly further north, cities gave way to small towns. Eventually, even the small towns became rare, giving way to dense coniferous forests. Still further north, the green pine trees gave way to white, frost covered ones. A dense white blanket covered the ground as they reached the point where the first snows of the winter had already fallen. Eventually, even the dense pine forests began to thin out, giving way to snow powder covered tundra, dotted here and there by smaller pine forests in the few areas that were hospitable enough to support life. Gray clouds began to dart underneath them as they continued further north, like giant cotton balls that had been used for chimney sweeping. Then the ground disappeared completely underneath them as the broken clouds gave way to complete overcast.

James sighed slightly and looked back from the window, looking at the white unicorn seated across from him now.

"Nervous?" she asked him, apparently able to sense a growing tension in him, like Princess Luna had mentioned.

"A little concerned about how we are going to safely get down through this soup. Or how the pegasi are even going to find the outpost for that matter without getting lost. Pegasi navigate primarily by visuals don't they?"

"They have a natural compass ... Kind of like certain migratory birds. So they can navigate by dead-reckoning when they can't see the ground."

"Doesn't the wind still throw them off?"

"Nah. They are very sensitive to the feel of changing wind currents against their bodies. So they can correct appropriately."

"Fascinating," he said, truly impressed. "Still doesn't explain how they are safely going to get down through these clouds. What if they hit another ... flying thing? Or smack into a building or something? Cause they can't see in the clouds?"

The unicorn chuckled. "Up there? At that outpost? Trust me, there won't be anything else in the air to hit. And there's nothing on the ground tall enough to hit either. It's an arctic wasteland—Mostly barren tundra. I'd almost say The Princess is testing your loyalty by sending you up there," she smirked.

"What do you mean?" he looked at her quizzically.

"I mean that nopony would blame you if you ran as far away from Canterlot as you possibly can once you get back. To make sure she could never send you on another ... errand ... like this one again," she snickered.

"Thanks ... that makes me feel so much better about this assignment," he responded sarcastically.

James noticed it was starting to get darker in the chariot. He looked out the window again. A second cloud layer was starting to appear above them, leaving them flying between two cloud layers. The sun began to become a dim haze behind the thickening cloud layer above them, eventually fading completely as the rays could no longer penetrate the gray clouds. Light snow flakes started to dance and swirl around the chariot. The ride, which had been smooth up until now, started to become rough, like driving on an unpaved surface as they encountered cold air turbulence from the snow storm they were entering. Before long, the light, dancing snowflakes had given way to driving near blizzard like conditions.

Just as he was about to wonder aloud whether the pegasi could safely fly in this, he felt the pressure change in his ears, indicating the chariot had started to descend. The cloud layer beneath them skimmed the bottom of the chariot now, occasionally dropping visibility down to zero as the chariot skirted in and out of the gray muddle. As they continued their decent, they entered the cloud layer fully, the inside of the chariot becoming even less illuminated as they descended further into the lower layer of clouds. He felt the chariot start to circle. Looking down again, he could see that they were descending through a hole in the clouds, as if a tunnel had been carved out of the gray scud for them to go through. Looking to the side, he could see that a pegasus weather pony had joined them, escorting them down through the clouds and clearing a path for them. Well, that's an interesting and innovative way of solving the problem of how we get down, he thought to himself. He watched the pegasus work, who seemed to really have his/her hooves full trying to keep up, since they were working alone.

Soon he could see faint lights through the snow, which slowly began to shine brighter, like a lighthouse guiding a ship to shore. As they got closer to the ground, more lights became visible, and eventually, the snow covered roofs of buildings. "I don't think this is the research outpost," he said, turning away from the window to look at Theory Point again.

She looked out the window for a moment, then looked back at him. "It's the town of Whitepony. The pegasi probably decided the weather is getting to bad to fly all the way to the outpost. That means we are stuck here for the night."

"I thought the pegasi controlled the weather? Can't they just ... clear the route for us?"

"This far north? There are no weather pegasi stationed this far north. The one that cleared the hole for us to get down through is probably a mail pony who is just helping out so we can get down. Up here? The weather pretty much just does what it wants, and the ponies just let it happen."

He simply nodded slightly, looking out the window again as the ground rose up to meet them. Then there was a small jolt as the chariot touched down and gradually came to a stop. He opened the door on the chariot once it had stopped and immediately regretted it. Icy wind and snow forced its way inside, hitting him and piercing him like a thousand frozen needles. He looked down at the ground to shield himself from the wind and biting snow before stepping down from the chariot, his feet immediately sinking into several inches of snow. He held the door open for the unicorn, for it would have blown back shut from the wind had he not. She stepped out as well. They walked around to the front of the chariot. The two white pegasi that had pulled it were looking none to happy about having to come up here either. One of them looked at James and Theory.

"This is far as we go."

"You mean tonight, right? You'll take us the rest of the way tomorrow?" James questioned.

"No, I mean this is as far as we go, period. There's a couple of pegasi that live up here. Ice Breaker and Storm Treader are their names. You'll have to work out a price with them yourselves to get you up to the outpost and back. You will find them in the Red Dragon Inn and Tavern most likely," he pointed at a building with his forehoof. "Do not ask any other ponies to take you up, or even tell any other ponies where you are going. Only them," he warned.

James, nodded politely to the pegasus. "Thank you, sir." Then he turned to look at the building that the pegasus had pointed out. The structure in question was of a two story log cabin type construction and had a rustic appearance. Faint glows could be seen in the two windows on the front of the building, which were completely frosted over, partially covered with caked snow. A small wooden sign hanging above the door swayed back and forth in the wind. The harsh weather had not been kind to it, leaving it badly faded and partially covered with snow. A weather faded painting of a red chinese style dragon wrapped around a glass orb adorned the surface of the sign. The glass orb appeared to have once been lighted. But now it sat dark, nopony thinking it was worth changing the lightbulb after it had burned out apparently. Underneath the main sign, connected to it by two small hanging chains, was another smaller sign that read simply, Rooms available.

He looked around at the rest of the town, although he couldn't see very far due to the increasing storm reducing visibility. The rest of the structures were similar to the Red Dragon—mostly one or two story log construction with tall chimneys to ensure they didn't get covered with snow. The roofs were pitched at a steep angle to make pulling snow off of them easier. The few chariots and wagons that he saw were all on skis instead of wheels to make moving over the snow easier.

"James, Let's go inside. It's freezing out here," Theory motioned towards the Red Dragon and started trotting towards it, her hooves sinking into the snow.

He was broken out of his sightseeing, and followed her, trudging through the snow and up the four stairs to the Red Dragon, following her inside.

The interior of the building was just as rustic as the outside. The walls consisted of the same logs that he had seen outside. On two sides of the room, large stone fireplaces flickered and crackled, locked in a struggle against the driving cold and wind outside which pounded against the doors and windows, trying to invade. Next to the fireplace on the right side of the room, a set of crudely built wooden stairs led to an upper loft. Along the wall of the loft were four wooden doors, which James assumed must be the guest rooms. At the front of the room they were in, was a wooden bar with several stools. Crudely carved wooden tables were scattered about the room, arranged in no particular order, along with simple wooden chairs.

Several of the patrons turned to look at them as they entered, some giving them cold looks of disapproval. The ponies up here were different from any James had seen before. Their fur was thicker and longer than the other ponies he had seen—an adaptation to the cold climate, he assumed. All of them had a rough, unkempt look to them.

"What's with the stuck-up academic from Canterlot and her furless monkey stooge?" one of the ponies at the bar spoke in a gruff voice to his friend next to him, using a voice that was intentionally loud enough to make sure the apparently unwelcome visitors from Canterlot could hear it.

That elicited mocking laughter from some of the other clientele at the bar. This place definitely seemed to be rough—the kind of place where fights were likely to break out with little provocation.

Theory Point narrowed her eyes, glaring towards the pony at the bar that had mocked her, lowering her head slightly, pointing her horn at him. James put a hand gently on her withers and spoke quietly so only she could hear, with a hint of nervousness in his voice.

"Keep your cool ... We can't take on all of them ... And I'd rather not get bucked in the face or trampled and I'm pretty sure you'd rather not either. Lets not pick a fight with them."

He felt her withers loosen up a bit as she calmed down, her head rising back up and her eyes returning to something that resembled normal, but still hinting at displeasure.

The two of them walked over to the bar, still getting disapproving glances from some of the patrons, which had James pretty on edge. They sat down at one end of it, far away from the other clientele. Reluctantly, the bartender, a gruff looking unicorn with long brown fur came over to them.

"So what do you two interlopers want?" he spoke in an almost growling voice.

Theory Point looked at him disapprovingly. "You got any special drinks that aren't on the menu?" she asked in a slightly cocky and accusing tone of voice, causing James to wince slightly.

The bartender narrowed his eyes at her. "Just what are you accusing me of? I run a legal establishment. I ain't got no booze here. Inspected randomly and on a surprise basis by The Princess's Royal Guards for any alcohol on the premises. They ain't never found none ... Maybe I oughta just have to the two of you beaten and thrown out of here?"

James interjected before Theory could cause any more trouble. "We'll uh ... just both have a hot apple cider."

The bartender glared at James now. "I ain't got no hard cider you know. Just the nonalcoholic stuff."

"Right ... The nonalcoholic stuff is what we want," James responded nervously.

The bartender gave a simple grunt in response and clopped over to his tapped cider barrels to pour their drinks.

"Pleasant fellow, isn't he," Theory said sarcastically.

"What the hay is wrong with you?" James snapped at her in a quiet voice, giving her an incredulous glare. "Are you trying to get us kicked out of here? Or beaten up and then kicked out of here?"

"What? I was just trying to intimidate him a little bit ... You know, so he'd give us some respect, thinking that we could go back to Canterlot and report anything that wasn't on the up and up," she protested.

"I don't think he was intimidated," James deadpanned. "Look, we are both academic, introverted scientists. That means we are both a few straws short of a hay bale when it comes to social skills ... But from now on? How about I do the talking here?"

She flicked her tail a couple of times. "Suit yourself," she nodded.

The bartender came back with two steaming hot mugs of apple cider magically floating above him, which he unceremoniously set down in front of them.

James nodded his thanks. "We are also going to need two rooms for the night."

"Seventy bits each, you pay in advance. And three bits each for your drinks," the bartender responded flatly.

James reached into the bag he was carrying and pulled out 146 bits, plus a tip for the bartender. He placed it on the counter in front of him. "Also, we are looking for two pegasi. Ice Breaker and Storm Treader are their names."

"They're over there," the bartender pointed towards a table in the back corner. "Your rooms are the second and third ones up the stairs. No private bathrooms. Shared one at the end of the hall. You ain't out of them by ten tomorrow morning, you pay for an extra night."

James nodded in thanks again. "Thank you, sir," he stood up from the bar, grabbing his mug of cider and walking over towards the table the bartender had indicated, Theory Point following him. The two pegasi in question looked just as gruff as the rest of the patrons, if not more so. They both had long, thick fur of a dark brown color, their manes long and unkempt. Rugged mountain stallion or bush pilot look to them. James suspected aviation rules meant nothing to them, and aviation safety probably didn't mean much more, as long as it meant a few extra bits in their saddle bags.

The two of them looked up from their drinks, giving James and his unicorn companion a dirty look. One of them scoffed and spoke roughly. "Yeah? What do you two cityiots want?"

Theory Point narrowed her eyes again, James once more putting a hand on her withers gently to calm her. "We want to talk business," he responded flatly.

"What kind of business?" the pegasus responded.

"We need passage ... to the climate research outpost," James said flatly again.

"The outpost, huh ... Sure, we can fly you up there. But it'll cost you."

"How much?"

"Eight hundred bits round trip for the both of you."

"Eight hundred? That's ridiculous! Four hundred," James countered.

"Eight hundred," the pegasus responded flatly again.

"Five hundred."

"Eight hundred."

"Five fifty?"

"Eight hundred," the pegasus insisted again.

James sighed in frustration. He felt a tug on his arm as Theory Point wrapped a foreleg under his elbow and gave a slight pull. He looked at her and she motioned to an unoccupied area of the room, away from the table.

"Allow me to confer with my colleague," James responded, following his unicorn companion to the area she had indicated.

"Of course. Take your time," the pegasus responded, waving them off boredly with a forehoof.

Once they were in an area where the two pegasi couldn't here them, Theory Point spoke. "Maybe we should try telling them we will find some other pegasi to get us up there."

James shook his head slightly. "The Royal Guard was clear. We are only to ask these two."

"That's true. But they don't know that. We can at least threaten to find some other pegasi."

James smiled a bit. "Good point. I'll give it a shot," the two of them walked back to the table. He looked at the pegasus he had been talking to again. "Perhaps there is some other pony we should be talking to."

The pegasus snickered a bit. "You're welcome to try. You won't find anypony. We're the only two pegasi crazy enough to fly you that far north."

Well, that worked well, James thought sarcastically. "Crazy, enough huh? That's so reassuring," he responded sarcastically. "Six hundred, final offer."

The pegasus glared at him. "You wouldn't survive half a day up here on your own, you furless primate. And nopony wants you here anyway. And that goes for your prissy academic unicorn friend as well. The only way you are getting up to that outpost is if we fly you up there. If we don't, then you ain't going anywhere. So Eight hundred. Take it or leave it. If you leave it, you ain't going nowhere!"

James sighed and looked at the floor, his own frustration and anger growing now. He stared at the floor, emotion boiling up inside of him. Finally, he looked back up and glared back at the pegasus. "You know what? You are right. I couldn't survive up here on my own. And I don't want to be here. I don't want to be here anymore than you want me to be here. I hate it up here. But I'm not leaving until me and my companion get up to that outpost. So you are stuck with me until then. So the sooner you and I can agree on a reasonable price, the sooner you can be rid of me. And the sooner I can be out of this Celestia forsaken shit hole and on my way back to Canterlot! And the happier both of us will be!" James finished his tirade, during which he had managed to keep his voice low enough so only the two pegasi and Theory Point could hear, and glared at the pegasus.

Both of the pegasi stared back at him with dumbfounded expressions on their faces. Even Theory Point had a look of surprise on her face. The pegasus he had been talking to finally looked at his companion who hesitated for a moment, then gave a slight nod. Then he looked back at James again.

"Alright, we'll do it for six hundred. But you pay for both ways of the trip in advance."

"Deal," James extended a hand, the pegasus doing the same with a forehoof, the two of them shaking on it.

"Assuming this storm has cleared out, we leave at seven in the morning, sharp. If it hasn't, we ain't going nowhere. Even we ain't crazy enough to fly up there in this kind of weather. We leave at seven sharp. That means we better see you two down here and ready to go by six-forty-five."

James nodded "Thank you, sirs. Pleasure doing business with you," he started to walk back to the bar, Theory Point giving a slight nod to the pegasi as well and then walking back to the bar with James.

"Wow, James. I didn't think you had it in you," she chuckled over the way he had ranted at the pegasus.

The bartender was over at one of the fireplaces, stoking the glowing embers until a flame leapt forth from them once again. He levitated a couple of more logs with his magic and placed them on the fire, the stone hearth giving forth warmth once more. He returned to the bar. "You two need something else?" he said, still just as gruff and seemingly displeased as before.

"What do you have to eat around here?" James asked.

"You have your choice of vegetarian chili and a roll, or vegetarian chili and a roll. So what'll it be?"

"... I guess we'll take the vegetarian chili and a roll then."

The bartender simply grunted again and disappeared through a door into the kitchen to get their meals.

Theory Point turned towards James as they waited. "So are you staying in Canterlot long term?"

"It looks that way. The Princess offered me a research and teaching position at the Academy."

"Oh?" the unicorn smiled. "And you told her?"

"I haven't told her anything yet. I wanted to think about it for a bit."

"You'd love it at the Academy. And we could certainly benefit from somepony or uh ... someone of your background. I read your bio in the journal. Your background and qualifications are very impressive."

"Thanks," he smiled a bit at her compliment. "I don't know though ... I mean the whole formality of it all—the uniforms and such. I just don't know if I'd do well in that kind of military like environment."

"You get used to it. And the uniforms do have their advantages. After all, they make it easy to figure out what you are going to wear every morning. And you don't have to worry about all the stuck-ups in Canterlot criticizing your fashion sense cause you wore the wrong thing or chose colors that didn't match," she giggled.

He snickered at that. "Well, that's a good point I guess."

"I hope you decide to join us. I'd really enjoy working with you," she smiled.

"Well, I'll take everything you said into consideration when deciding."

The bartender returned from the kitchen, using his horn to levitate two steaming bowls of chili along with rolls onto the bar in front of them. "Ten bits," he grunted.

James nodded and reached into the bag he was carrying, pulling out enough bits to pay the bartender. "Please make sure somepony wakes us up at six tomorrow morning," he looked at the bartender, who simply grunted an acknowledge and nodded his head slightly before walking off to attend to other duties.

The two of them consumed the chili and rolls in silence now. It was pretty mediocre by any standards, but James suspected the rough patrons up here probably were not too picky about what they ate. The rolls were slightly dry, tasting like they had probably been made a couple of days ago. The chili was bland and didn't have enough spices. But at least it was warm and helped take off some of the chill from having been outside and in the unheated chariot. Once they had finished, they got up and went upstairs.

"I'll see you in the morning, Theory."

"You too. Good night, James," she responded, the two of them entering their rooms.

Actually, the room was more like a closet then a room, given how small it was. It was sparsely and simply furnished—a far cry from the opulence of the Canterlot Castle guest rooms. Against one wall was a single bed that looked like it had seen better days, off-white linens and an olive drab blanket that probably should have been replaced years ago. Given the faded color of the linens, he didn't even want to think about when the last time they had been washed was, or how many guests had slept in them since then. Along the opposite wall was a small dresser, with a mirror hanging above it. In the corner a small round wooden table with one chair. There were no windows in the room, the only light in the room provided by a single dim bulb hanging from a cord running out of the ceiling in the center of the room. A small potbelly wood burning stove sat in the corner of the room opposite the table. There was no heat coming from it right now, but there was a small pile of wood, some paper for kindling, and some matches stacked against the wall a little ways away from the stove. Apparently, guests were expected to kindle their own fires. Fortunately, despite the cold outside, enough heat from the main floor downstairs reached the open second level that it was not freezing in the room, although it was still cold.

James decided to forego starting a fire in the stove and just sleep with warm clothes on and cover up instead. He pulled back the covers on the bed and laid down, quickly discovering the mattress was little more than a casing stuffed with straw, the pillow a real feather pillow. Like the kind they used to have on earth before real feather pillows were replaced by synthetics. He pulled the covers over him and thought more about the offer Celestia had made him to join the Academy staff. The Academy still seemed to military for his tastes, from what he knew of it. He was still of the opinion that it taught indoctrination rather than free thinking. Because of that, he wasn't sure it was one he wanted to support. On the other hand, both Celestia and Theory Point seemed to believe there was a lot he would be able to contribute there. The opportunity to get back into research would definitely be welcome. And he did enjoy teaching—both during his guest lectures at Northwestern University back home, and when he had substituted for the schoolhouse in Ponyville. Also, a faculty position in Canterlot would definitely allow him to have a good life there and be well respected in Canterlot society. He had time though. No need to make any hasty decisions. He had at least until they got back to Canterlot to think about it. He turned of the light and pilled the covers over himself a little more, finally drifting off to sleep as he thought about where they would be going tomorrow—what they might encounter and find out.

16 - The Outpost

Author's note: Sorry for the long delay all. Been having some other things going on that have kept me somewhat distracted from writing. Anyway, here is chapter 16. Hope you all enjoy it, and thanks so much for your patience. I'm hoping by next week I will be able to pick up the pace and get chapters out quicker and on a more regular basis.

The God Particle

Chapter 16: The Outpost

"Wake up!" James awoke to the rude sound of a hoof pounding on his door roughly, a gruff voice telling him to get up. It was a female voice this time, but just as brusque sounding as the stallion tending the bar last night had been. Well, at least they remembered to wake us up. Guess I can't complain about it too much, he thought to himself. He yawned, climbing out of bed before he had a chance to fall back asleep. He hadn't slept well—the spartan accommodations here making even his simple guest room at the Ponyville library seem like luxury by comparison. A dull thudding on the door next to his room suggested Theory Point was getting the same rude awakening he had just gotten.

He quickly changed into his winter day clothes, then opened the door, making a quick stop at the bathroom at the end of the hall. The bathtub in it had no shower head, the faucet appeared to have only a cold water valve. A sign on the wall next to the tub read Ask bartender for hot water. That settled that. There would be no time for bathing this morning. He settled for a quick face wash and combing his hair instead. As he left the bathroom, he passed Theory Point, who was heading towards it. Her mane had not been straightened or tied into the bun she wore yesterday yet. She didn't look like she had fared much better than he had last night. Her uniform was still unbuttoned, having been thrown on with little care for appearances. No doubt, she would have been reprimanded in Canterlot if she were seen in a public area wearing the uniform so sloppily.

"Morning, James," she mumbled as she continued towards the bathroom.

"Morning, Theory," he grumbled back. "I take it you didn't sleep well either?"

"In this dilapidated throwback to pre-classical era peasant accommodations?" She scoffed. "I hardly slept at all." She walked past him and into bathroom.

He continued to the other end of the hall, yawning again as he descended the staircase. The main floor, which had been bustling with activity the previous night, was now deserted. The windows were still covered in frost and caked with snow, he couldn't see out of them. He finished descending the stairs, glad for the warmth coming from the two stone fireplaces, the chill from the cold air upstairs starting to leave him.

He opened the wooden door, having to force it against the significant amount of new snow that had accumulated outside of it, its hinges protesting about a lack of oil with a squeaking sound. Immediately, the icy air assailed him, causing him to shiver slightly, his breath visible in the air. Looking outside, the snow had mostly stopped, the blizzard having given way to light flurries dancing in the wind. The sky was still overcast hiding the rising sun behind it, but visibility was good. There was probably a foot, maybe more, of new snowfall accumulation.

"You best stop letting all my warm air out unless you want to end up out there in a snow drift with my hoof print on your face," said a rough female voice from behind, startling him.

"Sorry," he responded apologetically, closing the door again. "I was just checking to see if the snow had stopped."

He turned and walked over to the bar. A charcoal gray furred earth pony stood behind it. Like most of the ponies up here, she had longer fur than the ponies in other parts of Equestria. Stocky and muscular, she was clearly no stranger to hard work. Her long midnight black mane hung down over her withers, her deep hazel eyes boring into him as if trying to read his soul—eyes that hinted of the kind of wisdom that cannot be learned in academia, but only gained through experiencing the world. She was older them him, in her mid fifties he guessed, probably twice his age. The left side of her withers bore a scar, slightly visible even under the long fur, her right ear torn down the middle—an old injury that had never received proper medical attention and been stitched back together. Work related, he suspected. She was probably no stranger to throwing unruly patrons out of the bar herself.

He sat down at the bar and tried to make smalltalk. "Was that your husband working last night?"

"Yes, it was," she said flatly.

He nodded. "Sleeping now from working late last night?"

She gave him a menacing glare. "He's at the market stocking up on food for tomorrow's weekend rush. We are happily married and I ain't no whore. So get rid of any ideas you got in your head right now."

He blinked, completely taken aback by her response. It took him a few moments to recover. "That's ... not what I meant ... Not at all." He looked down at the top of the bar.

"Even if it ain't, don't get any ideas of robbing me either just cause he ain't here. I'm more than capable of defending myself and taking care of outsiders like you."

He had no doubt she was more than capable of backing up her claims. "Ma'am, I'm not—" she cut him off.

"Ponies up here are leery of outsiders. Especially academics. And even more especially, academics from Canterlot—especially when they are ones that dropped in from some other world or wherever you came from." Her hazel eyes narrowed and drilled into him again. "We don't want you here! And we don't want your unicorn friend here either!" she said, raising her voice somewhat.

He cringed as she unleashed her venomous tirade on him, even leaning backwards on his stool to put more distance between them. He looked at the floor for several long seconds, staring at the wood grain and cracks in it, rubbing his forehead a couple of time with two fingers, at a loss for words how to respond to her. Finally, he looked back up at her, a look of placation, and understanding in his eyes. "Look ... Ma'am ... I promise you I'm not here to cause any trouble. Nor am I looking for any ... Can I just get some hot tea please? To take the morning chill out of my bones?"

She blinked twice, then gave a cackled laugh. "Tea? This ain't one of your prissy Canterlot boutiques! We ain't got tea here. All we got is coffee. And only straight. None of them fancy drinks."

His eyes lit up. It had been more than three months since he had a nice cup of coffee. "You have coffee here? I kind of assumed ... there was no coffee in Equestria."

"There ain't no coffee in Canterlot. Those ponies consider coffee a peasant beverage for folk who aren't sophisticated enough to appreciate tea." She took a covered tin can of coffee off the shelf and started to boil water for it. The logo on the can was a painting of a midnight black alicorn with an ethereal purple mane and tail rearing up on her hind legs. James recognized it as Nightmare Moon from a drawing in one of Twilight's books. Underneath the logo, written in a gothic type calligraphy were the words Nightmare Brand Coffee.

"So why is it called Nightmare Brand Coffee?" he looked at her curiously.

"Well, local legend is that it was created by Nightmare Moon or Princess Luna herself to keep ponies awake at night and stop them from being able to sleep. Of course, the legend probably ain't true. But either way, a couple cups of this stuff? And you will be awake all night."

Once the water had started to boil, she removed the kettle from the stove and began to strain it through the coffee grounds. The aroma of brewing coffee started to fill the room—an aroma he had not had the pleasure of experiencing for several months now. It reminded him of the book store back home in Chicago—the one with the coffee shop in it where he had spent much of his free time when he wasn't in the lab.

The sounds of a door closing upstairs, and James looked up to the second level to see Theory Point walking towards the stairs. She started walking down them, her mane and tail well groomed now, her uniform pressed and neat, a very different look from her disheveled appearance earlier. He nodded to her. "She's making coffee for us. They don't have any tea. Weather looks ok. Overcast and a little windy. Light flurries. But shouldn't stop us from flying."

"Coffee?" the unicorn responded. "Peasant beverage. They don't have any tea I take it?" she said, confirming Canterlot's feelings about the beverage and earning a scowl from the bartender.

"Oh come on, I used to live off the stuff back home. It's great," he protested, wishing that Theory Point would stop going out of her way to make the animosity between them and the local populace worse than it already was.

The coffee finished brewing, the bartender pouring two steaming mugs of and setting them in front of the human and the unicorn. "five bits," she stated flatly. James nodded in response and retrieved some bits out of his bag, making sure to give her a generous tip as a show of good will.

The two of them sipped the coffee, James continuing to savor the aroma. The coffee was of a light roast, resembling a New England Roast. It was definitely not the best coffee he had ever had, being too acidic, and brewed too strongly, but nor was it the worst. He wasn't about to be picky though, given he had been deprived of coffee entirely for the last several months.

The door opened, a cold blast of arctic air charing through it as the hinges complained in protest. The pegasi that had agreed to fly them to the outpost walked in, carelessly tracking snow into the building as they didn't bother to wipe their hooves on the mats. The bartender gave them an annoyed glare, but they didn't seem to notice, or didn't care enough to apologize. Both of them looked as gruff as they had the previous day.

"We leave in fifteen minutes. Assuming you got the bits," the one named Ice Breaker stated unceremoniously.

"Yeah, I got them," James responded, pulling out a cloth sack tied off with a piece of yarn at at the top , handing it over to the pegasi who took it with his mouth and shoved it into one of his saddle bags.

"You aren't going to count it?" James raised an eyebrow curiously.

"I'll count it after we get you up there," the pegasus responded gruffly. "I doubt you two would try to stiff us. Cause if you do? We simply won't come back to get you and will just leave you stranded up there."

"Fair enough," he nodded.

"We'll see you out there shortly than." The two pegasi turned and went back outside, letting another frigid blast of chill air in, causing James to shiver despite the warm clothes he had on and the steaming cup of coffee he was currently sipping.

The human and the unicorn quickly finished their coffee in silence, which had cooled enough that they could drink it faster now. As they finished, James thanked the bartender for her hospitality, to which she only responded with a disapproving grunt that had a hint of relief in it that she would finally be rid of them. Then, James and Theory proceeded outside, the frigid north wind cutting through their clothing as soon as had left the inn.

The chariot waiting for them was at the opposite end of luxury than the chariots in Canterlot. It was more like a buggy than a chariot, on skis instead of wheels. Constructed primarily of wood, it was weather beaten and appeared to have seen better days. One thing of interest though, a small chimney coming up from the cabin. Was it heated? He hoped so. But more important, was it even air worthy? Air worthy or not, it appeared to be the only way they would be getting to the outpost. He opened the door for Theory Point, who climbed in and sat on the unfurnished wooden floor. He climbed in after her, pulling the door shut and locking the biting wind outside, sitting down on the floor next to her, for there were no seats or benches in the primitive buggy. A small wood burning stove and stack of firewood next to it confirmed his suspicions that the chariot had a primitive heating system installed though. It was already burning, giving the otherwise primitive chariot a cozy feel to it. The two gruff pegasi took a brief running start, kicking up the freshly powered snow around them. Then they took to the air, turned, and headed north.

James looked out the window, using the opportunity to take in a part of Equestria he had never seen before. As the chariot climbed higher, the town faded from view as they passed beyond its edge. Coniferous forests eventually gave way to pure white flat tundra. Turbulent air, combined with the white cloud layer above that obscured the horizon give him no reference to tell which was up or down, causing him to get a sense of horizon inversion and vertigo.

"So you thought anymore about whether you are going to join the Academy?" the unicorn asked, bringing diverting his attention away from the window.

"I'm still thinking about it. I'll probably have a decision by the time we get back and report whatever it is we find to The Princess."

"It pays well. It's prestigious. And you will have access to be best research facilities in all of Equestria if you join," she added.

He didn't respond, but smiled inwardly. It was clear she really wanted him to join, and was impressed with what little she knew about his past research.

The two of them spent the next hour or so comparing and discussing the latest developments in quantum mechanics and other such topics of theoretical physics. It was amazing how often his own world and Equestria had independently arrived at the same conclusions. Of course, in some areas, they had vastly different ideas and shared alternative hypotheses and ideas. After a lengthy discussion, they simply sat in silence, each with their own thoughts.

He wasn't sure how much more time had passed before building pressure in his ears told him that the pegasi had begun their descent. He looked out the window again. Directly below them, nothing but cold barren tundra. Further out, very small groves of hearty evergreens stood in defiance of the harsh climate. Turning his head to see as best he could towards the front of them, tundra gave way to ice shelves, which eventually gave way to open water, dotted here and there with sheets of floating ice and large bergs.

"I'm not familiar with the geography of this part of Equestria." He turned back to look at the unicorn again. "Haven't even read about it."

"We are actually very close to the planet's magnetic north pole now. That's the Hailstorm Ocean in front of us," she informed him. "It's named after Captain Hailstorm, a legendary pegasus explorer from about four hundred years ago who is credited with being the first pony to ever travel this far north and actually find it." She paused a moment. "Of course, it's difficult to believe that the princesses didn't already know the ocean was here."

"You think they knew it was here, but didn't tell anypony?" He raised an eyebrow in question.

"I don't know..." She mused and paused, flicking her tail once. "I don't know what the princesses know and what they don't. Nopony really does. It's kind of a mystery. "

"Well, what do you think then?"

She paused in contemplation before responding. "I think if the princesses just came out and told us everything they knew, life would be pretty boring cause there would be nothing left to discover or wonder about."

He smiled. It was a good answer.

He was jolted by a rough bump as the skis touched down, followed by several more jolts as they glided over the ungroomed drifted snow and gradually slowed down. When they had safely stopped, he opened the door, immediately regretting it as the arctic air blowing in off the freezing ocean assaulted him. It was much colder than even the air in Whitepony had been.

He stepped down, almost falling as he did so. He hadn't expected his feet would sink into waist deep snow. "Careful. Snow is much deeper than it looks," he said, holding the door for Theory Point.

She grumbled, stepping down as well. James tried, and failed to suppress a giggle as she sank into the snow all the way up to the bottom of her flank and her chest.

"Not another sound out of you!" she hissed at him, glaring daggers.

"I'm sorry ... I'm trying not to—" he had to stop to suppress another giggle, getting another cutting stare from her as he unloaded their bags. His attention was quickly diverted when he closed the door and the two pegasi immediately started moving in a jerky motion, gathering speed.

"Woah! Where are you two going?" he called out in a panic.

"We got other things we have to do! We will be back in about eight or nine hours to pick you two up!" one of the pegasi called out to them.

He tried to chase after them, but his movement was severely hampered by the deep snow. Before he could get close to them, they had to taken to the air. All he could do is watch helplessly as the carriage rose into the sky and began to disappear towards the south.

His shoulders lowered in defeat, he turned back towards Theory Point and walked back to her slowly, a look of concern in his eyes. "Well ... Here's hoping they don't strand us up here."

"They won't," she reassured him, then pointed her horn at the only building in the area. "Come on, lets get this done with."

The building in question was of single story log construction. A metal sign written in Equestrian script posted to the right of the building and a hundred feet or so in front of it, read "Equestrian Science Outpost #4: Northern Climate Lab". The building itself resembled the log cabin type construction back in Whitepony. A steeply slanted roof promoted the easier runoff of snow. The three windows on the front of the building were covered with very thick sheets of frost. There was no hint of any light behind the windows. The front door was blocked by knee high snow which had drifted in from the wind. James was already beginning to suspect the large amount of frost on the windows and the deep snow in front of the door suggested the place had been deserted for at least the last few days.

Trudging through the snow, he eventually got to the door and tested it. Locked. "I uh ... hope you have a key," he said, turning back towards Theory Point. "Cause Princess Celestia didn't give me one."

She just grumbled in response, having to lift her forelegs very high to navigate through the snow, towards the building. The way she walked through the snow reminded him of a prancing horse in a Lipizzaner Stallion show and he had to work to suppress another giggle. When she made it to the door, she inserted her horn into the keyhole. It glowed slightly. A small clicking sound, and the lock came undone. She roughly pushed the door open with a forehoof and stepped inside, stomping the snow off of her hooves on the rug.

"Or that works too ... Yeah ..." he commented and followed her inside.

The walls of the building kept the biting wind at bay, but they did little else to take the chill off of them as he had suspected, the place appeared to have been abandoned for at least a few days. A wood burning stove in the middle of the room sat cold and unlit, frost clinging to the top of its chimney pipe.

"Hello! Anypony here?" Theory Point called out, receiving no response. "Check the back rooms over there." She motioned James to the right. "I'll take the ones on this side. Lets hope we don't find any bodies."

He nodded and started checking the rooms she had indicated—two bedrooms, one bathroom, and a storage pantry. He found nothing. Returning to the main room, he simply shook his head in a 'no' motion at her.

"I didn't find anything either. There's nopony here," she commented.

James started to look around the main room they were in while Theory Point went over to examine a desk. He opened a cabinet near the small kitchen. There were several large unlabeled glass jugs in it, most of which were full. But one of which was half empty, He took it out, removed the cap, sniffed it carefully. He pulled his nose away from it rapidly.

"Woah! It would seem climate research isn't the only thing they were doing up here. I guess this was to help keep them warm at night?" he quipped.

"What is it?" She looked up from the desk at him.

"Back where I am from we would call it moonshine. They have quite a stash of it here."

"Oh?" She raised an eyebrow. "You want to open a bottle and indulge? They aren't coming back to get us for at least another seven hours."

He blinked at her, taken aback for a moment before responding. "Wow, you really are a bad girl aren't you? Trying to pick fights at the inn with the locals. Wanting to consume the illegal alcohol." He shook his head and chuckled.

She raised a forehoof defensively. "Hey! They started it back at the inn. I was just sticking up for us. You should be thanking me." She fake pouted. "And as far as the alcohol, it's not like anypony would know about it. What's wrong indulging once in a while and having a little fun?"

He looked at the jugs of moonshine in the cabinet again, pausing for a few moments. Then shook his head and looked back at her. "Don't tempt me." He gave a short nervous chuckle. He had to admit, it was tempting. It had been months since he had last had a drink. But he definitely didn't want to end up on the wrong side of the law in Equestria—not when Princess Celestia was just starting to trust him enough to give him his freedom from having to be supervised, and when she had just offered him a position at the Academy. He replaced the jug he had removed and closed the cabinet again.

"Suit yourself. But you don't have to be such a do-gooder all of the time." She chuckled at him and went back to looking through the drawers in the desk. "It's empty," she said, closing the last drawer on the desk with a thump. "When they left, they took all their research with them ... James? What you looking at over there?"

She left the empty desk and walked over to him. He was looking at a table now. A strange looking contraption sat on the table. It consisted of a small block of wood with a meter mounted on it. A small empty coffee tin with wires protruding out of a small hole tapped in one side of it was crudely taped to the block of wood. The other end of the can was covered with aluminum foil. "What do you think it is?" she asked him.

"It's a homemade radiation detector," he responded, looking puzzled.

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah. I've seen plans for one very similar to this back where I am from. The tin can is the ionization chamber." His expression had taken on a deep look of concern. He quickly grabbed the meter off the table, finding a switch on the side of it and turning it on.

Theory Point shared his look of concern and spoke in a nervous tone. "Are we—"

"No. We're fine. Radiation levels here are no higher than what I would expect normal background levels to be ... assuming the meter is accurate that is. I wish I could find a calibration source to test it."

"I think I can help with that. Stand behind me. I don't want to irradiate you."

He blinked but did as she told him, backing up to stand behind her. She pointed her horn at the tin can. A few seconds later, the needle on the meter jumped a little bit and held steady at a low reading. Then, the meter went back to zero.

"It's accurate," she said.

The two of them both had expressions of relief on their faces now.

"You can create ionizing radiation using magic? That sounds like a useful skill to have," he commented.

"It comes in handy in the lab sometimes."

"Why would they need a radiation detector up here?" James rubbed his forehead with his thumb and index finger. "It doesn't make any sense. And radiation levels, at least inside the building, are nominal. So it doesn't even explain why they abandoned the place so quickly."

"There don't appear to be any signs of a struggle either." The unicorn looked around the room a little bit. "I'd say they left voluntarily."

"I think we better have a look around outside," James said, picking up the radiation detector and moving towards the door.

Theory Point nodded reluctantly and followed him, neither one of them looking forward to tromping through the deep snow.

Outside, they walked a spiral pattern away from the door, looking for anything unusual. Any tracks leading away from the building would have been completely obscured by the fresh snow. As cold as it was outside, both of them were starting to pant and felt too hot—a consequence of having to work thought the waist deep snow. James stopped towards the Northeast of the building, about two hundred paces away from it. He pointed further towards the Northeast.

"Do you see that?"

Theory Point looked in the direction he was pointing. There was a small circular area, no more than a few feet wide, where it appeared there was no snow. "I do ... Interesting."

He started walking towards the apparently dry area, the unicorn following close behind him. As they got closer, it started to feel warmer, as if there were some kind of heat source near by. In the center of the dry area, was a small gray sphere, glowing with a faint green glow. It also seemed to be the source of the heat. They stopped and looked at each other, but neither said anything. Then he moved the radiation detector towards the sphere.

"Whatever it is, it's radioactive," he commented.

"How radioactive?" she asked in a concerned tone of voice.

"Well, I wouldn't want to sleep with it if that's what you mean ... But for a short period of exposure, it's unlikely to be dangerous."

He stepped back a few paces, staying as far away from it as he could but close enough to allow him to still see it in detail. He walked around the object in a circle. Other than the green glow and heat it was giving off, it was unremarkable. It was around the size of a soccer ball and slate gray in color. There were no obvious visible markings on it. Then he backed up further, motioning Theory Point to back up as well, until the radiation detector had gone back down to background levels.

"What do you think it is?" He looked at her.

"I have no idea ... A fuel source for a radioisotope thermoelectric generator maybe? We've never made any in Equestria. But we are aware of the theoretical concepts behind them."

He thought for a moment, rubbing his chin with thumb and forefinger. "Possibly a failed attempt at making one. It's not hot enough to be of much use. Although it might have been hotter at one point to melt all this snow around it ... So what should we do with it?"

"I'm not sure."

"Well, we can't leave it here."

"I don't think we should bring an unknown radioactive material into Canterlot without permission either though. And besides, we don't have a safe way to transport it."

"True. But it's dangerous. What if somepony comes across it? I'd rather not leave it here. Also, I'd rather get it out of here now in case whoever left it here decides to come back looking for it before we get a chance to get back up here and fetch it."

She nodded and thought for a moment. "Lets go back to the building. Maybe there's a container in there to transport it and we overlooked it the first time. After all, it would seem if somepony was going to make something like this, they'd have a way to move it safely."

"Alright." He turned around and started tromping back towards the building, the going a little easier now because he could follow the snow they had already packed down getting out here.

Back in the building, they started looking around again, James going back to the food pantry. There was a trunk on the ground which he had not taken note of earlier, having assumed it was simply for food storage. Now, he noticed that it looked rather heavy to simply be a food storage container. He opened it up. Inside, there was, indeed, food stored in it. But the walls of the trunk itself were thick and the lid was remarkably heavy.

"I think I found something!" he called back out to the main room. Theory Point trotted back towards the pantry and looked at the trunk. "I think this trunk is shielded," he continued. "It's too heavy and the walls are too thick to simply be a normal food storage trunk ... Unless they were trying to keep manticores out or something."

"Well, there's only one way to find out," she responded.

"Right." He emptied the food from it and then tried to lift the trunk. It didn't budge. "Ugh ... Yeah, definitely shielded. To heavy to be lifted by one person ... Can you ... levitate it or something?"

The unicorn shook her head slightly. "I doubt it. Remember, I don't use magic all that much. Twilight Sparkle could move it easily I am sure, but probably not me."

"What if I lift, and you use magic to just try to make it somewhat lighter?"

"I can try that. But it's going to feel ... very strange for you. Because your hands will be inside the magical field."

"I know how it feels already. Twilight demonstrated to me ... or rather on me once." He closed the lid again. "Ready when you are." He grabbed the handles on the side of the trunk with both hands.

Theory Point concentrated and pointed her horn at the trunk. It began to glow, and the trunk was surrounded in a light aura as James felt it begin to get lighter. His hands began to tingle and there was a strange sensation of his hands feeling much lighter then they were before. He lifted. This time he was able to pick up the trunk with the unicorn's magical help.

The two of them carried the trunk out to the main room, near the door to the building.

"Hold on. Set it down for a moment," said James.

She gently helped him lower it to the ground, dropping the telekinesis spell once it had been lowered.

"I'm gonna get a fire going in the stove first," he said. "Since we are going to be here for several more hours. Hopefully, by the time we get that thing loaded up and back here, it will have at least started to warm up in here."

"Good idea," she responded, simply sitting back on her haunches and waiting.

He went over to the stove, opening the door and blinking. "Hello ..."

"What? What is it?" The unicorn tilted her head to one side, standing up and walking over to him now.

"Looks like somepony tried to burn their research," he quipped.

Theory Point looked inside the stove. There were several journals and notepads. Many of them had been reduced to blackened sheets of ash. A few of them, however, or at least a few pages from some of them appeared to have survived, although some had charred edges and holes in the middle where flames had attempted, but failed to consume them. She looked up at the damper on the chimney.

"Looks like they forgot to open the damper in their haste to get out of here. That caused the fire to suffocate itself before it could consume everything."

James reached in and very carefully removed the notes that were still intact and might be at least somewhat readable. He rubbed his chin with thumb and forefinger as he carefully paged through one of the fragile documents, stopping on one page and staring at one page, seeming to be very intently focused on it.

"What is it?" Theory Point finally asked, drawing his attention back to her.

"I'm not one hundred percent sure ... But it's definitely NOT climate research."

o.O.o

17 - The Debriefing

The God Particle

Chapter 17: The Debriefing

Twilight Sparkle magically threw another book at the staircase in frustration as her latest attempt at decoding the link to James's home world failed again.

"Woah!" cried out her young purple dragon assistant as he ducked, barely managing to avoid getting hit with the book. "Watch where you are throwing those things, Twilight."

"Sorry, Spike," she responded in frustration. "I'm just not making any progress here at all." She flopped on the ground, rubbing her head with a forehoof.

"I don't even know if you should be working on this, Twilight. After all, you said yourself that Princess Celestia didn't think it was possible, and that there wouldn't be any attempts to send him home."

"She said there wouldn't be any attempts to send him home because she didn't think it could be done without disintegrating him or vaporizing him or something, Spike. If I can find a safe way to do it, that changes things." She glared at him.

"If you say so, Twilight." He raised his arms defensively and thought for a moment. "Do you think I will ever get to meet him? He sounds interesting."

"Of course you will, Spike. I'm not sure what he's doing in Canterlot right now. But The Princess did tell him he would be able to come back to Ponyville for visits." She rubbed her head again, the headache she had gotten from concentrating too hard and exerting too much magic finally started to ease up. "Lets get back to work, Spike. Find me that book on cross-dimensional magical theory and wormholes."

o.O.o

James finished carefully packing what he was able to salvage of the journals and other research notes they had found in the wood burning stove. He closed the cloth folder he had put them in and set them on the table.

"Well, I guess we better go get ... whatever the radioactive object is outside. I hope we can find a shovel out there, cause I'm not about to pick it up by hand. Ready to lift that that trunk again?" He looked at Theory Point.

"Not really. But I guess we don't have a choice." She sighed, pointed her horn at it and it started to glow lightly again.

James opened the door and then helped pick up the trunk, carrying it outside. Leaning up against the wall to the left of the building, thankfully, was a snow shovel. "We will have to come back and get it. I don't think we can carry both the trunk and the shovel at the same time, and the shovel won't fit in the trunk."

He used one hand to pull the door shut after they were outside, then grabbed the chest with both hands again. Lugging the trunk through the waist deep snow out to the location where they had found the strange object was no easy task, but eventually, the two of them arrived to the area and set it down, both of them panting a little from the physical and magical effort required to move it that far. Despite the cold, he was now too hot and both of them had worked up a little bit of a sweat.

"Lets go back and get the shovel, and the radiation detector," he finally said as he turned and started back towards the building once more, the unicorn following him.

Once they had returned to the strange object, James carefully dug the shovel underneath it and started to lift. "It's a lot heavier than I thought it would be," he commented. "Even a sphere of Uranium or Plutonium this size would not be this heavy."

"Do you need some help?" Theory Point asked.

"I don't think we should send any magic at this thing until we have had a chance to study it further. I'm not an expert on magic, of course ... But considering we don't know what this thing is, I don't want to do anything that might accidentally cause a criticality excursion."

"Good point." She used her magic to open the lid of the trunk for him instead.

He finally got the object onto the shovel and carefully placed it into the trunk. Then he used the end of the shovel to close the lid.

"Well, moment of truth." He turned the homemade radiation detector back on and slowly moved it around the trunk. There were no hotspots—radiation levels staying within normal background range. "Looks like we are good to go." He smiled, turning the detector back off.

"How much of a total dose you think we got messing around with this thing?" the unicorn asked, looking a bit concerned.

"Around twenty millirem. No more than about two chest x-rays really. Nothing that's worth losing any sleep over ... But we are going to have to come up with some innovative ways to study it back in the lab. We wouldn't want to be spending hours close to it," he responded, locking the latches on the trunk lid. "Well, lets get the shovel and radiation detector back to the building. Then come back for this trunk."

Once they had returned the shovel and radiation detector back to the building, they started to lug the now even heavier trunk back towards it, once again becoming quite overheated despite the cold temperature and blowing wind. By the time they arrived back at the building and set it down in front, both of them were breathing heavy from the exertion.

"Well, I guess now we just find a way to kill three or four more hours," James commented as they went back inside the building.

o.O.o

Princess Celestia paced in one of the towers of Canterlot Castle. Again, she passed by the North facing window in the tower, turning her head to look out of it. Her magenta eyes bored into the distance as if she were trying to see all the way to the shore of the Hailstorm Ocean. Clear skies over Canterlot and beyond gave way to ominous smoky gray far to the North. She turned away from the window and started pacing again.

"You are going to wear a hole in the floor at that rate, sister," Luna said, appearing in the stone archway leading into the tower, flaring her wings for a moment before folding them at her sides.

Celestia stopped pacing momentarily and looked at the Night Princess. "Something is wrong, Luna. They should have been back by now." She resumed her incessant pacing again.

"You worry too much, Tia. They probably just got held up by a winter storm and the pegasi couldn't fly. They are probably on their way back right now."

"And what of the researchers that didn't check in? What became of them?" She stopped pacing again, giving Luna a concerned look.

"You've seen what it's like up there, Tia. They probably got cabin fever. Or got sick of the locals in Whitepony and just abandoned post. They will likely turn up in Manehatten or something ... living the good life given how many bits the Academy was paying them to even get them to stay at that desolate outpost."

The Sun Princess shook her head gently. "No. Something else is wrong, I'm sure of it." She turned back towards the window and resumed staring out of it.

"Tia, you've been worrying yourself about it ever since the incident at the castle ruins in Everfree Forest," Luna scolded. "Don't you think it's possible you are overreacting a little bit?"

Celestia turned to face the dark alicorn again. "Did you not feel it, sister? The energy surge from the North the day before I sent James and Theory Point up there to look into it?" Her tone had changed ever so slightly. There was something in it now that sounded condescending.

Luna picked up on it, her eyes narrowing slightly, her ears laying back in displeasure. "No, Tia. I did not." She stomped her forehoof on the floor once aggressively, the sound echoing off the stone walls of the tower making it sound louder and more aggressive than it actually was.

Celestia lowered her head slightly, realizing how she had sounded. "Forgive me, sister. I did not mean to sound haughty ... It's just that I'm certain I sensed something. At first they were just minor energy disturbances. But the day before I sent James and Theory Point up there, there was a spike in the energy. Like a bolt of lightning piercing the night. A crack of thunder ringing out on a silent windless eve. And then all was silent. Even the original minor disturbances stopped."

Luna calmed down, her narrowed eyes becoming more compassionate now. "I don't doubt that you truly believe you sensed something, Tia ... But why wouldn't I have felt it too?"

The Sun Princess paused for several long moments, staring longingly out the window again. She sighed slightly and responded quietly. "I don't know ... Perhaps you are right sister. Perhaps I am letting stress get to me too much and overreacting," she conceded.

Luna said nothing in response, continuing to look at her sister with concern. Celestia simply continued to stare out the window, as if lost in thought. Then, she suddenly perked up. In the distance, a small spec approached. As it got closer, it became clear that it was a carriage approaching from the North.

Celestia quickly turned and trotted past her sister, hastily making her way down the tower's spiral staircase. Luna quickly side-stepped, blinking as her sister nearly ran into her.

o.O.o

The carriage touched down gently on the path leading to the castle gate, the pegasi slowing to a trot as they moved into the court yard. They continued down the white stone path towards the castle, stopping in front of the main entrance. After the excursion to the far North, James had never been so glad to see Canterlot Castle in his life. He opened the door and stepped out, holding it open for Theory Point. She stepped down from the carriage, adjusted her uniform a bit, and started trotting away towards the Academy's spired buildings.

He blinked. "Where are you going? Princess Celestia is going to want to debrief us I am sure. And we have to deliver a report to her."

She stopped and turned her head back, looking over her flank at him. "Correction you have to deliver a report to her and get debriefed. I have to give a lecture on Swirlian sub-particle energy fields and their potential applications to unicorn magic. I'm already going to be late for it." She turned her head away and continued trotting towards the academy.

What sub-particle energy fields? he thought to himself. He shook his head slightly to get his mind back on track. That would have to wait. "But you can't just—" he called out to her, then stopped as she continued trotting away, paying him no attention at all. Great ... Now what? he thought to himself. He had to go find Princess Celestia. But he couldn't just leave the carriage here unguarded, given what he knew was in the trunk it was carrying. Neither could he simply ask one of the guards to watch it since he was not supposed to say anything to anypony. He hated the secrecy involved in all of this. It forced him to make dangerous choices. He did not want either princess anywhere near the carriage, given how little he knew about the radioactive material sealed in the trunk. He didn't want the carriage and its potentially dangerous cargo anywhere near the castle. But that couldn't be helped for now, given he could tell nopony but the princesses about what they had found.

Princess Celestia appeared at the great arched main entrance to the castle, trotting quickly towards the marble stairs that led down to the courtyard where he was standing with the carriage. Princess Luna followed her sister, close behind. James raised his hand, motioning for them both to stop where they were as he started walking towards them, climbing the stairs. They both stopped, standing next to each other now, looking at him curiously as their manes and tails flowed in the wind.

James reached the top of the stairs and took a couple of more steps forward. He knelt and bowed.

"James, it is good to see you back." Celestia spoke first. "Where is Theory Point?" She looked around trying to spot the unicorn, who had long since disappeared around a corner.

"Thank you, Your Majesty. Theory Point was ... in a hurry I guess. She said she had a lecture to get to. She left as soon as we landed."

"A lecture ..." Princess Luna spoke, her eyes narrowed and her voice sounded dangerous. "We shall have to ... lecture her about leaving before she can be debriefed."

The Night Princess stomped her right forehoof once in annoyance. From his kneeling and bowed position, the alicorn's forehoof passed dangerously close to his face, then impacted the marble platform as if a large stone had suddenly fallen into a waveless pond, sending out ripples of power which he was sure he could feel pulsing through him. He knew her anger was not directed at him, but even so, the aggressive stomp of her forehoof, the dangerous power that radiated with her voice, the fact that she towered over him from his kneeling position, making him feel so small, so insignificant—they all served to send a twinge of fear through him. His heart beat faster and he winced involuntarily, drawing back slightly, but quickly recovering his demeanor.

"You're scaring him, sister." Celestia tried and failed to suppress a small giggle at the human's reaction to Luna's hoof coming down so close to his face. She quickly composed herself again and looked down at James. "Please, stand. I was getting concerned that you were not back before now."

"I apologize, Your Majesty. We were hung up in Whitepony for a night because of weather. The bush pegasi wouldn't fly us up to the outpost until the next day." He stood up, using one hand to brush the small amount of dust off his clothes from where his knee had been on the ground.

She nodded her head slightly, ignoring a 'see? I told you so' look from Luna. "It's understandable. No need to apologize. And what of the researchers? Did you find them? Are they ok? Were they—" She stopped her barrage of questions. The human's eyes had taken on a look of deep concern. She was sure she could see the color leaving his face, like she had just pulled the stopper on a bath and the water was swirling down the drain. After a few moments, he spoke quietly so only the two royal sisters could hear.

"We need to talk. And the carriage needs to be taken to a highly secured area and guarded closely—an area away from the castle. Preferably underground and shielded. There is a trunk inside of it. The guards must not open the trunk." He emphasized the last part about not opening the trunk.

Luna looked slightly uncertain, still not fully trusting the human. Even Celestia hesitated for a moment. Then she nodded her head slightly. "Alright," she said quietly. She turned to the four pegasi guards at the castle's main entrance, looking at one of them specifically. "Go and find Captain Stormwing. Tell him to meet me at the main entrance."

"Of course, Your Majesty. Right away." The guard bowed to his Princess before turning and trotting inside the castle.

The two alicorns and the human remained silent as they waited for Captain Stormwing. James looked at both of the royal pony sisters, examining their expressions. If either one of them were at all concerned about anything, they didn't show it. Both of them exuded an air of confidence and authority. Power emanated from them—a raw, unbridled power that could not be tamed by man nor beast, nor controlled by any science known to man. They were mistresses of their domain, mistresses of this world—perhaps even mistresses of the entire Universe. Any entity that dared try to threaten anything under their domain was certain to fail and come to defeat—like waves breaking against a mountain of solid rock. Such was the power the two alicorns possessed. Or so it seemed. He found their confidence, command, and power helped to alleviate his own fears. It was comforting and reassuring, like the warmth of a glowing fire in a cold autumn rain.

His thoughts were interrupted as an armored white pegasus approached. He wore the same golden armor that the other guards did, but his breast plate was different, having the image of a blazing sword on it. He thought it must be an indicator of rank among the Royal Guard. The pegasus stopped and bowed before his two princesses "Your Majesties requested my presence," he stated.

"Captain Stormwing." Celestia nodded. "Please, rise." He did so. She continued. "Take three of your top guards and move this carriage to the level four containment facility underneath the physics lab at the Academy. Make sure it is secured there. There is a trunk inside of the carriage. Under no circumstances is it to be opened."

"Yes, Your Majesty," the captain responded. James marveled at the lack of hesitation in his response. There was no uncertainty, no questioning at all. Captain Stormwing was obviously very devoted to his Princess and trusted her completely.

"That is all," Celestia responded, smiled gently at him.

The pegasus captain bowed again to his princesses, then went back inside to get his guards, returning shortly afterwards. The four of them trotted down to the carriage in practiced military precision. The two pegasi that had flown them back from Whitepony were relieved of duty for the day, much to their delight, for it had been a long flight—much of it in cold windy weather. They unhitched from the carriage and walked towards the castle barracks. Captain Stormwing directed two of his guards to hitch up to the carriage. Then they started to pull it towards the Academy campus, Captain Stormwing and the remaining guard flanking the carriage on either side.

Once the carriage was safely on its way, Celestia motioned for them to follow her into the castle. He fell in slightly behind her, Luna flanking him on his right. She led them through the long corridors of the castle halls into a smaller conference room that he had not seen before. It had one long rectangular table in it, carved from fine wood—probably oak. At the front of the room, the wall was covered with a large map of Equestria, and even the areas beyond the borders of Equestria such as the buffalo lands. On the side walls, long banners hung from the tops, stretching nearly to the floor. They alternated back and forth between the Solar banner of Princess Celestia, and the Lunar banner of Princess Luna. Celestia closed the door to the room using magic, then motioned for Luna and James to sit down.

"Did you find the researchers?" she asked, getting right to the point of the meeting.

"No," James responded. "Nor could we find any trace of them. Any tracks leading away from the building would have been long since covered over with the snow storm that hit before we arrived at the outpost. But we—" he was cut off by Luna asking a question.

"Could they have simply crashed somewhere while flying to Whitepony for their checkin? I mean if the weather was bad and all ..."

"We think that is unlikely," he responded, looking at Luna for a moment, then looking across the table at both of them. "They were doing some kind of research that was definitely not climate related. We found a lot of hand written research notes and journals inside the stove. They had tried to destroy them—to burn them. Unfortunately, they succeeded in destroying much of it." He paused for a moment to see if either one of them had any questions, continued when Celestia motioned with a forehoof for him to go on. "They were experimenting with some type of nuclear physics. We believe they probably had some kind of minor nuclear accident which they thought would be detected. And that's why they abandoned the outpost so quickly—knowing that you would send an investigation soon." There was as long pause as the princesses absorbed the information. Then Celestia spoke again, her demeanor still calm and collected.

"What were they working on, James?" she asked matter-of-factly.

"Unfortunately, I'm afraid we have more questions than we do answers at this point, Your Majesty. Again, most of their research notes were destroyed in the stove. We are fortunate that any of them survived. In their haste to leave, they forgot to open the damper. The fire went out before it could destroy everything."

Celestia shook her head slightly, her mane flowing from side to side. "That's not good enough, James. If you don't know what they were working on, than tell me your best guess—your thoughts." Her tone was not condescending or angry. But it was commanding, leaving no doubt that she demanded more than what he had given her so far.

He rubbed his forehead lightly with thumb and index finger for a moment, the stress of the situation seeming to weigh on him more than on either princess. "I can't tell you what they were working on because I don't know. But I can tell you what they were not working on. They were not working on a bomb, or some other type of nuclear weapon. That was my first concern, of course. But I was able to determine from the notes that survived, that it's not what they were trying to do. Or at least if they were ... or are, we have nothing to worry about for a very long time because they are so far down the wrong track that it'll never work ... I truly wish I could tell you more than that right now, but it's all I know. Theory Point doesn't know anything more."

Celestia nodded her head slightly. "So it's not any type of nuclear bomb ..." she said, more as a statement than a question. She looked a him for confirmation.

"I am confident in saying that it is not, Your Majesty."

She nodded her head slightly again. "Alright. I trust your education and your experience on these issues." Luna looked somewhat less reassured and less trusting, but she said nothing.

"There is more, Your Majesty."

"Go on," Celestia responded.

"We were fortunate enough to find something we believe is linked to the research they were doing. It's an unremarkable heavy gray sphere. But it generates heat and is radioactive. That's what is in the trunk I wanted taken to a secure and shielded location. We know nothing else about it yet, but hopefully when we have had a chance to study it, it will yield some more answers as to what we are dealing with here."

She nodded once in response. "Make it your top priority. Theory Point will help you."

"Yes, Your Majesty." He bowed his head respectfully before looking back up. "There is one other thing, although likely of little consequence in the overall scheme of things."

"Go on," she said again.

"We did find a substantial amount of illegal alcohol at the outpost. An entire crate full of jugs. We didn't find any evidence that they were manufacturing it there. Only that they were consuming it. Looks like they had stocked up on it for the winter. We figured as long as we were up there, we might as well bring that back too. It's in the carriage still."

"Have it brought to the Royal Guard headquarters," the white alicorn ordered. "That can be dealt with by the normal methods. If we can track down the supplier, maybe they will know something about what the researchers were doing, or where they've gone."

"You think the suppliers will actually talk, sister? Even if we can find them?" Luna asked.

"They will if it gets them out of a very long stay in the dungeon," Celestia responded.

James's mind automatically made comparisons to 1920's prohibition in the United States. Fortunately, in Equestria, it didn't seem to result in major organized crime like it did in the Untied States. Or if it did, it was well hidden.

"Is there anything else you found up there?" Luna spoke, interrupting his thoughts.

"A homemade radiation detector, and a shielded trunk designed for transporting radioactive materials, Your Majesty. Nothing else of any interest."

"Very well, then ..." Luna responded. "So you had to spend the night in Whitepony? How was that?"

James rubbed his forehead gently with his finger. "It was uh ... an experience, Your Majesty."

Celestia chuckled at his response and then explained. "They are distrustful of outsiders up there and prefer to be left alone. They pride themselves on their ruggedness. For the most part, we stay out of their affairs. That's the way they prefer it. We don't have any weather pegasi up there because they don't want them. They consider it unnatural to control the weather and prefer to leave it to its own devices."

"I kind of got that impression from them. Good to know it was nothing personal." James gave a brief nervous laugh.

"And we have one more issue to cover." It was Princess Celestia that spoke now. "Have you reached a decision on joining the faculty of the Academy?" She looked directly at him now.

James hesitated for only a moment. "I have, Your Majesty. And I would be honored to teach and research at the Academy."

The Sun Princess smiled at him. "I'm glad you have decided to join. I will send word to them. Stop by the administration office when you get over there. They will get you situated."

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

"That will be all for now. But report back to me as soon as you know anything more about what was going on up there."

"Thank you, Your Majesty. I will." He bowed to both royal sisters, then left the conference room, closing the door behind him.

Luna looked at her sister once they were alone in the conference room. "Well, Tia. For something we didn't want him involved in at all, you've pretty much got him neck deep in it now," she said, seeming slightly annoyed.

"We don't even know if this incident is related to the goings on at the ruins in Everfree Forest, sister," Celestia responded.

"Really, Tia? I think we can safely assume it is. In fact, I think the only safe assumption is that the two are related."

"Even so, what else would you suggest, Luna? His academic background and his experience in the field of nuclear physics would seem to make him the most qualified to look into this. We need him to be loyal to us."

"But what if he isn't, Tia? What if he lied to us and it is an attempt to build a bomb? What if he sees this as an opportunity to usurp us?" The dark alicorn had a look of concern in her eyes.

"Why would he want to do that, sister? What could he possibly hope to gain?"

"You've seen Twilight's letters. About how he's not comfortable with the way we rule—not comfortable with our style of government. But right now, there's nothing he can do about it. If this is some kind of super weapon—an attempt to build an atomic bomb or something, that could change all of that. He might see an opportunity. What if he betrays us?"

The white alicorn shook her head slightly. "He knows I would consider any betrayal to be high treason, sister. I told him as much. And he is well aware of the punishment for treason ... He is well aware that I would have him imprisoned in the dungeon for the rest of his life. Do you really think he wants to be a martyr for his political or social beliefs? Considering none of our ponies even want what he believes?"

"I wouldn't say none, Tia. There are the ones in Whitepony."

"They are not revolutionaries, Luna. They don't want to conquer Equestria. They just want to be left alone. And we leave them alone for the most part as long as they follow the law. Besides, even if they were interested in revolution, do you really think James wants to martyr himself for a town of a couple hundred ponies that don't even like him? Or his 'academic meddling' as they would call it?"

Luna shook her head and raised a forehoof to stop her sister. "That's not what I'm worried about, sister. You say you would imprison him for life for any treason on his part. I have no doubt that you would. But if this is some kind of attempt to build a super weapon or something, and he decides to take advantage of it, we may be in no position to be able to charge him with treason. And he might not even have to martyr himself."

Celestia sighed a little bit, looking down at the table, tapping her forehoof on it lightly. Luna did have a point, she realized. But she knew, in one of those ways that only an immortal being with thousands of years of experience can know—a being who is far wiser than any humble mortal can know, that James was here for a reason. And that he had some important role to play in this. Her heart told her that role was for good. She looked back up at Luna and spoke again. "I understand your concerns sister. But I trust him. I believe him when he says it is not a weapon, and that he currently doesn't know what it is. He is here for a reason. Of that I am sure. And my heart tells me his role in whatever is unfolding here is one of good."

Luna shook her head again and looked straight at Celestia, her eyes narrowed slightly, her ears laid back again. "Your heart is too trusting, Tia. It's going to be your downfall one of these days."

Celestia, recoiled slightly, taken aback by her sister's comment. She opened her mouth to respond, but the Night Princess had already turned on her hooves. Her horn glowed as she opened the door with magic and left. Then she closed the door again, slamming it harder than need be. The sound echoed off of the stone walls outside of the door like a crack of distant thunder. Then, there was silence, leaving Celestia alone in the conference room with nothing but her own thoughts.

18 - Her Dark Premonition

The God Particle

Chapter 18: Her Dark Premonition

James arrived at the administration building of the Academy, passing under the tall white pillars that held up the awning in front of the door. Once inside, he followed a corridor to the office. Various tapestries, banners, and portraits lined the walls of the hall. Among them, were the royal banners of Celestia and Luna, along with portraits of both princesses in regal poses. There were also portraits of various other ponies that he did not recognize, save one—Star Swirl the Bearded, who he recognized from a sketch in one of Twilight’s books. He assumed the rest of the portraits must be of other prominent academics in Equestria’s past who were important to the Academy.

He entered the administration office. Inside was a large oak counter with one earth pony behind it. Unlike Theory Point, he was not in uniform. His mane was medium length and blond, his fur light blue. He looked young, perhaps only eighteen or nineteen—a student at the Academy perhaps. He looked up from his work, regarding James through his hazel eyes.

“You must be Dr. James Peterson? We’ve been expecting you.”

“You have?” He blinked.

“Yes, Welcome to the Royal Equestria Academy. As you no doubt already know, you have to undergo an extensive testing and exam process before you are officially made part of the faculty. You’ll spend probably the whole day tomorrow doing that.” The pony paused and looked around for a moment, as if he were making sure no other pony were within listening distance. He continued in a slightly quieter voice. “But uh … between you and me? The exams and testing are basically a formality. So don’t sweat it too much. The Princess wouldn’t have sent you here if she didn’t think you could pass them.”

The administration pony stood up and walked further back behind the desk, disappearing behind a large shelf that had hundreds of small cubbyholes in it. Mailboxes for the various faculty and departments, James suspected. A few minutes later, he returned, balancing a large box on his back. He set it on the counter.

“These are your uniforms,” the pony began. “You aren’t actually allowed to wear them until after you have completed exams and testing and been officially accepted. There’s several of each one, as well as a short guidebook in the box that will tell you which one to wear for various-”

“Wait a minute … You have uniforms for me already?”

“Of course. Her Majesty asked us to have them made a few days ago.” The administration pony gave him a strange look, as if the question he asked had an obvious answer.

So either she hoped I would accept the invitation to join the Academy, and was just being proactive … or she already *knew** in advance that I would accept it*, James thought to himself. He hoped it was the former. He didn’t want to think about the latter very much. For the latter would mean that either his fate was already fixed and Princess Celestia knew what it was but was not telling him, or even worse, that she directly controlled his fate and he was basically her puppet.

“Are you still listening to me?” The administration pony interrupted his thoughts, giving him a slightly annoyed look.

“Yes. Sorry,” he responded, glad for the thought disruption.

“The guidebook will tell you which uniform to wear for various occasions and different situations,” the pony continued. “In a nutshell, most of the time you will wear the class 1B uniform—whenever you are out in public, when you are giving a lecture, when you meet either princess, and so on. The class 1A uniform you will only wear for special occasions—the Summer Sun Celebration, the Grand Galloping Gala, that kind of thing. Only a few times a year really.”

James nodded his head once, making mental notes even though the administration pony had said it would all be in the guidebook as well. The pony continued.

“The class 2A uniform is the one you will wear anytime you are out in the field where the class 1B uniform would not be practical. It has several optional accessories including heavy jackets. And finally, the class 2B uniform is the one you will usually wear in the research labs … Any questions?”

“… I’m sure I’ll have some later,” James commented, still hating the whole uniform idea. He was used to the very relaxed dress code at Fermilab where he had been allowed to basically throw on whatever he wanted on most days.

“Don’t fret too much about it. You can always refer to the guidebook. And it’s still much easier than if you had to learn all of the normal dress customs of Canterlot for those ponies that don’t wear uniforms,” he snickered.

“Right,” James responded, not sounding entirely convinced. “Anything else I need to know right away?”

“Yeah. The faculty dormitories are out the front door and down the road to the right. You can’t miss them. There’s a sign out front … That should be about it really. Again, welcome to the Academy.” He smiled now.

“Thank you. I look forward to getting started … and getting the exams out of the way,” James responded as he picked up the box and turned for the door.

“You need anything, come back and let me know,” the administration pony responded, waving with a forehoof.

“Thanks.” James nodded and left, working his way back down the corridor and outside, turning to the right in the direction of the dormitories. He’d go back to his guest room in the castle and get the rest of his things later.

He stopped in front of a white brick building with a sign out from that read ‘Faculty Housing’. It was three stories high. A cobblestone walkway led to the main doors. In front of the doors, to the right of the walkway, was a large carved statue of Princess Celestia, reared up on her hind legs. To the left, a similar statue of Princess Luna, such that one had to walk between the two of them, passing through their shadow to reach the doors. Subtlety is not a virtue at this Academy, he thought to himself as he looked back and forth between the two statues that towered over him, shaking his head slightly once before walking between them. Then he entered through the double doors, passing through a windbreak before pushing open another set of doors.

Once inside, he found himself in a common area, well furnished with red velvet cushions and chairs. A large wooden table dominated the center of the room with smaller tables in various other spots. Against the east wall, a stone fireplace glowed with warmth, the crackling flame inside keeping the outside chill at bay. A blackened kettle sat on the ledge in front of it and there was a pole hanging inside of the fireplace above the fire—for hanging the kettle, James supposed. On the mantle above the fireplace were several tins full of different varieties of tea. Mugs sat on a small table next to the fireplace. Against the west wall, a well-stocked bookshelf ran from floor to ceiling, taking up the length of the entire wall. He made a mental note to look more closely at the books later. On the south wall, behind him where the door was, the ever present banners of the two princesses hung on either side, their constant reminder of the diarchy ever present.

He followed the only hallway that led out of the room, walking down the corridor until he arrived at a wooden staircase. He followed it up to the second level and walked down another hallway until he came to the door outside his assigned room, trying to balance the box on one hand now as he fumbled with the key in his other, eventually getting the door open and stepping inside.

The room was the size of a typical hotel suite. It contained a small kitchen area, partially walled off in the back corner. A bed, already furnished with white cotton linens, was against one wall. The opposite wall held a stone hearth with a fire already burning in it—somepony had already prepared the room for him it seemed. Next to the bed, against the wall, was a large oak desk with drawers on both sides. Above it, a four row shelf, currently empty and waiting to be populated with books. The smooth stone walls were currently bare, but there were hooks in them at various places intended for hanging pictures to help personalize the room. In front of him, the far wall had a single window with a view looking out towards the castle. Next to it, a small round table big enough for maybe three. It was definitely nothing compared to the opulence of his guest room at the castle. But compared to the dorm rooms he had lived in during his undergraduate college days, it was luxury.

He set the box down on the bed, took one of the folded uniforms—it was the class 1B one he’d be wearing most of the time—out of it and let it unfold. It was of a blue-gray color, very much like the uniform Theory Point had been wearing. The right side chest area of the uniform was adorned with the banner of Princess Celestia, the left side graced with the banner of Princess Luna. The right sleeve, just below the shoulder, bore the flag of Equestria. On the left shoulder, a round patch with a drawing of an atom on it. The top of the patch read ‘Royal Equestria Academy’. The bottom, underneath the atom, ‘Department of Science and Engineering’.

He unpacked the rest of the uniforms and hung them in the wardrobe so they wouldn’t wrinkle, leaving the guidebook on the desk for now. Then he left the room and the building, making his way to the underground secure storage facility below the physics lab. Upon arrival, the unicorn guards stationed at the heavy, reinforced door allowed him to pass with little trouble, having been told in advance that he would be arriving.

Inside, he found Theory Point had already brought down a fair amount of equipment, starting to convert the underground bunker into a makeshift lab. The back part of the unicorn was sticking out from behind a tall shield she was adjusting.

“Steal that from the x-ray lab, did you?” he quipped.

“Oh, Hi James … Steal it? No … I just sort of borrowed it … without asking first … and with no intention of returning it anytime soon.”

“Uh huh …” he responded in an accusatory tone. “I see you’ve been busy down here. Nice work.”

“Thanks. Although I still don’t know how we are going to study this thing safely. Probably have to rig up some kind of remote control system that lets us move it around without getting close to it.”

“Basically what I was thinking too … You might want to avoid the castle for a while, by the way. You’re on Princess Luna’s shit list. Just giving you fair warning.”

“What? She’s mad that I skipped the debriefing?” the unicorn said protectively, as if she’d just been accused of something terrible.

“You could say that.”

“I have a responsibility to my students.” She huffed in annoyance, sounding remarkably like a normal horse snorting. “Tell her to take it up with them if she doesn’t like it. I was ten minutes late for lecture as it was.”

“Yeah … I think I’ll let you tell her that. I’m staying out of this one,” he raised his hands defensively.

“And what about joining the Academy? That topic came up I am sure.”

“It did. I said yes. I still have to pass the exams, of course.”

She smiled. “You'll pass. Don’t worry about it. I’m glad you decided to join. It’s going to be fun working with you.”

“That’s what the administrator at the office told me. That I would have no problem passing. I’m still nervous though.”

“Don’t be, you’re probably smarter than most of the ponies who will be giving you the exam,” she reassured him.

“If you say so.” He didn’t really sound convinced.

“You’ll be fine,” she said again. “Now come on. We have work to do.”

The next several hours were spent installing a track on the ceiling behind the shield Theory Point had 'borrowed'. They mounted a mechanical pulley in the track and attached a long steel rod to it, allowing the rod to move back and forth along the track when they manipulated the pulley from behind the shield. At the end of the rod, they attached another track with another pulley system, perpendicular to the first track. To that, they attached another short length of steel rod with a mechanical grabber on the end that could be opened and closed using a lever from behind the shield.

They stood back and looked over the crude apparatus they had rigged together. It resembled one of those stuffed animal machines at carnivals where you guide the claw in an attempt to grab one and hope it made it all the way to the dispensing slot without dropping it.

“It's crude,” James commented.

“Yeah, well neither one of us are mechanical engineers, right?” Theory Point jested.

“We probably better practice on something harmless for a while before we attempt to move the real thing around … You know where we can get a bowling ball?”

“There's a bowling alley at the rec center. I could borrow a bowling ball from there.”

“You mean like you 'borrowed' the x-ray shield.” He looked at her dubiously.

“Something like that, yeah,” the unicorn deadpanned.

“Well, I guess we don't have any other options. Secrecy and all. A soccer ball would be too light and wouldn't be a valid test. Might as well go get it I guess.”

The unicorn nodded and turned, leaving the secure lab—leaving James alone to fret and worry about the exams tomorrow while she was gone. He passed the time by trying to recall every scientific piece of information he had ever known, concentrating specifically on the lesser used parts that he might be rusty on. But even more so than that, he concentrated on remembering everything Twilight had taught him about Equestrian culture, customs, ideals, history, law, and so on. He remembered what Twilight had told him about Academy staff being more than just experts in their field, and he knew that they would be looking for things other than just scientific knowledge. That was the part that concerned him the most. He tried to remember everything she had taught him about harmony, about balance, about loyalty, respect, and every other thing they had talked about. He was so deep in thought that he jumped, startled when the door opened, and Theory Point re-entered, breaking him out of his thoughts.

“Mission accomplished.” She grinned. “I got the heaviest one I could find.”

“Nice work. Let's put it on the table in there and see if we can pick it up.”

“You want to try it first?” she asked as she magically took the bowling ball out of the bag she had hidden it in, placing it on a table behind the shield.

“Sure. I'll give it a shot.” He went to pulley controls and lever they had rigged up, maneuvering the grabber over the bowling ball before lowering it. Then he squeezed the lever, attempting to pick it up. The first several times he tried, he missed completely, the ball not budging off the table at all. Then, on the eighth try or so, he was finally able to lift the ball off the table. He raised it, slowly, carefully.

“You got it. Try to move it to the other table,”Theory commented.

He did so, slowly moving the pulley so the ball moved to the right—away from the table it had been sitting on and towards another in the room. Just when he had reached the half-way point, the bowling ball slipped from the grip of the grabbers, crashing to the floor with the sound of a firecracker, causing both James and Theory to wince.

“Well, that worked well,” he said sarcastically.

“I'll say. You took a chuck out of the floor. Way to go.” She chuckled and pointed at a small hole in the concrete floor with her horn. A few chips of concrete, dislodged by the bowling ball turned wrecking ball, lay next to it. “They will probably take that out of your first payment,” she taunted.

“Hey! It wasn't my fault,” he protested. “The grabber is too weak. And it's too hard to hold the lever tight enough to maintain a solid grip on the ball. We need a stronger spring or something.”

They continued to make tweaks and took turns practicing with the apparatus well into the late evening hours. Luna's moon was high in the sky by the time they felt comfortable enough to start working on the real thing.

“Lets wait until tomorrow,” Theory Point suggested. “You'll want to get some sleep tonight for those exams in the morning.”

He was about to protest, but he stopped himself. She was right, he realized. Even if, as she seemed to think, he wouldn't have any trouble with them, attempting them with no sleep the night before would probably be unwise. He nodded. “Alright. Good work today.” He smiled. “Good night, Theory. I'll see you back here tomorrow … whenever I get done I guess.”

“Good night, James,” she said as the both left the secure lab.

Back in his room in the dormitories, James quietly undressed and got ready for bed. Climbing in and pulling the covers over him, he tried to get to sleep. But rest did not come easily, for he continued to fret about the exams and tests tomorrow. Something had changed in him, He could not put his finger on exactly what it was, or why it had changed. Back in Chicago, his biggest fear had been that he would be overshadowed—that he would lose the race to be the first to discover the latest breakthrough in high energy physics. Name recognition, glory, and fame in the world of science was what he wanted. To be featured on the front page of journals. To be mentioned in the same sentence as Albert Einstein, or Charles Darwin. His greatest fear had been not achieving that kind of importance—of coming in second best. When he first arrived in Equestria, his greatest fear was that he would never be able to get home to continue that work. All chance of ever being name dropped in the same sentence with Albert Einstein or Charles Darwin would be gone, never to be had again. He chastised himself for how selfish he had been, thinking of his career and his own glory before even his friends and family. Of course, later on, his greatest fear had become that he would never be able to see his friends or family again. But now, even that had changed. Now, he began to realize, his greatest fear was disappointing Princess Celestia. It wasn't that he was afraid of what she would do to him if he did disappoint her—he had come to trust her much more than that. Rather, it was that somehow he was beginning to feel bound to her. As if serving her were the most important thing in his life … as if he would forsake everything else in her name. He wondered if he would? He looked at himself in the mirror of his mind. At what he was becoming. He wasn't sure he liked what he saw. He looked out the window. Luna's moon was nearly directly overhead now, its light silhouetting the castle, the towers appearing as dark pillars reaching for the sky, bathing the ground beneath in shadow. He turned away from the window, closing his eyes. Eventually, he was able to fall into sleep. But it was a light and restless one.

o.O.o

The next morning found James pacing in front of a large set of double oak doors, waiting nervously to be called in.

“Would you relax?” Theory Point admonished him. She had shown up with him to try to calm his nerves as he waited for the exam process to start. Whether she was having any success at all was debatable. “I told you, you are going to do fine.”

“Easy for you to say. You aren't the one that has to go in there.” He stopped pacing and looked at her.

“I was in the same boat at one time though. I know what you are going through. Trust me, you will do fine.”

He wished he had the same amount of confidence that she did. He was about to respond, but was interrupted by the sound of one of the doors unlocking and opening. A gray unicorn came out, wearing the Academy uniform with high ranking insignia.

“Dr. Peterson, we are ready for you,” he said simply, motioning for the human to step inside.

He turned back and looked at Theory Point one last time. She gave him a reassuring nod. “I'll be back here before you are done. Good luck, not that you will need it I am sure.”

He nodded his thanks before turning and entering the room, the doors shutting behind him again.

A very large, ornately carved desk sat at the front of the room, centered along the wall and in an elevated position. It stretched at least half the length of the entire wall behind it. The only thing he could think of to compare it to was the Supreme Court bench. Behind the desk, sat no fewer than thirteen ponies, all dressed in uniform. Unicorns, pegasi, and earth ponies were all represented. The unicorn that had led him into the room took him to a much smaller desk at the center of the room, in front of the bench where the others sat, motioned for him to sit down. He did so, and the unicorn trotted to the large desk in front of the room, joining the rest of the ponies there and completing the assembly of fourteen examiners. On the wall behind them, a large emblem of the sun and the moon, banners of Princess Celestia and Princess Luna hanging next to them. He looked back at the ponies at the desk. Their faces were expressionless, impossible to read. The uniformed ponies and military tribunal like atmosphere of the room was rather intimidating. It did nothing to help calm his nerves.

He glanced down at the desk he was seated at. A stack of blank note paper sat on it, along with a quill and an inkwell. Next to the note paper, a stack of graph paper. On the other side of the desk, a glass and pitcher of water.

“Welcome, Dr. Peterson. It is a pleasure having you here.” It was a male unicorn that spoke, sitting at the center of the desk.

“Thank you, sir. It is a pleasure to be here,” James responded, trying to hide the nervousness in his voice. He wasn't sure how well he had succeeded.

A female unicorn next to him spoke this time, “Before we begin. Do you have any questions for us?”

“No ma'am. Not at this time.” Actually, he had a million questions. But he found that he could not bring himself to ask any of them right now.

The unicorn nodded her head. “Very well. We will begin then. The exam will last approximately nine hours during which you will be asked questions by all of us. The questions will cover everything from math and science, to Equestrian ideals, values, culture, and history. You may use the note paper and graph paper to work out your answers. Answers will be given verbally, and you will give additional explanation about how you arrived at your conclusions upon request from any of us. There will be a break for lunch approximately half way through. During that time you are not to leave the lunch area, and you are not permitted to speak to anypony. Furthermore, you are not to leave the exam area, or lunch area at any time without permission and escort, and you are not permitted to have contact with anypony outside of this room until the exam is complete. These proceedings are held in the strictest confidence. You are not permitted, either now, or at any time in the future, to speak to anypony regarding anything that happens or is said during these proceedings. Do you understand my instructions?”

“Yes, ma'am,” he responded, trying to sound as confident as possible. But the strict secrecy of the entire thing was making him even more nervous.

She nodded again, the expression on her face still as emotionless as ever. “Let us begin then.”

For the next several hours, the ponies took turns grilling him with questions. He was confident in his answers regarding any of the math and science questions that came up. Occasionally, they would ask questions that mixed science and magic. Those he was less confident about. He had several discussions about magic with Twilight though, and she had versed him in basic magical theory, despite the fact that he was unable to use magic himself. He tried to think the way she would when those questions came up. Often times, one of the ponies would ask for additional explanation, or ask him to explain the thought processes he had used to arrive at a certain conclusion about magic. That unnerved him, making him think his answers were probably wrong. He hoped that even if they were, he would get partial credit for using sound thought processes and being able to logically explain why he had come up with the answer he did. The questions about Equestrian culture, customs, and ideals actually seemed easier for him to answer than he thought they would be. That surprised him in a relieving sort of way—for coming in, that had been the portion of the exam he was most worried about. As promised earlier, they broke for lunch about four hours into the exam. He had hoped they would provide him with some feedback about how he was doing up until now, but none was given. He picked at a salad and a peanut butter sandwich, butterflies in his stomach causing him not to have much of an appetite. He thought maybe his nerves would calm once the exam process had gotten underway. Instead, he found himself becoming more on edge as the hours passed—the moment of judgment creeping ever closer as Celestia's sun marched its relentless cadence from the Eastern horizon to the West. Despite his lack of appetite, he forced himself to eat the rest of the meal. He would need the energy to make it through the long hours that remained.

Shortly, they returned to the exam room, took their seats. The endless barrage of questions and requests for in depth explanations began again. Hours passed. Celestia's sun continued its march. James felt like his brain was beginning to turn to rubber—like his legs would feel if he had spent all day running on a treadmill. Still, the questions continued. Despite the grueling mental fatigue he was starting to feel, he was not tired, the ever approaching moment of judgment keeping him on edge. Just when he thought he couldn't take anymore questioning …

“And I believe we are done here,” the female unicorn spoke again. “Dr. Peterson, if you would please wait in the lunch room while we discuss.”

James nodded and stood up. “Thank you, ma'am,” he said before walking towards the lunch room door again. After passing through it, it closed, and he heard it lock it behind him, preventing him from re-entering the exam room. That door was also the only way out of the lunch room, meaning he was locked in this room and isolated for now. He sat down at the empty table and waited. It was all he could do now. But the waiting was even more torturous than the nine hour exam had been. An hour passed. Maybe two. He lost track of the time. Finally, the door opened, startling him out of his thoughts.

“Dr. Peterson. Please rejoin us in the exam room. Remain standing at the front of the desk you were at.” It was the unicorn that had led him into the exam room earlier spoke, then turned and trotted back to the exam room and to his station behind the large desk.

James followed, doing as he was told and standing in front of the desk he had originally been seated at. All of the examiner ponies looked down at him from behind elevated large desk. A moment passed, although it seemed like an eternity to him. Finally, the female unicorn at the center spoke again.

“Dr. Peterson, it gives us great pleasure to accept you into the Academy faculty, and to welcome you as one of our own.” James felt as if a weight had been lifted off of him, relief flooding through him. The unicorn continued. “You are to report to the administration building at seven tomorrow morning, where you will be expected to be in class 1B uniform. One of us will meet you there to guide you through orientation on your first day. We remind you that these proceedings are confidential and you are not to speak of them to anypony. Always wear the Academy uniform with dignity, and respect. And always remember you represent Princess Celestia and Princess Luna themselves when you wear it. Congratulations, Dr. Peterson. These proceedings are closed.”

She banged her hoof on the desk once, making a gavel like sound that echoed off the walls. Then the ponies started to file out from behind the desk, coming down to the floor where he was. Now that the formal proceedings were over, they smiled for the first time since he had arrived, each congratulating him in turn. Celestia's sun was already getting low on the horizon when they wrapped things up, all of them filing out of the room back to the common area. As she promised, Theory Point was waiting for him. His smile answered her question before she asked it.

“I told you had nothing to worry about.” She trotted up to him. “Congratulations. And welcome to the Academy.”

“Thank you,” he smiled. “We should get to the lab and get some work done, with what little time is left in the day.” He started heading for the door, blinking as he was stopped and pulled backwards. Theory Point had hooked her foreleg under his arm.

“Oh no, you don't. You just got accepted into the Academy. That's a big deal. The lab can wait until tomorrow. Tonight, we party. I know just the place.”

He tried to protest, but she was already herding him out the door on the other side of the building, opposite the direction of the lab.

The top of Celestia's sun was just dipping below the horizon as she led him into the heart of Canterlot. He pulled his cloak tighter around his shoulders as the icy night wind bit at him. The smell of wood smoke hung heavy in the air as fireplaces and stoves worked overtime to keep the advancing winter chill out of the houses that lined the streets. Longingly, James remembered that it was Spring in Chicago right now. As they continued further away from the castle walls, the multistory exquisitely constructed stone and marble houses gave way to more common construction. He hadn't been to this part of Canterlot before. In fact, he hadn't even realized that Canterlot had a district that wasn't completely aristocratic and obsessed with appearances.

“You look surprised,” Theory Point commented. “What, did you think that all of Canterlot was stuck up and full of itself? It has areas where the commoners live. Like any other large city.”

“I was starting to think there were no commoners in Canterlot,” he quipped, still looking around at the changing architecture.

“Not everypony in Canterlot holds a high level government position, or is on the Academy staff—although almost everypony in Canterlot does work for the government. The ones that don't, provide services for the ones that do. But even within the government, there's a lot of more common jobs that need to be done to keep this place running. Construction, and so on.”

James nodded at her response, feeling relieved that there would be a place he could go to get away from all the aristocracy when he wanted to, without having to completely leave the city.

They approached a single story brick building. Strobe lights and a kaleidescope of entertainment lighting flashed through the two frosted windows on the front of the building. The sound of amplified bass from techno music pounded through the walls. A sign on the awning over the door identified the building as 'The Underhoof', written in a Gothic style font. Under the awning, a simple gun-metal gray steel door with no windows served as the entrance. James opened the door for Theory Point, the pounding of the sub-woofers invading his ears now, then followed her inside.

A large muscular pony, fur as dark as midnight sat to the right inside of the door. His mane and tail were just as dark as his fur. He nodded and smiled slightly to Theory Point, leaning in close to her and saying something to her that James could not hear over the unremitting assault of the amplifiers. She said something back to him. He looked at James and nodded extending his right forehoof. James nodded back politely and extended his own hand, thinking the pony meant to shake hands. Instead, the bouncer pony grabbed a rubber stamp, and pushed it down on the top of his hand, stamping the image of a red pony with his foreleg and hoof raised in the air onto the back of it. He then did the same to Theory Point's forehoof, before she paid him with some bits.

Once she had paid for admission, she led him further into the building. A right turn, and they were in a large crowded room. Flashing strobe lights, like lightning on a moonless night assaulted James' vision. Green, red, blue, violet, and yellow lasers scanned across the room, rotating in a dizzying pinwheel of color, sometimes splitting into hundreds of beams before coming back together as one. 'Ponysonic' speakers hanging from the ceiling assailed his ears with loud electronic trance music, while waves of bass from sub-woofers next to the walls thumped in his chest. Ponies of all different colors whirled and spun around the dance floor, the strobe lights making them flash in and out of vision. Lasers and a rainbow of sweeping entertainment lights swept over them. Near the front of the room, on an elevated stage, a white unicorn with large dark rimmed sunglasses with a purple tint spun records, her horn glowing as she worked the controls on a large mixer and lighting control system. Her mane and tail were dark blue with light blue highlights in both, her cutie mark a bridged musical note. And through it all, the lasers continued to spin, the strobe lights continued to flash, the music continued to pound, and James continued to get more and more disoriented, mesmerized by the spinning kaleidescope of light.

A poke in his ribs from Theory Point's horn finally brought him back to reality. She motioned him towards a bar in the center of the room and he followed her to it, having to push his way through the crowded dance floor, ponies bumping into him roughly. Finally, they made their way to the bar and found two empty seats. The music continued to pound.

“Welcome to the other side of the tracks, as it were,” she said loudly to him, leaning in close to his ear to be heard over the loud music.

He looked around a bit more, still somewhat in shock that Canterlot even had a 'the other side of the tracks', having believed up until now that the entire city was completely blue-blooded high-class society. Then he leaned in close to Theory Point's ear again. “You are somewhat of a non-conformist, aren't you …” he said loud enough to be sure she could hear him over the music.

“A lot of ponies from the science department hang out here,” she responded. “It's sort of … the unofficial nerd gathering spot.” She looked out over the room. Then her horn lit up and she made a waving motion with her head, beckoning a couple of uniformed ponies near the entrance over to them. “In fact, there's a couple of them right now.” The two ponies in question nodded in response to her and began making their way through the crowd over to the unicorn and human pair.

“I didn't even know you had entertainment lasers in Equestria. I never saw anything like this in Ponyville,” he said to her, leaning in close to her ear again.

“Lasers? No. You are forgetting. She's a unicorn,” Theory responded.

He raised an eyebrow. “It's some kind of illusion magic then?”

“Magic, yes. Illusions? No. The colored light beams are very real. Magically created beams of photons that emit light at various wavelengths.”

“That sounds like it would be very difficult to master.”

“No doubt it is. It took her years to master it. But she's widely regarded as the best DJ in Canterlot—perhaps even the best DJ in all of Equestria. It's her special talent, so her magic is focused on entertainment.”

He nodded and watched the DJ pony work again, the colored light beams arcing through the air, bouncing off small mirrors mounted on the ceiling, splitting, converging, changing color, pinwheeling around. It seemed to be almost natural for her. “From what Twilight told me, unicorns have to expend energy to perform magic. It must be tiring for her,” he commented.

“It is. Very tiring. She will be exhausted when the place closes tonight. But she loves doing it and wouldn't trade it for the world.”

The two Academy ponies finally arrived at the bar after navigating through the crowd—a dark brown pegasus with a short black mane and matching tail, and a light green earth pony with a longer yellow mane and tail.

Theory Point nodded at them before looking back at James. “James, these here are Delta Streak”, she motioned at the pegasus, “and Autumn Harvest”, she motioned to the earth pony. “No doubt you two have already heard of James. He completed the exam process today and will be joining us in the science department.”

The two ponies nodded to him and extended their forehooves. “Congratulations,” they both said in unison.

“Thank you,” James responded and shook their forehooves in turn.

“You will have a lot of fun working at the Academy,” the male pegasus continued. “But, watch out for Theory Point here. She's a wild one and will get you in a lot of trouble if you give her the chance.” He snickered a bit, getting a playful forehoof in the ribs from the unicorn in response. “What?” he protested. “I mean the mere fact that you brought him to this dive is-”

“Delta works on the aerodynamics team,” Theory interrupted, “which is part of the same department we are in. His never-ending quest? To design the perfect flying chariot.”

He nodded and chuckled. “It's a winged chariot with flexible airfoils so the pegasi can control it easier and expend much less energy pulling it because it produces its own lift. It's streamlined to have a very aerodynamic shape. Imagine cutting the flying time from Manehatten to Canterlot in half! Do you happen to know any test pilot pegasi? I'm in desperate need of a test pilot. Somepony willing to take a lot of crazy risks putting this thing through its paces once we get it built?”

A certain cyan pegasus with a rainbow colored mane popped in James' head as soon as Delta mentioned 'crazy' and 'risks'. He couldn't help but snicker a bit. “There is … somepony that comes to mind.” He snickered again.

Theory Point then nodded at the earth pony slightly. And Autumn Harvest is in the agriculture department. Her passion is the pursuit of food crop perfection.”

The earth pony chuckled and shook her head a bit. “In more scientific terms, I'm working on a hybrid form of wheat that is both pest and weed resistant and can potentially double yield per field. More crops on less land, and less time to harvest them.”

James nodded. “Genetically engineered? Sounds interesting.”

“Not genetically engineered really, just selectively bred. Genetically altered food doesn't go over well with most ponies. They tend to fear it.”

“Ah. So is it-”

He was cut off by Theory Point again. “Enough of that for now. You three will have plenty of time to talk during the normal course of activities at the Academy. Tonight, we party.” She motioned towards the dance floor.

“Oh no we aren't. I don't dance.”

“Oh come on. It's not like we are in the castle ballroom. It's electronic trance music. You don't exactly have to know how to dance.”

“No. I'm not going out—ow!” She poked him in the back with her horn, herding him out on to the dance floor now. “Stop that!” he protested, only to get another poke in response, forcing him further towards the floor. Before he could counter, she poked him again sending him forward a few more steps. The sea of ponies closed around him, and there was no escape. He was carried further out onto the dance floor like a piece of driftwood on an outgoing tide, flowing out into the ocean. He shot Theory Point a glare. She only feigned innocence in response.

o.O.o

Princess Celestia laid in darkness, as if a giant well of black ink had been poured over all of Equestria. She was cold … very cold. Her legs didn't want to move, the bitter temperatures rendering her muscles stiff and rigid. But she willed herself to move, forcing first her forelegs, then her hind legs under her, pushing herself to her hooves. She took a step forward. The ground cracked and groaned beneath her hoof, frozen dead leaves shattering beneath it—like once beautiful stained glass that had been reduced back to simple sand, the trees the leaves had fallen from having long ago given up their struggle for survival in the icy environment. Arctic wind penetrated the alicorn's fur like thousands of tiny daggers—ripped through the feathers of her wings as if trying to pluck them out. A crescent moon hung in the sky, but its light had turned blanch, barely penetrating through layers of swiftly moving dark cloud. An unearthly glow shown from the black trees as the pale light of the moon reflected off thick icicles hanging from the bare branches, like cold iron prison bars locking the trees in an arctic dungeon of winter.

She willed herself forward, forcing one hoof in front of the other, despite the protests of her frozen limbs. She moved through the forest. Nothing stirred, the wind whipping through the frozen branches the only sound. She had the disturbing feeling the wind and its sound were mocking her. Squinting her eyes to see better in the darkness, she thought she saw a small glow in front of her, like a candle burning at the end of a dark misty corridor. Life! She willed herself to move faster, her legs protesting with an increasing ache as she forced them into a trot. But that didn't matter now. There was life ahead! And the warmth of a glowing fire. Surely, whoever had kindled it would welcome her—allow her to warm herself by it. Her spirit rose inside of her, the aches and pains in her legs and frozen wingtips being forced into oblivion by the warm company she knew lie just ahead.

A scent entered her nostrils. The wood smoke from the fire, she thought. No … That wasn't it. She came to an abrupt halt, tipping her muzzle skyward and sniffing the air. The smell of death hung heavily on it. Her spirit sank, the chill extending to her core now.

Still, she forced herself onward towards the glowing fire, the ache in her legs and the pain in her frostbitten wingtips returning with a vengeance.

She entered the clearing. The bodies of dragons lay everywhere, still and unmoving, their corpses forever frozen in the positions they had died, their faces contorted and twisted in expressions of agony and despair. The frigid cold had been too much for the cold-blooded dragons. Huddled around the campfire, a group of smaller dragons still lived, desperately fighting against the frozen death that had taken their companions. They were too weak to speak anymore, but they stared at her, pleading with her to save them, their eyes begging her for the salvation only she could give them.

She looked at them with compassion and sadness. Then she concentrated, willing her magical power to the surface, attempting to raise the sun. Nothing happened. Panic rose in her. She willed more of her power to the surface, bringing all of her reserves to bear. Her horn started to glow faintly, like a kindled fire starting to gain strength. A warmth emanated from her, the glow intensifying and illuminating the clearing. The ink black sky took on a brilliant orange hue as light begin to force away the darkness. Then, as quickly as it had come, the glow faded, and winked out, like the dying flame of an oxygen starved candle. The sun refused to obey her, even seeming to mock her efforts.

Her attention returned to the dragons. Their eyes had taken on a look of finality and resignation. She was their last hope. The only one who could save them. And she had failed them.

Her expression took on and even deeper sadness. Her voice cracked as she spoke. “I'm sorry … I can't.” was all she could say. The dragons remained stoic. There was no anger in their expressions. Only resignation and acceptance of impending death. Sadly, she turned and walked away, her head hanging low, her normally vibrant flowing mane and tail dull and motionless.

She forced herself to go on, plodding through the forest. The agony in her increasingly frostbitten wings was nothing compared to the pain and despair she now felt in her heart over her inability to save the dragons from the cold death that was sure to take them. They were as much a part of her kingdom as her ponies. They were her subjects … her responsibility … hers to protect and provide for. And she had failed them. Still, she continued onward, for there was nothing else she could do, though she did not know where she was going, or why. She didn't know how long she had been walking through the dark forest.

She raised her muzzle and sniffed the air again as another scent made its way to her on the cold wind. Again, it was the smell of wood smoke. She followed the scent, the forest slowly thinning out. As she stepped out of the woods, she came upon a farm. Sweet Apple Acres, she realized. The apple trees that still remained in the orchards at all were barren and lifeless, standing like dark twisted skeletons reaching towards the sky with limbs stripped of flesh, leaving only bone. Most of the trees had already met the ax, leaving only stumps cut off as close to the ground as possible—a last desperate act for any wood that was burnable without having to go to far into the forest, she realized with despair.

She made her way past the lifeless orchards, past the farm house that had been the residence of the Apple family. But now it was dark and crumbling. Even the siding on the house had been cannibalized for burnable wood, leaving nothing but a hollow shell—a symbol of the shell that her once beautiful and vibrant kingdom seemed to have become.

As she made her way towards Ponyville proper, the smell of wood smoke became stronger, choking the air in a smog like haze as it hovered low to the ground, the frozen air above the town preventing the smoke from rising. She made her way past the houses and buildings of Ponyville. Most were abandoned. Some had been looted by desperate ponies struggling to survive. Nothing moved in the streets, and the town appeared lifeless. She came to the library. The windows were dark. Still, she had hope. She knocked on the door with a forehoof, the sound eerily loud in the otherwise silent town. Nopony answered. She reared up, kicking the door with both forehooves, shattering it with a crack like a firecracker. No life stirred inside. But the library was exactly as Twilight would have left it on her best days. Books were neatly arranged on their shelves in perfect order. It was one of the few buildings in Ponyville that had been left untouched. Books, it seems had no value anymore. Only items that could immediately aid survival were considered to be of any worth.

She hung her head low and left the deserted yet pristinely preserved library, moving towards the center of town now. Then she raised her head slightly. Light ahead! From the windows of the town hall! She willed her aching legs to move faster, trotting towards the front of the building. She pushed firmly on the door. It opened with relative ease.

She breathed a small sigh of relief. Inside, her ponies were safe. It looked as if the entire town was gathered in the large meeting room. A crackling fire blazed in the hearth, keeping frigid death outside. Her ponies were thin from heavily rationing what little food they had left. But they were alive! And that's all that mattered. She could save them now! Even if she had to nurse every single one of them back to health herself, that is what she would do. They were her ponies, her charge to protect and provide for.

Desperately she tried to raise the sun again. But again, nothing happened. Panic rose in her as her ponies looked at her. Like the dragons, they pleaded with her to save them—for she was the only one who could save them. Desperately, they pleaded with her to raise the sun. And just as desperately did she try again, putting every last reserve of power she had into the magic. Still, nothing happened. The sun would not rise.

She hung her head in despair. Her student, Twilight Sparkle, looked at her, her face awash with confusion and fear.

“I'm sorry,” was all she could say again. She turned on her hoof, and galloped out of the town hall. “I'm sorry.” Her voice cracked as she fled back towards the forest. She galloped as fast as she could, ignoring the tears streaming from her eyes, catching on the wind, and trailing behind her. She galloped until she could gallop no more, Then she collapsed to the ground.

“I'm sorry!” she cried out to a world she could not save. Tears streamed from her eyes, sliding down her muzzle and turning to ice before they hit the frozen ground. She made no effort to wipe them away. “I'm sorry ...” She said again in a resigned voice. The tears continued to flow. She willed her immortality away and waited for death to take her.

A dark voice, more sinister than death itself, laughed in her ear at her misery—at the misery of her subjects. Then it spoke in a low voice, almost a whisper:

“This is how it all ends, Celestia.”

19 - Dreamscapes

The God Particle

Chapter 19: Dreamscapes

Luna's moon was already beginning its descent when the three ponies and their human companion arrived back at the Academy dormitory. Delta Streak, the pegasus stallion, pushed the door open, holding it for the two mares. James followed behind them, the stallion bringing up the rear, letting the door slam shut behind him.

“You trying to wake up the whole building?” Theory Point scolded him.

He ignored her comment, looking back and forth between the two ponies and the human. “So what should we do now?”

James interjected before any of them could respond. “Despite how much fun I had tonight with you three, I do have to be up early for orientation. So what I am doing now, is heading to bed.”

“He's probably right.” Theory Point came to his defense. “We should all get to bed. I have class to teach in the morning. Tomorrow's not an off day, remember.”

“Typical pegasus,” Autumn Harvest snickered. “He doesn't know when to call it a night.”

“Yeah, yeah,” he grumbled. “You are right I suppose. There's always the weekend I guess. Good night all. And thanks for the fun night,” he said, turning and leaving for his room.

“Good night,” James responded. “It was nice meeting you.”

He looked back at the two remaining ponies. “Thanks, you two. It's good to find some friends in Canterlot so quickly who aren't all … well, you know …”

“We know,” Theory Point chuckled. “So I'll see you tomorrow after you get done with orientation?”

“Yep. I'll see you then. Good night, you two.” He nodded to them before turning down the hall, walking towards the stairs as he left for his own room.

“Night,” the two mares responded in unison.

...

Theory Point waited until he was out of earshot, then looked at Autumn. “So what do you think of him?” she asked, a more serious expression on her face now.

“Well, I'm not into interspecies dating myself, but I think he's a good catch for you.” The earth pony snickered.

“You know what I mean,” Theory responded, giving the earth pony an unamused shove with her flank.

She chuckled again before responding. “I think he's interesting. Definitely intelligent. Definitely a valuable addition. Or could be. I think he has a lot of potential.”

The unicorn smiled and stood in silence for a few moments, staring in the direction James had gone as if lost in thought. “Well, I'm off to bed too. Good night, Autumn.” She turned and trotted towards the stairs herself, towards her own room.

...

Princess Celestia woke with a start, her heart pounding in her chest, her breathing rapid. Cold sweat drenched her pristine white coat, matting her fur and chilling her to the bone. She looked around rapidly in confusion. It was mostly dark, save for a burning fire—the fire in her own fireplace. She was lying in her own room in the castle. So it had been a dream … no, a nightmare. She forced herself to practice controlled breathing and calm down. But the realization that it was not real, that it was a dream, brought her little solace. There was more to it than that. She was sure of it.

A quick spell from her horn illuminated the clock on her wall. It was nearly time to raise the sun. She was glad for that. Despite the fact that she knew it was only a dream, she was anxious to prove to herself that the sun would still rise when she commanded it to.

She used her magic to light a lamp on the table next to her bed. Shook her head slightly to clear the strands of mane that were running down her muzzle and forehead before getting out of bed. Heading towards the door of her room, she stopped, catching a glimpse of herself in the mirror above her dresser. Celestia, you silly filly. You can't go out there looking like that, she chastised herself, trying to make light of the situation.

Her horn glowed lightly, as did the brush on her dresser as it floated up to her head. She gently moved the brush through her mane, all evidence of the nightmare disappearing as she combed the normal regal appearance back into it. When she had finished with her mane, she brushed the mats out of her fur, restoring her coat to its normal radiance.

...

James slept soundly in his bed. He had fallen asleep almost before his head had hit the pillow. The combination of lack of sleep the night before, grueling exams that strained his mind all day, and partying with Theory Point and her friends well into the night had left him both physically and mentally exhausted. As he slept, he became aware of something pressing on his face—like a cold, icy hand covering his mouth. His vision slowly came into focus.

Standing on the bed, towering over his prone body, was the dark form of Princess Luna. She had a look of malice in her eyes—a look that would have sent him running in fear. Had he been able to run, that is. Her right forehoof covered his mouth, preventing him from crying out. Her left forehoof pressed firmly on his chest, pinning him down. Immediately, he panicked, instinct kicking in as he struggled, desperate for escape. He tried to call for help, but the only sound that came out was muffled by her forehoof.

“Don't even twitch, human!” she commanded in a voice that sounded different than her normal voice.

He forced himself to hold still at her command, doing his best to control his fearful shaking. Looking up at her again, he blinked at what he saw. Originally, he had thought it was Princess Luna standing over him. But now, he realized it was none other than Nightmare Moon herself. Instantly, the panic returned and he started struggling again—an effort that was quickly thwarted when the dark alicorn used her magic to pin down his arms and legs, reducing his struggling to ineffective squirming. He winced in pain as she pressed down harder on his chest with her forehoof. Realizing the futility of trying to escape, he finally held still, staring up at her. Never before had he felt such cold foreboding venom. It was as if pure terror had taken on a material form so that it could be seen, touched, heard, and smelled. All of his senses were focused on only one thing: the malevolent alicorn standing over him. He had been forcing himself to hold still—something that had been no small effort. But now, to his confusion, he found that remaining still had become easier. Frozen with fear, he thought to himself, raising his panic level even further, if that were possible.

The dark alicorn stared at him for a moment, chuckled in a sinister tone. “Are we finished now?” She didn't wait for a response. “Good. Now that I have your complete attention, you are going to listen very carefully to everything I say. Aren't you …”

Still hyperventilating, he made a slight nodding motion. It was all he could do with her forehoof still firmly covering his mouth.

The alicorn's frigid icy eyes glared into him, sending a chill through him as cold as a winter midnight. She spoke in a dark and menacing tone. “I don't know what is going on in the North. Nor do I know what it is you found up there … or claim to have found.” She paused for a moment, staring intently at him to make sure she still had his full attention. “But I do know that my sister trusts you completely. I already lost my sister once. I lost her for a thousand years because of my own ambitions. I have no intention of losing her again by letting your ambitions get in the way … by letting your ambitions cause history to repeat itself.”

He continued to breath rapidly, her eyes locking his transfixed to her. He made no further efforts to escape.

Her tone became darker, switching to the Royal Canterlot Voice. “Let us be very clear. If thou doest betray my sister … if thou doest harm her in any way … thou wilt answer directly to me. And I shall tie the rope around thy neck myself.” She paused again, making sure that what she had said had time to sink in—that he realized she was deadly serious. “Do we make ourselves clear?”

Again, he could only nod in response, her forehoof still resting firmly on his mouth, his eyes wide with terror.

“Good.”

She leaned down towards his face, nuzzling his cheek with her muzzle. Moonlight reflected off her obsidian fur, her armor awash with its pale silver light. Her touch was sinister, her fur cold, like a piece of dry ice rubbing against his skin. And yet, despite the iciness, it had a strange almost desirable feel to it—a darkly seductive quality. James shivered from her touch, getting a cold smile from her in response.

He awoke with a start, sitting bolt upright, throwing the covers off himself. Looking around frantically, he realized he was alone in his room at the dormitory. Gradually, his staccato breathing slowed to a more normal cadence. But the realization that it just been a dream did nothing to stop his shaking.

A gentle knock on the door caused his heart to skip a beat, his nerves already in overdrive. The handle on the door turned. He could feel himself going back into panic mode as the door slowly opened.

“Sir?” A royal unicorn guard stood outside the door, the light of the full moon streaming through the window and reflecting off his polished armor. “Are you alright? I thought I heard a shout.”

James stared at him for a moment before snapping back to reality. He breathed a small sigh of relief. “Yes, I'm fine. I had a dream … a nightmare … that's all. Thank you for checking.”

The unicorn guard looked at him for a few moments, seemingly unconvinced. Then he nodded slightly. “Very well, sir, I hope the rest of your night is better.”

“Thank you.” James nodded respectfully and laid back down as the royal guard closed the door, returning to his rounds. Sleep, however, eluded him, the fear of the dream still too fresh in his mind.

Giving up, he climbed out of bed well before Celestia's sun had begun to rise. He showered, combed his hair, and made himself presentable. Then he took the class 1B uniform down off its hanger, laying it out on the bed while he thumbed through the guide book it had come with to make sure he wore it properly. He had not worn a tie in he couldn't remember how long. It took him several attempts to get the knot tied correctly. When he finally did, he found that he had made it too long—the end hanging well below the belt buckle. With a sigh, he untied it and started over. This time, he over-corrected, the end only coming down to the middle of his stomach. Once again, he started over. A few more attempts, and he finally got the length correct. Next, he put the cap on, adjusting it until it fit his head.

When he had finished dressing, he looked at himself in the mirror. His own reflection surprised him. The uniform definitively made him look military—even more so than he thought it would. Sure, it looked military when Theory Point wore it. But now, seeing it on himself—on a human being—he had a more natural frame of reference to compare it to.

He continued staring into the mirror. The man that stared back at him was a symbol—a symbol of the system that Celestia and Luna had created. The constant symbols of Celestia and Luna's power displayed flying over the castle, on banners in every room, had bothered him from the day he arrived in Equestria. But now, he wore those symbols himself. The flag of Equestria. The royal coat of arms of Princess Celestia and Princess Luna. He stared at them in the mirror. At the symbols of the dynasty of the two Royal Pony Sisters now adorning his own clothing. What have I become? he thought to himself.

He took off the cap—the guidebook dictated it was not to be worn indoors—and left his room, making his way to the common area for hot tea. The sun would not begin to rise for more than two hours and it was nearly three hours before he had to report for orientation.

In the common area, he was thankful for the warm fire that was cracking in the hearth. It seemed to warm his spirit, in addition to keeping the chill of the ever encroaching winter outside of the building.

He walked to the bookshelf that took up the length of the far wall, scanning through the titles. Eventually, he chose one titled “History of the Royal Equestria Academy” and sat down to read. After about thirty minutes, he returned the book to the shelf, placed his cap on his head, put on his uniform coat, and stepped out into the cold night air, making his way towards the lab.

Nothing stirred this early in the morning, the full moon lighting the streets so that he could see easily. But he took no comfort in the moon or its silver light on this frigid morning, for it only served to remind him of the terrifying dream earlier that night. The shadows cast by the lunar light seemed to take on an ominous appearance—as if each one of them was hiding some sort of monster waiting for the right moment to strike and devour him. The moon itself seemed to be watching his every move. He wished for clouds to arrive and cover it—more to prevent it from seeing him than him from seeing it. It seemed to hang in the sky, like Princess Luna's all seeing spy satellite. A spy satellite that would report back to its mistress on anything out of the ordinary.

James, you foal! he chastised himself. You're just letting your mind play games with you now. It provided little comfort however, and he did not fail to notice that he had used the word “foal” instead of “fool”, despite the fact that he wasn't even around any ponies right now and that he had been referring to himself rather than to a pony.

You're becoming one of them, his mind lambasted him. You're losing who you are. Losing your own identity.

He pushed those thoughts out of his head, continuing to walk in silence, hugging his coat a little closer around himself. His own breath hung in the air as he exhaled, like mist over a bog. The chill air seemed to grip him tighter, squeezing him like a vice as if trying to remind him of the increasingly tight grip Equestria was taking on him. He thought it ironic. After all, Celestia had given him more freedom—certainly more than he had during the first few months he had been here. And yet, despite the greater freedom, he felt more and more like a servant.

A light snow began to fall as he arrived at the entrance to the building that contained the underground lab. Moonlight glinted off the armor of the two pegasi guards in front of the door. He thought they must be cold, standing in front of that door for hours on end. But if they were, neither one showed any outward sign of it. Their devotion to their duty overcame all else.

“Good morning, sir,” the one on the right spoke. “Getting an early start this morning?”

“And good morning to you, sirs,” James nodded respectfully to both guards. “Yeah. Couldn't sleep. Figured I might as well come in early.”

“Congratulations on your acceptance into the Academy.” It was the pegasus on the left that spoke now, seeing the human scientist in uniform for the first time.

“Thank you, sir,” James responded.

The three of them made small talk for a few more minutes before James went inside the building. He made hot tea and brought it out to the guards, a gesture of good will that they greatly appreciated and thanked him for. Then he went back inside and headed downstairs to the lab.

The first thing he wanted to do was weigh the strange object. He pushed a wheeled cart with a scale sitting on it to the other side of the shield, then unlocked the latches on the trunk. Moving behind the shield again, he carefully manipulated the grabber they had rigged up, using it to open the trunk. Then, as delicately as if he were handling a diamond of priceless value, he used the grabbers to lift the sphere out of the trunk. Ever so slowly and carefully, he lifted it. Once he was sure he had a solid grasp on it, he moved it over to the scale, gently setting it down. It was heavy … very heavy. The mass of the object was greater than that of Uranium or Plutonium. It was not any element that exited in nature. It had to have been artificially made by the ponies. But how? There were no particle accelerators, nuclear reactors, or other facilities in Equestria that could be used to create new elements. None that he was aware of at least. Could magic be used to do it? He'd have to ask Theory Point about that when she arrived.

Suddenly, he had the feeling that he was being watched from behind. A cold chill started in his neck, ran down his back to the base of his spine. He swallowed the lump in his throat … slowly turned around. The Princess of the Night stood in the entrance, watching him in silence.

As if a sluice gate had been opened, the memories of the nightmare immediately came flooding back to him, filling his mind with their terrifying images. His heart raced. He knew he should kneel, but his legs didn't want to obey him. He willed himself to do so anyway, dropping to his knees and bowing his head respectfully to the Ruler of the Night. “Princess Luna. Your Majesty,” he acknowledged her. James, you foal! Stand up! his mind screamed at him. For kneeling had placed him in a completely vulnerable position where he would have no chance of defending himself should the need arise. He managed to resist the urge to stand up, but it required all of his will power to remain on his knees at this point. He waited for her to give him permission to stand. But she did not.

Slowly, she stepped into the lab, each of her hooves tapping on the concrete floor as she walked. The sound was like the ominous ticking of some doomsday clock, counting down the seconds to an unknown and frightening end. Her forehooves came down in front of him as she stopped, only a few paces away from his face. Again, his mind screamed at him to stand up and retreat. And again, he resisted the urge. What good would it do him anyway? Experience had taught him that Twilight Sparkle could magically restrain him when she wanted to. He was certain Princess Luna was more powerful. And if Twilight could do it …

“James, you look terrible,” the alicorn spoke with a compassion that seemed feigned. “Are your … dreams troubling you perhaps?”

He felt a surge of adrenaline go through him, the fight-or-flight response nearly overwhelming. “Was it … a dream? Your Majesty?” He had no doubt the fear was obvious in his voice, and he remembered that she had told him earlier that ponies were also capable of smelling fear. Stand up and run, you foal! his mind screamed at him again.

“Yes, it was a dream.” She said it as nonchalantly as if she were talking about the weather, her voice devoid of emotion.

Run James! You foal! Again, however, he did not, still on his knees remaining as still as possible—as if he were confronting an angry bear that might attack without warning if he made any sudden movements. He thought a bear might be preferable right now actually, rather than the powerful alicorn confronting him.

She walked around him once, crowding him in a tight circle, as if she were examining every part of him. The tapping of her hooves was even more ominous when she was behind him, out of his vision. That made him even more uncomfortable. When she was behind him, he was completely at her mercy. He was relieved when she completed her circle and stopped in front of him again.

“I suppose congratulations are in order,” she spoke again.

“Thank you, Your Majesty.” He fought to control the nervousness in his voice. But he knew attempting to hide his fear from her was futile.

“Though I must say, seeing you wear my coat of arms on your clothing … my cutie mark … is going to take some … how shall we say … getting used to.”

He hesitated, choosing his words carefully before responding, as if walking on a minefield. “I will not disappoint you, Your Majesty.”

“See that you do not,” she responded, her voice still as cold as the darkness outside.

“May I … ask a question? Your Majesty?”

“Ask.” She raised her right forehoof, before stomping it back down on the floor lightly, causing him to recoil slightly. But he quickly recovered.

“What about that night we spent watching the stars, Your Majesty? I thought … we were over this mistrust thing?”

“Do not think that just because I let my guard down one night with you, that you have earned my trust. You are still a stranger here. And for all that we have learned about you, there is still a lot we don't know. About you or where you come from.”

“I … understand, Your Majesty … But please believe me when I tell you that I have no intention of betraying either you, or your sister.”

“As long as you do not, you have nothing to fear from me … Do you.”

“No, Your Majesty … I suppose you are right.”

“Of course I am right,” she responded nonchalantly. Then she looked up, moving her head in an arc, taking in the entire room in a bored sweep of her head. She spread her great wings, stretching them before folding them against her body again. “I suppose I should be on my way to lower the moon. The sun will be rising soon. But don't worry, James. You'll see me again soon enough.”

“Of course, Your Majesty.” He bowed his head respectfully. He wasn't sure what she meant by the “You'll see me again soon enough” part. He wasn't sure he wanted to find out either.

When he chanced a glance back up, she was already gone. It unnerved him how she could come and go so silently when she wanted to, and yet the noise of her hooves tapping on the floor had seemed so loud when she had been confronting him. Was she ever really there? Or had it been another dream? Right now, he wasn't sure.

He forced his mind back to the task at hand, writing down some notes about the weight, mass, and so on of the object. Then he carefully used the grabbers to return it to the trunk. He closed the lid, and walked to the other side of the shield to secure the latches again.

He left the lab, locking the door behind him and proceeding up the stairs. Nodding politely to the guards outside the door, who thanked him for the tea he had brought them again. He almost walked past them, then stopped and turned to them.

“Did any other pony come into this building while I have been here?”

“No sir. You are the only one that has arrived this morning. Why do you ask?”

“It's nothing. Thank you.” He nodded respectfully to the two pegasi again, then turned and started walking towards the administration building for orientation. Well, she didn't come in through the door. Or if she did, she snuck past her own guards…

Celestia's sun was just starting to peak above the land as he arrived at the administration building—its warm, comforting glow flooding the Eastern horizon. There was a wild, untamed beauty in the way the colors mixed randomly on the horizon—like vials of pink, orange, and yellow paint that had been knocked over, allowed to run over a canvas of sky. It was unparalleled order and control, with just a touch of chaos that made each sunrise a unique picturesque experience different from the one before. He would never see another sunrise exactly the same as this one. Celestia's sunrise was an amazing sight to behold—made perfect … by a hint of chaos …

20 - The Weaving of Fate

Author's Note: I apologize for the extremely long delay in getting this chapter out. I got side-tracked by another project for awhile and had a case of writer's block. With Celestia and Luna as my witnesses, it will not happen again. Thanks so much all, for your patience. I hope you enjoy chapter 20.

The God Particle

Chapter 20. The Weaving of Fate

James walked down the hall of the administration building, arriving at the same office he had reported to the first time. The same young administration pony sat behind the desk.

“Told you you'd pass,” he absently commented, looking up at the human and the uniform he was wearing before returning to some paperwork. “Congratulations.”

“Thank you,” he responded and nodded politely.

“You'll want to take your cap off before the Colonel gets here so she doesn't chew your tail off … if you had a tail to chew off that is. She might chew your head off instead.” the pony deadpanned without looking up from his paperwork.

“Oh … right … thanks,” he responded sheepishly, reaching up with his right hand and removing the cap. He wasn't used to wearing a cap and had completely forgotten he even had it on, much less that the uniform policy dictated the cap was not to be worn indoors.

“Not a problem.” The pony still didn't look up from whatever he was occupied with.

“Dr. Peterson. Good to see you again.”

He looked up to see the female unicorn who had been one of the leaders of the examination board he had faced the previous day.

“Thank you, Ma'am. Likewise,” he responded. He tried to hide his nervousness as she looked him over, inspecting him for any blemish or flaw—as if he were some piece of art on display in a gallery that she were considering buying. He was sure she would find something wrong with the way he had worn the uniform for the first time and would rebuke him for it. If she did though, she said nothing.

“Well, lets get started, shall we? Follow me.” She turned on her hoof, trotting out of the room. He nodded politely to the administration pony, who once again did not look up from his activities, then turned and followed the unicorn.

o.O.o

A brisk, chill wind blew in from the Northwest towards Ponyville. Smoke gray clouds on the horizon told of snow to come. Branches once covered in autumn, but now barren, whistled and creaked as the arctic wind blew through them. White smoke rose from the chimneys of the houses and businesses in town as most residents of the town stayed inside. But on the path leading out from Ponyville, a purple maned white unicorn trotted, along with a small dragon companion.

“I'm worried about her, Rarity,” Spike said, as he helped the fashionista unicorn hunt for gems. “She's obsessing over finding a way to send him home. And The Princess specifically said—”

“You know how she gets, Spike. Especially when she has some kind of scientific or magical problem she is trying to solve.” The unicorn looked back at him briefly, continuing her trot down the dirt road leading out of Ponyville and to the gem fields. “Once she's figured out that Princess Celestia was right, and it can't be done, she will move on to other things.”

“That's just it, Rarity. She's got it in her head that there's something The Princess isn't telling her.”

“You mean she thinks Princess Celestia is lying to her?” She stopped now, turning around to look at him, her eyebrow raised quizzically. “I've never known The Princess to lie. Especially not to her number one student.”

Spike paused and winced slightly. He probably shouldn't even be talking to Rarity. After all, Twilight trusted him as if he were her own brother. She had told him things in confidence—things it was not his place to share. But he could tell Rarity, right? After all, she was Twilight's friend too. Surely, he could trust her, and ehe needed advice. And besides, I definitely can't ask Princess Celestia herself. Twilight would never trust me with anything again if I did that, he thought to himself. He chose his words carefully.

“Well … Not lying per se … More like she may have ulterior reasons why she doesn't want the possibility that he might be able to be sent home looked into very deeply.” He shivered as a gust of cold wind picked up, wrapping his arms around himself for warmth. Although in truth, he wasn't sure whether it was the cold wind, or the fact that he was talking about Twilight behind her back that was making him more uncomfortable.

“Oh Spike, you are going to catch cold,” Rarity responded, changing the subject and raising an eyebrow. “We should get you back to the library where it's warm.”

“It's alright, Rarity. I'm fine. I'm a dragon, I have fire inside me, remember? I'm perfectly warm.” That wasn't true. In reality, he was freezing. He was a dragon, yes. But he was still reptilian in nature. And he simply wasn't made for this kind of cold weather. But Rarity was low on gems for the boutique, and she wouldn't be able to collect any once the ground was frozen and covered with snow. And she needed his help. And besides, anything for you Rarity, no matter how cold it is, he thought to himself.

o.O.o

Princess Luna tossed and turned in her bed, a restless dream filled sleep holding her. Suddenly, she awoke with a start, looking around her room. Everything was as it should be, but she found her fur damp with perspiration. She rubbed the sleep out of her eyes with her forehoof while trying to recall the details of what she had been dreaming about. There were normal dreams, and then there were premonitions—dreams that revealed bits and pieces of the future. This was one of those dreams. A thousand years of experience as a powerful magical alicorn allowed her to tell the difference by now with relative ease.

“Well, this is interesting indeed,” she said to herself.

She climbed out of her bed and walked over to her night stand, fixing her mane and making herself look presentable. Not as if she really needed to. She had no intention of letting any other pony see her while she was en route to her destination. But, she reasoned, she needed to maintain her regal appearance with him so that he would continue to respect her and her position, lest he forget who he was dealing with. She finished with her mane and put the brush down. Her silver tiara and necklace glowed with magic as she raised them from her night stand and put them on. Then, the window in her tower began to glow as it opened outward and the Princess of the Night left through it, quickly shrouding herself in cloud before she was seen by anypony.

o.O.o

Celestia's sun was already low in the sky by the time James finished orientation. His unicorn guide had drilled him on everything from proper protocol among other staff members, to various ranks held at the Academy, to protocol that Academy staff were expected to observe when at royal functions, as well as when out in public anywhere. He had also gotten his first class. He would be teaching an upper level class on particle physics when the winter semester started. He was relieved they hadn't given him a 101 level class. The upper level class would be smaller and wouldn't overwhelm him with a lot of students for his first semester. Also, it would allow him to spend more time in the lab studying whatever the strange object was they had found up North. For now, he was tempted to simply head back to his room in the staff dorm…he was exhausted and hadn't slept well the night before thanks to Luna. But he hadn't really gotten very much done today since orientation had taken up almost the entire day. He forced himself to go to the lab instead.

He nodded at the pegasi guards outside, exchanging brief greetings before going inside and heading directory downstairs. Inside the lab, he found Theory Point there, her horn glowing as she magically manipulated a quill and wrote down some notes.

“'Evening, James. How'd orientation go?” she asked without looking up from her clipboard.

“Hi, Theory. It went well enough. I don't think I'll ever get used to all the protocol around here though.”

“Don't worry. You will get it down pretty quick after getting your tail chewed off a few times for violating it.” She chuckled in an ambiguous manner…one that left him unsure whether she was joking with him, or being serious.

“So what you working on?” he asked her.

“I was just getting ready to head home for the night actually. But I wrote down quite a bundle of notes for you to read over. You might want to look over them tonight so that we can start on the same page tomorrow. Think fast!” She snickered and James blinked as the clipboard glowed brighter and started flying towards him. Fortunately, his reflexes were better than he thought. His right hand instinctively went up, and he caught it in mid air. He shook his head and scolded her with his index finger.

“Delta was right. You are trouble,” he admonished.

“Well, somepony's gotta keep you on your hooves. Or toes.” She grinned at him. “So you coming back to the dorm or what?”

“Nah, you go ahead. I want to study this thing at least a little bit tonight. I'll also read over your notes while I am here”

“Alright. Suit yourself. Good night, James.” She turned, waved at him with her tail as she left.

“Good night, Theory,” he responded without looking up from the clipboard she had thrown at him.

Once she had left, he busied himself with studying the notes she had written. She had measured various radiation emission numbers from it, using a real Geiger counter that was no doubt more accurate than the homemade one they had initially measured with up at the outpost. The radiation levels he was seeing now were lower than they had measured previously. Damn, he thought to himself. Even accounting for the difference in meter accuracy, the drop-off in levels worried him. The object seemed to have a very short half-life. As he had feared based on its mass, it was likely very unstable and was decaying rapidly. That meant they would have to work quickly if they were to unlock any of its secrets and learn anything about what its intended purpose might have been.

He picked up the quill and began adding some notes of his own to the ones that Theory Point had already written. As he wrote, he began to feel that he was not alone in the room. The temperature seemed to decrease as the feeling of fear he had felt in the morning returned to him. He turned around slowly, as if a coiled serpent were behind him poised to strike if he moved too suddenly. As he expected, the Princess of the Night was standing in the doorway again. Moonlight seemed to reflect off of her silver tiara and necklace, even though there were no windows in the room for the moonlight to shine through.

“Princess Luna,” he acknowledged nervously, placing the clipboard on the counter and forcing himself to kneel and bow to her. Once again, his better judgment screamed at him not to place himself in a such a vulnerable position. But he forced himself to remain on his knees anyway. “Your Majesty. I didn't expect to see you again so soon.”

“We have … nothing better to do on such a cold evening,” she responded, spreading her wings and then folding them lazily against her body again. He felt as if he were a mouse, and she were a cat toying with him. A cat that knew she had him at her mercy, and could end him any time she wanted, toying with him for her own amusement and to let him know how powerless he was against her. “It's not like there are many ponies out in this kind of weather. We figured we might as well come visit you. Please, stand.” She nonchalantly motioned him up with a forehoof.

He stood slowly on her command, grateful that this time, she at least allowed him to do so. Standing or kneeling, you are still at her mercy, his thoughts reminded him. “It is good to see you again, Your Majesty,” he lied.

“Do not flatter us,” she scolded. “We know thou are not thrilled to see us,” She lazily walked over to the counter, looking over the clipboard. “How is thy research going?” she asked in a tone that suggested she really didn't care about the answer. She didn't look up from the clipboard.

“We're just getting started actually, Your Majesty. I was at Academy orientation most of the day.”

“Ah, yes. Those orientations can be grueling. The Academy is very big on protocol,” she stated, as if she were trying to make smalltalk with him. There was a long awkward silence before he responded.

“I do have some concerns though, Your Majesty … The element is decaying very rapidly. I don't know how long it will be before it has decayed to the point where we will not be able to glean any useful information from it.”

“Well, then I'd guess thou had better be diligent in studying it. We shall ensure that the Academy administrators are aware thou art working on something important, and that they are not to overload thy schedule with classes or labs that thou wouldst have to teach.”

“Thank you, Your Majesty. I would appreciate that.” He bowed his head respectfully.

“Think nothing of it.” She waved a forehoof dismissively.

Another long, awkward pause before he responded. He was pushing his luck, he knew. But he had to bring it up.

“There is … one other thing then, Your Majesty. An … understanding that we need to come to … I will be a lot more effective in my research if you would refrain from haunting my sleep with nightmares … So that I may be well rested in the morning and able to think more clearly.” There he said it. He winced internally, hoping he had not made her angry. He waited for her wrath to be directed at him. Another pause. It was probably only several seconds. But to him, it seemed like an eternity of waiting.

“So be it. We shall … refrain from giving thee any more nightmares,” she responded as if it were nothing at all.

“Thank you, Your Majesty. It is most appreciated.” He bowed his head respectfully again. “You will inform Her Majesty, your sister of my concerns about the decay rate?”

“I will.” She nodded.

“It is much appreciated, Your Majesty.”

“Well, then. It is late. We shall let thee return to the dorm. It looks like thou hast a lot of reading to do anyway.” She nodded at the clipboard of notes. “Tomorrow evening, thou shalt accompany us to the hill where we watched the stars when thou first arrived in Canterlot.”

“As you wish, Your Majesty.” He knelt before her and bowed again.

“We have a date then. I will meet you at the main castle entrance.” She turned on her hoof and left the room, each of her hooves steps echoing off the walls of the silent and empty lab.

He waited until he was sure she was gone before standing up again, breathing a small sigh of relief. He definitely didn't like the idea of letting her drag him out of the city again tomorrow evening. Not after what had happened last night. But what choice did he have? He couldn't tell her no. And he couldn't plead his case to Princess Celestia. For one, she had already asked him to accompany her younger sister when asked. And besides, he didn't want to involve Celestia in this problem anyway. Pitting sister against sister would likely only make things worse for him if he were the object of their strife towards each other.

He picked up the clipboard and carefully placed it into the saddle bag / backpack he carried with him. He stopped with it half way in, looking at Twilight's cutie mark embroidered on the pack, studying the large pink star in the middle, the smaller stars twinkling around it. Slowly, he traced his finger over the large star in the center. He hadn't been away from her that long, but gods, he missed her. She had become like family to him—the only family he really had anymore. Yes, Theory Point and he had hit it off well, and he was rapidly becoming good friends with her. And yes, she was going out of her way to make him feel welcome, taking him to clubs, introducing him to other staff members, and so on. But it wasn't the same. Life in Ponyville might have been boring. But it had also been simple and care free. Now that he was in Canterlot, he had become involved in high level secret government research and was the object of strife between two powerful rulers. And all before he even knew what happened, or exactly how. He traced his finger over the large star on the pack again. A single tear rolled down his right eye. James, you shouldn't allow yourself to get so attached to a pony, he criticized himself. Then, he pushed it to the back of his mind, picked up the saddle bag / backpack, and left the lab, locking the doors on his way out, longing for the simpler days in Ponyville … or better yet, back home in Chicago.

He arrived back at the dorm. The common room was empty except for a few staff ponies at the table in the back corner. They nodded politely to him, but said nothing. He nodded back, remembering to remove his cap this time. The ponies simply went back to whatever they had been discussing before he entered. He was thankful they had not tried to engage him in conversation as he was not really in the mood for talking. Silently, he walked down the hall, up the stairs and to his own room. Once inside, he quickly undressed, carefully hanging the uniform up so it wouldn't wrinkle before climbing into bed. He laid down and stared at the ceiling. He was nervous about going to sleep, hoping that Luna would keep her promise and not give him any more nightmares. Despite his fear, exhaustion quickly took over and he was asleep within minutes. His dreams were of colorful butterflies, fluffy white bunnies, and lazy cotton like clouds floating through the sky on a clear summer day.

o.O.o

The next morning, he awoke refreshed and well rested. Although he was glad for the fact that he hadn't had any nightmares, he wasn't quite sure what to think of the dreams that he did have. It wasn't the kind of thing he would normally dream about. Did she cause those dreams to? He shuttered to think that she did. He couldn't fault her for not trusting him. And he couldn't really even fault her for the way she had treated him. A thousand years away from contact with any other living being would leave anyone socially awkward and maladjusted. But after the dreams last night, if she had, in fact, caused them, he wondered if she were downright insane. If she were, he couldn't blame her for that either. A thousand years of isolation … he shuttered to think what it must have been like when she got back and realized how long she had been gone. How much she had missed. How much things had changed. How every pony she knew would be long since gone. Even their children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, all the way down for hundreds of generations. would be gone. That part of Equestria's history had been turned into legend. Eventually, legend has a way of becoming myth, And then, even myth fades into the mists of time until no one remembers. When she had returned, how many ponies even knew who she was? Knew anything about her history? Or anything about the pivotal role she had played in Equestria's history before the regrettable Nightmare Moon incident? How she had helped free Equestria from the iron rule of Discord? No, he couldn't blame her at all even if she had lost her sanity. Not after all she had been through. You're one to talk, he mentally chastised himself again. For all you know, you're the one who's insane after all of this. That was, of course, also a very real possibility. And who knows what his mind might conjure up for him to dream about after everything he had been through. What with colorful talking ponies, magic and science working together in harmony. But he couldn't dwell on any of that right now. He had research to do, and lectures to prepare. In less than a week, the Academy's campus would be teaming with students as classes started for the Winter semester.

He quickly showered, put on his uniform. It only took him two attempts to get the tie the right length this time. After making sure everything was aligned perfectly, he left his room, tromping down the stairs towards the common area, the smell of freshly brewed tea and hickory wood smoke teasing his sense of smell as he turned the corner and descended the second part of the stairs. Arriving in the common room, he found most of the tables were still empty, the room filled to maybe a quarter of its capacity.

“James! Over here!” a female voice called out. He looked in the direction it had come from to find Theory Point motioning him over with her horn. She was seated with a uniformed light yellow unicorn with a brown mane and tail that he had not met yet. He nodded and grabbed some tea and oatmeal from pots on the counter near the large fireplace, then went over to the small round table and sat down with the two unicorns.

“Morning, James. Sleep well? This is Ele Matrix. She's an electrical engineer here at the Academy. You'll probably work closely with her on a lot of projects.”

The light yellow unicorn nodded at James. “Pleasure to meet you”

“Likewise.” James nodded back.

“You've seen the Hoofer hydroelectric dam in Ponyville right?” Theory Point continued. “Came out of her brain. She designed it and supervised its construction”

“Well, I had help. I can't take all the credit,” she chuckled.

“Still, that's some impressive work,” James commented.

“So what they got you working on?” she asked, changing the subject with a slight blush. She seemed rather modest and uncomfortable at being complimented for her work, even when those compliments were well deserved.

“Well, they got me teaching an upper level undergraduate course on particle physics I'm preparing for.” Of course, left out the part about the nuclear research that Celestia had ordered him not to discuss with any pony.

“Sounds like a good deal.” She nodded. “It will be a challenging and interesting course to teach, but you won't be overloaded for your first class,” she echoed his own thoughts.

“Seems kind of quiet and slow in here for this time of morning,” he remarked, looking around again and noticing that even at this hour, only about a quarter of the tables were occupied.

“Most of the staff haven't returned from vacation yet,” Theory Point commented. “Don't worry. By next week, this place will be so full at this time of morning you won't be able to find a place to sit unless you get down here very early.”

“Well, I hate to cut it short,” Ele interjected, “But I have a grad student I need to work with on a field project today. It was good meeting you, James.” She nodded at both of them before taking her leave.

“Thank you. You too. I'm sure I'll see you around since we are in the same department,” James responded, nodding as she left, then turning back to Theory Point, taking a sip of his tea.

“You'll like her,” Theory commented. “She's very intelligent. Probably the best engineer in all of Equestria. Though she would never take credit for that honor. She's very modest.”

“I got that impression from her. Yeah.”

“So, I thought you and I might have dinner together,” the unicorn said out of the blue. He raised an eyebrow at her.

“Are you asking me out on a date?” he chuckled

“A date? No! Of course not!” she said defensively, squirming and looking generally uncomfortable now.

“Uh huh …” he said in a suspicious tone. “Are you sure? Because that certainly sounded like you were asking me out on a date,” he continued to tease her.

“It's not a date! It's purely professional. I just want to learn more about your research before you got here. In an environment quieter than the club. And we don't exactly have time to talk about it in the lab.” She huffed in protest.

“Uh huh … And what if I say no?”

“I don't have to give you a choice, you know. I outrank you here. I could just order you to have dinner with me.” She glared at him.

“Oh that's how it's gonna be now, is it? Are you always this assertive? Or do I just bring out that side of you?”

“Would you just … Why do you have to … It's not a date! I just want … grr!” she snorted, looking really flustered now.

“Relax, Theory,” he chuckled at her reaction. “Yes, I'll have dinner with you. What day did you have in mind?”

“Why can't you just” she continued, almost as if she hadn't heard him. Then she stopped and blinked. “Oh … You will? Well, how about tonight then?”

He shook his head slightly. “No can do. Princess Luna wants me to go out stargazing with her tonight I guess.”

“Oh. Hobnobbing with royalty are you?” She grinned at him.

He took a sip of his tea. “Yeah, more like being kidnapped against my will. She didn't really give me a say in the matter.”

“What do you suppose she wants with you?”

“I don't know. I'm not entirely sure I want to find out. My mind can conjure up all kinds of ideas, none of which are pleasant to think about for too long. Most of them involve locking me in a secure facility and studying me.” He shrugged.

“Well, I can't fault her for that. The thought crossed my mind once or twice.” She snickered.

“You sure know how to inspire confidence in a guy, you know?” he responded, his voice laced with sarcasm.

She chuckled and took a sip of her tea. “Still, the Princess of the Night requesting you to accompany her. She doesn't do that very often. with anypony. It's quite special really.”

“Yeah, well maybe if you hadn't blown her off for that debriefing, she'd want to hang out with you too.” He grinned, getting a magically tossed napkin in his face in response.

“Very funny, James. It's a good thing your a good scientist, because you wouldn't be able to make a living at the comedy club.”

He just snickered in response. “Don't worry, I'll put in a good word for you and try to get you back on her good side.”

She took another sip of her tea, emptying the cup. “Come on. Lets get out of here.”

He nodded, finished his own tea, then followed her out of the dorm and towards the lab.

o.O.o

The day passed quicker than he would have liked, given he was not looking forward to the evening. Nevertheless, he knew he didn't dare no show Luna's requested meeting place, so that evening found him pacing nervously outside the main entrance to the castle, waiting for Princess Luna. He pulled the heavy Academy uniform coat tighter around himself as a gust of wind chilled him.

“Is something amiss, sir?” he heard a male voice call out. He turned to find that his nervous pacing had attracted the attention of two of the royal unicorn guards.

“No, I'm fine. I'm supposed to be meeting … somepony here. But thank you for your concern, sir.” He wasn't sure if he should tell the guard exactly who he was meeting since he knew that they generally disapproved of Luna sneaking out of the castle walls alone at night—not that there was anything they could do about it.

The unicorn guard eyed him suspiciously and said nothing. But the look he was giving him suggested the guard was not entirely convinced. He swallowed nervously. For a moment, he thought he might be taken into custody.

“Is there a problem here?” the voice of Princess Luna called out. For the moment, he was actually relieved to hear it, given the situation with the guard.

“No problem, Your Majesty”, both James and the two guards knelt and bowed before her. “Dr. Peterson here is waiting for somepony, apparently.”

“Indeed, he is,” The Princess responded. “That would be me. He is to accompany me tonight.”

Out of the corner of his eye, James noticed the guard that had spoken shifting uncomfortably at the idea. He could only imagine the other guard was equally uncomfortable. Nevertheless, the guards deferred to their Princess, neither one attempting to stop her.

“Of course … As you wish, Your Majesty,” the guard responded.

“Please, rise. Both of you. Shall we go then?” she said, looking at James now.

“Whenever you like, Your Majesty”, he said, standing up, the guards doing the same.

“The gate is still open. We shall walk out tonight,” she stated flatly, Motioning for him to follow. He did so. He was glad they were walking as he was not particularly fond of teleportation and it's unpleasant side effects, even if they did last only a few seconds.

As they approached the gate, the guards on either side of it bowed to their Princess. They looked nervous as she left the safety of the courtyard with him, but none of them said anything. The alicorn stopped once they were outside of the courtyard walls, motioning towards her back with her horn.

“Climb on,” she stated simply.

He didn't protest or argue this time, simply doing as he was told. Once he was secure, she gently leaped into the air. Again, she flew them over the tops of the houses, although this time she stayed a little higher then before. After all, the guards already knew the two of them had left. No need for secrecy this time, he figured. Again, her horn glowed and her magic seemed to form some kind of invisible barrier around them that kept the chill wind out. She flew into a cloud and he could no longer see the ground. The loss of the visual horizon started to make him feel disoriented. When they came out of the cloud, she was circling over her intended landing area on the hill. Lower and lower she circled, until flaring her wings and coming in for a graceful landing, as softly as if she had been landing on delicate glass. He barely felt her hooves touch the ground.

Once she had stopped, he climbed off of her, looking around as if he expected some hidden threat to suddenly pop out of the darkness. He wondered if she could sense his nervousness. Of course she can. She already told you she can smell fear and nervousness, he reminded himself.

“You don't have to be so nervous,” she said in a voice that had a soothing effect to it, confirming his suspicions that she could sense his tension. He turned from the shadows he had been staring into to look at her now. Her expression had taken on a soft tone that reminded him of the first night on this same hill, after he had comforted her about how beautiful her night was. It was as if a switch had been thrown—as if once outside of Canterlot, she no longer felt the need to be so defensive and protective. Also, he noted that she had switched to speaking in modern language, dropping the old English. “Come, let us sit down.”

“I don't really think I should, Your Majesty. The class 1 uniform and all. I don't want to get grass stains on it.”

She looked at the uniform for a moment, turned her head and pointed her horn at a spot on the ground. Her horn, and the area on the ground started to glow a faint purple. When the aura faded, there was a blanket covering the grass.

“Is that better?” she asked, turning to look at him again.

He just stared at the blanket for a moment. Even though he had been in Equestria for over three months now, he still hadn't gotten used to the idea of unicorns and alicorns being able to pull objects out of thin air like that.

“Yes, much better, Your Majesty. Thank you.”

He walked over onto the blanket, waiting for her to sit down before sitting down next to her. He looked up at the clear evening sky. The cloud they had flown through when they arrived was no where in site. The dark purple of evening twilight had not yet fully faded as night took over. Gradually, tiny points of light began to shimmer into view as the brightest stars became visible and indigo faded into the black of night. He stared at the sky, trying to relax as much as possible. But despite his best efforts, he could not make himself feel calm around Princess Luna right now. Not after what had happened with the nightmare, and the way she had confronted him in the lab the morning after the nightmare.

“Tell me more about your life before you arrived here,” she asked suddenly, snapping him out his own thoughts.

“What exactly would you like to know, Your Majesty?”

“Did you have any family?”

“Well … Not any direct family. I wasn't married and didn't have any children. There were my parents, sister, and such. but … we weren't that close.”

“And why weren't you close with them?”

“… Can we talk about something else, Your Majesty? Please?”

“No. We shall talk about this,” she said firmly, an air of finality about her.

He looked at the ground, sighed slightly in resignation. “As you wish, Your Majesty. It's just that I've tried so hard to forget about the past before I arrived here. And avoid discussions that remind me of it.”

“Do you really believe you can simply run away from your past like that?” She cocked an eyebrow at him.

“I didn't run away from it. I was forcefully yanked away from it. It wasn't exactly my choice to get dragged into this world, or dimension,” he responded, letting a hint of a annoyance slip into his tone of voice. He bit his tongue as soon as he had said it. James, you foal. That's no way to talk to The Princess … Especially given she already doesn't particularly like you, he mentally scolded himself. If she was angry with his tone, however, she let it slide and remained calm.

“You were not forcefully yanked out of your past. You were forcefully yanked from one dimension into another. But you are running from your past,” she corrected him.

“How do you figure that, Your Majesty?” He started tracing his finger in the ground nervously, a habit he had picked up from her the last time they had been out there when she had been tracing her hoof in the ground.

“You run from your past because you fear that if you confront it, you will dwell on it. Am I not correct?”

“… You are correct, Your Majesty.” He didn't want to admit it. But when he thought about it, yes she did have a point.

“There are things you regret from your past that you wish you could make right, but now you will never get the chance,” the dark alicorn stated flatly. As if it were simply an undisputed fact. He realized it actually was.

“Yes, Your Majesty … Yes, that's it exactly.” Apparently it was his turn to open up to her now, as she had done with him when they had been out here the first night.

“And do you really believe that the path of running away goes anywhere except in a circle?” She looked directly at him. Attempting to lock eye contact with him.

“What do you know about it, Princess? Nothing!” he snapped at the alicorn before he even realized what he had said. Immediately, he closed his mouth tightly. But it was too late. It was over. She would turn him over to the royal guards. Or she would just bypass the guards and teleport him directly into a dungeon cell. Or somewhere worse. The fact that he was now in uniform and Academy staff, made his gross insubordination to one of the princesses that much worse. She'd been trying to trap him into giving her a reason. And now he had given her one. He cinched his eyes shut and waited for the inevitable …

But it never came. Instead, she responded with compassion, but also a note of hurt in her voice. “You think I know nothing of what it is like to regret the past?”

He looked at the ground in shame. After all he knew what she had been through … He looked back at her again, but kept his eyes lowered to the ground. “I'm sorry, Your Majesty. I didn't mean to snap at you.” He wasn't just saying it to save his own skin from the dungeon. He really did feel bad about snapping at her.

“I forgive you. It's an emotional subject for you to discuss. I understand that.”

“It's different, Your Majesty.” he continued after a pause. “You had a chance to make right the mistakes you made. To do something about the regrets. That's a chance it seems I will never get.”

She shook her head slightly, her mystical mane flowing as she did so. “No, James. I didn't. Remember that I was gone for a thousand years. All of the ponies I directly harmed were long dead by the time I got back. There was nothing I could, nor ever will be able to do, to make things right with them.”

He nodded. He wasn't sure how he had overlooked that. But of course, it was true. Yes, she was able to return. But the actual ponies she had harmed during her time as Nightmare Moon … she had never been able to undo the hurt she had caused them. Another long pause before he spoke again.

“But we can't just forget about the past, Your Majesty. Pretend like it never happened.”

“No,” she shook her head again. “Indeed, we cannot. And yet, you try to run away from it. Is that not trying to forget it? To pretend it never happened?”

“I suppose … Yes, Your Majesty.” He looked at the ground again, resumed his nervous tracing with his finger. He was less nervous about being around her. But the conversation was still an uncomfortable one for him. He had tried running. He had tried forgetting about it. He had tried focusing on other things. And now, he had tried discussing it with a being that had over a thousand years of experience to draw from. But he felt no closer to the answers. He could feel emotions starting to well up inside of him, tears trying to make their way to the surface, like bubbles starting to rise from the bottom of a pot of heating water as it approached a boil. Finally, he looked back up at her.

“What do I do, Princess?” His voice had an almost pleading tone to it that surprised even him. Despite his efforts to control them, a tear started to roll down the side of his face.

“You make mistakes, and you move on. You make peace with the things in the past that you cannot change, and you use the knowledge gained to change the things that you can change now. To shape the future. That is the only way. You will have to accept that your new family is here. Twilight Sparkle and her friends think very highly of you and consider you as such.”

He shook his head slightly, looking away from the alicorn and down at the ground again. “They are my friends, yes. But it's not the same.”

The dark alicorn nuzzled his cheek gently with her muzzle, startling him for a moment. But he did not try to pull away from her. Her fur wiped away the tears that were running down the side of his face. Despite the tension that seemed to exist between her and him over the last couple of days, he still found her touch soothing and reassuring. He feared her power, but also took comfort in the fact that she had that power. It was a strange feeling that he could not explain to himself, much less to anyone else. She took a few steps back and spoke again.

“Things can never be the same, James Peterson. The Universe is always changing. The next moment will not be the same as this one. And you can never go back. The only direction is forward. You will become closer to Twilight Sparkle than you realize. For you will need her more than you know. As she will need you.”

He blinked, looked up at her again. “… Your Majesty?”

“Your fate has become inextricably tied with Twilight's fate. As her fate has with yours.”

“What are you saying?” he questioned, both his eyebrows raising now.

“I have foreseen it,” she responded simply as if that kind of foresight were the most natural thing in the world.

“How? … Why?” he asked in confusion.

“That is something I am not privy to. You must understand, James, that even I am not privy to all things.”

He nodded slightly in acknowledgment. “Does Twilight know about this?”

“No. She does not.”

“She should be told.”

“She will be told nothing,” the alicorn responded in a resolute tone of voice.

“If if affects her, she deserves to know, Your Majesty,” he protested.

“There is nothing she can do about it at this time. You know how she is, James. She will obsess over it, despite the fact that she can do nothing. For her own well being, she will be told nothing at this time.” The alicorn gave him a resolute glare—one that left no doubt that there would be consequences if he told Twilight what she had just told him. He bowed his head in deference to her.

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

“Your concern for her is admirable.” She spoke in a compassionate and reassuring tone again. “But you must trust me when I say that it is in her best interests if she knows nothing at this time. She will be told if and when the time is right.”

“I understand, Your Majesty.” That wasn't true. He didn't understand. And he didn't like the idea of keeping secrets from Twilight at all—especially not when they directly affected her. And besides, if the princesses were asking him to keep secrets from Twilight, and not telling her everything, how could he know what they were and weren't telling him? Still, he felt compelled to trust Luna's judgment on the issue. After all, she did know Twilight better than he did. He had only known her for a few months.

A cold wind began to pick up from the North, bringing with it hints of snow on the way. He subconsciously pulled the Academy uniform's coat tighter around his body to ward off the chill that managed to find any open space to sneak through and get to his core. He almost jumped when he felt something drape over him. He looked to his side to see that Princess Luna had spread one of her wings, draping it over his body to ward off the chill. He nearly pulled away, but resisted the urge, eventually calming down and accepting her offered warmth. He looked back up at the sky which had become completely dark now. Thousands of stars twinkled down at him from Luna's canvas of the night. There were even more of them, then there had been last time. And they were brighter. He was sure of it. The two of them sat in silence now, her wing draped over him effectively keeping the chill away from him. He stared up at the beauty of her night sky, contemplating what she had said. What she had said was true, he realized. There was no where to go except forward … But this whole thing of his fate being tied together with Twilight's? He tried not to dwell on that. Luna had said there was nothing Twilight could do about it right now. Well, I don't see what I can do about it right now either, he thought to himself. It would do him no more good to obsess about it than it would Twilight. But try as he might, he was unable to stop thinking about it. She hadn't told Twilight about it. He found himself wishing she hadn't told him either. It's true what they say, he thought to himself. Ignorance really is bliss …

21 - Dimensional Spaces

The God Particle

Chapter 21: Dimensional Spaces

Spike looked down from the balcony of the library towards the middle of the first floor. He took a deep breath and sighed, his eyes filled with concern for his unicorn friend. Below him, Twilight Sparkle sat in the middle of a circle of open books. As usual, the library was impeccably organized, as were the books around her. On her left, books on teleportation magic. On her right, books on dimensional theory. Behind her, books on physics. But for all the organization of the library, Twilight herself looked a disheveled mess. Her mane hung down around her face and neck in random directions, like twisting, creeping vines clinging to an abandoned house. Her tail didn't look much better. A thesis titled The Theoretical Applications of Fractal Pattern Energy Lines on Trans-Dimensional Teleportation - by Star Swirl The Bearded lay open in front of her. But right now, she simply stared blankly at it, not reading it.

“Twilight, are you Ok?” he finally called out. She blinked at him, shook her head up and down once, appearing to come out of whatever zone she had been off in.

“Yes, Spike. I'm perfectly fine. Thank you for asking.”

“Uh huh,” he responded, not believing her. “I'm worried about you, Twilight. You haven't left the library in over four days. Your mane is a mess. Your obsessing over a problem that Princess Celestia doesn't even think can be solved.”

“He hasn't even written yet. I wonder how he's doing in Canterlot? What he's doing …” she said, appearing as if she hadn't even heard his concerns.

“It hasn't even been a week, Twilight. I'm sure he's just busy getting settled in,” he responded.

“I'm just worried about him, Spike. Out there all on his own now. In a world he's still not all that familiar with.”

“Don't you think you're being a little overprotective, Twi?”

“He's my responsibility, Spike. The Princess charged me with taking care of him. And besides, I care about him. I don't want any harm to come to him.”

“He's not your responsibility anymore, Twilight. After all, it was Princess Celestia herself who wanted him to come live in Canterlot.”

“What if I screwed up, Spike? What if that's why she wanted him to leave Ponyville and come live in Canterlot? What if I was doing a bad job?”

He blinked and looked at her. Was that really what this was all about? She thought she had failed in some way? Or was it what he just said that made her feel that way? He immediately wished he hadn't pointed out that he wasn't her responsibility anymore because Princess Celestia had pulled him away to Canterlot. “Twilight … Is that what this is all about? You think you failed at the assignment Princess Celestia gave you?” he asked, worriedly?

“I don't know, Spike,” her ears laid back on her head. “What if I did? What if I wasn't a good enough teacher? Or a good enough caretaker?” Her ears laid back further on her head, her shoulders and muzzle drooped towards the ground.

Spike felt hurt rise in him for his unicorn friend, a wellspring of sorrow over what she was doing to herself. He walked towards the stairs, heading down them and over to her. She swung her head over slightly to look at him and he wrapped his small arms around her neck.

“You are an excellent caretaker, Twilight. And an excellent teacher. I should know. You raised me after all.” He continued to hug her gently.

“Thanks, Spike” she sniffed slightly, wrapping her forelegs back around him. A small and brief smile appeared on her muzzle. It seemed to cheer her up slightly. But he could tell she was still troubled.

“As far as any harm coming to him, I'm sure the princesses won't let that happen, Twi. I'm sure they are keeping a close eye on him,” he tried to comfort her.

“That's actually part of what I am worried about, Spike. His attitude about the princesses whenever I have spoken with him about them in private has been … less than respectful. Him getting himself in trouble with one of them is one of my biggest concerns.” She sighed again, Spike tried to think of something else to say to comfort her, but his mind drew a blank. And so he just stood there, keeping his arms around her in a warm embrace …

...

James shivered briefly as he began to wake up the next morning. “The maintenance pony must be asleep on the job and let the boiler go out,” he grumbled to himself in annoyance. He snuggled himself deeper under the quilt on his bed. As sleep continued to leave him, he became aware that the quilt he was snuggled under seemed to have a strange texture, and he felt something warm pressed against his side. He opened his eyes to find Princess Luna's wing still draped over him. She laid next to him, her warm furry body pressed against his, apparently still asleep. A fresh blanket of snow covered the top of her wing. Her wing had shielded him, and none of the snow had gotten on him. He looked around, aware now that he was still on the hill they had gone to last night. It suddenly occurred to him that he didn't remember ever going back to the dorm. He looked out in the distance. Bright light reflected off the freshly fallen blanket of snow. To the East, Celestia's sun was already well over the horizon.

“Shhhiiit …” he whispered to himself in a long, drawn out syllable, gently moving out from under her wing, the snow falling off of it like fine powder. He was careful not to wake her.

He stood up, looked around. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary. He looked down at his uniform, brushing his hands over it, trying to smooth out the wrinkles that had accumulated from sleeping in it. “There is no way this can be at all appropriate,” he mumbled to himself, brushing out a few more wrinkles. He retrieved his cap, which had fallen off sometime in the night, from the quilt, brushing it off as well before placing it back on his head. Then looked down at Luna's still sleeping form and sighed. He knew he had to wake her up, but he wasn't looking forward to that. He looked at her as if she were a sleeping tigress, and that her instincts might cause her to destroy him with one simple spell before she even knew what she had done. Even with her attitude towards him, he didn't think she would intentionally hurt him unless he gave her a good reason to do so. But if he were to accidentally startle her and she reacted on instinct … indeed, her magical prowess made her far more dangerous than even a sleeping tigress. He took a deep breath and shuttered slightly.

“Princess … Your Majesty … ” he said gently, but loud enough to hopefully wake her. She stirred slightly, but then curled up further, flicking her tail up over her muzzle and immediately falling back asleep. He shook his head lightly. Despite her awesome power, he couldn't help but think how cute she looked lying there curled up like that. Nor could he suppress a small smile.

“Your Majesty … you need to wake up,” he said slightly louder, but still being careful not to startle her.

The alicorn stirred again, then opened her eyes, raising a forehoof to rub the sleep out of them. “What time is it, sister?” she asked.

“I'm not your sister, Your Majesty. As far as what time it is, I'm not sure. But the sun is already up. I … really need to get back to Canterlot.”

Luna blinked, pushed her forehooves under her and got to her feet rising in a way very much like an equine where he was from would have stood up. “Oh yes … I remember now,” she said, seemingly more to herself than to him.

“What … happened last night, Your Majesty?”

“You fell asleep. You looked so peaceful, I did not want to wake you,” the alicorn said simply. He listened for any hint of deception in her voice. He could detect none. Still, he wasn't entirely convinced she had not used a spell on him to make him fall asleep. But he had no evidence to suggest she did. Only the fact that it seemed unlikely to him that he would have fallen asleep on his own in that sort of situation. But then again, when Twilight had placed a sleeping spell on him, he remembered it after waking up from it. In this case, he recalled no such spell being placed on him.

“Your Majesty, I really must be get back to Canterlot. The morning faculty briefing at the Academy … I may have already missed it.”

She raised a forehoof, wiped the sleep out of her eyes one more time. Then motioned to her back. “Climb on,” she said, her voice taking on her more assertive tone again.

“Thank you, Your Majesty.” He climbed gently onto her back and she leaped into the air, flying towards Canterlot. Again, the magical glow of her horn shielded him from the wind that would otherwise be whipping against him. The rate at which the trees were moving by underneath them told him she was flying faster than normal. He didn't know if it was for his benefit, or for her own.

She landed outside the gates of the courtyard. Then she brushed up against him and teleported them behind the Academy's conference building without warning. He would have fallen over from the dizziness and vertigo had her body not been leaning against his when they arrived. Once the building stopped seeming to spin around him, and the brief migraine dissipated, he turned to kneel before her, as protocol dictated, blinking to find she was already gone. She must have teleported herself away again as soon as we appeared here, he thought to himself.

He quickly checked over his uniform again, making sure it was presentable. Then he slipped in the back door of the building, walking to hurriedly to the briefing room. He arrived, just in time to see ponies flowing out of the room.

“Way to make a good first impression,” Theory Point commented as she trotted past him. He was about to respond, but she didn't stop to give him the chance to. Then, one of the unicorn colonels trotted out of the room.

“Ah, Doctor Peterson. I see you finally decided to join us after all. I will see you in my office.”

“Yes, sir,” he responded, wincing internally and preparing for what he knew was going to be a tail chewing. The unicorn turned on his hoof and started trotting, motioning for him to follow with his horn. He did so.

He led him down a hallway, turned a corner, coming to an office with a polished oak door. The door knob glowed as the unicorn magically unlocked it. He motioned with a forehoof for James to enter first. He did so, stopping in front of a cherry wood desk where he stood at attention. He heard the door close behind him, the tap of the unicorn's hoofsteps moving from left to right as he walked behind him, slowly coming into his peripheral vision as he moved around in front of him, eventually moving to stand behind the desk. His fur was a tan color. Almost that of sand. Age had turned his mane and tail a silver-gray, a few hints of dark brown in them giving away the fact that they were once a different color. The silver-gray color suited him well though, giving him an air of wisdom and authority. James guessed the unicorn was at least twice his senior, if not more.

The unicorn regarded him with deep green eyes for several long seconds. It unnerved him and he wanted to look away. He managed to keep his gaze directly forward though. When the unicorn spoke, it was with a deep authoritative tone.

“I don't know what kind of operation they ran back at this Fermi Lab you used to work at before you arrived here, Doctor Peterson. Maybe you could just show up whenever you wanted, and skip meetings whenever you felt like it. I don't know, and I don't care. But here, we maintain a military level of discipline. And you WILL show up for morning briefings. Do I make myself clear?”

“Yes, sir. Perfectly clear, sir.”

The unicorn paced behind the desk now. First right, then left. “I am going cut you some slack this time because you are new. You may think you are something special—that you have some sort of diplomat status as an ambassador from another world.” He stopped pacing, glaring directly at him now. “You're not!” he said in a louder more commanding voice.

“No, sir. I'm not special, sir.”

“Keep that in mind, Doctor Peterson. The only reason I am cutting you any slack here is because you are new. But you are just like any other pony here. And if you lose site of that fact, you will be trading your faculty uniform for a janitor's uniform. Do I make myself crystal clear?”

“Yes, sir. Crystal clear, sir.”

“Good. Dismissed.”

“Thank you, sir.” He took one step backwards, turning on his heal and exiting the office, closing the door behind him.

“Damn it,” he cursed under his breath. Then he started to make his way out of the building and towards the lab.

...

“What do you mean, she's no where to be found?” Celestia glared at one of her royal guards. She didn't get angry easily, but it appeared that she was now. The guard tried to maintain his composure. Still, he wilted slightly under her gaze, like a desert flower under the heat of the sun on a scorching summer day.

“We've … searched the entire castle, Your Majesty. Including the courtyard. She's not here.”

“Find her,” Celestia ordered in a commanding, and somewhat angry tone of voice. “And don't come back here until you do.” She stomped her forehoof once. It was all the royal guard could do not to jump backwards.

“Yes, Your Majesty. Right away.” He made a quick bow to his princess, then turned, cantering towards the doors of the throne room at a fast pace. He opened them, and stopped, almost running into the Princess of the Night who had been about to step in from the other side. The two of them stared at each other for a few moments, the guard even forgetting his manners and failing to bow. Neither princess said anything though. It was Celestia that finally broke the silence.

“Leave us.” She waved the guard out of the grand throne room with her forehoof.

“Of course, Your Majesty.” The guard made a hasty bow now and quickly left, closing the giant doors behind him. When they were shut, Luna walked further into the room, not even bothering to acknowledge her sister. Again, it was Celestia who had to break the silence.

“I had to lower the moon for you this morning, sister. Do you have any idea how worried I have been?”

The Night Princess walked past her sister, not bothering to look at her. “Stop, it Tia. You will worry yourself into a supernova at this rate.”

Celestia recoiled at the response. “Luna! … what has gotten into you?”

Luna turned and locked eyes with her sister now. “I may be your younger sister, but I am not a child anymore, Tia!”

“You're right sister, you're not! You're not a child anymore. And you have responsibilities around here. You are far too important to Equestria to be wandering off alone like that. To be staying out all night with no escort.”

Luna still appeared to be ignoring her, and just continued walking towards the other end of the room, not bothering to turn and look at her.

“Are you listening to me, Luna? You will not do this again!” Celestia stated in an assertive voice. The dark alicorn spun around to face her now.

“It seems you can do my job just fine, sister. You proved it again this morning. You proved it for a thousand years. I fail to see how I am so important to Equestria when you can do everything I can do and more. So if I choose to stay out all night, then that is what I will do!” She stomped a forehoof angrily.

Celestia took a step backwards in surprise. “Sister! What are you saying? You are acting like a child!”

“Except, I'm not a child, am I Tia. I was forced to grow up a lot sooner than I should have had to. You made sure of that a thousand years ago, didn't you sister.” The dark alicorn spat venomously.

Celestia recoiled backwards in shock at those words. They may as well have been a barbed harpoon, piercing her straight to her heart, for such was the hurt they caused her. She opened her mouth to say something, but no words came. She closed her mouth again, and just looked at her sister now, the hurt no doubt evident in her eyes.

Luna turned her head away, dug at the floor nervously with her forehoof twice. Then she spun away from her sister, and galloped towards the large double doors leaving the throne room.

On the other side of the double doors, two royal guards, including the one that Celestia had been questioning earlier, quickly scattered, removing their prying ears from the face of the door as they heard her approaching. Luna barged out through the doors, paying them no attention at all as she turned and galloped down the hall. The first window she came to, she turned again, spreading her wings and leaping through it, flying off into the distance.

One of the guards blinked, turned to look at his companion. “Well, it seems all is not harmony between the two royal sisters, hmm?” he remarked.

“I saw and heard nothing. And neither did you,” the other guard responded flatly.

“Of course not. Nothing heard, nothing seen.” the first guard responded. Then the two of them went back to their posts on either side of the large doors.

...

James arrived at the lab, stopping briefly to greet the guards standing outside before heading downstairs, entering the secure lab area and closing the door, sighing to himself.

“I hope he wasn't too hard on you,” Theory Point commented, setting down the clipboard and quill she had been magically writing with.

“No … He let me off the hook this time because I'm new here. That's the reason he gave anyway.”

She nodded slightly and tilted her head at him. “What in the name of Celestia possessed you to decide to skip the briefing this morning anyway?”

He simply looked up at her. He didn't need to say anything. His eyes pretty much told the story.

“Princess Luna had you out the entire night?”

He simply nodded once in response.

“James, you should have told the colonel that's why you missed the briefing this morning. The princesses trump everything else here. If you missed the briefing because of one of them, it's entirely justified. He would not have come down on you at all.”

“So where are we at?” He nodded at her clipboard, changing the subject.

“Well, I thought we might do some criticality testing on it,” she responded, her eyes shifting nervously.

He raised an eyebrow at her. “Not with so little shielding between us and the device we aren't.”

“We are going to have to do it sooner rather than later if we are going to do it at all. At the rate this thing is decaying. After three months … maybe four tops … this thing is going to be nothing but a heavy paperweight.”

He shook his head slightly. “I'm almost certain there is no way we will get this thing near critical anyway. There just aren't enough free neutrons. Not even if we used a moderator or neutron reflector. Maybe if we had some kind of auxiliary neutron source. But even then, it'd have to be an awfully powerful one.”

“The reflectors are easy enough. But where do you think we can find a neutron source?”

He shook his head slightly again. “I'm not so sure it's worth conducting an experiment that dangerous, Theory. I'm virtually certain this thing was not intended for creating any kind of nuclear bomb, or fission type nuclear reactor. The notes we were able to recover just don't support it. If that's truly what they were trying to do, then they are so far off the right track that they would have to be grossly incompetent as scientists. There's no way they could ever make it work based on the direction they were headed.”

The rest of the day passed quickly as the two of them worked. But they seemed to be getting no closer to the answers. He lost track of time, and it was only when Theory Point spoke up that he realized how late it was getting.

“Lets wrap it up here. We got dinner tonight that is NOT a date, remember?”

“Ah yes. I almost forgot. I do have a date with a certain scientist unicorn tonight. It was hard to say no to her because she's rather pushy.” He snickered, earning a glare from her in response.

“Alright, I'll see you in the common room back at the dorm then,” she responded. “Make sure you are on time. I've heard that in addition to being a little pushy, this unicorn doesn't like it when ponies are late.” She grinned at him.

“Yeah, yeah. Don't worry. I'll be on time,” he said, holding the door open for her. He followed her out, locking the door behind him.

...

That night found James and Theory Point sitting across a small table from each other. A large floor to ceiling window provided a panoramic view of the royal gardens and lighted waterfalls around the castle. Expensive looking crimson tapestries decorated the walls of the restaurant as tuxedo wearing unicorns waited on tables. The two of them had just finished dining on an exquisitely delicious vegetarian dish that James couldn't identify. They were sipping on sparkling water with a bit of mint twist in it now.

“Well, you couldn't have spent all your time at this Fermi Lab. What did you do for fun? When you weren't working?” she asked him.

“Well, I didn't have very much of a social life. I guess I basically went home, watched some TV, and then went to bed. And then repeated the same routine the next day.” He shrugged.

“What a boring life that must have been,” she commented.

“Where I am from … you'd be surprised how for many people, that's all they want. A steady boring routine that never changes. Change is something to fear. Most of them want a wife, a couple of kids. Dinner to come home to around five-o-clock, a television to watch, and a bed to climb into. Wash, rinse, repeat the next day.”

“And what did you want out of life?” She sipped her sparkling water again.

He paused. That was a very good question. One he didn't really have the answer to. “I don't know that I ever figured out what I really wanted in life,” he responded finally.

“You must have wanted something. What were you living for at the time?”

He shrugged. “Name recognition among my peers, I suppose. To be the best in my field.”

“That's all?” she cocked her head at him slightly.

“That's about it I think … Yes.” He nodded.

“… What about now? Now that you are here?”

“I don't know …” He said in a drawn out tone, looking down at the table, then shrugged his shoulders. “Everything's different here. Getting back home is probably not in the cards. I don't know what I want here. I'm not sure anything I want here matters in the end. After all, there's nothing for me here. Sometimes I feel like I just sort of … exist … with no real purpose in life here.” He clammed up as soon as he said that. He wasn't one to talk about his deep emotions—especially not with a pony he barely knew. No. He wasn't going to let her draw them out. He was becoming good friends with her, yes. But not that good yet. Not where he was going to talk about his deepest pains and vulnerabilities to her. He looked back up at her now, changing the subject. “What about you, Theory? What do you want?”

“In the long run? I want what most ponies want. To have a family, and colt or filly or two. But that's a ways off yet. I'm still young and don't want to be saddled with that responsibility just yet.”

He nodded slightly, then lost himself in his own thoughts. The idea of being married and having children was something he had never seen himself doing. It just didn't appeal to him. Maybe when he got older it would have seemed like a good idea. But in any case, it seemed like that option was no longer in the cards now that he was stuck here. He was interrupted when a tuxedo clad white unicorn showed up with their bill.

“Thank you, sir.” He nodded and took the bill, then noticed Theory Point magically taking some bits out of her pocket. “Oh no you don't, Theory. I got this.”

“Really, you don't have to pay for me,” she protested.

“Trust me, I want to. The Academy gave me a salary advance. This is the first time since arriving in Equestria that I've actually been able to pay for something out of bits I earned myself instead of relying on stipends from the Royal Treasury, or the generosity of ponies in Ponyville.”

“Oh … Well, I suppose congratulations are in order then.” She smiled. “I guess if you want to pay for me, I won't stop you. Thank you for dinner.”

“You are quite welcome. And believe me, I do. You'd be surprised how relieving it feels to be able to pay for something out of bits you earned yourself after relying on the charity of others for more than three months.” He finished getting out the bits and placed them in the sleeve with the bill, setting it back down on the table for the waiter.

“Well, thank you for dinner then.” She smiled. “Did you ever talk to the colonel about why you missed the briefing this morning?”

He shook his head. “What's done is done. I don't want to reopen it.”

She frowned momentarily, looked squarely at him. “You need to learn to be more assertive, James. You can't be such a pushover all the time.”

“More assertive like you, you mean,” he quipped.

“Well, maybe not quite that assertive … But do you want ponies trampling all over you all the time? Yes, most ponies try to live by the whole harmony thing. But not all of them do. You need to stand up for yourself once in awhile.”

“In a place like this, I would think the line between standing up for oneself, and being insubordinate is very thin.”

She nodded. “It is. But you don't have to stand for being chewed out when you haven't done anything wrong. Especially when the one chewing you out isn't even aware of the circumstances that caused you to miss the briefing.”

He nodded slightly in understanding, looked straight at her. “But you … You're a risk taker … The way you were so quick to want to do criticality testing on the device today … We could have both received a lethal dose of radiation if I'd let you go through with that.”

“You can't always play it safe, James,” she responded simply, flicking her tail up and down once.

“I know a pegasus in Ponyville like you. She's a risk taker too. But she only takes risks that endanger herself. You take risks that put everypony in the same room in danger.”

“All of life is a game of risk, James.” She stood up. “It's the only way we move forward.” She raised her right forehoof, patted him on the shoulder twice with it. Then, she turned, and trotted out of the restaurant, leaving him sitting at the table alone.

He watched as she left, her tail flicking back and forth a few times. He inhaled deeply, letting the air out slowly. “Well, that was an awkward end to the evening …” he said quietly to himself. He got up from the table, put his coat back on, and headed for the exit as well. Stepping outside, he put his cap on, adjusted it, and then started back towards the dorm.

...

The next morning, he made sure to arrive in plenty of time for the staff briefing. Mostly, it consisted of notification about any upcoming special events, news that affected the various departments, any class changes, and so on. He was about to leave the room as the meeting let out.

“Doctor Peterson, if you would remain here for a moment.”

He turned to see the same unicorn colonel that had chewed him out the day before. Now what did I do? he thought to himself. “Yes, sir?” he responded, standing at attention again.

“At ease. I wanted to apologize for ripping into you the other day. Next time you miss a briefing because of one of the princesses, you should tell me. That is always an acceptable reason. You did nothing wrong.”

“Thank you, sir … Sir, if I may ask, who told you?”

“Her Majesty, Princess Luna herself told me.” the colonel responded before leaving the room.

James remained behind for a moment, his eyebrow raised to no pony in particular. He scratched his chin for a moment, then left the briefing room.

Leaving the building, he jogged for a moment to catch up with Theory Point.

“Thank you for dinner last night. It was fun getting the chance to talk with you on a more personal level,” she commented, turning her head over her shoulder to look at him.

“You're welcome”. He fell in beside her, walking next to her now. “The ending seemed a little awkward though.”

“What? Were you expecting me to ask you if you wanted to come back to my place?” she grinned at him.

“Noooo … ” he said, drawing it out and shaking his head a bit. “I just wasn't expecting you to leave so suddenly like that.”

“I didn't want to ruin the moment.”

“So you left? I don't understand.”

“I left you with something to think about.” She turned her head to look at him briefly, then faced forward again, continuing her trot to the lab. He remained silent contemplating what she had said. When they arrived at the lab, he opened the door for her and the two proceeded downstairs.

As had become habit for him, he worked late into the evening again, staying after Theory Point had left. He was half expecting to get another unannounced visit from Princess Luna. But even well after dark, she had not yet appeared. Eventually, he secured all of the materials in the lab, wrote down some final notes for the evening and left the lab. He stopped in the kitchen and made some fresh tea for the royal guards outside. He felt for them, having to stand out there keeping watch over the entrance to what was basically a hole in the ground on such a cold night. There were four different pairs of guards that rotated in and out of this station it seemed. He had met them all, and become friends with all of them. Each of them greatly appreciated the tea he would being them on the cold nights and frozen mornings. He spoke with the two that were on duty right now for a short while, then started to make his way back to the dorm. He arrived to find the doors had already been locked, so he fumbled in his pocket, fishing for his key. Eventually, he found it, unlocked the door, and went inside. A few ponies sat in the common area, drinking late night tea, but none that he recognized. He nodded politely to them before heading up to his room. He spent the rest of the evening putting together lesson plans and a syllabus for the class he would be teaching next week. Finally, he closed the book he was writing in, placed the quill back into the inkwell. He looked out the window at the still nearly full moon, which had just risen in the last few minutes and was shining through his window, its pale light reflecting off his own skin.

“Princess Luna …” he spoke to himself sadly and quietly. “What must I do to get you to trust me?” Then he stood up from the desk, undressed, and climbed into bed. Once again, his sleep was peaceful and refreshing, his dreams pleasant and free of nightmares.

...

On the other side of Canterlot, outside of the city, a lone dark alicorn sat on a hill overlooking the city and the night sky. This time, she sat alone. She had just finished her nightly duty of raising the moon. Her appearance was a shambles, her ethereal mane hung down unkempt over both sides of her muzzle, her tail snarled and un-brushed. She had not been back to the castle since the morning prior and the argument with her sister. She looked at the ground once she had completed her task, her ears drooping. A tear rolled off of her eye, down her muzzle, and splashed onto the ground …

...

James started teaching his class three days later. He had more students then he thought he would—about seventy— but it was still a manageable size. His students, of course, were fascinated by him and the examples he would sometimes use from his own experiences before he arrived in Equestria. As the days turned in to weeks, he and Theory Point had become best of friends, and he had also developed a strong friendship with Delta Streak, whom he had met at the club, and Ele Matrix, the electrical engineer unicorn. He continued to become more comfortable with Academy routine, and found himself settling into the Canterlot lifestyle better than he thought he would. Even the aristocratic customs among the high-class ponies became routine enough to the point where they no longer bothered him. Indeed, he found himself actually beginning to like some of the routines and customs as they gave a sense of normalcy and structure to his life that he found comforting. When he wasn't teaching class, reading student essays, talking with his students informally about various other topics, correcting exams, or doing research in the lab, there were a few leisure pursuits that he found he enjoyed quite a bit.

One was Her Majesty's Royal Equestrian Symphony Orchestra. It was particularly fascinating to him since it was like a whole new catalog of undiscovered classical music and symphonies never before heard by another human being. And there were even brand new styles of classical music he had never heard before … that no one from his world had ever heard before. There was a gray earth pony with long black mane and tail who played several string instruments that he thought was particularly talented, and he had quickly become a big fan of her and her work. Octavia, he had learned her name was from one of the program flyers. He had also read about her history in one of the flyers, all the way from her days as a prodigy cello and violin student at the Royal Canterlot Music Conservatory.

Sometimes, on weekends, he found himself heading out to the old airfield just outside of Canterlot. The Wonderbolts often practiced there, and it was a way for the ponies of Canterlot to catch a free airshow. He recalled the interview he had read of Spitfire the captain of the Wonderbolts. She was an extremely talented flier, as was the rest of her team. The daredevil stunts, knife-edge turns, head on passes where they would break off a split second before they would have had a midair collision, were amazing to watch.

He also had occasional updates with both princesses. His relationship with Princess Celestia was solid, as it always had been. In some ways, she was almost like a great, yet mysterious mother figure to him, providing guidance and advice on various aspects of life based on thousands of years of experience. Princess Luna, however, was still an enigma to him. She had not given him any more nightmares since the one on that first night when she tried to intimidate him, nor had she made any more threats to him. But she was still demanding and controlling towards him, as if she felt the constant need to remind him that she was in charge. There were occasional moments where they would both let their guard down and actually make a strong emotional connection to each other. But it never seemed to last. He wanted her to like him, and he wished he knew how to get her to trust him. the uneasy tension that seemed to exist between him and Princess Luna was the only thing wrong with life in Canterlot really.

And then, of course, there were the nights out at The Underhoof with Theory Point and other faculty staff from the science department. They had accepted him completely as one of their own and couldn't have made him feel more welcome and more a “part of the herd” as it were if they had tried. A night out with them, and all his concerns and worries would disappear. He had never had friends like them in Chicago. And he had not lived life to such a full extent since at least his early college days.

Yes, Princess Celestia had been right. He was finding a lot to like about life in Canterlot. And life in Canterlot was turning out to be pretty good for him. He was getting paid extremely well. He had made a lot of really good friends. He didn't have a lot of free time because he was spending so much time in the lab, but what little free time he did have, he had no trouble finding things to fill it with. Canterlot life was full of culture and things to experience—art museums, symphony orchestras, live theater, fine dining, vibrant night life, and many other pursuits he was greatly enjoying as he became absorbed in Canterlot's cosmopolitan lifestyle. He had a very prestigious job with access to the top research facilities in this world, and access to the most brilliant intellectual pony minds in all of Equestria. No, life was more than pretty good. It was great. Chicago and life before Equestria had started to become a distant memory, as if it had never even happened. He started to find himself going for days without ever thinking about it even once. Even life in Ponyville, just a short two months ago, became more and more forgotten.

...

“And that concludes our last lesson before the break” James said as he finished up his class before the end of the semester. “You all have a wonderful Hearth's Warming, and I will see you all back here for the start of the new semester.”

The ponies in his class started filing out of the lecture hall, some stopping by to wish him a happy holiday as well, some asking questions about the lecture, and some just making brief smalltalk. Eventually, they had all left. James packed up his notes and other lecture materials and left as well, turning off the lights and locking the door behind him. Then he headed over to the lab, where he put in a few hours of research until well after sun down. Leaving the lab finally, he locked it up as well and headed back to the dorm.

He awoke the next morning to a light snowfall and cloudy skies outside his window. He showered, put his uniform on, and went down to the common area, finding he was the only one there. He made himself a light breakfast of oatmeal and tea, then left. Arriving at the lab he brushed a light dusting of snow off his cap and jacket and coat, chatted with the guard ponies for a bit before going inside. Theory Point wasn't here, but he hadn't expected she would be. He took out his clipboard and started reviewing some notes from the day before, then went behind the shield to unlatch the locks on the shielded compartment that contained the object. Coming back to the other side of the shield, he picked up the clipboard and wrote down a few notes when he began to sense another presence in the room again.

He put the clipboard down and turned, expecting to find Princess Luna making one of her unannounced visits. She didn't make many of them anymore, but once in awhile she did. Instead, he was surprised to find Princess Celestia standing in the doorway.

“Princess Celestia. Your Majesty” he went to one knee and bowed.

“Please, stand.” she responded. “I was afraid I would find you here, James.”

“Your Majesty?” he raised an eyebrow, standing.

“When I said I wanted you to make this your number one priority, I didn't mean you should kill yourself working on it. Tomorrow is Hearth's Warming Eve. Almost all of the staff have already left for the holiday. Take some time off, James. Go back to Ponyville and visit Twilight Sparkle and your other friends for the holiday,” she said, her voice soothingly calm, but with a hint of concern over what he assumed was his well being.

“I'm fine, Your Majesty. I really have a lot of work to get done. Calculations on—”

He stopped, her raised forehoof signaling for him to be silent. “It's not a request or a suggestion, James. I will send Twilight Sparkle a message letting her know you are coming.”

He nodded slightly. “Yes, Your Majesty … And thank you, Your Majesty.” He smiled a bit now. It would be good to See Twilight and the rest of the gang from Ponyville again after all.

She smiled back and stepped forward, nuzzling his cheek gently with her muzzle. “Have a good Hearth's Warming, James. You still have time to catch today's train to Ponyville.”

“Thank you, Your Majesty. And you have a good Hearth's Warming as well.” He knelt and bowed respectfully again. She smiled gently at him and turned to leave, trotting out of the lab.

He stood back up once she had left and smiled, excited now about the chance to see his friends in Ponyville again. He re-secured the object in its shielded housing, closing and locking the latches. Then he left the lab, making sure it was securely locked, wished the guard ponies outside a happy Hearth's Warming before heading back to the dorm to pack. Once he had packed a few things in Twilight's saddle bag, he left the dorm and walked towards the train station. But there was one stop he wanted to make first …

...

“You sent him back to Ponyville for Hearth's Warming, sister?” the Night Princess asked as Celestia returned to the castle.

“I did,” she nodded. “You could stand not to be so cruel to him, Luna.” the white alicorn commented, casting her sister a sideways glance.

“Did he complain to you?” Luna raised an eyebrow.

“No. But he didn't have to,” she responded flatly.

Luna looked at the floor, scraping her forehoof against it nervously for a few seconds. “He does not like me, Tia …” she said without looking up from the floor, a hint of sadness in her voice.

“One could hardly blame him for not liking you, sister. If that were the case,” Celestia deadpanned. “But it isn't the case.”

“It's not?” The dark alicorn looked up at her sister now, her ears perking up slightly.

“No, sister. It isn't. He adores you, Luna. And he wants to serve you. He wants to please you, and he wants you to like him.” Celestia looked right at her sister now. “Don't try to intimidate him into serving you. Don't try to force him to serve you. Let him serve you because he wants to serve you.”

Luna scraped her forehoof along the floor once more, cocking her head slightly. Then she looked at the floor again. “I do like him … I just don't trust him … And besides, how do you know this, Tia?”

“Because that part, he did tell me, sister.” Celestia responded. She glanced at her sister again, then turned and started walking towards her private quarters.

...

“The Ponyville Express? That will be forty bits, sir” the ticket agent at the train station informed James. He nodded and paid the agent. “Thank you, sir.” He stowed the money in a drawer behind the counter, then pulled a ticket stub off a roll of tickets, using magic to give it to James. “That train will be leaving from track number eight West. Take a right, go up the stairs, cross the bridge, go back downstairs and take another right. You can't miss it. The cars are labeled Ponyville Express and have a logo of a flying green pegasus on them.”

“Thank you, sir.” James smiled. “You have a wonderful Hearth's Warming”

“Thank you. You too, sir,” the ticket agent pony responded as James left the counter, following the directions he had been given. Canterlot Station was a very busy place, especially now when ponies were traveling for the holidays. He looked around as ponies came and went in all directions. Tracks entered and left the station in all directions like spokes leaving the hub of a wheel, sometimes double or even triple track in directions towards the larger cities such as Manehatten and Fillydelphia. Only single track went towards the smaller towns like Ponyville though. Several trains arrived and departed at the same time, while dozens of trains sat on tracks, loading and unloading passengers, mail, and various parcels.

Coming to track number eight West, he found the train as the ticket agent had indicated, Ponyville Express was written on the sides of the passenger cars next to an artistic rendering of a flying green pegasus in a pose that would have made even Rainbow Dash jealous. He boarded one of the cars, remembering to take his cap off once he was inside. A few ponies cast him odd glances. But despite his human appearance, the Academy uniform seemed to win him instant respect and they simply smiled at him once they had gotten over the initial surprise of seeing a human on the train. He smiled back politely, finding a seat and settling in for the trip to Ponyville. He had student essays to read and grade, so he pulled one of those out of the saddle bag he carried with him and started to occupy himself with it, writing comments in the margin as he read.

The door at the front of the train car opened and an earth pony wearing a navy blue conductor's uniform trotted in.

“All aboard for Ponyville! On behalf of all of us at Her Majesty's Royal Equestria Transportation Agency, I'd like to welcome you all aboard the Ponyville Express. Since this is the express train we will not be stopping en route until we reach Ponyville. If Ponyville is not your intended destination, this is your last chance to get off this train. We will be departing the station in two minutes.”

He went back to reading the essays his students had written. A couple of minutes later, the sound of hissing air as the brakes on the train cars released, There was a small jolt as the slack went out on the couplers and the train started to roll, slowly at first, then gaining speed. The tall stone construction of Canterlot gradually thinned out, giving way to the forests and rolling hills of the countryside between the bustling seat of world power in Canterlot, and the small quiet town of Ponyville.

...

Spike suddenly jumped into the air, a small green flame erupting from his mouth as a rolled and sealed scroll popped out and onto the floor. “Twilight? I got a letter from The Princess.”

“Please read it out loud, Spike,” Twilight responded without looking up from the book she was reading.

The young dragon unrolled the scroll, cleared his throat, and began to read.

To my faithful student, Twilight Sparkle,

First of all, I want to apologize for the short notice of this message. I hope this Hearth's Warming holiday

season finds you well. Please prepare a guest room in the library, as your student, Dr. James

Peterson will be arriving there today for Hearth's Warming. He will be—

“He's coming today?” the unicorn interrupted, her ears perking up as she finally looked up from her reading.

“That's what the letter says. I'll finally get to meet him!” the small dragon smiled.

“I have to get all this stuff cleaned up before he gets here!” Twilight said in almost a panic mode. “Did it say what time he was coming?”

“Well, I was getting to that part,” he said, slightly annoyed that she had interrupted him.

“Oh … right … Sorry …”

He cleared his throat again, then continued:

He will be arriving on the next train from Canterlot. Keep in mind that the trains are on their

express schedules because of the holiday. Please meet him at Ponyville Station.

Princess Celestia

The unicorn continued to smile as all the books in the circle around her floated now, surrounded by magic from her horn. She placed each book back on the shelf in its proper location. Then she went into the guest room James had been staying in and began to prepare it. When she had finished, she started trotting to the door, a happy look still on her face.

“Uh, Twilight?”

“Yes, Spike?” she stopped, looking over her shoulder at him.

“Even with the train on the express schedule, you are gonna be several hours early if you leave already. And besides … You really might want to clean yourself up a little bit before you go out.”

She stopped and turned, trotting back into the room and stopping in front of a mirror, blinking at her disheveled appearance, unkempt mane and tail. “Oh wow … I guess I did let myself go pretty bad, huh?” She let out an embarrassed giggle. “It's a good thing Rarity didn't see me.” Then she magically floated her brush over to her, running it through her mane as she tried to undo nearly five days of neglect. Given the shape she had let it get into, that took up a significant amount of time. Finally she put down the brush and trotted towards the door, still smiling.

“You coming, Spike?”

“Actually, I thought I would let you have your reunion in private. I can meet him when he gets back here.”

“Are you sure, Spike? You can come along if you want.”

“Yep. I'm sure. This dragon is perfectly fine staying in here where it is nice and toasty warm instead of walking all the way to the train station in the snow.”

“Ah. Now your true motives for staying behind come out,” the unicorn chuckled as she left and closed the door behind her.

...

James finished commenting on another student essay as the door in the front of the train car opened again, the conductor pony coming through once more.

“If I may have your attention all. We will be arriving at Ponyville Station in approximately ten minutes. Please make sure you have collected all your belongings from under the seats as well as in any overhead compartments. Checked baggage will be available at train side shortly after we have arrived. Thank you for riding the Ponyville Express. On behalf of the entire train crew and all of us at Her Majesty's Royal Equestria Transportation Agency, I'd like to wish you all a Happy Hearth's Warming.”

The pony left through the door on the other end of the train car, entering the next car, stopping and repeating the same announcement. James packed everything he was working on back in the saddle bag except for the one essay he was currently reading.

He put the essay away when he felt the air brakes apply on the train and it gradually began to slow down. Looking out the window now, the train began to pass some of the simple thatched room buildings on the outskirts of Ponyville. It had also started to snow, a fact he had not noticed until now since he had been absorbed in reading and grading his student essays. He anxiously awaited for the train to arrive at the station. He hoped somepony would be there to meet him, but he knew Twilight had gotten very short notice that he would be coming. If not, he thought he could find the library from the train station on his own. At least he hoped he could.

He was excited, yet also nervous about seeing Twilight again. He thought about what Princess Luna had told him, about his fate being tied together with Twilight's fate. Again, he found himself wishing The Princess hadn't told him anything. It was going to make being around Twilight awkward. The fact that he couldn't talk to Twilight about it was going to make it even worse. He tried to focus on other things. For one, Twilight didn't even know he was a member of the Academy now. He hoped she would be proud of him. She had put a lot of effort into teaching him about Equestria and their ways. And just as if she were some respected professor he looked up to, he truly did want to make her proud of him.

The train continued to slow down gradually, eventually coming to a full stop in front of the station. So far, he couldn't see her out the window, but that didn't really mean anything. After all, she had no way of knowing which car he would be in. She could be anywhere along the entire length of the train.

He stood up when the conductor arrived back in the car and opened the door, gathering his saddle bag … actually Twilight's saddle bag he had been using the entire time, he got in line with the rest of the ponies making their way to the exit. Finally arriving at the door, the conductor pony smiled.

“Thank you for riding Her Majesty's Ponyville Express, sir. Have a happy Hearth's Warming.”

He smiled back. “Thank you for the excellent service, good sir. And happy Hearth's Warming to you as well.”

He stepped off the train, making sure to get out of the way so ponies behind him could get off. He stopped, put his cap on, looked left, then right to find that the purple unicorn had spotted him already and was charging towards him at a fast canter. He bowed slightly to her as she approached, although not as low as he would have bowed for either princess—for it was Academy protocol to bow slightly to a pony that was your mentor. Then he smiled and spread his arms as she leaped up on her hind legs, wrapping her forelegs around his shoulders and neck, hugging him.

“Hello again, Twilight. I've missed you,” he said happily as he hugged her close.

“I've missed you too James. It's so good to see you again. And happy Hearth's Warming,” she responded, squeezing him a bit tighter with her forelegs.

“You too.”

She finally released her grip on him and got back down to all four legs. She looked at him with a look of confusion on her face, one forehoof raised into the air slightly.

“… You wear the uniform of the Academy now,” she stated in a tone that was half way between a question, and half way between a confused statement of fact that she wanted explained.

“I do,” he stated simply.

“… But what about all that talk earlier? I thought you hated the Academy and everything you believed it stood for?”

“Well … people's beliefs and attitudes can change. Just like a pony's can.”

“True … I suppose they can …” she hesitated for a moment, but then smiled again, seemingly satisfied with his answer. “Well, congratulations then, James. I'm so proud of you!”

“Thank you,” he smiled back at her as the two of them started walking, James having packed lightly so he wouldn't have to check any baggage.

“I see you've managed to maintain your physical shape as well. Rainbow Dash will be proud of you too,” she commented.

“Well, I figured she'd chew me out pretty badly if I let that slip. Considering how hard she worked to get me in this kind of shape.”

She nodded and was silent for several moments before speaking again.

“So why did you bow to me back there?” she finally asked, trotting next to him.

“It's academy protocol to bow to a mentor. And given you taught me virtually everything I know about Equestria, and I would never have made it into the Academy without you, you definitely qualify as a mentor to me.”

She blushed at that. “I'm sure you could have made it in without my help.”

“No, Twilight. I couldn't have. You don't always have to be so modest. It's okay for you to take credit when you have done a good job. And you did a good job, Twilight. I owe you a debt I will never be able to fully repay.”

That only caused the unicorn to blush deeper. “Well … you are welcome then. But you aren't in debt to me. I learned a lot from you too, and enjoyed the conversations we had. Even the ones where we argued were fun in their own way.” She chuckled slightly again, turning her head to glance at him for a moment before looking forward again.

“Either way, you are still a mentor to me. So you better get used to me bowing to you like that.”

“Well, if you insist I suppose. … The other ponies will probably never let me live it down though.” There was a long pause before she spoke again, with a more serious tone, looking at him now with a look of concern and what James thought was a hurt expression.

“James, how come you never wrote to me? It's been two months since you started living in Canterlot and I didn't get even one letter from you. Not even one telling me that you joined the Academy.”

He sighed, looking at the ground. “I am very sorry for that Twilight,” he answered sincerely. “I was just so busy getting settled in with all the Academy protocol to learn, preparing lesson plans for my classes, helping my students, and so on.” His explanation was only half true. Yes, he had been very busy in Canterlot. But he could have found time to write to Twilight if he'd looked for it. There were other factors at work. For one, the revelation that Luna had given him about his fate being mixed up with Twilight's fate had made the idea of writing to her feel awkward. Of course, by not writing to her, he was doing exactly what Luna and he had discussed the other night: Attempting to run away from his problems. But there was still one more reason. One that was the worst excuse he could possibly make. He had simply gotten so caught up in the Canterlot lifestyle and his new friends from the Academy, that he barely even took the time to think about his friends in Ponyville, much less take enough time to write to them. Now, of course, he felt awful about it.

“Alright. But when you go back to Canterlot again, please try not to be such a stranger this time.” She smiled slightly.

“I'll definitely try not to.” A sense of relief washed over him. At least she had believed his explanation. He felt bad about being dishonest with her. But in this case, the lie was better than the truth right? The lie would not harm her. But the truth would. The unicorn smiled slightly at him and seemed to perk up a little now, although he thought he could still sense that deep inside, something was still troubling her.

As they arrived in the downtown area of Ponyville, the buildings and sites started to look more familiar to him. Shortly after, they came to the library / converted tree. They both stepped inside and Twilight magically closed the door behind them.

“I'm not very good with introductions," she said. "So I will just keep this simple. Spike? This is James. James? Spike.”

James took his cap off, then stopped and stared at the small dragon for a few moments. The dragon just stared back him. He broke his gaze away from the dragon and looked at Twilight again.

“You know … when you used to tell me you had a dragon assistant, part of me honestly thought you were just pulling my leg,” he said a bit nervously. “He doesn't breath fire, does he?”

“Only when I sneeze,” the young dragon responded before Twilight could answer.

“Uh huh. Well, it's a pleasure to meet you, Spike. You're very fortunate to have Twilight as a caretaker and teacher.” James extended his hand towards the dragon now.

“Nice meeting you too,” the young dragon extended his hand and the two of them shook. “And yes, I know I am very fortunate to have her as my caretaker and teacher.” The dragon smiled. James expected Twilight to interject but she was too busy blushing from the compliments.

“Thanks for helping Twilight out while I was gone by the way,” Spike said as the two of them finished their handshake.

“You don't need to thank me for that. It was nothing really. The least I could do given everything that she did for me.”

“Ok then!” Twilight interjected. James thought that if she blushed any worse from the praises he and Spike were heaping on her, she might almost be able to pass for Pinkie Pie. “Either of you have anything in mind that you want to do tonight? Tomorrow we are going to Pinkie Pie's Hearth's Warming Eve party at Sugercube Corner. But tonight is free.”

“We could go visit Rarity,” Spike suggested. “I'm sure she'd like to see James in his spiffy new uniform”

Twilight chuckled and shook her head, then looked at James. “He's got a bit of a crush on Rarity.”

“Twiiiilight …” the young dragon whined, blushing almost as bad as Twilight had been.

“It's alright, Spike,” he snickered slightly. “Your secret is safe with me. I hope she won't be offended that I'm not wearing the clothes she made for me. But Academy policy says I have to wear this now.”

Twilight shook her head. “Don't worry. She won't be. And besides, she designed those Academy uniforms. The Academy switched to a new uniform about four years ago. Princess Celestia and Princess Luna commissioned Rarity for those designs. She'll be flattered to see you wearing it.”

“Well, in that case, I'm up for going over there, if you want,” he smiled.

“Alright,” Twilight's horn started to glow as she magically floated her scarf over to her and tied it around her. “I'm hoping we'll run into Rainbow Dash along the way. That way she can quickly make the rounds and let the other ponies know you are back in town. Then the three of them left and started walking towards Rarity's Boutique.”

It wasn't long before James was nearly knocked over when a certain cyan pegasus flew into him from above, wrapping her forelegs around him. “James! How come you didn't let us know you were coming back?” She glared at him.

He grunted slightly from the impact, but then smiled and wrapped his arms around her too. “Hi Rainbow. I apologize for that. It was short notice. Even Twilight only found out a few hours ago via a letter from The Princess.”

“Looking pretty 'dashing' there in that Academy uniform. And I see you seem to have kept yourself in shape. But appearances can be deceiving. What do you say? Up for a few sparing matches?” the always feisty pegasus asked, getting an eye-roll response from Twilight.

“Thanks Dash, but I think I'm going to have to take a rain check on the sparing. Dress uniform and all. The colonel at the Academy would chew my tail off if I had one. Then he'd hunt you down and chew yours off too.”

“Aww …” she looked disappointed. “Maybe next time then.”

“Actually, Rainbow, could you let AJ, Fluttershy, and Pinkie Pie that he's here?” Twilight asked. “We are going to stop at Rarity's for a moment, and then we will head over to Sugercube Corner. We can meet everypony there.”

“I'm on it!” the cyan pegasus responded, then darted off into the sky.

The three of them arrived at Rarity's a couple of minutes later, Twilight knocking on the door.

“Yes?” the white unicorn said as she came to open the door. “James! I didn't know you were going to be back in town! I see you joined the academy? That uniform looks quite nice on you, if I do say so myself.” She smiled at him.

“Hello, Lady Rarity.” He nodded politely. “And thank you.”

“Oh, and he's picked up such good manners in Canterlot!” The fashionista unicorn smiled. “I must admit I'm jealous of you living in there. The fashion, the excitement, the culture. Come darling, don't stand out in the snow and cold. You simply must tell me all about it.” She herded him, inside now, along with Twilight and Spike.

“You can't keep him here too long, Rarity. I told Rainbow Dash to round up the others. We are supposed to meet them at Sugarcube Corner,” Twilight spoke up.

“Yes, yes.” the purple maned unicorn waved a forehoof dismissively, then looked at James again. “Now come, darling. Tell me how life in Canterlot has been treating you.”

James looked over at Twilight for confirmation about whether they had any time to stay here and talk.

“Well … we can afford to spend a few minutes here. And besides, I have to admit, I'm anxious to hear how things have been for you too, since you never wrote to me.” The lavender unicorn glared at him again.

“Ok! Ok! You don't have to rub it in so much.” He raised his hands defensively. “Life in Canterlot has been pretty good. I've made a lot of friends at the Academy, and they are definitely keeping me busy. Been to the symphony several times. Get to see the Wonderbolts practice sometimes.”

“Oh, Rainbow Dash would definitely be jealous of you. Living so close to the airfield where the Wonderbolts practice,” Spike chimed in.

“And you are teaching at the Academy?” Twilight asked.

“Yep. Teaching an upper level course on particle physics. I've got about seventy students, so it's manageable for my first year. Very bright bunch of ponies. Always asking really intelligent questions. Just got done reading a bunch of very well written essays they wrote.”

He really wished he could mention the trip to Whitepony, and the strange device they had found and were studying. After all, Twilight was very intelligent and resourceful. She might have some good ideas and valuable input. But even Princess Celestia had admonished him not to talk to any pony. Not even Twilight. Still he hated keeping secrets from her. But disobeying Princess Celestia was not something he wanted to do either. He held his tongue and said nothing to Twilight. The two unicorns, dragon, and human talked for another five minutes or so.

“Well, I suppose we better get going,” Twilight finally said, standing up from the cushion she was seated on, magically putting her scarf back on and then bundling Spike up as well. He turned and looked at Rarity. It probably took her another three minutes or so for her to choose which scarf went best with the hat she wanted to wear. As bad as going clothes shopping with a girlfriend, he thought to himself. Finally, she decided on a color combination and the four of them left the boutique for Sugarcube Corner.

Arriving at Sugarcube Corner, James opened the door, holding it for the two unicorns and letting them enter first.

“Such a gentlecolt,” Rarity smiled, causing him to hide a blush, and get a dirty look from Spike.

He knelt down and whispered to the dragon as he walked past. “Don't worry, Spike. She's all yours.” He couldn't suppress a small giggle, which caused the two female unicorns to look back at him and Spike. He quickly put on a poker face, while the dragon started to blush.

“Jamesy! Wamesy!” a voice called out, thankfully before he had to explain himself. He looked up to see a bouncing ball of pink fur flying towards him. He braced himself for impact, but Pinkie Pie stopped just before slamming into him, then wrapped her forelegs around his shoulders and neck.

“Oh, it's so good to see you again How has Canterlot been treating you oh it must be treating you good because I see you are part of the Academy now and congratulations cause I've heard that's hard to get into but you probably didn't have any problem because you are really smart do you want some candy or some—”

“Hi, Pinkie Pie,” he chuckled, finally having to cut her off so she could take a breath for herself. “I'm very happy to see you again too.”

Twilight shook her head a bit. “Hi, Pinkie Pie. Are the others here yet?”

“Applejack is in the back helping me bake cookies and cakes and lots of other sweet things for the party tomorrow but Rainbow and Fluttershy aren't here yet and Apple Bloom is looking for somepony to help her with her homework for her Basics of Equestrian Government class but AJ can't cause she is busy helping me with baking and oh right I need go check on my cookies!”

As quick as she had come, the always vibrant pink pony bounded off into the back room again.

“Does she ever settle down?” he asked, only half joking, realizing he had literally never seen Pinkie Pie when she wasn't wound up like a spring.

“Only when she's asleep,” Twilight deadpanned. “And we think that's only for about three hours a night.” She chuckled.

“Twilight, Rarity, come back here please!” Pinkie Pie poked her head out from the back.

Twilight looked at Pinkie Pie, then back at James with a questioning look.

“It's alright. You two go back there and talk about me behind my back or whatever she wants to do.” He chuckled.

“Are you sure?” Twilight asked.

“Yes, I'll be fine.”

...

By the time Twilight, Rarity, and Applejack came out of the back room, Apple Bloom had found James. He was lying on his stomach on the floor across from her, pointing at something in her text book. The three ponies stopped, not wanting to interrupt him.

“So we have the Royal Equestrian Guard, more commonly just called the Royal Guard. As a whole, they are responsible for the general defense and security of Equestria.”

The yellow filly nodded. “Yep. That part I got.”

“And that's divided into several units. Including?” He looked at her waiting for the answer.

“The Pegasus Guard …”

“Good.” he nodded. “Also sometimes called The Pegasus Flying Corps. And they are responsible for?”

“Air defense, and patrolling the sky against threats like rogue dragons?”

“Very good,” he smiled. “And what are the other units?”

“The Unicorn Guard”

“Also known as, and responsible for?” he prompted.

“The Magical Defense Corps. Responsible for defensive magic and maintaining magical defense barriers that protect Equestria.”

“Good. And then there are the two very special elite units that are chosen from the very best. They are?” he prompted.

The little filly looked around for a moment. “I uh … forgot the name.”

“That's Ok. The Celestial Guard. Responsible for the security and protection of Her Majesty, Princess Celestia.”

“I suppose it's really important that Princess Celestia is protected,” the little filly commented.

“Indeed it is. Her Majesty provides the sun for us. And all living things depend on the sun, right?” James responded.

“Right,” Apple Bloom said.

“But there's one more special branch of the Royal Guard. They are?” he prompted.

“The Lunar Guard. Responsible for the security and protection of Her Majesty, Princess Luna.” The filly responded.

“Very good.” He smiled.

“And I'm done! Thanks! No more homework for two weeks! Yay! I'm gonna go find Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo!” the yellow filly cheered and packed up her text book and notes happily.

“You're welcome.” He smiled and stood up as she bounded outside to find her friends.

“Howdy, James!” He heard Applejack's voice from behind and turned around.

“Hey, AJ. Good to see ya again.” He smiled and walked towards her, the pony leaping up on her hind legs to hug him.

“That was mighty nice of ya, to help out my little sis with her homework like that.”

“Oh, it was nothing. I'm glad I was able to help. How've you been, AJ?”

“Doin' well. Was able to get some long standing projects done on account of you helping me get all those apples peeled earlier than normal. Thanks again for all that help before you left. And congratulations on the position at the Academy. Hope it's treatin' ya right.”

“Thank you. It's good. I work with some really great ponies.”

“Jamesy!” Pinkie Pie poked her head out from the door in the back of the room again. “Come back here and taste some of the stuff I am making for the party tomorrow!”

“Isn't that cheating? Don't I have to wait until tomorrow?”

“No, silly, that's just an old mare's tale or something. You can come back and try them now. And bring Twilight and Rarity with you.” The pink pony disappeared into the kitchen again.

“Well, I can hardly resist an invitation like that. Shall we?” he let the two unicorns go ahead of him.

In the kitchen area, he found Pinkie Pie scolding Scootaloo, who apparently had snuck in a back door and was stealing some of her cookie dough off of the counter. The little orange pegasus sat in the corner now, looking a bit like a scolded puppy. But she perked up when she saw him, darting over to him and leaping into his arms, which he quickly had to extend to catch her.

“Scootaloo!” Rarity scolded. “Where are you manners?”

“Oh, it's alright.” James chuckled. “Fillies will be fillies I guess. It's good to see you too Scootaloo.” He smiled, the young filly jumping out of his arms and back to the ground.

“Nice uniform!” she commented. “It looks all cool and military like!” Then she turned her attention back to Pinkie Pie. “Can I have some more cookie dough? Please …” she begged.

“You three have already had enough!” Pinkie Pie protested. “There won't be any left for the cookies, and you three fillies will be sick if you eat anymore!”

“Hey Scootaloo,” James interrupted before the little filly could protest again. “There's a few pieces of paper in my jacket pocket. The jacket I left out front. Could you go get them for me please?”

“Fine …” she pouted, then left the kitchen, dragging her hooves in disappointment as she walked slowly to the front of the store.

“So now that I got rid of them finally do you want to try my new cake recipe? I made it—”

She was interrupted by a shrill squeal from the front room. Twilight, Rarity, Pinkie, and Spike all jumped. Only James maintained his composure. The three ponies were about to go out to the front room to see what was wrong, when Scootaloo came galloping back in with something in her mouth, leaping at James' chest again. He quickly held out his arms to catch her.

“Scootaloo!” Rarity scolded again. But the little orange pegasus wasn't paying attention to her.

“Tickets to the Wonderbolts show in the Spring! For me, Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom! thank you! thank you! thank you!” she wrapped her forelegs around James' neck.

“You're welcome.” He chuckled. “You keep your muzzle shut though. Don't go telling everypony at school. I can't afford to buy tickets for the entire class. The Academy pays well, but not that well. And the fourth ticket is for Rainbow Dash. You have to have an adult escort and I figured she'd enjoy it.”

“Don't worry, I won't tell anypony! I'm gonna go find Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom! Thank you! thank you! thank you!” She let go of his neck, pushing off him with her hind legs and landing on the floor. Then she darted out the back door.

He watched her dart out the door, then turned back to the other ponies.

“That was really sweet of you, James,” Twilight said, giving him a soft smile.

“Well, I figured I couldn't return from Canterlot without bearing gifts for the children.” He chuckled a bit.

“Rainbow Dash is probably going to have the same reaction Scootaloo did when she finds out you got her a ticket,” Rarity added.

“Yeah, well I don't need Rainbow leaping into my arms like that. I'm sure I couldn't hold her and she's just end up tackling me to the ground,” he quipped.

“What about me now?” As if on queue, the cyan pegasus came through the door along with Fluttershy, shaking some accumulated snow off her back and wings.

“Oh, hello James.” Fluttershy responded shyly. “I certainly hope you are having a wonderful time in Canterlot.”

“Hi Fluttershy.” He knelt down and she came over to him, the two of them hugging, her hug much more gentle than the others had been. “Canterlot has been great. And how have you been?”

“Oh, I've been doing well. Thank you. I've been keeping busy feeding the bunnies and such. It's harder for them to find things to eat in the snow so I have to take care of them more,” she said quietly.

“Alright!” Pinkie Pie interrupted suddenly, almost causing him to jump in surprise. “Now that we are all here … group photo!” she yelled happily, having produced a camera from he wasn't sure where.

“Oh no. I don't do group photos,” he started to back away, only to bump into Rainbow Dash behind him.

“Oh no! You aren't going anywhere!” the cyan pegasus stated aggressively, blocking his escape path. He turned another direction, only to find it blocked by a grinning Twilight. Turning once more, he found his path blocked by Applejack.

“Might as well face it, partner,” Applejack grinned. “Yer gettin your picture taken with us even if I gotta get my lasso and tie you in front of the camera.”

“Alright, I give!” he giggled, finding himself surrounded on all sides by the six ponies and one small dragon. “Let's get this over with then.”

“Who's gonna take the picture?” Pinkie asked.

“I will,” James responded.

“Nice try, James. But not gonna work.” Twilight snickered.

“I will,” Spike volunteered. Walking over to take the camera from Pinkie Pie.

“Are you sure you don't want to be in the picture, Spike?”

“I'm sure. There will be plenty of other pictures to be in. And besides, it's a special thing for you seven.”

“Alright. Thanks, Spike.” The unicorn smiled at her dragon assistant before gathering the ponies around James.

“We should do it over by the ice cream bar,” Rarity stated. “The backdrop is more aesthetically pleasing and the lighting is better.”

“Good idea,” Twilight responded, then herded them over to the ice cream counter, arranging James in the middle and the ponies gathered around hm before situating herself. “Ok, Spike! Ready!”

“Alright … In three … two … one …” A bright flash as the flash bulb went off.

“I'll take it back to the library tonight and develop it in the lab,” Twilight said as the ponies and humans relaxed into more comfortable positions now.

He continued to make smalltalk with the ponies for a few hours. That evening, they gathered for dinner in a private room at the back of Sugarcube Corner. Mr. and Ms. Cake used for private parties, Pinkie had told him. He updated them on the news from Canterlot. The parts he was allowed to talk about anyway, and they updated him on the latest news from Ponyville. As small as Ponyville was, that wasn't much news really, and it didn't take long to summarize the entire two months he had been gone. They laughed and told stories. But every once in a while, when he looked at Twilight, he couldn't help but get the feeling that something was bothering her. He couldn't put his finger on what caused him to feel that way. Maybe I'm just being overly sensitive, he tried to tell himself. But despite his efforts to try to convince himself of that, the nagging feeling remained.

“Well, ah sure hate to cut the evening short, but it's a hike back to the farm. And Apple Bloom and I gotta be up early tomorrow to be back here in town and help set the party up.” Applejack stood up. “It sure is nice seein' ya again though, James. And I'll see ya in the mornin'.”

“Good night, AJ.” He smiled. “See you in the morning.”

“I should go too,” Fluttershy said in a quiet voice. “It's a long walk back to the cottage, and it's going to be dark soon.”

“Do you want me to walk you back?” James offered.

“Oh … No thank you. That's very sweet of you. But you'd have to walk back to town in the dark.”

“Alright then. Good night Fluttershy. I'll see you in the morning.” He smiled.

“Good night, James.”

Within a few minutes, the rest of the ponies decided to call it a night as well, and he was on his way back to the library with Twilight and Spike. Lightly falling snow reflected off the street lamps, swirling around in a light breeze, like hundreds of lazy stars fluttering around in the sky. James tried not to think of home. But he couldn't avoid making connections to Christmas time back in Chicago. He didn't dwell on it though. It would do no good for him to focus on what he had in the past and could not get back. Instead, he focused on what he had in front of him right now. Good friends, a picture perfect winter evening the day before Hearth's Warming. It really couldn't get much better than this.

...

He awoke early the next morning before sunrise. Despite the cold and the snow, he put on his field uniform and went out on a brief run with Rainbow and Applejack for old times sake, as well as to prove to Rainbow that he could still keep up. After bathing and cleaning up from the run, he put his dress uniform back on and went over to Sugarcube Corner again, where he helped the ponies out with the party preparations. Cheerilee's class would also be presenting a play that evening, he learned. Getting ready for the party was quite a bit of work, but the time passed quickly with all the holiday conversation going on during the work, and Pinkie Pie's never-ending supply of treats and refreshments. By the time the sun started to set, they had put up a make-shift stage for the play to be performed on, and all the preparations for the party were complete.

“Then let the Hearth's Warming Eve party officially begin!” Pinkie Pie called out enthusiastically, launching a confetti blast from a party cannon.

Prior to the play there was music, dancing, and appetizers served.

“I developed the picture from last night,” Twilight said, taking it out of her saddle bag for the others to look at.

“That turned out mighty find. Spike's not a bad photographer,” Applejack said, looking at it. The rest of them agreed.

“What do you think we should do with it?” Twilight finally asked.

“I think you should keep it at the library, Twilight,” Fluttershy responded quietly. “It seems like an appropriate place to hang it where it will be safe and not get damaged.”

The other ponies all agreed, and James did too. So she put it back in her saddle bag for safe keeping. Then, the six ponies, one human, and one dragon got on with partying.

The play went off without a hitch, all of the colts and fillies being very well rehearsed. Pin the Tail on the Pony, along with various other games followed the play. Dinner was served afterward, followed by a seemingly never ending supply of deserts. Cookies and candies, cakes, pies and ice cream. At the end of the evening, all of them had eaten way too much.

“Ugh …” Rainbow Dash groaned. “I won't even be able to fly home. Maximum takeoff weight exceeded.”

James chuckled a bit. “Guess we will have to go for an extra long run in the morning to try to burn some of these calories off.”

“Well, at least Mr. and Ms. Cake told us cleanup can wait until tomorrow.” Applejack added.

Gradually, ponies began to leave the party and return to their houses. Eventually, Twilight, James, and Spike said good bye to the ponies that were left and returned to the library as well. They talked for a little while about the latest news from Canterlot before turning in for the night.

James spent the next two days in Ponyville, catching up with all the ponies he had become good friends with while he had been staying there. The time passed quicker then either he or they would have liked, and a cold clear morning found the purple unicorn sitting at the Ponyville train station with him. He wore his Academy dress uniform, which Rarity had just freshly pressed for him. Although he was always careful to keep it wrinkle free, it looked even nicer after Rarity got done with it. She truly did have a magic touch when it came to clothes.

The Ponyville train station was much smaller than the one in Canterlot, of course. It was made up of one small wooden building. A single plank wood boarding platform hung off the back of the building in front of the only track that went through Ponyville.

“I wish you could stay longer, James. I really missed having you around. Even with Spike back,” Twilight said sadly.

“I'd like to stay longer too, Twilight. But unfortunately, there's work to be done. Even with classes on break, there's research work to be done in the labs and lesson plans to prepare for next semester. An Academy professor's work is never done, it seems.”

“Promise you will write this time, James. I at least want to keep up on how you are doing.”

“I promise, Twilight. I will make sure I find time to write to you.”

“You better. Or I'm going to ask Princess Celestia to yell at you,” she giggled. He didn't get a chance to respond as a uniformed train conductor stepped off one of the cars of the parked train.

“If I may have your attention please, the Ponyville Express is now boarding. Destination, Canterlot. All ticketed passengers should be boarding the train at this time. This train will be departing the station in five minutes.”

The conductor pony then started walking along the train cars, assisting some of the older ponies with their bags, as well as the ones that needed a little extra help boarding.

“Well, I guess that's my queue.” He looked at Twilight, spread his arms. She wrapped her forelegs around him and the two of them hugged. “I'm going to miss you, Twi.”

“I'll miss you too, James,” she said sadly.

“You're coming to Canterlot for the Summer Sun Celebration, right?”

“Yes. Definitely.”

“I'll definitely see you again then if I can't see you sooner.”

She nodded and hugged him a bit tighter for a moment before letting go. “Have a good trip back, James.”

“All aboard! This is the final boarding call for the Ponyville Express, departing for Canterlot.”

“Thanks, Twilight. You take care of yourself.”

He picked up the new bag that Rarity had sewn for him, having returned Twilight's saddle bag to her. Then he bowed slightly to Twilight again out of respect for a mentor, before turning and boarding one of the train cars. Taking his cap off and finding a seat, he looked out the window at her and waved. She raised a forehoof and waved back at him. The hissing sound of moving air as the air brakes on the train released. A small jolt as the slack went out, and the train started moving forward. He continued waving out the window, watching as the unicorn started to run along the side of the tracks, watching him. As the train gained speed, she could no longer keep up. He watched her fall behind, like a scene sliding off the side of a movie screen. Then, she was gone, having slipped out of the view port of his small window to the world.

He sighed, depression hitting him at having to leave his friends in Ponyville again. But he reminded himself of what he had waiting for him in Canterlot: Theory Point and a lot of other really good friends, and a whole boat load of challenging research to work on. His mind would be off of Ponyville again in no time, and he would be back into the Canterlot routine. He was sure of it. Then, he opened his bag, pulled out one of the student essays he had brought, and began to read.

...

“He's changed, Applejack,” a dejected looking Twilight Sparkle said later that day, sitting in the library with Applejack. Spike sat at the top of the stairs, listening in. He was supposed to be in bed, but concern for his unicorn friend had kept him up. He was fairly certain that the two ponies didn't know he was listening in.

“Well, I'm sure he has, sugarcube,” Applejack commented. “He's been living in Canterlot for two months, had a whole new set of experiences, and he's had more time to settle into life in Equestria.”

Twilight shook her head slightly once. “Did you see the way he was with Apple Bloom when he was helping her with her homework though?”

“Yeah? Ah thought it was mighty nice of him. What about it?” The farm pony raised an eyebrow.

“Two months ago he would have been complaining about the amount of power the princesses have, and how he thought Apple Bloom was being indoctrinated and such. But now … Her Majesty, Princess Celestia? and Her Majesty provides the sun for us? I can barely believe those words actually came out of his mouth.”

“Ah don't understand, Twi. He's finally showing the princesses some respect even when they're not standin' right in front of him. Ah'd think that'd make you happy.” the orange earth pony gave Twilight a confused look.

“Well, it does. But the way he talked to Apple Bloom … he said those things like now he just accepts them as indisupted fact. And then the fact that he actually joined the Academy … The few times I talked to him about the Academy, he pretty much hated everything he thought it stood for.”

“So, maybe he had a change ah heart? Maybe he's simply accepting the way things are around here?”

“That's just it, Applejack. I wanted him to respect our system and respect the princesses. But I didn't want him to abandon who he is. To lose himself. But that's what I'm afraid is happening. He's becoming culturally assimilated. He's losing his own culture. And his own culture is part of who he is.”

“Ah dunno, Twi … Even if he is, do ya really think it matters? He seems really happy. Ain't that all that matters?”

“Not if he is losing who he is, AJ. It used to be that he respected the princesses, even if he didn't like what they stood for. But now, joining the Academy and all … he's becoming a servant.”

The farm pony shrugged slightly. “Some ponies are happiest when they are servin' others, Twi. I reckon some humans are the same way. Maybe he's one of them. If servin' Princess Celestia and Princess Luna is what he wants to do and it makes him happy, then I see nothin' wrong with it. Not that I'm entirely sure what this whole cultural assimilation thing is. But again, if he's happy, I think that's what matters?”

“Maybe you are right AJ. Maybe I should stop worrying about it.” the unicorn smiled slightly. “I should let you get home. Thanks for staying late and talking with me about this.”

“No problem, Twi. Ya know Ah'm always here for ya. Ah wouldn't worry none too much about James. Ah'm sure he he'll be fine. Good night, Twilight.” The farm pony stood up and left turned, leaving the library. Twilight turned towards the stairs. Spike quickly jumped and silently hurried to his basket at the foot of Twilight's bed and curled up, pretending to be asleep.

...

Later that night, Spike lay asleep curled up in his basket with the covers snugly pulled over him. He dreamed abut bright red gems, and a certain white unicorn with purple mane and tail. Suddenly, his dream started to shift. He heard a pony scream out in fear. Recognizing it as Twilight's voice, began to wake up, quickly realizing it wasn't a dream. Another scream, and he was up, throwing the covers off of himself and racing to the door, He grabbed the handle, turned the knob, only to have the door yanked out his hand, as if a gust of wind had caught it and thrown it open. Racing down the stairs, he blinked at frightening scene before his eyes. Papers and books were swirling around the room. At the center, some time of swirling black vortex seemed to be opened up. Inside the vortex, he could see nothing except for streaks of lighting shooting back and forth and down into it. Occasionally, a piece of paper or a book would get sucked into the vortex, simply disappearing down it. And at other end of the room, Twilight dug all four of her hooves firmly into the ground, fighting desperately to avoid being sucked into the swirling tornado like menace as it fought to pull her closer. She looked around frantically, trying to find something to grab onto. But there was nothing within reach.

Desperately, the young dragon continued racing down the stairs and behind his unicorn friend, careful to give the vortex a wide berth, lest he get pulled in himself. He grabbed onto Twilight's tail, digging his own feet into the ground and desperately trying to stop both of them from being drug across the floor. Still, they were slowly, but surely being pulled closer and closer to the swirling, flashing opening. He stared in horror at the vortex. The vortex stared back like a giant dark mouth with lighting for teeth, waiting for its prey to fall in to be devoured.

Suddenly, the swirling vortex became unstable, collapsing inward on itself like a deflating balloon. Then, it was gone. The books and papers that had been swirling around it in the air fell to the floor. Twilight fell backwards and on top of Spike, causing him to grunt as the wind was knocked out of him. She quickly realized where she had fallen and rolled off of him, the two of them laying there breathing heavily for several long seconds. Finally, Spike broke the silence.

“What in the name of Celestia were you doing, Twilight?”

“I … I tried to open a portal to another dimension,” she responded in a shaky voice. “To … to see if I could find how to send James home.”

“Twilight, you have to stop this! I almost couldn't pull you back! You almost got dragged in there! Now maybe you see why Princess Celestia said it was too dangerous to try?”

“I … I'm sorry, Spike,” she said, still shaken up. “I have to get this mess cleaned up now.”

“I'll clean up this mess in the morning. For now, lets just get you to bed.” He helped the still shaking unicorn up to her bed and tucked her in. It took awhile, but eventually, she stopped shaking and fell asleep. He looked at her, sighed to himself and shook his head. Then he climbed back into his basket. Try as he might, he was not able to get back to sleep …

...

Two weeks later …

Dr. Eric Thompson stood outside staring at the partially collapsed and twisted chunks of metal that were the destroyed buildings of Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory near Chicago. Another colleague who had worked at the lab stood next to him.

“They are finally going to get around to tearing these buildings down,” the colleague spoke. “They want you to take one last look through the building and see if there are any notes, logs, research data, and so on that should be removed before they completely destroy what's left of the buildings.”

Eric nodded and then walked to the lab, entering through the doorway, which was now simply covered in plastic construction flaps to try to at least keep the elements out of the building. He went back to the main research area, surveying the debris. Broken computers and display monitors, twisted metal support beams. It didn't look like the quake had left much of anything undamaged, or salvageable. Then a bound book on the floor caught his eye. He leaned down, picked it up. As he did so, something fell out of it and to the floor. Leaning down again, he picked up the object that had fallen out, turning it over in his hand. His eyes became wide, staring at it.

“What the hell? Is this someones idea of a cruel joke?” he said to himself.

The object was a photograph. In it, James stood wearing some kind of military like uniform with artistic designs of the sun and moon emblazoned on it, on the shoulder patch, a flag of some country he had never seen before. But the strangest part of the photo, were the six colorful ponies that surrounded James—including two pegasi, and two unicorns …

22 - Canterlot Life and Times

The God Particle

Chapter 22: Canterlot Life and Times

Twilight Sparkle had not attempted to open any more portals since the near disastrous attempt two weeks ago. However, she had been busy pouring through the events of that night in her mind. One interesting thing she had discovered is that the thread connecting the two dimensions was more stable than she had originally thought. It had not weakened any since she originally found it when probing James' mind. At least that meant she might have more time to solve this problem than she originally thought. But then again, she didn't want James to become any more culturally assimilated than he already was. Maybe she should simply talk to him about it? She feared that would only start an argument. He would tell her he thought it was what she wanted and he thought she would be happy. She would try to explain to him that it wasn't her goal … No, talking to him would get messy. Spike was right, she knew. What she had done had been very dangerous. But she had been so close to success. No, she would not abandon her quest now. Not so close to victory. She would continue to try to find a way to send him home. She would just be more careful from now on, she reasoned. With a look of determination on her face, she reviewed the notes she had already taken. Then she pulled more books off of her shelf, starting her efforts anew.

...

James finished writing the syllabus for his next semester and replaced the cap on the inkwell, putting the quill back in its stand. Using his other hand, he rubbed his writing hand a little bit. What he wouldn't give for a computer with a word processor. Or even a typewriter. There was one benefit to having to write everything in longhand though. His handwriting had become impeccably good, where as it had been nigh unreadable before he arrived in Equestria due to writing everything on a computer. He wasn't sure if his skills at writing the Equestrian script would translate into equally good handwriting in the Latin alphabet. When was the last time he had even written anything in the Latin alphabet? Come to think of it, he wasn't sure he had used it at all since arriving in Equestria, other than the one time he wrote out a translation chart with Twilight comparing the Equestrian alphabet to the Latin alphabet. That had been more for her curiosity than for his benefit. She never actually allowed him to use it when she had been teaching him to read Equestrian. She said it would get him in the habit of mentally translating each character in his mind instead of simply reading the Equestrian script as it was. And that would slow down his reading speed substantially.

He placed the completed syllabus in his document folder and took it with him as he left the dorm. His breath condensed in front of him in the cold, each step making a crunching sound as he walked on a thin layer of snow. The Academy campus was mostly deserted right now. He turned left, stopping by the printing building to drop off the syllabus so all the copies could be made for his students. Then he headed over to the lab. This was the last week he would be able to devote solely to research. Next week, the new semester would start. And the near deserted Academy would once again become a city within a city, teaming with the young ponies that were Equestria's future.

...

"I don't know what to tell ya, Eric." A blond haired man put down a magnifying glass and pulled his glasses up, turning to look at the physicist. "If it's a fake, it's the best fake I've ever seen. There's no evidence of Photoshopping or other digital manipulation. No clipping, no errant shadows, nothing."

"A green screen?" Eric suggested.

The other man shook his head. "I'd still find imperfections. There's something else too … The photographic paper this is printed on, and the chemical traces left from the development process. They're nothing like I have ever come across in any photographic development process I've seen. And I've seen most of them." He handed the photo back to Eric.

Eric was silent for several moments, thinking to himself. "It's probably just something he had taken at a carnival or amusement park or something. Some kind of weird souvenir from a theme park. Thanks for your time, Pete … You still won't tell anyone about this, right?"

"You have my word. I won't tell anyone. You are probably right. It's probably something he had taken at a theme park and just had sitting around the lab in his desk. Maybe some cheap imported photographic paper from Taiwan or something. That would explain why I've never seen that type before. I'm sorry it brought up painful memories for you, Eric." He frowned. "He didn't have any family, did he?"

He shook his head. "No immediate family. But I feel awful for his parents and sister. Losing him like that so close to Christmas. They never even got true closure because his body was never found. But the accelerator tunnel collapsed in on itself. Part of it runs underneath the lab. He's probably buried under thousands of tons of concrete and dirt. It's unlikely they will ever find him. And of course, they aren't looking anymore."

There's a lot of families whose loved ones' bodies were never found, unfortunately. This city wasn't built to handle a quake that powerful. No doubt there are hundreds of bodies still buried under collapsed buildings.

Eric nodded slightly. "Well, thanks again for your time, Pete. And I appreciate you keeping this under wraps."

"No problem, man," the other man responded as Eric turned to leave the building. He could almost believe his own story that it was probably just a photo from a theme park or carnival of some sort. Except for one thing: the book written in the strange alphabet that he had found along with the photo. He hadn't shown that to Pete, or told him about it. Once he had figured out that it was English, deciphering the alphabet was not much harder than cracking a simple substitution cypher. That's basically all it was, with the addition of some extra characters for different phonemes. Of course, it had still been slow going since he had to translate each character of the book. Never the less, he had managed to read a little bit of it. What he had read was as fascinating as it was unbelievable. He would have dismissed it as the work of some fantasy novelist … if not for the photograph he had found with it …

...

The winter days continued to drag on as James stayed busy in both the lecture hall and the lab. Winter gave way to spring, melting snows and renewing rainfalls. As promised, he found time to write to Twilight this time. They had exchanged several letters over the course of the winter. By the time all the snow had melted, a frustrated James and Theory Point had basically hit a dead end with the object they were studying. Other than giving off small amounts of radiation, it seemed to have no purpose. The only conclusion he could come to is that whatever its intent, its creation or manufacture had been such a spectacular failure that it had none of the properties the scientists who had made it were hoping for. That was unfortunate, as it gave them virtually no leads to follow as to what its creators were up to. But he doubted that anyone could have figured out the object's intent given the sparse information and data that they had to go on. There had been no more unusual events … at least none that Celestia or Luna were telling him about.

One clear spring morning found him walking in the castle garden next to Princess Celestia. The two of them strolled leisurely along the floral lined paths. Birds sang their choruses, as if serenading The Princess on her walk. The garden flowers were in full bloom washing the landscape with vibrant colors and the pleasant scent of rose and lilac. Honey bees flew back and forth, collecting their nectar and pollinating the garden. The sun shown like a sparkling diamond in the clear blue sky. It would have been the perfect day, were it not for the cloud of frustration hanging over James.

"Unfortunately, progress remains slow, Your Majesty," he said with a sigh as he strolled along next to her. "The item continues to appear to be useless. It's not enriched enough to undergo any kind of sustained fission, so it would be useless for any type of bomb or nuclear reactor. It's not generating enough heat to be useful as a radioisotope thermoelectric generator. Grasping at straws, we even considered potential beneficial uses. It's not radioactive enough to be useful for radioactive food sterilization. And the isotopes are a heavy metal that could not be used for any kind of medical purpose since they would be extremely toxic and remain in the body for years."

The alicorn nodded slightly. "And the notes you recovered?"

"Too sparse to be of much use," he said in a dejected voice. "If only the fire hadn't consumed most of them and we had more to go on."

Celestia paused for a moment, continuing her leisurely pace as he walked next to her. If she were at all concerned about what he had told her, she gave no visible signs of it. She spoke again in a calm and collected voice.

"Very well. Thank you for all your hard work on it, James. Have Theory Point help you disassemble the lab. And place the item into secure storage."

"Yes, Your Majesty," he responded sadly.

She stopped, causing him to stop as well. Her gaze was still one of certainty and confidence. As if she were firmly in control of everything.

"What troubles you, James?"

"I have failed you, Your Majesty." He lowered his head towards the ground.

She shook her head and placed her muzzle under his chin, giving a gentle upward push so he would look up at her again. Her gaze was calming to him, like a pure summer morning in a quiet meadow.

"No, you haven't. You did the best that you could with the information that you had. And that is all anypony can do. I have complete confidence in you, James. Nopony could have done any better than you did."

"Thank you, Your Majesty." He was still depressed though. She picked up on it.

"Do not lose sight of the information you were able to obtain. You learned a lot about what the item is not. And that information could prove to be just as useful as if you had learned what the item could be. You have nothing to be ashamed of, James."

The air of authority and power around her when she spoke continued to awe him—as it had awed him the first time he was near her. She spoke with the confidence of one who was firmly in charge. Firmly in control. And he found it comforting. Comforting to believe that no matter how bad things seemed to be, she was always firmly in control. After all, if she were always in control, then things would always work out.

"Thank you, Your Majesty," he responded again.

She resumed her leisurely stroll and he started walking next to her again.

"Perhaps whoever, or whatever made it has given up," she suggested.

"I fear, Your Majesty, that they may just be lying low to give the smoke some time to clear. They probably know their mishap was detected. They might simply be lying low for awhile now to let the attention they attracted dissipate … Or they might still be at it, but being much more careful."

She nodded. "Well, if that's the case, it's only a matter of time before they slip up again. And when they do, we will detect it again. And then we might have more for you to go on." She stopped, turned her head to look at him again. "Thank you for walking with me, James. It has been a pleasure. I must attend to other duties, but we will talk again soon."

"The pleasure is all mine, Your Majesty" He bowed before her. Then she spread her wings, and took to the sky. He looked up watching the Solar Princess take flight. It was truly a site to behold. Even in their most ambitious dreams, no bird could even comprehend, much less hope to ever approach the grace and majesty with which she flew. He watched as she approached the castle, flared her wings gracefully, and landed lightly as a feather on one of the castle balconies. Then she folded her wings, and disappeared inside the archway. He felt reassured, comforted, and refreshed. His conversations with her had that effect on him. Then he continued along the garden path towards the lab.

...

"So how did The Princess feel about it?" Theory Point asked, packing up a radiation detector, her horn glowing as she magically moved it over to a cart.

"She understood. Said it wasn't our fault. That we shouldn't blame ourselves. That if we couldn't figure it out, she was sure there was no pony in Equestria that could." He picked up a box of equipment he had just finished packing, walking it over to the cart.

"Well, that was nice of her at least. The Summer Sun Celebration is just around the corner. I imagine you are looking forward to seeing your friends from Ponyville again?"

"Yeah. It should be a good reunion. It's been … almost five months since I saw them last. I've told Twilight about you in my letters. She's looking forward to meeting you."

"You are going to ask her to dance with you at the Celestial Ball, right? "

"Actually, I hadn't planned on it."

"Oh, but you have to. It's Canterlot tradition. As important as she has been in your life, you simply must ask her to dance. She would probably be offended and hurt if you didn't."

"I doubt Twilight even knows how to dance actually … She doesn't seem like the type who would be into that kind of thing."

"She was raised among Canterlot royalty. Trust me, James. She knows how to dance."

"Well uh … that's good then … But I don't know how to dance," he fumbled, embarrassed at the admission.

"Oh? Well, I guess you'll just have to learn then, won't you?" she responded flatly.

"Who's gonna teach me? You?"

"Me? Oh goodness, no. Do I look like the type of pony that would know how to ball room dance in such a formal environment?"

"Well, that doesn't help me then, does it." he said flatly. "I wish Rarity were here. I'm sure she knows how and could teach me."

"Relax, James. I'm sure you'll find somepony who can teach you. This is Canterlot after all. Unless you have two left hooves. Then there's probably nopony that can help you out." She snickered.

"You sure know how to inspire confidence in a guy, you know that, Theory?" he said sarcastically.

"Yeah, yeah. You've told me that before."

"Come on, lets get the trunk loaded up." He motioned to the trunk containing the object, walking over to it and grabbing one side.

She walked to the other side of the trunk, her horn starting to glow.

"You ready?"

"Yep." She nodded. Then the two of them lifted the trunk and started moving it towards another wheeled cart in the room. After a few seconds, he shook his head.

"Hold on … Set it down." He lowered his end towards the floor, Theory Point doing the same, the glow around her end of the trunk and around her horn fading. "This thing is heavier than when we brought it down here."

"That's not possible. You must have gotten weaker. Letting the physical exercise slip are you?" she snickered.

"I'm serious, Theory. This thing has gotten heavier. I'm sure of it … Lets take it out and weigh it."

"If you insist." The unicorn shrugged. "Seems like a waste of time to me though," she griped as she helped him move the trunk back into place. He opened the latches when they had set it down. Then they both moved back behind the shield and James used the remote grabber to open the trunk and remove the object, carefully moving it over to the scale and setting it down. He raised an eyebrow at what he saw. It was Theory Point who spoke first.

" … Ok … So I was wrong."

"It's gained mass," he added.

"How is that possible?"

"I don't know … Lets measure it."

She nodded. Unfortunately, the grabbers were not capable of doing work so detailed as manipulating a pair of calipers. That meant they had to go behind the shield and expose themselves momentarily to the object's radiation again. He wasn't that concerned about it, however, as the radiation emissions from the object had always been low, and had dropped off substantially further in the time that they had been studying it. They measured the object as quick as they could, then went to the other side of the shield again.

"It hasn't changed size at all," Theory Point said.

He nodded. "It's increasing in density. It's adding additional matter, but it's also becoming more tightly packed to keep the object the same size."

"Is it self replicating?"

"I don't know … And where is it getting the extra mass from? Is it converting its own energy to mass?"

"I don't know," Theory responded, echoing his own response. "Have you ever seen anything like this?"

He scratched his chin briefly with thumb and forefinger. "Never. Nor have I ever read about anything like this happening. I don't think anyone has ever seen anything like this before. At least not where I am from."

She nodded. "Nothing I'm familiar with either. Or have ever read about."

His face took on a concerned look as he started scratching his chin again. "If it keeps adding mass indefinitely …"

"It will collapse under its own gravitational pull and we will have a black hole on our hooves," Theory Point finished for him.

"Hawking radiation predicts that any black hole it does create will be unstable and should evaporate. Should being the keyword."

"What if we simply destroy it? Maybe if it were below a certain mass it would stop whatever reaction is going on that is allowing it to gain more mass?"

"It's possible. But on the other hand, we might end up with multiple objects doing the same thing instead of just one." He paused and thought for a moment. "Well, lets unpack the logs. We know what the mass was when we first brought it here. We can figure out how fast it is adding mass based on how much it has added between then and now."

"Assuming it's adding mass at a constant rate. That's a potentially dangerous assumption," she pointed out.

"It's all we have to go on right now. We can keep measuring the mass and see if the rate is changing. But for now, at least we can figure out exactly how much mass it has added between then and now."

He walked over to the cart, removing the box that contained the research logs he and Theory had been keeping, taking one out and opening it up to the beginning. He did some calculations in his head.

"Well, the good news, if there is any good news, is that assuming it has been adding mass at a constant rate, it would be at least four years before it becomes a problem. That gives us time to figure out a solution. But again, that's assuming it's constant."

"So what do we do now? I'm drawing a blank here, James."

"Me too. I've never encountered anything like this before. Not even in theoretical physics … Lets put it away for now. We can weigh it again tomorrow. And later in the week. Destroying it at this point would be premature I think, and would ruin any chances we had of learning how it works."

"Are you going to inform Princess Celestia?" Theory Point raised an eyebrow.

He was silent for several moments before responding. "I don't think we really have anything to inform her of yet. Lets make sure the object is, in fact, still adding mass first. We have to consider the possibility that it isn't. Right now, we have no way of knowing if all this mass could have been added earlier and it's reached some stability or equilibrium point and is no longer adding any. I don't want to be like the boy who cried wolf."

"The boy who cried wolf?" Theory Point gave him a confused look.

"It's uh … a story where I'm from. About a boy who ran into town yelling about a wolf attacking his sheep when there really wasn't a wolf. It's sort of entered our lingo as a common phrase. Basically, it means I don't want to go telling The Princess that we have a potentially serious threat unless I'm reasonably sure that we actually do."

"That seems to make sense. Come on then, lets pack it in here. I still have papers to read before my lecture tomorrow. I'm pretty sure you do as well."

The two of them secured the lab and left, going their separate ways.

The next day, after James had finished with his two lectures for the day, he returned to the lab and weighed the object again. It had not gained any new mass. That meant either it had stopped adding mass completely, or the rate at which it was adding it had slowed down considerably. He also considered a third, but seemingly less likely possibility: That the object added mass in short rapid spurts and then went dormant for a while. After weighing, he secured the object again and left the lab, starting back for the dorm. He needed to think. The Royal Equestrian Symphony was playing tonight, and would be featuring a relaxing piece that he enjoyed. Sometimes he thought best there, able to lose himself in the calming music. Making up his mind, he changed direction, heading for the auditorium now instead of for the dorm. He had to inform Princess Celestia soon, he knew. On one hand, he didn't want to keep her waiting too long. But on the other hand, he knew she was busy, and he didn't want to bother her every time any new detail came up, especially when he wasn't even sure what that new detail meant. He decided he would wait until the end of the week. Then he would make his next report to her, even if he didn't learn anything new between now and then.

Arriving at the domed auditorium, he walked between the two statues of Princess Celestia and Princess Luna lining the entrance, then to the ticket counter. After purchasing his ticket, he proceeded down the hall, entering through the door way near where his seat was located. He found his seat, sat down on the lush velvet covered cushion, already losing himself in his own thoughts. He was brought out of them momentarily when the orchestra came on stage, to the applause of the ponies in the audience.

After a minute or so, a tuxedo wearing earth pony, the conductor, motioned for silence, receiving instant compliance from the audience. He turned, faced his orchestra. On the down-stroke of his hoof, the gentle flowing tones of the string section began to play, as soothing as a soft breeze through a meadow on a warm spring day. Why would you want to produce a small metallic object that adds matter over time? The soft sound of horns as a muted French horn section joined in. Or was it just an unintended side effect? And it's not what they wanted to produce at all? A distant rolling thunder from a few soft hits on the kettle drums. The black hole hypothesis doesn't make any sense. Unless you were fixated on being the ultimate suicide bomber. The horns faded as the woodwind section took over. And besides, Hawking radiation predicts it would be extremely unlikely to work anyway. The string section switched to a higher octave. Maybe the ponies don't know about Hawking radiation? A few more soft hits from the percussion section. Maybe they do know about it and have determined that Hawking was wrong?

The more he thought about it, the more questions and fewer answers he had. He sighed quietly to himself. What he wouldn't give to be able to discuss it with Twilight Sparkle.

The orchestra became quieter as one pony began her solo piece … the gray earth pony named Octavia whose work he so admired. He watched her play, the intense focus with which she commanded her instrument. Every note perfectly pitched and timed. He admired her as much for her dedication, attention to detail, and discipline as for her skill and talent. Maybe it converts magical energy to matter? And the magical energy has dissipated now that it's away from its source? He knew that was grasping at straws now.

Time passed much quicker then he realized, absorbed in his thoughts as he was. He was finally brought out of them by standing applause as the orchestra finished its performance. He stood up applauding with the rest of the audience. Then he got in line with the ponies in the audience, filing out of the auditorium.

Once outside, he stood under the night sky, lost in his thoughts again. He would have to go to the Academy physics library tomorrow. Find out exactly what ponies did and did not know about black hole theory, Hawking radiation, and so on.

"You seem a little bit lost. Or like you could use a helping hoof." A feminine voice with a sophisticated accent from behind startled him out of his thoughts. He jumped slightly, turning around. Before him, stood the gray pony with the black mane and tail from the orchestra, her instrument case strapped to her back.

"… Lady Octavia?" he said in startled surprise, almost staring through her, as if he were looking behind her, still recovering from the shock of suddenly finding a celebrity he greatly admired standing in front of him and speaking to him.

She looked behind her. "Where?" Then she looked right, then left. "Oh yes, I guess that's me, isn't it." She chuckled a bit.

"Sorry. It's just that I didn't expect … Well, you know …" he fumbled over his words. "So, to what do I owe the honor of having the great Octavia stop to talk to me?" He immediately felt completely embarrassed, not realizing how fanboyishly fawning that sounded until he had already said it. Fortunately, she seemed to take it in stride.

"Well, as I said. You looked a bit lost. That and it's not often that we get visitors from other planets around here. I've seen you at the performances before. This is the first time I've gotten the chance to talk to you."

"Well, it truly is an honor." he responded, still somewhat nervously.

"I usually go out for a drink after a performance. Perhaps you would care to join me?"

He wanted to get back to the dorm. He had a lot of thinking to do after all. But then again, he wasn't sure that would be productive until he could get to the library tomorrow. And it would probably do him some good to unwind so he would be refreshed in the morning and ready to focus on the task at hand. And besides … it was Octavia … He could hardly say no.

"Sure... why not?" he smiled. "You'll lead the way then?"

She nodded. "Follow me." She turned and started to trot down the polished marble sidewalk in front of the auditorium, along one of Canterlot's more opulent streets. Expensive boutique stores with clothing from Equestria's top designers on display lined the sidewalks, interspersed with high class restaurants, some with outdoor seating. Aristocratic ponies dined at the tables, speaking in quiet tones. Some of them high level Government officials, others Academy faculty that he had not yet met. And still others, ponies who had made their fortunes catering to the expensive tastes of Canterlot's elite. All of the stallions were either in uniform, or in tuxedos, the mares in uniform or custom dresses. Sparkling water fountains lined the streets, light dancing in the waves of their illuminated pools, the soothing sound from their streams like water running through a calm stream in a forest.

She turned a corner, passing a few more restaurants. Then she turned towards a pure white building. Red carpet lined the walkway to the entrance. On either side, carved white statues of unicorns rearing up on their hind legs, as tall as three men. The horns on the statues were made from crystal, and lights inside caused the horns to sparkle in the night. Above the arched entrance, a sign written in calligraphy read The Sapphire Lounge A string of small white lights lined the arched entrance, like tiny stars rimming a constellation.

She led him inside. A white unicorn in a tuxedo greeted them with a nod, took her instrument case from her for safe keeping. Further in, to the left, ponies sat at a juice bar that seemed to be made of solid crystal, a tuxedo wearing unicorn stood behind the bar, mixing non-alcoholic drinks for the high class patrons. Tables, again appearing to be made from crystal, sat at the right side of the room, sapphire velvet chairs and sofas positioned around them. The center of the lounge was dominated by a water garden. Water flowed down a rock wall at least three stories high, and colorful tropical fish swam in the pool at the bottom. Passed the garden, well dressed ponies danced on a ballroom dance floor, a string quartet playing on a stage at the front of the floor. The Sapphire Lounge was, in every way, the polar opposite of The Underhoof that Theory Point and her friends frequented.

She led him over to the bar, finding an unoccupied spot, where the two of them sat down. A bartender was waiting to serve them practically before they were even seated. Octavia ordered a drink with a name that he could not have pronounced if he had tried all day. Then the bartender looked at him.

"I'll have whatever she's having," he said, deciding just to keep it simple. He didn't know what any of the drinks were anyway, nor could he have pronounced their names, and he wanted to avoid the embarrassment of pointing at a menu item he couldn't pronounce.

She turned to look at him as the bartender left to prepare their drinks. "So, how have you been enjoying life in Canterlot? Quite a change from the small town life of Ponyville with Twilight Sparkle isn't it."

He briefly wondered how she knew he had spent time in Ponyville with Twilight. But only briefly. Alien being from another planet. Of course she knows. Everypony probably knows. I'm probably everypony's favorite tabloid fodder, he thought to himself.

"Well, now that I've gotten used to it, and made some friends at the Academy, I have to say, I'm enjoying it quite a bit. It's definitely a step up in lifestyle from anything I've ever experienced before."

"I'm glad to hear you have settled in well. I've seen you at the symphony several times. Is it anything like music where you are from?"

"We have symphony orchestras, yes. I used to enjoy the symphony back where I am from. Going to it here is absolutely fascinating though. A whole new catalog of music I've never heard before. And even some new styles."

The bartender arrived with their drinks, both of them thanking him. He took a sip of it. It had a sweet flavor composed of several fruits. Some of the flavors, he could identify, including a distinct hint of pomegranate. Others, he wasn't sure of.

"I imagine it must be … I would be fascinated to hear some of the symphonies from your world."

"Well, if only Twilight hadn't taken apart my iPhone, I could oblige you. I had quite a few of them stored on there."

"iPhone?" she looked at him curiously.

"Among other things, it's a music player that fits in your pocket and can store and play back thousands of pieces of music."

"Like a phonograph?"

"Something like that, yes."

"A phonograph that can fit in your pocket and hold thousands of pieces of music," she said with a sense of wonder. "That sounds like a truly fascinating device."

"It's pretty nice to have, yes. Relatively recent invention … I guess I never asked Twilight if she still had it. Maybe it could be put back together. Although I doubt the battery would have held a charge this long, and the charger didn't arrive here with me, unfortunately. I can ask her next time I write to her. She could bring it to the Summer Sun Celebration."

"Oh, that would be wonderful!" Octavia's eyes lit up.

"Yeah, well, don't get your hopes up too far," he said dubiously. "Even if she does still have it, and it can be put back together, like I said, I doubt the battery would have held a charge this long. And in that case, it will be nothing more than an expensive shiny paperweight."

"You have to ask her to dance when she comes to the Summer Sun Celebration, you know. It's Canterlot tradition."

"Yeah … My colleague told me that. There's just one small problem."

"Let me guess … You don't know how to dance."

He nodded slightly, looking as if he were embarrassed to admit it to her.

"Oh it's easy! Well, at least the basics are. Come on. I'll teach you." She smiled and motioned him towards the dance floor.

"What … now? With so many ponies watching?"

"Every pony out on that dance floor started out where you are right now," she reassured him. He continued to hesitate, looking out at the dance floor nervously for several seconds. "You know, in Equestria, it's considered extremely rude to refuse a mare that asks you to dance," she scolded him, but also grinned at him.

"Well … Alright … If you insist I guess, " He said nervously, standing up and allowing her lead him over to the dance floor. She took him to a relatively empty spot.

"When you approach her, to ask her to dance, you should bow to her slightly," she began to instruct him. "Then, you'll take her forehoof in your forehoof … uh … hand I guess. And she'll join you on the edge of the dance floor."

He nodded, doing as she indicated. It's like Dancing with the Stars here. Except in this case the star is the one that actually knows how to dance, he thought to himself. She continued to instruct him.

"Alright, then you put your right forehoof … hand here." she guided his hand to the appropriate spot. "And your left hand here. Got it?"

He nodded slightly. "I think so …"

"You're doing fine," she reassured him. "Ok. In partner dancing, one of you is the Lead, and the other is the Follow. As the names suggest, the Lead controls the dance, selects the steps, and so on. The Follow … well, follows the Lead."

"Got it," he responded simply.

"In Equestria, it's customary to let the mare choose whether she wants to be the Lead or the Follow. So you should know how to do both and be ready for whichever she chooses."

"Wait a sec. How will I know whether she wants to lead or follow? Will she tell me?"

"Some mares will just tell you up front, yes. But most won't. If she doesn't tell you up front, you will have to take your cue from her forehooves. If she wants be the Lead, you will feel her using them to guide you. If you don't feel that, it means she's waiting for you to take the lead. Don't worry. It's easier in practice than it sounds. I'll show you. I'll start by leading."

He nodded slightly, letting her take the lead and guide him. She started by instructing him with a few simple dance steps. The band was playing a relatively slow waltz, making it easier for him to keep up.

"Feet that way," she instructed, then counted off the steps as she directed his movement. Several minutes later he had the basic moves for the dance down reasonably well.

"You're doing good," she assured him. "Now I want you to try leading. And … lead switch now."

He tried to duplicate what she had been doing, as he felt her stop guiding him. Leading was harder than following, of course, since he no longer had any queues to go on. Still, after several minutes, and some prompting from her, he was able to do reasonably well at leading.

Eventually the waltz ended and he stepped off the dance floor with her. The quartet started playing a faster more tango like sound.

"See? That wasn't so bad was it? You did well for your first time." She smiled.

"Thank you for the lesson, Lady Octavia. I really appreciate it." He smiled back at her as they walked back to their spot at the bar.

"It was my pleasure. And you can just call me Octavia." She sipped her drink.

The two of them talked for a while longer, finishing their drinks.

"I got the tab," he said. She opened her mouth to protest, but he shook his head to stop her. "Really, it's the least I can do to thank you for the dance lesson." He smiled.

"Thank you." she smiled back at him. "Well, it's getting late. I suppose we should call it a night. I imagine we both have things to do in the morning," she said, standing up from the bar.

He stood up as well, walking with her towards the exit. "Thank you again, Octavia. I really appreciate it."

"You're very welcome. Thank you for the company tonight. We shall have to do this again sometime," she said as the two of them walked out through the archway, turning to go their separate ways.

Drinks and dance lessons with a favorite celebrity … Not a bad way to end the evening, he smiled to himself as he headed back to the dorm. The air was warm, the sky clear with Luna's crescent moon rising over the horizon. All in all, it was a perfect night in Canterlot.

...

The next morning, he was in the Academy physics library. He sat towards the back of the main room, which was relatively empty this morning. In front of him, several open books on astrophysics. It turned out that yes ponies had independently arrived at the same general ideas as Dr. Hawking when it came to Hawking radiation and the instability of small black holes. That made the idea that the object had been intentionally designed to produce one far less likely. In a way, that was relieving. It meant that a potential doomsday scenario in the form of a world consuming black hole was not likely what the creators had in mind. But at the same time, it was also frustrating. Not, not, not. It's not this, it's not that. That's all they had so far were nots. Even though Princess Celestia had assured him she had full confidence in him, he imagined she was probably still getting tired of hearing the phrase "It's not," followed by yet another thing they had been able to rule out as being unlikely. So far, this was turning out to be a process of elimination. And that meant things were moving at a painstakingly slow snail's pace. He sighed to himself, closing the books and collecting them into a pile, then putting them back in their shelves where he had found him. He left the library shortly before noon, frustrated at being no closer to any answers.

Arriving at the lab, he went downstairs, finding Theory Point was already there.

"Morning, James. The good news, or bad news depending on how you look at it, is that its mass hasn't changed at all since yesterday."

"Morning, Theory. I guess that's pretty much a mixed bag. Alleviates some potential fears, but leads us no closer to any answers."

"We missed you at The Underhoof last night," she commented.

"I was taking your advice and getting some dance lessons," he chuckled.

"Oh? From who?"

"Would you believe Octavia?"

"The Octavia? From the Royal Equestrian Symphony?" she raised an eyebrow.

"The same." He nodded.

"How'd you end up doing that?"

"I went to the symphony last night. She just walked up and talked to me afterward. When I was standing outside. She told me the same thing you did about asking Twilight to dance, found out I couldn't dance, and she offered to teach me."

"See, James? I told you you'd find somepony to teach you." She smiled. "Wasn't expecting you'd find somepony quite that prominent though."

"I'm sorry, Theory. I should have asked you if you wanted to come to the symphony with me. It was a last minute decision to go on my part."

She shook her head slightly. "Nah. Don't worry about it. I'm not exactly the symphony type if you haven't guessed. I'd have probably gone because you asked me to, and then hated every minute of it. I'd rather you didn't even ask."

"Well … That's good to know then."

"But Octavia better not be getting any designs on you," she grinned.

"You know that pushy unicorn scientist I went on a date with that one time? She's also rather possessive." He teased and grinned.

"You better believe it." She chuckled, then looked behind the shield again. "Alright, so what do we do about that?"

He sighed slightly. "I don't know … I was hoping maybe you had some suggestions. Other than the mass it added and the fact that it is less radioactive now, the object hasn't changed at all since we found it."

"Maybe it feeds off magical energy?" Theory suggested. "Like it converts magical energy into matter?"

"I considered that hypothesis. But how do we test it? Casting random spells at it to see if we can get it to absorb one of them and convert it to matter would be rather dangerous I presume."

"Yes, it would be. Probably a bigger risk than even I am willing to take." She nodded in agreement.

He was silent for several long seconds. "Come on, lets go get some lunch," he finally said, re-securing the object. Then the two of them left, making their way to one of the many eateries on the campus.

At the end of the week, he delivered his report to Princess Celestia. Once again, she assured him that she had complete confidence in him and that she knew he was doing all he could. Still, he couldn't help but feel frustrated at their inability to make any further progress. But with the little they had to go on, there was only so much that could be done.

Another week passed. Then another. A month later, the object seemed as dormant as a rock, and just as useless. No more mass had been added, and nothing else about it had changed either. The progress they were able to make was just as dormant. There were no classes to teach during the summer break, and the amount of work they could do in the lab had dropped off. Never the less, for now, he was quite busy: Princess Celestia had drafted the entire Academy staff to help with preparations for the Summer Sun Celebration, which was only three days away now. Given his physics background, he was spending most of his time helping plan for power needs, ensuring that the musical venues would have adequate electricity and such. It was an interesting change of pace, and he got to work with and meet some new ponies. He was also working closely with Ele Matrix, the electrical engineer Theory Point had introduced him to earlier, and he got to know her much better.

Celestia's sun blazed in the sky as he left the dorm building on his way to the castle briefing room, wearing his light summer field uniform. Normally the campus was relatively deserted during the summer. But this week, it buzzed with activity. Construction ponies ran back and forth raising decorations, banners and streamers. Buildings were being decorated and tents set up. Soon, every dorm room in the student housing would be full of ponies from out of town—the student housing being drafted into service as extra accommodations for tourists. Every hotel in Canterlot was already filled to overflowing. The Summer Sun Celebration was, by far, the biggest public party of the year in all of Equestria. All over the city, ponies worked as they did on campus.

Shop owners along the streets decorated the fronts of their buildings and windows—for no vendor in Canterlot would ever be caught without their Summer Sun decorations up to attract customers to their wares. The smell of fresh baked goods scented the air as restaurants and pastry shops rushed to perfect the new dishes and confections they would unveil for the Celebration, keeping a tight lid on them as if they were a national security secret until the day the Celebration would begin.

At the train station, maintenance ponies would be inspecting the tracks and making any needed repairs to ensure they would be able to handle the extra train traffic, which would more than triple in the next two days as dozens of extra trains were put on to handle the arriving crowds. In three days, the population of Canterlot would more than double as ponies arrived from all over Equestria to celebrate the Summer Sun.

On the first day of the celebration, the Castle Courtyard would be open to the public, and there would be a giant feast for every pony who wished to attend. And it would all be free, paid for by the Royal Treasury. Celestia insisted on that. She also decreed that rail transportation to and from Canterlot was to be free during the three days before and after the celebration. She had further decreed that all lodging accommodations for ponies arriving from out of town were to be free. The Summer Sun Celebration was a celebration for all ponies, she had said. And no pony would be denied the opportunity to experience it just because they couldn't afford to travel to Canterlot, or afford accommodations once they arrived.

Food would not be a problem for any pony. Even the ones who didn't attend the public feast. Every restaurant and pastry shop in Canterlot would be handing out free samples of their new creations such that a pony could walk down any street and easily fill their bellies to overflowing.

James looked around at all the activity in awe. It was his first Summer Sun Celebration, and he had never seen such a massive coordinated effort to prepare a city for an event. It dwarfed even preparations for the Olympics where he was from. The entire city had come together, all working for one common goal: To ensure that the Summer Sun Celebration was the best that it could possibly be. Even though the Celebration itself hadn't started yet, the preparations charged the atmosphere, making it electric and full of energy. He was excited to be a part of them. It gave him a strong feeling of belonging. Of being part of something special.

Of course, he looked forward to the music, and eating too many samples of food and deserts from the restaurants and bakeries as much as any pony did. But what he really looked forward to was seeing his friends from Ponyville again. In two days, Twilight and the rest of the gang would be arriving on a train from Ponyville. He could hardly wait. And through it all, life in Chicago … life before Equestria … continued to fade further and further into the mists of ancient history …

23 - Summer's Eve Omen

The God Particle

Chapter 23: Summer's Eve Omen

Luna's full moon shined outside the window of James' office in the science building the night before the beginning of the Summer Sun Celebration. He had worked all day helping with preparations and probably should be exhausted. But he couldn't have slept if he tried. Excitement over seeing his friends from Ponyville again tomorrow kept him wide awake. But there was something else: He couldn't take his mind off the strange object. There had to be something they were missing. He was sure of it.

How was it gaining mass? And where was it coming from? If it was converting energy into matter, it would require truly enormous amounts of energy. In the entire time that Fermi Lab had been operational, it hadn't converted enough energy to matter where a human being could actually detect the weight difference by feel. There didn't seem to be any possible way it could store enough energy internally to do that. That meant there had to be an external energy source. And it had to be enormous. And it had to be of some form they weren't capable of measuring or detecting with any methods they had available to them. But it had to be coming in from somewhere. Or did it? He had sat on a quilt with Princess Luna once. She had seemingly made that materialize out of pure energy. But there had been an energy source: Luna herself provided the energy. He shuttered to think of the amount of sheer power she must possess to be able to do that. Fermi Lab and its one trillion electron volt accelerator could not have produced that much matter from energy in a thousand years of continuous operation. So maybe she didn't actually convert energy into matter? Maybe she had simply re-arranged the atoms in the air to form a quilt like structure? Maybe that's how this thing worked too? It just gathered atoms to itself? But that left him no closer to any answers. If it was gathering atoms to itself, it wasn't using gravity to do it. They'd measured the gravity fields around it. There were none worth writing home about.

He'd been in Equestria long enough now to know that certain types of magic could seriously bend, if not outright break some laws of physics. But he didn't know enough about magic yet to understand under what conditions that was possible, or even which laws could be bent and broken. Again, he found himself really wishing he could talk about this with Twilight Sparkle. Theory Point was a good physicist, yes. But she had told him when they first met that she wasn't fond of magic and only used what little she needed to in order to help her with her job. The insight of somepony who was well versed in magical theory would be very helpful right now—especially if that pony were also reasonably well versed in physics. Maybe he could ask her specific questions? Without actually saying what it was he was working on? She was coming tomorrow. And that might be the last chance he would get for a long time to have a discussion with her outside of mailing letters back and forth. But he didn't dare talk to her without getting permission first.

Princess Celestia, he knew, would already be asleep tonight, given the big day she had tomorrow. And tomorrow, she would be so busy he'd be lucky to get within a hundred meters of her much less get the opportunity to ask her for permission. And even if he did get the chance, there would be too many ponies around to overhear. That only left one option … One he was reluctant to take given he still feared her. But it was the only way he had a chance of getting permission in time to be able to talk to Twilight.

Making up his mind, he swallowed his apprehension, and the last of the water in his glass. Then, he stood up, left his office, and made his way to the outside of the castle. Luna's moon shined down on him brightly, and he hoped Her Majesty, The Princess of the Night, would spot him and come to him …

...

"Spike? Be a dear and bring me the forest green spool of thread, would you darling?"

The little dragon immediately jumped to attention, rushing over to the shelf where Rarity kept her thread spools. He scanned over it rapidly, finding the forest green spool and picking it up, taking it over to Rarity and presenting it to her with both hands, looking as if he were a servant presenting a cup of fine wine to a queen.

Out of the corner of his eye he saw Twilight Sparkle barely managing to contain a giggle. He cast her a brief glare when Rarity wasn't looking, quickly losing it as soon as he saw the fashionista unicorn return her attention him.

"Thank you, Spike" she said, not looking up from her work.

"Oh … It's totally my pleasure, Rarity. There's nothing I'd rather be doing. Is there anything else I can help you with? Do you need any more pins? Or fabric?"

This time, Twilight was unable to suppress a brief giggle escaping her muzzle. Again he cast her a glare that could have melted iron, at which point she quickly tried to cover up the giggle with a cough.

"I must have … inhaled a cat hair or something." She coughed again to hide one last giggle before she was able to get control of herself.

"Opal, darling. Are you shedding?" Rarity said to her white feline pet without even bothering to look up from her work. The cat only gave a bored meow in response, then resumed licking at its paw.

"So Rarity, I—" Spike started, but was cut off by Twilight.

"Well, Rarity! Those dresses for the Summer Sun Celebration really are beautiful!" She gave a slight nervous laugh, then cast Spike a look that he interpreted to mean Shut up before you make an even bigger fool of yourself!

"Thank you, Twilight. I hope they are good enough to get noticed . All of the top clothing stores in Canterlot will be unveiling their latest designs for the Celebration."

"I'm sure yours will be among the best, Rarity. They always are. I should probably go check on Pinkie Pie and Applejack to see how their preparations are coming along."

"I'll stay here with—" Spike started to suggest, but stopped as he felt himself floating into the air, surrounded by a purple glow as Twilight magically lifted him into the air. A few seconds later, he gently came down on her back.

"Yes, dear of course." Rarity responded without looking up from the dress she was working on as Twilight trotted out of the boutique with Spike on her back. It was difficult to know whether she had even registered what Twilight had said, or was too absorbed in her work.

"Twilight! What'd you do that for?" he protested once they were safely outside. "I was having—"

"You'll thank me later, Spike," she cut him off with an assertive tone of voice, then switched to a softer one. "You really do need to learn to be a bit more subtle."

"Am I that obvious?" he asked with a hint of worry, getting one brief chuckle from her in response.

"Spike, you are completely obvious. I'm sure everypony, including Rarity, already knows."

He was silent now, grumbling to himself about Twilight having pulled him away from Rarity, but also worrying about how obvious he had been. He quickly forgot about his worry as they approached Sugarcube Corner, the delectable smells rising from the chimney of the bakery's ovens switching the young dragon's mind to thoughts of sugary candies and cookies. Various smells arose from the chimney, mingling together with each other. Some he was able to pick out. The delicious smell of freshly baked bread. The sweet smell of cinnamon that was almost as delightful as that perfume Rarity wore. Almost.

Stepping inside, his sense of smell was overwhelmed with the scents of freshly baked cakes, cookies, and other various treats. Just as in Canterlot, the entire town of Ponyville was coming together to prepare for the Summer Sun Celebration. The normally quiet small town bakery was now awash with activity. Ponies raced back and forth to mixing bowls, ovens, and wrapping stations. Most of them were volunteers—temporary help that had arrived to help Mr. and Ms. Cake with the Summer Sun preparations. Sugarcube Corner was a relatively small bakery, and they couldn't afford to pay the volunteers who had come to help. But that didn't matter. When another pony needed help, you helped them. That's just the way things were in Equestria—especially in the smaller towns like Ponyville. Even more so when it involved Princess Celestia's most special day of the year. Even the ponies that wouldn't be making the trip to Canterlot helped. After all, name recognition for the local businesses in Ponyville ultimately benefited every pony in Ponyville. And every pony wanted to make sure their town was well represented at The Summer Sun Celebration. Only the best for Princess Celestia. Especially for this celebration.

"Twilight! Spikey Wikey!" Pinkie Pie poked her head out from the back door. Her apron and fur were so covered in flour, sugar, jellies and jams that one would almost think there had been an explosion in the back room. "Are you here to taste test our latest creations? huh? huh? are you? are you?" she said excitedly.

"I'm afraid we don't have time, Pinkie Pie," Twilight said, an apologetic expression on her face. "We have to visit others and make sure all the preparations are on track to be done in time."

Spike grumbled in disappointment, also noticing the disappointed look on Pinkie Pie's face. But the pink party pony quickly perked back up.

"That's okay, Twilight! You'll have plenty of time to try them all tomorrow at the Celebration!"

"So how are all the preparations coming along, Pinkie?"

"Everything's okie dokie lokie!" she responded just as a bell started ringing in the back room. "Oh! That's my cake timer! Gotta go!" She disappeared behind the door again, as quick as if she had been shot out of a cannon.

"Okay then … Cakes, cookies, and pastries … Check!" Twilight said, writing down a few more notes on the clipboard floating above her horn as she turned to leave the bakery.

"We could have at least tried a couple of samples, Twilight," Spike protested.

"There will be plenty of time to try all the samples you want tomorrow, Spike. We still have to check on AJ to make sure the baked apple goods are coming along okay. And Fluttershy to make sure all the floral arrangements are on schedule."

He just grumbled to himself again as Twilight continued the relatively long trot out of town to the Apple family orchard.

They arrived to find Big Macintosh with two crates of apples strapped to his back, carrying them inside the farm house. He didn't seem to notice the two of them arrive, absorbed in his work as he was. Entering the farm house, the rest of the apple family was hard at work over mixing bowls. Granny Smith was stirring batter for apple muffins, Apple Bloom was spooning batter into muffin tins. The smell of fresh baked bread and spice floated from the oven as Applejack took four loaves of spiced apple bread out of it, steam rising from their golden honey glazed tops. On the windowsill of the old farm house, apple pies sat cooling in the warm summer breeze, their delectable scent teasing his nose with the smell of cinnamon and nutmeg each time the breeze shifted slightly to blow into the house.

"Howdy, Twilight. Spike," Applejack said, setting the loaves on a cooling rack near the window. "Come to check on the preparations?"

"Yep. You know me. Always organizing." She smiled.

"Well, things are going mighty fine here, Twi. Got the whole apple family to come here and help out. Even my cousin Breaburn took the train here from Appleloosa to help out with preparations. It'll be the first time he's ever been to the Summer Sun Celebration."

"Well, I'm sure he will enjoy it," Twilight responded.

Spike thought something sounded a little bit off with Twilight. His suspicions were confirmed when Applejack seemed to pick up on it too.

"What's eatin' at ya, Twi? You sound like somethin's on your mind."

"Me? Oh … Nothing. I'm fine. Completely fine." She laughed nervously.

"Don't be trying to lie to the Element of Honesty now, Twi," the orange earth pony scolded. She looked directly at Twilight for a couple of moments. "You're nervous about seeing James again, aren't ya, Twilight." She said more as a statement than a question.

Twilight sighed, lowering her head slightly, her ears laying backwards a bit. "Yes. I guess, I am. It's been five months, AJ. How much more has he changed? How much more assimilated has he become? How much more of his home has he lost?"

"He always seemed like everything was alright in his letters, didn't he? And he always seemed happy?"

"Yes … But he never talks about his home anymore. Not even a word. That part worries me."

"Well, have ya tried talkin' to him about it?" Applejack raised an eyebrow.

"No. I don't feel like I should bring it up. I guess I figure that if he wants to talk about it, he'll bring it up. And it'll only be hurtful to him if I bring it up."

"Well … have ya raised your concerns with him in a more … subtle way? About him being … what's that fancy technical term ya used again?"

"Culturally assimilated. And no, I haven't. I don't think it's my place to bring it up."

"Well, if ya won't bring it up with him, I don't know what ya expect ya can do about it. Look on the bright side though. At least if he's treatin' the princesses with the same respect he was when he was helpin' Apple Bloom with her homework, I dun think you have to worry about him gettin' in any trouble with 'em."

"I'm not worried about that anymore, AJ. Now I'm more worried that's he's getting far to taken in with the Canterlot lifestyle and culture."

"Well, I don't think that'll harm him none too much, sugarcube. After all, you were raised in that lifestyle and culture, and you turned out alright."

"Well, I was rather self-absorbed until I came here." She frowned.

"You think he's becomin' self absorbed?" Applejack raised an eyebrow.

"No. It's not that. I just think he's repressing painful memories. Trying to run from them. And he's setting himself up for a very hard fall when he finds he can't run any further."

"I don't know, Twi." Applejack shook her head slightly. "I don't know that ya oughta being tryin' to psychoanalyze a species from another planet whose mind might work entirely different than ours do."

Twilight shook her head. "I lived with him for three months, AJ. He's not that different than us. He has the same basic needs, wants and desires. The same emotional needs. He experiences joy, sadness, fear, anger, pain, frustration … Just like we do."

"Well, alright then … But I still don't know how ya expect to do anything about it if ya won't talk to him. We should confront him. But if we're gonna do it, we should be gentle about it."

Twilight nodded slightly. "But not at the Summer Sun Celebration. I don't want to do anything that would ruin his first Summer Sun Celebration. And I don't want to ruin ours either."

"We might not get another chance for a long time," Applejack pointed out. "And I dun think this is the kind a thing ya wanna bring up in a letter."

Twilight sighed in response, nodding slightly.

Spike looked back and forth between the two ponies. When neither one of them had set anything for at least a minute, he finally spoke up.

"Can we at least sample some of the apple pie, Twilight? We haven't eaten anything all day." She'd forget her tail if it wasn't attached to her back side when she gets involved in organizing things, he thought to himself.

"Oh, sorry Spike," Twilight responded apologetically. Yes, it probably would do us both some good to eat something.

Granny Smith suddenly perked up. "You two youngin's just sit down right there and let ol' Granny Smith take care of ya!" she said, slicing two pieces of pie for them. "You know what they say about an apple a day. It'll cure what ails ya!"

And it was true, it did. As they ate the pie, Twilight began to perk up and look better. Spike only hoped she felt as much better as she looked …

...

Outside the castle, the night was completely still. Not a single leaf moved in the breezeless moonlit night. The only sound, the sound of his own heart beating. For now, James looked at the ground, at flowers glistening with night moisture, the silver moonlight reflecting off their petals.

Then, the flowers became dark, shadow passing over them as if a cloud had suddenly obscured the moon. He looked up, a winged silhouette against the lunar light. The silhouette passed out of the path of the moon, vanishing into the night sky, the flowers becoming visible again as the shadow disappeared. It reappeared, the flowers once again falling under shadow. It grew bigger, blotting out more of the moon's light as it covered more of the lunar disc. Majestic wings flared out to the sides as he dropped to one knee and bowed.

"Princess Luna. Your Majesty," as the dark alicorn landed gracefully in front of him.

"James. You come to me freely this time." It was an observation. Not a question.

"Yes, Your Majesty," he said, still bowed before her.

"You may rise. What is it I can do for you?"

"I need approval for something … Your Majesty," he said, standing up now, seeing her spread wings fold against her sides again.

"Well, go on. Don't make me drag it out of you." She looked at him with a hint of annoyance.

"I'm sorry, Your Majesty." he winced slightly, but quickly recovered. "The object we have been studying. I'm sure there is magic involved in the way it was behaving. But I don't have the necessary knowledge of magical theory to figure out how the magic is interacting with the physics. I don't think that Theory Point does either. I need the insight of a pony who is versed in both science and magic. With your permission, Your Majesty, I would like to ask Twilight Sparkle some questions tomorrow."

He waited apprehensively for her response. He hoped she wouldn't chastise him for wasting her time or something. After all, he had already been specifically told not to talk to any ponies about it, including Twilight Sparkle. She responded after a few seconds.

"You ask me instead of my sister?"

He thought he detected a hint of surprise in her voice.

"You have as much authority to authorize my request as she does, Your Majesty," he stated simply.

"That is true, I do." She nodded her head slightly, then turned her head away from him, looked to the ground, appearing to be lost in thought. She was silent for nearly a minute, then she spoke in a quiet voice, apparently to herself as she was still not looking at him. "The two webs have crossed. A single strand connects them. As thin as a wisp of cobweb glistening between two leaves on a pale Spring morn. A very fragile strand indeed. If it breaks, Equestria will fall. To the ruin of every living thing. What a strange pattern she is weaving. We cannot stop what has been woven. But we must influence where it goes …"

"Your Majesty?" He startled even himself with the urgency and abruptness with which he had said it.

The Night Princess looked back up now, but her head was still turned away from him, seeming as if she had come out of a dreamlike state. "As I said before, Twilight's fate is intertwined with yours … You have my permission. Talk to her. But tell her only what you must and not a word more. There are things she cannot know yet. And things she is not ready to understand yet."

He waited for her to elaborate—both on what she had been saying quietly to herself, and what Twilight was not ready to understand … "Your Majesty?" he said again when she did not.

She turned her head back to look at him. "There are things you are not ready to understand yet either. But you will be … You must be …"

She gave him a brief look of compassion, something he had rarely seen her do. Then she spoke again.

"Be well, Doctor James Peterson. Be well. And be ready."

Before he could ask her what she meant, she had already spread her wings and taken to the air. She hadn't even waited for him to bow first.

He stood, looking upward. But the night sky hid her as surely as a bottle of black ink would hide a grain of sand. Slowly, he started walking back towards the dorm. Despite the hot summer night, he shivered, chilled to the bone. Luna's words echoed in his mind: If it breaks, Equestria will fall. To the ruin of every living thing …

24 - Summer Sun Morning

Author's note: Hi all. So I decided to try out a new format which is more like traditional novel formatting. Please let me know if you prefer this new style (indented paragraphs) or if you prefer the old double spaced paragraph style I was using. That will determine what format i use for future chapters. Please send comments about the formatting via private message so they don't clutter up the comments thread. Thanks!

The God Particle

Chapter 24: Summer Sun Morning

Sleep eluded James as he tossed and turned in bed, the words of Princess Luna playing over and over in his head, like a loop tape on a tape recorder. What did they mean? She continued to remain an enigma to him, with her talk of fate and forebodings of things to come. Be ready, she had told him. Ready for what? How could he be ready if she wouldn’t tell him what he was supposed to be ready for?

At least there had been one positive thing from the meeting. She had given him permission to talk to Twilight Sparkle. Perhaps that meant she was starting to trust him?

He rolled over in his bed again, staring out his window into the night. The full moon still shown through the glass, reflecting off the polished wood desk with a faint glow. That wasn’t unusual, in and of itself. But tonight, it only added to his anxiety. What was it she had seen? Would something happen at the Summer Sun Celebration tomorrow?

Part of him wanted to keep Twilight and the rest of his friends from Ponyville away from Canterlot tomorrow—especially knowing they wielded the Elements of Harmony. If whoever, or whatever, was such a dire threat to Equestria that it could mean the end of all living things, as Luna had said, the Elements might be in danger. After all, they had foiled several other serious threats to Equestria in the past. Would this threat intend on taking them out of the picture first? It seemed logical that it would.

On the other hand, would it make sense to try to assassinate the Elements at the Summer Sun Celebration? When security was at its tightest and the entire Royal Guard was on high alert? And if Luna was aware of a threat, surely she would have notified the Captain of the Guard. Wouldn’t she? And any necessary precautions would be taken? If, in fact, they were in danger, wouldn’t it be easier to go after them in Ponyville?

But then, sometimes the best way to hide was in the plain sight of a large crowd. In the small town of Ponyville, strangers in town would be noticed immediately and would attract much more unwanted attention. At the Summer Sun Celebration, they might be able to go unnoticed until it was too late.

But what could he do about it anyway? He couldn’t post a letter to Twilight telling her and the others to stay home. There was no mail service during the Summer Sun Celebration. And even if there had been, it wouldn’t get to Ponyville until long after they had already left the train station. Not even if he sent it via Pegasus Air Express. Not for the first time, he wished Equestria had telephones.

Asking Princess Celestia to send a message through Spike didn’t seem like a good idea either. What was he going to do? Go to the castle gate, try to convince the Royal Guards that he needed to speak to the Princess, and yes, it was important enough to wake her up over? Even if he was able to convince the guards, what would she say? A mental case. That’s what she’d call him. A mental case that had finally snapped from being away from his home world and brought here. And then she’d probably have him hauled away to pony nut house where ponies in white lab coats would tell him “we are only trying to help you”, and “we only want you to be well again.”

And she might be right. Maybe he and Luna were both insane? Could what Luna said have just been the rantings of a tortured mind that had broken down under everything it had been forced to endure?

He sighed to himself, feeling like he was caught in the jaws of a trap, any attempt to find a way out only causing the steel teeth to dig deeper into him. Deeper. Ever deeper. Part of him wanted to keep Twilight and the rest of his friends from Ponyville away. But another part of him, wished he could forget all this, and simply be back home in Chicago.

For the first time in a long time, he started really thinking about home. Had his friends back home even survived the quake? What about his family? Had they survived? If he could go home, would there even be anything left to go home to? Or would he find that everyone he knew and loved was dead, and he was all alone in the world. He’d probably never know.

He rolled over in bed once more. Exhaustion, excitement over the celebration, and anxiety over Princess Luna’s omen battled inside of him for supremacy. Eventually, exhaustion won out, and he fell into a fitful and restless sleep. For the first time since the nightmare Luna had given him so many months ago, he had nightmares again.

He dreamed it was dark out, with no moon to light the way. The kind of darkness so vast that he might as well have had his eyes shut while standing in a closet with the light off. Looking to his feet, a faint misty glow, almost ghost like, seemed to light the path for a few feet in front of him. He followed the path, afraid to do anything else. Afraid that if he strayed from it, he would fall into the chasm that surely lined either side of it.

Slowly, the chasm gave way to a room with benches. The people sitting on them were dressed in somber clothing. Mostly black, some gray. Faint sobs could be heard coming from some of them. At the front of the room, a casket, over which stood his mother, father, and sister. His best friend from Fermi Lab, Eric, stood trying to comfort them. He was afraid to look in the casket, knowing what he would find. But still, he felt compelled to walk forward. He did so, slowly approaching the casket, and his mourning family at the front of the room. Looking inside, as he suspected, he found his own body. It was dressed in a black suit and black tie. He looked away before taking in any more details, his gaze turning to a window at the side.

Outside, the buildings that had been Chicago smoldered, their once grand structures now twisted metal skeletons, tortured and reaching for the sky as if crying out to some god that was not listening to save them.

“No,” he said to himself, still looking away from the casket. “This can’t be right. I’m not dead. My body is not on Earth. I’m alive, and in Equestria.”

He forced himself to turn his head back, looking at the casket again. It still stood there, his body still in it. But now, six other caskets stood next to it that had not been there before.

He shuttered, but forced himself to look into the one next to him. Inside, the body of Twilight Sparkle. She almost looked like she was sleeping. But he knew she was not. And her horn was broken. Only a small jagged piece remained sticking out of the top of her head. In a way, it resembled one of the broken buildings outside the window. Bent, twisted, like a tower that had broken off near the base and left only the sharp metal support beams sticking out.

He turned away. To the other side, Rainbow Dash lay similarly in another casket. Her wings singed to a black charred appearance, like a partially burned piece of paper.

Again, he turned away. He couldn’t bare to look in the other caskets. Nor did he need to. He had no doubt what he would find.

To avoid looking at the caskets, he turned his head to look outside the window again. Where the smouldering ruins of Chicago had been, now stood the charred remains of Canterlot Castle. Only one of its grand towers remained standing. But its golden spire was missing, and the tower had become twisted and dark. Black smoke billowed from it as a smokestack in some dirty coal burning factory with its scrubbers inoperative. A bright orange and red flickering glow through the windows that still remained in the castle told the source of the smoke. Off the sides of the tower, the once proud banners symbolizing Princess Celestia and Princess Luna—symbolizing the grand nation of Equestria, now hung in black smoldering tatters, a symbol of all that Equestria had become.

He turned away from the window now, his back facing the caskets so he was looking out over the benches once more. Where the human mourners had once been, now there was nothing but emptiness. Not a single pony was there to mourn the loss of the Elements of Harmony. Without understanding how, he knew that it was because there were no ponies left alive in Equestria to mourn.

He broke out into a run now. He ran past the benches, down the misty, glowing, faintly lighted path. He ran, no longer caring whether he slipped, fell, plunged into the chasm that he was sure lined either side. He didn’t know where he was running to, neither did he care. As long as it was out of here.

He stopped suddenly, nearly colliding with a large iron door. Soot from the raging fires outside had turned it as black as midnight. Without hesitating, he put his hands against it, pushing hard. Burning, flesh singeing. He quickly pulled them away with a yelp of pain. Turning his palms upright, they still smoldered where a strange symbol had been burned into them by the hot iron of the door. But in the darkness, he could not make out what it was.

He kicked the door with his boot this time. To his surprise, it opened readily. He wished it had not.

Behind the door, in all her dark and twisted glory, the black alicorn, Nightmare Moon. She glared at him, her eyes blazing with orange and red flame, when she opened her mouth, all he could see was flame where her throat should have been. The heat of it was such that he felt his eyebrows singeing, smelled the putrid stench of the hair on his skin burning away. She spread her wings ominously, and they appeared to him as the wings of a giant bat, swooping down on its prey.

Her flaming eyes pierced directly to his soul as surely as a spear. Her wings folded back against her body as she started to walk nonchalantly towards the door. Each step she took rang like a hammer hitting rock. Sparks rose from the floor as the metal of her armored horseshoes made contact with the concrete. He moved to the side, giving way to her, not wanting her to touch him. He pressed against the iron door, not caring about the burning heat of the door that seared his back, as long as it kept her from touching him. As she walked passed, the smell of death reached his nose, like rancid meat left out in the sun.

As she passed him, he pulled away from the door, backing up, to flee the building. But his feet would not obey him. Looking down, iron manacles had sprung out of the concrete and gripped his ankles firmly. He looked back up. The black alicorn was at the front of the room, looking into the casket that contained Twilight Sparkle’s broken body. She turned her head looking into the casket containing Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, then looked back at him and laughed with pure evil.

“Such a shame. What happened to the Elements of Harmony.” Her voice was dripping with sarcasm, laced with malice.

He wanted to respond, but he found his mouth would not obey him either. She took a few more steps, the awful sound of her hooves ringing in his ears, the sparks rising from the floor with each step. She stopped in front of the casket that contained his own body, looking down into it.

A stream of electricity shot from her horn to his body inside the casket, like an electric arc from an arc welder. He had to shield his eyes from the intense pulsating white arc. Still, he could see it reflecting off the ceiling, the walls, the floor, gyrating and flickering in a spasmodic dance of pure venom.

As the arc dimmed and went out, he unshielded his eyes. The casket was empty. He looked back at her. His body was standing next to her now, apparently alive. A chain ran from his neck to her forehoof, binding him to her like a whipped dog to the whim of a merciless and cruel master.

She turned her head to look at him again. “You may yet avoid their fate, human. Choose your allegiances wisely.”

He felt a weight leave his feet, looking down to see that the manacles had released his ankles. Without hesitation, he turned and ran out of the building. He ran and ran and ran. He didn’t care where he was running to, as long it was away. Behind him, the dark voice of the alicorn rang out again.

“Choose wisely, human …”

He awoke with a start, breathing heavily and shivering with perspiration. It was still dark outside his window. He quickly sat up, whipping his head toward the window. He breathed a sharp sigh of relief when he saw the towers of Canterlot Castle, their golden spires standing tall and proud, reflecting the light from the moon and the ground lighting below, their red and dark blue banners flying triumphantly in the wind. He fumbled for the light by his desk, turning it on, looking at the clock on his wall four o'clock. The sun would not start to rise for about another two hours.

As he calmed down from the nightmare, fear gave way to anger. She had promised him. Luna had promised him she would not give him any more nightmares. So why now, had she suddenly given him another one? Even more terrible than the previous one she had given him?

His conversation with Theory Point echoed in his mind now—how she had told him he needed to be more assertive. How he needed to stand up for himself more, especially when he had not done anything wrong. Well, he was certain he had done nothing wrong to deserve this. He climbed out of bed, determined to confront her about this latest intrusion into his dreams. He would do it respectfully, he decided, to avoid getting himself in any trouble. But confront her, he would.

Carelessly, he threw on his field uniform, even though he should have been wearing the dress uniform according to protocol. Then he threw open his door, leaving his room and quickly heading downstairs where he left, making his way towards the castle again.

He wasn’t sure he would find her this early in the morning, although she would be lowering the moon soon. Even if she did see him from one of the towers, would she come to him?

It didn’t take long for his question to be answered. Before he had arrived at the castle, he saw her, sitting on her haunches in one of the gardens just outside the castle wall. Apparently, he had not been the only one who had not bothered with appearances before venturing out this early morning. Her muzzle drooped towards the ground, mane hanging down over it carelessly, like tangled creepers down a wall. She wore her royal tiara, but it was crooked and off center. Something was obviously troubling her, but in his present mood, he cared little for her problems.

He turned off the path, approaching her, making little effort to be quiet about it. She looked up when she saw him and stood up. As much as he didn’t want to, he stopped several paces away and knelt, bowing to her. It won’t do you any good to get yourself in trouble for disrespect by not following protocol, he told himself as he did it.

“James. Please, rise,” she stated simply. “Your dreams trouble you.” There was none of the cold sarcasm in it like there had been when she said it the first time. Instead, her own voice sounded troubled.

“You promised me!” he responded sharply, while standing up.

“It wasn’t me, James. Although in this case, I wish it had been, and you probably will as well.”

“Then why was Nightmare Moon in it?” he challenged, the anger obvious in his voice.

She let his lack of respect and protocol slide. “It can take no shape or form. At least not yet. So your mind gives it form. As something you fear. I know what you dreamed, James. For I dreamed the same thing, although in my case, it was a waking vision.”

“Your Majesty?” he said, taken off guard. The note of anger in his voice was gone.

“An aisling, James. An ancient entity from The Beyond.”

“The Beyond, Your Majesty?”

“From beyond the magical barriers that protect Equestria. There must be a spot in the barrier that has weakened enough for it to make its presence felt outside the barrier.”

“The Elements. Twilight and the others, they—”, he began frantically, but Luna motioned for him to stop with a raised forehoof.

“I saw it too, James. But they are safe. At least for now. If the barrier were weakened enough for anything behind it to actually come through, we would know it. And they would not be taunting us with nightmares that alert us to their plans.

He took a deep breath, with a shaking, staggering sound to it. The sound of fear that comes from dealing with the unknown. Luna was right about at least one thing. He was now wishing that she had given him the nightmare. At least then he could write it off as her toying with him. Instead, it was some evil magical entity from The Beyond that was toying with him.

“So now what?” he finally asked.

“You and I will speak with my sister in the morning. A delegation of unicorns will be sent to find the weakened spot in the barrier and repair it. And in the process, hopefully discover what caused it to weaken in the first place.”

“My family. How did it know about my family? My friends? Their faces?”

She shook her head. “It didn’t. It’s like a mathematical formula, James. It provided the formula. Your mind filled it in with actual values.”

He nodded in response. He had not failed to notice that she had spoken in terms of mathematics for his benefit, since it would be easier for him to understand then if she had tried to explain it in terms of magic, and he felt at least a little bit relieved that the thing had not been able to read his mind. But he was sure Luna could still smell his fear and uncertainty.

“Rest easy James, and enjoy yourself tomorrow. It cannot harm you or your friends from Ponyville,” Luna assured him. “But you must not listen to anything it says. For the aisling is the servant of the antithesis of the Element of Honesty. Everything it says is a lie intended to deceive, mislead, and trick.”

She turned, and started walking away from him now. He knelt and bowed as she did so, then looked up. “Your Majesty?”

She stopped, turning her head back over her withers to look at him. “Yes, James?”

“You said it appears as something you fear … What did it appear to you as?”

She looked at the ground, frowning and pausing. Then she looked back up at him. “The same thing it appeared to you as.”

She then turned her head back forward, spread her wings, and was gone.

He turned as well, started walking slowly back to the dorm. Would Luna lie to him? Possibly. But even if she would lie to him, he didn’t think she would lie to her sister. The fact that she was the one who had stated they would talk to Celestia about it made the idea that she was lying to him less likely.

Why would this … aisling she called it … be interested in him? And the weakening barrier … Could the object be drawing energy from the barrier? Would that explain the weak spot? If it was, that might mean the weakening barrier was only a side effect of something else. Something even more sinister than the dream he had?

At least now, Celestia would be aware of his concerns regarding the safety of his friends from Ponyville. If Luna was right, and they were safe for now, he would feel a lot better hearing Celestia confirm it. After all, she’d never allow The Elements—her prized personal student—to be placed in unnecessary danger, would she?

Arriving back at the dorm, he climbed the stairs to his room. Then he laid the class 1A uniform out on his bed. The Summer Sun Celebration was one of those rare occasions where even the class 1B uniform he normally wore was not considered to be formal enough by Canterlot’s sophisticated standards. He had to refer to the guidebook again to remember where everything on the class 1A uniform went, and how he was supposed to wear it.

He undressed, showered, fixed his hair, and made sure he had done everything else necessary before putting on the most prestigious of uniforms at the Academy. Then he carefully started to redress in the Academy’s highest and most formal attire. The main material of the uniform consisted of white and dark purple velvet, the colors of Celestia and Luna. Gold and silver embroidered around the edges symbolized the golden light of the sun and the lunar light of the moon. Two shoulder cords, one gold, and one silver, were to be worn over the right shoulder. On the front of the jacket, on each side, replica banners of the coat of arms of Celestia and Luna hung on either side. Gold buttons in the shape of the sun with a silver moon superimposed over the center served to button up the front of the jacket.

He finished putting everything on, then looked at himself in the mirror. He surprised even himself at how formal and dignified he looked while wearing it.

He glanced at the clock on the wall again. Almost six o'clock. Celestia would be raising the sun soon. Tomorrow, on the second day of the celebration, she would raise it in a grand public display. But this day, it would raise like any other.

He went over the guidebook one last time, checking over himself in the mirror to make sure he had everything just right. When he was sure he did, he left his room and the building again, walking back towards the castle.

Arriving at the castle, he nodded politely to the unicorn guards on either side of the gate.

“Doctor Peterson,” the one on the right acknowledged. “Her Majesty, Princess Luna informed us you would be visiting. Follow me please.”

The guard turned and motioned with his forehoof to another guard behind the iron barred gate, which was still closed this early in the morning. With a loud clang, a lock slid backwards and the gate began to rise, the click, click, click sound of the ratchet device on the wheel sounding entirely too loud in the early morning silence. One the gate had opened far enough for them to pass under, the guard led him inside, another guard from the gatehouse taking up his post outside the gate.

Once inside the courtyard, he was led to the main door of the castle which was then unlocked from the inside and opened. Then, he was lead through the now relatively familiar corridors and stairways of the castle until they arrived at the great arched double doors to the throne room.

“Her Majesty will be with you as soon as she finishes raising the sun,” his guard escort informed him.

“Thank you, sir.” He nodded politely, and then just stood there waiting in silence, along with his escort.

Princess Luna showed up after a few minutes. Both he and the three guards at the door bowed to her and she gave them permission to stand. He was surprised to see her, having expected she would already be in the throne room with her sister when he arrived. He didn’t question it though, and the two of them simply stood next to each other, facing the grand doors, waiting.

Several minutes later, a clang echoed off the walls as the door was unlocked from the inside. The two great doors swung inward, opening to reveal the red velvet carpet leading to the throne at the end of the room, where Princess Celestia was seated.

He walked down towards the front of the room, Princess Luna walking next to him. Stopping several paces before the stairs, he knelt and bowed. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Princess Luna make a slight curtsy to her older sister. It seemed slightly stiff and forced, making it seem as if there was some slight tension between the two sisters.

“Please, stand. It is good to see you, James. Sister.” The white alicorn stood up, stepped down from her throne and walked down the stairs until she was standing in front of them. She looked at James. “I must say, that uniform does look good on you.” She smiled.

“Thank you, Your Majesty,” he said, standing up.

“My sister has already briefed me. Tell me of you dream, James.”

He spent the next several minutes telling her about his nightmare. For a brief moment, he considered leaving out the part where the thing that appeared as Nightmare Moon had warned him about choosing his allegiances carefully, worried it might lead her to think he could be a betrayal risk. But only a very brief moment. No, he trusted her completely, he realized. He would put his very life in her hooves and trust her fully with it. And so he told her everything, leaving no detail unspoken.

And she listened, simply letting him talk. She didn’t interrupt him even once. Only when he had finished and been silent for several seconds, indicating he was done, did she finally speak.

“I am sorry, you had to go through that James,” she nuzzled the side of his face gently with her muzzle. “You may rest easy in what my sister told you. It cannot harm you. And it cannot harm Twilight or the others. At least not yet. The fact that it is appearing in nightmares and visions means the barrier has not weakened enough for it to actually pass through. If it had, we would know it.”

“The Beyond … What exactly is it, Your Majesty? Where did it come from?”

She hesitated for a moment. “I will need you to keep an open mind, James.”

He nodded. “Yes, Your Majesty.”

“Alright. The natural state of everything is silence, stillness, the lack of any movement. There are no actions, there are no reactions. Before any of this,” she waved a forehoof at their surroundings. “Before the entire Universe. That is all there was.

“At the moment of creation, when the very first movement occurred, the very first action—at that moment, the inaction, The stillness, the lack of movement, was pushed to the boundaries of the Universe. And there, it is held, in The Beyond by the magical barriers maintained by my sister and I, and a delegation of unicorns that are part of the Royal Guard.

“But always it is striving to return the universe to that natural state. To break through the barrier. To reclaim that which was taken from it. Even when it is held behind the barrier, we see its effects. It is the antithesis of movement. The enemy of all that moves, and therefore all that is life.”

“But … this entity in my dreams. Wasn’t it life? Doesn’t it move?” he asked.

“Yes. And therein, things become a little bit paradoxical. Before the moment of creation, the … stillness … for lack of a better term, was not aware of its own existence. But at the moment of creation, it also became alive, and became self aware. One of the things it became aware of, is what was taken from it. So now it strives to get it back. And it does so, by trying to return everything on this side of The Beyond to that state of stillness and non-movement. That is what becomes of anything it touches on this side of The Beyond. Stillness, lack of movement. In simple terms, everything it touches becomes as death itself. What you experienced in your dream was a messenger, if you will. There are many more like it.”

He nodded slightly. Although the more he tried to wrap his mind around it and think about it in scientific terms, the more mind-bending it became. Maybe if he had a thousand plus years to ponder it like she had had, he would be able to fully understand it. But for now, he’d either have to reject it outright, or take her word for it. And it was easier, at least for now, to take her word for it. An explanation that only made partial sense, seemed better to him than no explanation at all.

“But why is it interested in me, Your Majesty?” he finally asked.

She sighed, shook her head slightly. “That, is something I don’t have the answer to. It could be that it recognizes your talent, as do I. It could also be because of your fate being tied to Twilight Sparkle’s.”

So she is aware of what Luna said about my fate being tied with Twilight’s, he thought to himself.

“But whatever it tells you, James. You must not listen to it,” she continued. “It speaks only lies intended to trick, deceive, and manipulate,” she said, reiterating what Luna had told him earlier.

He nodded in understanding. “Yes, Your Majesty … Could the weakening barrier be tied to the strange object we found? Could it be drawing energy from the barrier? Or from the beyond?”

“It should not be possible to draw energy from beyond the barrier. And although I have never heard of a way to draw energy from the barrier itself, I cannot rule it out as being impossible. It is worth investigating.”

“I will look into it, Your Majesty.”

“My sister can protect your dreams, so that nothing from The Beyond will be able to interfere with your sleep again.”

“I appreciate the offer, Your Majesty … But I wonder if I might gain valuable insight from what it tells me in dreams? I can deal with the nightmares. If there is the possibility of garnering useful information from them.”

She raised an eyebrow. “Are you sure, James? I don’t want you to be tormented. You’ve been through enough, and you are doing more than enough for me and my kingdom.

“I’m sure, Your Majesty,” he nodded.

“Thank you, James.” She smiled slightly, the nuzzled his cheek again. “Again, you can rest easy knowing that it cannot harm you. And now, you should go. I believe there will be a train arriving from Ponyville soon with six ponies and one small dragon who will be very happy to see you again.”

He smiled slightly when she mentioned the train from Ponyville. “And I will be very happy to see them as well. Thank you again, Your Majesty.”

He knelt and bowed to her, before standing and turning on his heel, walking down the carpet towards the other end of the throne room. When he reached it, guards on the outside unlocked and opened the doors. Once he was clear of them, they swung the heavy doors shut, re-securing the lock.

Once James had left, and the doors were closed, Luna turned to her sister. “Foregoing my dream protection spell is risky, sister. It may continue to taunt him and try to frighten him and convince him to abandon us if the time comes where he is forced to choose.”

Celestia nodded. “I know it is, Luna. But I trust him, and I hope you are beginning to trust him as well. And he is right. One of them may let potentially valuable information slip during a dream.”

Luna nodded slightly, although Celestia could tell her sister still wasn’t entirely comfortable with the decision. Then she made another slightly stiff and forced looking curtsy before turning and leaving the throne room herself.

James walked briskly towards the train station, the sun now well over the horizon. He tried not to think about the nightmare, or the possibility that there might be more of them to come. Maybe he should have let Luna use her dream protection spell on him? He wasn’t fond of the idea of letting Luna mess around in his head again, even if it was, ostensibly, to help him sleep better. But there was something else. A certain sense of pride and indomitable spirit. If Luna had the same dream he did, and if she were going to have more nightmares like it … well, if she can handle them, so can he. And besides, the other part he had told Celestia was also true. He might very well gain useful information from the dreams.

Again, he found his conversation with Princess Celestia had comforted him. She had confirmed what Luna had said about the entity that had visited his dreams not being able to harm him or the Elements of Harmony. And again, he had come to trust her with his life. If she said no harm would come to him, he believed no harm would come to him.

By the time he arrived at the train station, he had successfully put the nightmare on a back burner. He was determined not to let it ruin his first Summer Sun Celebration and his time with his friends. He looked at the arrival board, finding which track the Ponyville Express would be arriving on and starting off towards that track. The sun was high in its arc, the sky blue and clear, the air warm. It was the first day of the biggest party in all of Canterlot, and his friends from Ponyville were coming. And to top it all off? The train was on time. It was going to be a great day.

26 - And the Sun Rises

Author's Note: Sorry, this took a little longer then I planned to get out. But it's another fairly long chapter coming in at over 10,000 words. Hope you enjoy!

The God Particle

Chapter 26: And the Sun Rises

Even though it was well after one-o’clock in the morning, Canterlot was still buzzing with activity. James worked his way through the crowd with his guard escort, bumping into ponies on several occasions. Another bright flash of light and a loud crack like thunder split the night as a firework exploded overhead. Eventually, the two of them arrived at the castle, the guard pony clearing a path for him to make his way to the main door and inside.

Once inside, he automatically turned to the right and started walking towards the throne room—it was also the direction of the stairwell that lead up to the princesses’ private chambers.

“This way,” the guard pony motioned to the left instead.

He nodded. The guard turned down several corridors, eventually coming to a magically locked door which he unlocked with his horn. Behind the door, a spiral staircase descending downward. He followed the unicorn as he started down the stairs, almost jumping slightly when the heavy door closed behind him and the iron lock fell into place with a booming sound that echoed back from whatever was at the bottom of the staircase. This was a part of the castle he had never been in before. Other than the dungeon and the royal archives, he had no idea what else lay in the subterranean parts of the castle.

At the end of the spiral staircase, the guard began to walk down another corridor. Unlike the rest of the castle, the stone walls in this corridor were bare, their slate gray walls in stark contrast to the vibrant tapestry covered walls in the castle upstairs. He assumed visitors were rarely taken to this part of the castle, given the lack of attention to aesthetics.

They came to another locked door—this one made of reinforced steel. Once again, the guard magically unlocked it and began to lead him down another spiral staircase. The door closed behind them and he heard the heavy locks falling into place as the guard lead him deeper and deeper underground.

“Where are you taking me?” he finally asked, trying to keep the nervousness from invading his voice.

“You’ll find out,” the guard responded, continuing to lead him down the stairs.

The bottom of the staircase opened up into a small square room, again with none of the tapestries or other royal decorations common in the rest of the castle. The air here smelled stale and musty, like the smell of a moldy cellar in the basement of an old house. It smelled as if there was little to no outside ventilation. His guard escort proceeded down a nearly dark hallway to the right, dim lights spaced on top of one wall only lighting the way enough so that one could see which direction to go without bumping into walls. It resembled a subway tunnel, curving off in the distance to he didn’t know where.

The further they walked, the more concerned he became. A feeling that he was being lead to his own doom started to overcome him and he could feel his heart starting to beat faster, the adrenaline starting to flow. Eventually, they came to the end of the tunnel. A very heavy reinforced door blocked the path. Slowly, it started to open, the sound echoing back through the tunnel like roaring thunder as the heavy door inched its way further and further open. A small but growing shaft of light illuminated the floor, bringing at least some relief of his ominous feeling. At least it was light on the other side of the door.

As the door opened further, it became apparent how truly massive it was. He estimated its width to be three feet or more of reinforced concrete and steel. Eight steel bolts as thick around as his arm had been holding the door locked shut. He guessed it had to weigh at least ten thousand kilograms and he didn’t see how one unicorn, even using magic, would be able to move it. His suspicions were confirmed as if opened further and he saw an entire battalion of unicorn guards on the other side. Once it had opened wide enough to pass through, his guard escort lead him inside. Immediately, the door started to close again.

Inside, he found himself in an open well lighted room. In contrast to the gray stone walls of the corridors they had walked down to get here, the walls here had tapestries bearing the royal symbols of Celestia and Luna. There were sitting areas along the wall and a couple of tables in the room. The air, which had smelled stale on the way here, was fresh and clean. His nervousness started to decrease slightly, but he still jumped at the loud boom when the large door closed and the huge locking bolts re-engaged. He subconsciously slowed down to glance around the room more.

“Come quickly now,” his guard escort said, motioning him down the hallway on the other side of the room. He stopped about half way down, turned to his right, magically opening another door. “In here,” he said, pointing inside the door with his horn. James walked down the hall and entered the room.

Once inside, he stopped and took in the strange sight before him. At the center of the room, a large round table made from stone. Standing around the table, several ponies wearing hooded robes, although none of them actually had the hoods up. The color of the robes was split vertically—Celestial white on one half, and Lunar purple on the other. On the front of the robes, Celestia’s blazing sun was embroidered on one side. On the other side, Luna’s crescent moon.

Other than the robed ponies, Swordstorm, whom he recognized as captain of the Pegasus Guard, was there, as were two very high ranking unicorn guards—one in solar armor, the other in lunar armor. He assumed they must be the captains of the Celestial and Lunar Guard.

All of the robed ponies turned to look at him, giving him strange and indecipherable looks. He turned his head to look at his guard who motioned him towards the table with a forehoof. He did as the guard prompted, finding an empty spot at the table. The robed ponies continued to look at him strangely, but none of them said anything. Their looks were starting to make him nervous again, for it was as if the ponies around the table were nervous themselves. The solid stone table, he noticed, had a large crack down the middle of it.

The door he had entered through opened again. He turned to see both princesses walking through it. He bowed, as did all of the robed ponies in the room. The two royal sisters proceeded to two empty spots at the table that were next to each other. He heard the door close again.

“You may all be seated,” he head Celestia say. He stood up in unison with the ponies. Glancing at the door out of the corner of his eye, he noticed it was closed again. The unicorn guard that had escorted him to the room was nowhere in sight now.

“Your Majesty,” a robed unicorn began, looking at Celestia. “I am compelled to remind you that per laws you established yourself, outsiders are not allowed in any Council meetings. Shouldn’t he be removed before we start?” he motioned towards James with his horn as he said the word he.

“He is here at my request. He has been working on an object of relevance and I want his expert opinion. I wish for him to be here. If you have no further objections.” It was a statement. Not a question.

“As you wish, Your Majesty. I have no more objections,” the robed unicorn responded, bowing his head respectfully to his princesses.

Celestia nodded and turned to look at James. “This is a meeting of the Royal Council. Whatever happens behind these doors—whatever is said behind these doors, no matter what it is, does not leave this room without permission from either me or my sister. Understood?”

“Y-Yes, Your Majesty,” he said, feeling some of the nervousness return to him now that he knew what he had been brought to.

“Good. You may speak freely here, James. Of anything you feel is of importance. There are no secrets in this room. Not even the ones I told you not to speak of with anypony.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

She smiled slightly at him in a calming way before turning her head to face the Pegasus Guard captain. “Then let us begin. Captain Swordstorm, if you would.”

“Thank you, Your Majesty,” the captain responded, all eyes turning to him. “Approximately thirty minutes ago, two of my guards on high altitude patrol above the city witnessed an object with a green glow surrounding it rising to the sky far to the North. The object, at the time of spotting, was approximately fifteen-thousand strides above the ground. It continued to rise rapidly until they lost sight of it. About five minutes later, an object resembling a fireball, trailing a long stream of flame behind it, appeared at a very high altitude, also far to the North. Within about thirty seconds, the fireball seemed to disappear. But approximately one minute later, some type of impact was observed on the ground as indicated by an orange flash of flame. The flash of flame was just that. A flash. It quickly dissipated and no further events were seen afterward.”

James listened as the captain spoke. A stride, he had long since learned, was the approximate distance that an adult pony could cover in one slow trotting motion. He estimated it to be about six feet. That meant the object had been around ninety-thousand feet up by the time the Pegasus Guards had spotted it. If it been that far up before it appeared over the horizon, it must have been very far North indeed.

“Thank you, Captain,” Celestia nodded to him, then looked around the table. “Thoughts?”

“An attempt at launching something into orbit around the planet,” one of the robed ponies who he now assumed must be one of the council members responded. “Conducted at night during the Summer Sun Celebration because lots of ponies would be watching the sky. A bold move to make a statement, and possibly cause fear and uncertainty among your subjects, Your Majesty.”

“I agree, Your Majesty. It sounds like some sort of attempted satellite launch,” James responded. “A failed one from the description given by the captain … But as far as an attempt to make a statement or cause fear … It’s possible, but there’s another hypothesis that comes to mind.”

“Go on,” Celestia responded, all eyes in the room on him now.

“Well, it’s possible that instead of choosing tonight to do it so that everypony would see it, they actually chose tonight hoping that nopony would see it. That it would be mistaken for just another firework. Or maybe that it wouldn’t be noticed at all because security would be so focused on Canterlot and the Celebration that nopony would even be looking that far North.”

“I agree,” Swordstorm said. “They were probably hoping we would miss it. But nothing slips passed my guards,” he said with a note of pride in his voice.

“Indeed, it does not,” Celestia smiled at him.

“What of the safety of the princesses?” the unicorn that he assumed was the captain of the Celestial Guard interjected. “We rushed them both down here as soon as we heard of this object rising into the sky. Are the princesses in any immediate danger?”

James shook his head. “From the object itself? Very unlikely. Whatever it was either failed to achieve orbit, or was intentionally designed not to do so. The fireball the Pegasus Guards saw was almost certainly the object reentering the atmosphere. I suspect it was a case of failing to achieve orbit rather than intentional design. Unless the recovery system failed as well. From what Captain Swordstorm has said, they made no attempt to slow the object’s descent.”

This time, it was Luna who spoke. “So what do we do now?”

“My suggestion, Your Majesty?” he asked, getting a nod from her before continuing. “The fact that they saw an impact means at least part of it survived reentry. In the morning, we definitely try to find the object and grab it. Send out Pegasus Guards to search the area where it appeared to come down, Your Majesty.”

“That will be difficult at best,” Captain Swordstorm responded. “Especially to find it before whoever sent it up there does. Even during the day, it would be difficult to tell exactly how far North it came down. At night, it would have been almost impossible.”

“It will be hard, Captain. Yes,” James admitted. “But assuming it was a failed launch, whoever launched it probably doesn’t know exactly where it came down either. And if they were observing it from the ground, they might know even less than your guards do. Also, your guards can no doubt cover much more search area in less time than they can due to strength of numbers. There’s also the fact that if they suspect your guards are out there looking, they will have to lay low. Lest they be spotted.”

“True. We may have a chance of finding it before they do. But at the speed it came down, it no doubt buried itself deep underground—if it even came down on the ground. What if it landed in the water?”

“That could be a problem,” James agreed. “If it came down in the water, it will be difficult, if not impossible to find. But if it came down over land, given the flash your guards reported seeing, I suspect there will be significant damage to vegetation surrounding the area. It should be visible from the air. And if it came down close enough to a town, it’s possible other ponies saw it as well. Maybe we will get some leads.

“If you find it, Captain. Keep your guards a safe distance away from it. The one we have been working on is radioactive. Spending a lot of time near it would be dangerous. Radiation drops off rapidly with distance from the source though. I would suggest your guards take one of the radiation detectors from the physics lab with them to make sure they are a safe distance away.”

Celestia nodded. “Any other thought from any of you?”

James spoke up again. “All that being said, Your Majesty … I cannot conclusively rule out the possibility that this was an attempted attack on Canterlot … designed to take place when there would be a lot of ponies here. I think it’s unlikely, but I can’t rule it out.”

“He’s right, Your Majesty,” another council member, an earth pony responded. “We should cancel the festivities tomorrow. It would be unwise for you to appear in public with this potential threat hanging over the city. And we should evacuate you and Princess Luna to alternate secure and secret locations until we are sure there is no danger in Canterlot.”

Celestia shook her head. “I will not let fear rule my kingdom. Nor will I run away from my duties. The festivities will go on as planned.”

The council member looked down for a moment, wrinkling his brow and appearing slightly frustrated at Celestia’s response. He quickly hid it, however, and then looked back up.

“As you wish, Your Majesty,” he deferred.

“What should we tell the citizens, Your Majesty?” Captain Swordstorm asked.

“Nothing. Nothing at all. There is no sense in causing panic over something that isn’t likely to be an immediate threat. I would that they enjoy the Summer Sun Celebration without the specter of threats falling from space looming over them.”

“Understood, Your Majesty.”

“Report directly to me as soon as you find anything,” she said, then turned to the council members again. “You may all return to your quarters. Thank you for responding and arriving here so quickly.”

As the princesses turned and started to leave, all of the council members stood, then knelt and bowed. James followed their lead. None of them rose again until after the two royal sisters had left the room. Then, they started filing out of the room as well.

“Come on. I’ll take you back to the main entrance.” He turned to see the same guard that had lead him down here earlier standing in the doorway. He nodded and followed. The guard lead him back down the dark corridors, them up the stairwells, finally arriving at the main entrance. As the unicorn guards posted at the door started to open it and he began to walk out, he was stopped by a forehoof hooking under his arm. He turned, looking at his guard escort.

“Remember the admonishment of Her Majesty. Whatever happens down there … Whatever is said down there, stays down there. Speak of with this with nopony … and no anything else for that matter either.”

“... Of course, sir,” he responded. “Thank you.” He turned towards the door again, walking out into the night, another firework exploding just outside of the courtyard walls.

“Have a good night, Doctor Peterson.”

“Thank you … You as well.” He continued down the path towards the gate. The guards posted at it raised it just enough for him to walk under. He thanked them, then started on his way back towards the Academy dorm.

Just how deep does this rabbit hole go? he thought to himself. He had gotten used to the fact that his world was now ruled by ponies. And he had known that there was a royal council—presumably made up of the princesses’ most trusted and loyal advisors. But that was about all he knew about the Royal Council until now. It was pretty much all anypony knew about them. The Council didn’t exactly advertise their business publicly. The extent of their involvement in the high level affairs of Equestria was something most ponies didn’t know. The ones that did know, didn’t talk about it. Until now, he had never actually seen a council member before. He hadn’t expected them to be dressed in strange robes—the geek in him wanted to make connections to the Jedi council. But that was silly, so he tried to keep his mind from going there.

Arriving back at the dorm, he climbed the stairs to his room, flopping down on the bed once inside. He turned his head, glanced at the clock on the wall. Just after three-o’clock. He thought about trying to go back to sleep, but it seemed very unlikely that sleep would come. And besides, he had to be up again in just over two hours. Instead, he thought about the developments from the Council meeting.

Why would they want to launch something into space? Of course, the thought that it might be some kind of missile concerned him. But what would its payload have been? Probably not another one of the objects like he had been studying. He could think of no possible use of launching that object into space, nor could he think of any possible use of lobbing it into Canterlot and having it land in the city somewhere.

Of course, there was also the question of how they performed the launch. Swordstorm had said his guards reported the object was surrounded by a green glow. Furthermore, the guards had not reported any flame trail while the object was ascending. Only while it was descending. Perhaps they had used some type of magic instead of a rocket to launch the device?

Unfortunately, there was nothing to do now except wait and hope that Captain Swordstorm and his Pegasus Guards would be able to locate the object.

An hour later, he began to get ready for the Raising of the Sun ceremony, again showering, grooming with impeccable detail, and putting on the class 1A uniform.

It was still very early in the morning and completely dark except for the ever present lights of Canterlot outside. But it may as well have been a friday afternoon given the crowds of ponies that were already out, or more likely, still out because they had never gone to bed the night before.

The sky above was as clear as freshly cleaned glass. The pegasus weather ponies were hard at work now keeping the sky completely free of clouds, doing everything possible to ensure that, at least on this special day, when Celestia raised the sun in about an hour, there would not be a single cloud in the sky above Canterlot to mar it.

The constant drum of fireworks had finally ceased—for there was now a ban in effect to ensure the safety of the weather pegasi flying overhead. The ban would not be lifted until after The Raising of the Sun ceremony was complete and Princess Celestia was safely back in the castle.

The noise of the pyrotechnics had been replaced with the near constant sound of rushing wind now as the Pegasus Guard patrolled the skies over and around Canterlot, vigilantly keeping watch for any airborne threats, as well as closely watching the crowds on the ground for anything that looked out of the ordinary.

Right now, there was a ban on flight over Canterlot. Only the Pegasus Guard and the weather teams were allowed in the skies over or anywhere near the city. Any other pegasi, griffins, dragons, or other flying creatures that came within thirty miles of Canterlot would be immediately turned back or forced to the ground. The ban would remain in effect until after Princess Celestia had raised the sun.

Suddenly, he was stopped in his tracks as Rainbow Dash landed in front of him. As usual, she almost landed on top of him.

“There you are! Come on! We’ve been waiting for you!” She motioned for him to follow her.

He shook his head, but followed without argument. “Practicing those spot landings again are you? See how close you can land next to me without actually landing on top of me? You know you’re not supposed to be flying, right Rainbow? All of Canterlot is in a no-fly zone right now unless you are a Pegasus Guard or one of the Canterlot weather pegasi.”

She scoffed in response. “Let ‘em try and catch me. There’s not one guard in the entire Pegasus Flying Corps that is fast enough to do it.”

“I don’t doubt that,” he stated flatly. “So did you all stay up the whole night?”

“I did. And Pinkie Pie did. The others slept for a little while. As long as Pinkie would allow them to anyway.”

He nodded and continued following her, waving to Twilight and the others as he spotted them in the distance, then looking back at Rainbow.

“Have any of you had breakfast yet? We have some time if we hurry.”

“Nope, we were waiting for you.”

“Alright. Sounds good. I’m hoping we’ll run into Theory Point there as well,” he said as they joined the rest of the ponies from Ponyville. They exchanged quick greetings, then he lead them off to breakfast.

As they walked to the restaurant, he tried to keep them from detecting his nervousness. But always, he was watchful, scanning the sky as best he could without them noticing, keeping an eye on the crowds for anything that looked at all out of the ordinary. Sometimes, he would get the feeling they were being followed only to look behind them and find nothing. And through it all, he found he was more concerned for Twilight’s safety than he was for his own.

“Is something wrong, James? Ya look like yur expectin’ somethin’,” AJ suddenly said, looking at him.

“Huh? Oh. I’m just looking for some of my friends from the Academy. And watching the Pegasus Guards work,” he lied.

She gave him a short sideways glance, but then seemed to accept his answer.

They arrived at the restaurant without incident, quickly grabbing one of the last available tables—for it was already packed with ponies from out of town. Eventually, he spotted Theory Point at another table. He waved to her, and she nodded and came over.

“Hey Theory. These are my friends I told you about.”

“Oh? A pleasure to meet you,” she responded, looking them over. When her eyes passed over Twilight, he thought he could detect a slightly cold look in them. The tone of her voice had what he thought was a hint of insincerity in it.

“Likewise,” Twilight responded, the same hint of insincerity in her voice.

He blinked and was silent. There was a certain amount of tension in the air between the two unicorns. It was subtle, but it was definitely there. Was he somehow the object of jealousy between the two of them? Not necessarily a romantic type of jealousy. But a scientific type of jealousy? Being what he was, and being what they were, he was obviously of great scientific interest to both of them. Was it a jealousy of possession? As if he were some golden artifact of great value that both of them wanted to own, but only one could have? A prize to be won by one of them?

“I’m uh … gonna go see if I can find Delta and the others,” Theory Point finally spoke up. “It was nice meeting you all,” she said in a tone that sounded somewhat forced and insincere.

“Likewise,” Twilight responded, sounding equally insincere as Theory Point trotted off to the other side of the crowded restaurant.

Well, that was awkward, he thought to himself as he turned to look back at the ponies gathered around the table. For several long seconds, there was an uneasy silence. He wondered if all of them except for Twilight were thinking the same thing he was. Eventually, Applejack spoke up, breaking the tension at the table.

“Ya know, with as crowded as this place is, I dunno if we’re gonna have time to eat. Maybe we should wait until after the ceremony?”

James nodded. “Yeah, I think that’s probably a good idea. Come on. Lets go. I found the perfect spot for us where we will have a great view. And there won’t be any crowds.”

They got up, left the restaurant, again having to wiggle their way through the massive crowds of ponies. Once outside, they made their way to the Academy campus, where he led them inside the physics building. They climbed several flights of stairs, coming to a featureless metal door at the top. He used his building keys to unlock it, leading them out onto the roof of the building.

From here, they had a spectacular view of the castle, and of the platform where Celestia would land to raise the sun. Several Celestial Guard members were also stationed on the roof, as they were on any roof that provided a potential line of target to the platform where the Princess would be. But they recognized James, and said nothing.

A rushing sound overhead as three Pegasus Guards flew over the building. The guards eyed him and his pony companions for a few moments, but upon recognizing them, did not stop to investigate.

“Wow! The view from up here really is awesome!” Rainbow Dash commented.

Yes, the view from the top of the physics building was amazing. But truth be told, that wasn’t his primary motivation for bringing them up here. The real reason was that he wanted to get them away from the crowds—away from the possibility that anything could sneak up and attempt to harm one of them in the mass confusion of the crowds. Up here, he would see anything approaching the building from a long ways off. As far as threats from the sky, he had faith in the Pegasus Guard—that they would deal with any of those threats before they got anywhere near Canterlot, and that anything that was already in Canterlot and attempted to leave the ground would be intercepted before getting very far.

He looked around the roof once, then turned back to them. “I’ll be right back,” he said. then he walked away from them. They watched him for a moment, then turned back to look out over the edge of the building at the crowds below.

Perfect, they weren’t watching him. He used the opportunity to scout out the roof, checking every space that could potentially be used for hiding. Even though he knew the Celestial Guards stationed on the roof had no doubt already cleared every potential hiding spot, he checked behind every smokestack, every ventilation shaft. Was he becoming paranoid? He wasn’t sure. But in this case, it seemed like an over-abundance of caution couldn’t hurt anything. And he was absolutely determined not to let any harm come to Twilight, or any of the others … But especially not to Twilight …

Finding nothing, he returned to the rest of them, looking out over the roof again to make sure nothing was approaching the building.

“You seem mighty nervous, James,” Applejack commented.

“Oh … Well, first Summer Sun Celebration and all. Nervous, but mostly excited.” He smiled awkwardly.

She continued looking at him, but said nothing. He could feel her staring into eyes though, as if she were trying to read them. He was certain she didn’t believe him. Lying to the Element of Honesty, he thought to himself. Of course she can tell you are lying.

The sound of trumpets from below diverted both his and her attention back forward. The ceremony was beginning. He breathed a sigh of relief that it had distracted AJ. At least he wouldn’t have explain himself to her. At least not for the time being.

The regal trumpets finished their majestic call. All eyes went to the towers of the castle. For security reasons, nopony that did not need to know, knew which tower Celestia was in. Or which one she would appear from.

The constant roar of the crowd had gone silent as all waited expectantly, scanning the towers of the castle looking for any sign of Celestia’s appearance. The only sound now, the constant roar of rushing wind as the Pegasus Guards continued their patrols overhead. The air was alive with anticipation, electrified with excitement.

A loud roar of wind, like a squadron of fighter jets flying over in full afterburner as a delta formation of Celestial Guards flew overhead towards the castle, flirting with the sound barrier, but not quite breaking it. As they approached the castle, three of them banked sharply, breaking off from the formation and descending rapidly towards one of the towers. They leveled out just in front of the tower, joined by three more Celestial Guards who had flown out of the window of the tower. And in the center of their formation, was Celestia herself, in all her regal solar glory. The three that had remained in formation had made a sharp turn, now guarding the skies above the Princess.

The once silent crowd was now alive with excitement, ponies pointing at the tower she and her guards had emerged from.

Celestia and her escort flew out beyond the platform, still flirting on the edge of the sound barrier as evidenced by the loud roar and the occasional vapor cone that would materialize into view and then dissipate in front of the formation. Out of the corner of his eye, he caught Rainbow Dash staring up in the sky, no doubt dreaming of being up there with them.

The formation made a tight turn, expertly maintaining a constant distance apart from each other as they started to descend towards the platform. As they approached it, Celestia and three of the guards in the formation flared their wings, transforming from near supersonic flight to a graceful feather like landing in the blink of an eye. The remaining guards that had not landed with her closed up the formation and pitched up sharply, climbing back into the sky and resuming their patrol overhead, ensuring no harm would come to The Princess on this day.

The ponies gathered below became even more alive, cheering their Princess loudly, competing with the roar of the Pegasus Guards overhead to see which one of them could make the most noise. The crowd seemed to stretch on forever, the end of it nowhere in sight.

He became more excited as well, but with his increasing excitement, also came increasing nervousness. He had told the Captain of the Celestial Guard at the Council meeting that he didn’t think there was any immediate threat to the princesses, and they had trusted his judgement. What if he was wrong? He was increasingly on edge, expecting something to happen any moment … An assassination attempt perhaps.

The trumpets sounded again, and Celestia spread her wings, rising into the sky with more grace than any bird. Angels themselves could try for all eternity to approach her grace, and they would never even come close. Light seemed to radiate from her, as if she were the only source of light in the entire Universe. The sky behind her began to glow orange, changing to yellow, and finally to brilliant white. Then, Celestia’s majestic sun appeared above the horizon. He had to turn his face to avoid being blinded by its brilliance, as did all of the ponies.

As the sun continued to rise over the horizon, he felt the same feeling of awe, the same powerful feeling of magic, come over him that he had felt when he had watched her raise the sun so many months ago … That he had felt the first time he saw her on that day he arrived in Equestria. Again, time seemed to stand still and have no meaning.

But this time, despite being overcome with awe, he maintained his vigilance, keeping an eye out on the ground for any potential threats that might be approaching the physics building.

It felt like hours, but in reality, he was sure it was only minutes. The feeling of magic slowly started to dissipate. The roar of the crowd increased in intensity again as they cheered their princess loudly.

She landed back on the platform with the grace of a butterfly landing on a flower. He got the impression she would have liked to stay longer and socialize with the crowd. But the Celestial Guard would have none of it. Three of them banked sharply, breaking from formation and diving down towards the platform again. When they were nearly there, she spread her wings, along with the guards standing on the platform next to her, and took to the sky. With expert precision, the Celestial Guards formed their shell of protection around her again, the entire formation banking sharply and speeding off towards the castle once more. She landed on the balcony outside one of the windows, along with three of her Celestial Guards. Then, she disappeared inside the tower.

Her appearance had been brief, but the crowds of ponies still roared in approval. A long line of ponies quickly started to form, making their way to the castle courtyard for the feast that would soon begin.

James breathed a sigh of relief. At least it seemed Princess Celestia was safe and there had been no attempts to harm her. He remained concerned for the Elements of Harmony, however. He turned back to the ponies.

“Well, my first Summer Sun Celebration is in the books,” he smiled, still trying to hide his nervousness. “Shall we go get breakfast? If uh … it’s alright with you all, I’d prefer to avoid the long lines at the public feast and go somewhere private?” The truth was, he didn’t mind the long lines himself. But he still wanted to keep the Elements of Harmony out of harm’s way. And that mean keeping them out of large crowds.

“Sounds good to me,” Applejack responded. “I don’t know that we got time for the feast anyway. Me, Braeburn, and Big Mac have to be at our booth when the market opens up in an hour. And Pinkie and Rarity do as well.”

Rarity and Pinkie both agreed that a private breakfast would be best, much to his relief.

He lead them back to the door, opening it and starting down the stairwell to the ground floor of the physics building. Stepping outside, they made their way through the crowds, which were not as bad as they were off campus—especially with the rush now to get to the courtyard for the feast.

Leaving the campus, they continued towards the downtown area. They passed a small crowd of ponies on the side of the road who started shouting angrily at James when they saw him in his Academy uniform. Some of them held crudely painted signs with slogans saying such things as “Down with Celestia and Luna!”

One of the protesting ponies stepped onto the road and started walking next to James. “Why do you serve the tyrannical sisters? Down with Celestia! Down with Luna!” he yelled out.

James kept walking, ignoring the protesting pony walking next to him. But out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Twilight turning her head, glaring at the protesters.

“Just keep walking,” he said quietly to her. “Pay them no mind.”

She did so, but he could tell she had to use all her restraint to avoid yelling something back at them.

The protesting ponies continued to lob shouts and jeers at them, taunting James about supporting royal tyranny by being part of the Academy. The protester walking next to him eventually fell back once he got a little too far away from the safety of his companions, turning and going back to rejoin them. They made no further attempts to follow them. Eventually, they stopped shouting at him and his companions, turning their attention to the next unfortunate ponies that passed by them calling out their anti-princess chants with renewed vigor.

“They have no right to speak about Princess Celestia and Princess Luna like that!” Twilight huffed.

“There’s no law against speaking ill of the princesses,” he pointed out. “Large celebrations like this, the protesters are gonna come out of the woodwork because they can get a lot of exposure.”

“But still … And to attack you like that,” she complained. “It’s a noble thing you are doing, teaching young ponies who are the future of Equestria.”

“I’m not letting it bother me, Twilight. You shouldn’t let it bother you either. It doesn’t matter what the princesses do, how fairly they rule, or how prosperous the kingdom is. They can’t make everypony happy. That’s true of any form of government.”

She nodded slightly, and continued trotting along next to him, not saying anything further. He glanced over at her, noticing she still had an annoyed look on her face.

“Don’t let it ruin your day, Twilight. Just because they aren’t happy doesn’t mean you should let them make you unhappy as well.”

She nodded. As they continued walking, the annoyed look on her face eventually went away. He was glad to see she had let it go.

They arrived at the restaurant James had chosen. He was still somewhat on edge, and he chose a table near the door to the kitchen so that they would be able to slip out the back, hopefully unseen if they had to. And if they were seen, well … then they could make a mad dash for the kitchen and out the back if they had to.

Despite the feast, the restaurant was still nearly full—many ponies having had the same idea about avoiding the massive crowds and long lines at the public feast. It was several minutes before they were waited on.

“Ah, good morning, James!” a tan colored earth pony said, smiling, then turning to the ponies seated with him. “Gentlecolts and ladies, it is an honor to have the Elements of Harmony in my establishment. I do apologize for the delay.”

“Good morning to you too, Harvey. The delay is perfectly understandable,” James smiled.

“Perhaps I can interest you in our Summer Sun Special? I spent the last month perfecting it with my top chefs. Of course, this is the first day we are offering it.”

“That sounds wonderful,” James responded. “I’m sure whatever it is, it will be delicious. If the ladies approve?” He looked at the ponies. They nodded.

“Very well. I will bump you to the front of the line. Don’t worry. You won’t have to wait long.” He bowed slightly, then rushed through the door into his kitchen.

“His name is Harvey?” Twilight raised an eyebrow.

“Actually, it’s Harvest Moon,” James responded. “But I call him Harvey. It’s a common nickname back where I am from.”

“Ah … I take it you two know each other then?”

He nodded. “I’m a pretty regular customer here. One of the best places I have found near campus for breakfast.”

“How come we’re getting special treatment though?”

“Well, you are the Elements of Harmony. Everypony in Canterlot knows the stories. You are basically celebrities around here. The fact that you ate in his restaurant will probably double his business for awhile.”

“Really?”

“No doubt,” he nodded.

“Aww, yeah! World famous!” Rainbow Dash grinned.

“Don’t let it go to yur head there, partner,” Applejack spoke up. “Pride cometh before the fall an’ all. Bein’ world famous means there are more eyes on ya waitin’ for ya to mess up.”

“She’s right,” James said, looking at Rainbow.

The pegasus merely huffed in response.

“Myself, I prefer the quiet life back on the farm,” Applejack continued.

Their meals showed up as quickly as Harvest Moon had told them they would. As expected for any Summer Sun special, they were delectably good. They finished their meals quickly and without much conversation, given that so many of them had booths they had to attend once the market opened. When they had finished, Harvest Moon returned to clean up their table.

“Put it all on one tab, please Harvey,” James said.

“Of course,” he nodded and rushed back to his kitchen.

“You can’t pay for all of us!” Twilight protested. “That’s going to be way too expensive!”

“It’s the least I can do, Twilight. To thank all of you for everything you did for me while I was in Ponyville. And besides, you paid for all my stuff when I was staying at the library.”

“With a stipend from the Royal Treasury. That’s hardly the same thing.”

“I want to do this, Twilight. And besides, trust me. With what the Academy is paying me, I can afford it. And I have virtually no expenses, remember? The Academy provides housing for its faculty.”

They went back and forth on it a little bit longer. Eventually, she gave in and let him pay. Then they left the restaurant.

“Well, I suppose we’d better get goin’,” AJ said. “You want to take Twilight, Fluttershy, and Rainbow, and we can all meet back up at the castle when the market closes?”

He didn’t like the idea of leaving any of them alone. But that couldn’t be helped, since Rarity, the Apple family, and Pinkie Pie would all be at different booths in different parts of the market. There was simply no way he could cover all of them. Reluctantly, he nodded in agreement.

“Alright, sounds good. We’ll meet back up with the rest of you tonight.”

Spike, who had been riding on Twilight’s back, jumped off to the ground. “I’m uh … gonna go with Rarity if you don’t mind … You know, in case she needs any help running the clothing booth.”

Twilight chuckled and smiled at the little dragon. “Ok, Spike. Have fun.”

They split up into their various groups, the Apple family, Rarity, and Pinkie Pie trotting off towards the market, while James, Twilight, Rainbow, and Fluttershy started on their way back to the campus. He chose a different route back, not wanting to pass by the protesters again.

“Well, I guess I can give you a tour of the campus,” he shrugged, not exactly sure how to best entertain the three ponies.

“Sounds great!” Twilight said excitedly.

“That would be fine … If you want,” Fluttershy said indifferently.

“Boring!” Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes.

“They have an aeronautics department. Where they design the latest chariots and do research on flying,” he mentioned.

“I’m there!” the pegasus responded excitedly now.

He chuckled as they continued walking back towards the campus.

He spent most of the rest of the day giving them the grand tour of the Academy. They started back at the physics building, where he showed them all of the labs he could. He left the secret lab downstairs where he and Theory Point were working off of the tour.

Twilight was fascinated with the entire tour, and he got the impression she would have spent hours in each building if she had had the time to do so. Fluttershy seemed indifferent to the majority of the tour, although she was interested when they came to the agriculture building and the natural sciences building. Rainbow Dash was bored with the majority of the tour, although she perked up and greatly enjoyed the aeronautics building. He showed her the new chariot that Delta Streak and his team were working on, which she was particularly fascinated by. At one point, he was seriously concerned she was going to hook herself up to it and take it up for a test flight. It took all three of them to stop her from doing just that and drag her out of the lab.

“Well, I suppose we better be heading back to the castle. The markets have already closed and the others should be on their way back there by now.”

“Thanks for the tour, James. I really enjoyed it.,” Twilight smiled.

“Your welcome,” he smiled back as they started towards the castle.

“I need to stretch my wings,” Rainbow Dash complained.

“The flying ban is no longer in effect, Rainbow. And besides, even if it was, that didn’t stop you this morning, did it?”

“It’s not?” she grinned. “I’ll see you back at the castle!”

Before any of them had a chance to respond, she was already airborne, making her way like a rocket back towards the castle.

He looked at Twilight. She just shrugged her shoulders and started trotting back to the castle again, he and Fluttershy joining her.

His nervousness had eased somewhat now that they had made it through nearly the entire day without incident. But he wouldn’t truly feel comfortable until they were back at the castle and he knew they were all safe.

As the minutes passed, he knew that Rainbow Dash would have long since arrived at the castle. In fact, she could have flown there and back to them by now. The fact that she had not returned was a good sign, he thought. It probably meant she had hooked up with the others. If she had arrived at the castle and found they were not there yet, she probably would have come back, worried that something was wrong.

The clear blue of the day sky slowly began to give way to purple, the Western horizon beginning to take on pink and orange hues as the sun Celestia had raised in a spectacular ceremony that morning began to set for the evening. With the fading daylight, his nervousness began to increase again. Once, he even jumped, thinking he saw something appear out of the corner of his eye. He turned, only to see that it was nothing more than the shadow of a tree.

Jumping at shadows now, he scolded himself. You need to get a hold of yourself. Nevertheless, he would feel much better once Twilight and Fluttershy were safely back in the secure boundaries of the castle. He glanced at the two ponies. Fortunately, it seemed they hadn’t noticed him jump. Or if they had, neither one was saying anything about it.

They arrived back at the castle. He was relieved to find Rainbow and the other ponies standing outside the gate waiting for them. From the excited smiles on their faces, he guessed they had all had a pretty good day at the market.

“So how’d things go?” he smiled.

“Went really good,” Applejack was the first to respond. “Sold just about half of my entire stock. We planned it just about right. Should have enough left for the day tomorrow. And one of the tea shop owners here likes our apple pie so much that he wants to set up a long term agreement to have us ship him more to sell in his shop,” she smiled.

“Me too!” Pinkie Pie said in her usual bubbly tone of voice. “The same shop!”

“She means the same shop wants to buy pastries from Sugarcube Corner on a long term basis,” AJ said.

“That sounds great. I’m so happy for both for both of you,” he smiled, then looked at Rarity. “And you?”

“One of Canterlot’s top designer clothing stores wants me to design a signature line of clothing for them,” she beamed with excitement. “To be called the Carousel Signature Line. I can’t wait to get back to Ponyville and get started on the designs!”

“That’s wonderful, Rarity,” he smiled again, then looked at all of them. “I’m so happy for all of you. And congratulations. All of you.”

They were interrupted by a Pegasus Guard pony trotting up to them.

“Doctor Peterson. Your presence is requested back at the physics lab.”

He blinked, pausing for a moment before responding. “I’ll … be right there. Thank you,” he nodded respectfully to the pegasus. The guard nodded back, then turned and went back to his duties.

He turned back to the rest of the ponies. “Probably some student had an accident in one of the labs and I need to go put out fires … Figuratively speaking, of course.”

They looked slightly disappointed, but Twilight spoke up.

“Alright. Thanks again for the tour, James. We’ll see you in the morning then?”

“Oh, definitely. We have a whole day of parties to attend tomorrow,” he smiled. “Good night, all.”

“Good night, James,” Twilight responded, the rest of the ponies responding in near unison.

He turned and left, making his way back to the Academy. His first thought was that something had happened with the object. But who had requested his presence there? He doubted it was Theory Point. Party animal that she was, he was sure there was no way she’d be in the lab on the night that was the biggest party of the year.

He arrived on campus, made his way to the physics building. He was surprised to find Swordstorm standing outside the door, apparently waiting for him.

“Captain?” he acknowledged and questioned, approaching him and stopping in front of him at the door.

“We found it,” the Pegasus Guard captain smiled.

“Already, sir? That was fast.”

“You were right. It turned out not to be that hard to find.”

“Oh?” he raised an eyebrow.

“It came down in a forest. Leveled every tree within a hundred strides.”

He blinked. If it had done that much damage, the object must be far more massive than he ever would have guessed … Either that or it had detonated upon impact. Or shortly before impact. He paused for a moment, pondering what it could possibly be. At least, if it was some type of bomb, he was sure it was non-nuclear in nature. If it had been, the flash would have lasted much longer than a brief second, and the damage radius would be much larger.

“Is it secure?”

“Yes. My guards have formed a perimeter around it.”

“Excellent,” he smiled.

“So what do we do now?”

“We definitely go up there and grab it, sir. Bring it back to the lab.”

He nodded. “We’ll have to clear it with Her Majesty first. She’ll no doubt want Theory Point to go along. Do you have any idea where we might find her?”

“Probably at The Underhoof … I’m supposed to spend tomorrow with Twilight and her friends,” he sighed, knowing he wouldn’t get to see them again now before they left.

“I understand,” Swordstorm nodded sympathetically. “Unfortunately, it can’t be helped. Her Majesty will deal with that and figure out something to tell them.”

“I’m sure she will, sir … Have your guards determined if its emitting any radiation?”

“They were able to get within the damage area and they didn’t detect any. But they haven’t actually gotten to the object itself. It dug a crater when it impacted the ground. We’re going to have to dig it out.”

He nodded. The lack of radiation in the area was more evidence that the blast was non-nuclear in nature. “We are going to have to take a shielded container with us. Lead shielded. In case it’s radioactive. It’s gonna be heavy.”

“It won’t be a problem,” Swordstorm assured him. “I’ll arrange for a cargo transport. The pegasi who fly those are used to handling some extremely heavy loads.”

“Very good then.”

“We leave in about an hour. Assuming Her Majesty approves. And I have no doubt she will.”

“I won’t be able to get to The Underhoof, find Theory Point, and get back here in an hour. Not with these crowds.”

He nodded. “I’ll send one of my Pegasus Guards to get her.”

“She’s not going to be happy about being dragged away from the biggest party of the year.”

“Well, she’s just going to have to deal. It’s part of being in the Academy. Sometimes you get called away to something important. Even on festival days.”

“That it is, sir,” he nodded. “That it is.”

“You’ll want to change into your field uniform. It’s very rough terrain up there. And even though it is the first day of summer, bring your heavy coat. It’s always cold that far North. My guards even reported some snow on the ground.

“Meet me at the castle, in the back, in one hour. I’ll let the guards know you’re coming so they won’t give you any trouble about trying to go behind the castle.”

He nodded. “Thank you, sir. I’ll be there.”

He turned, started making his way back to the dorm, while Captain Swordstorm started back towards the castle.

Secret council meetings, clandestine government operations, magical barriers that hold back destructive beings from before the beginning of time … This rabbit hole seemed to have no bottom. He thought about how blissfully ignorant most of the ponies in Equestria were … how blissfully ignorant he had been back in Ponyville. Life had been simple, and a little boring. But at least it was relatively care free. His biggest concern back there had been avoiding Rainbow Dash’s pranks.

Indeed, he was beginning to learn that Equestria was not the worry free Utopia it seemed to be on the surface. The majority of ponies in Equestria had no idea what was going on behind the scenes. They were blissfully ignorant of the work being done by the princesses, the Council members, and the Royal Guard to keep them safe, and allow them to live their worry free lives.

He had mixed feelings about the ethics of it all. On one hand, he wasn’t sure it was right that so many secrets were being kept from the general population—not that it was any different where he was from. All governments had their secrets, of course. But that didn’t make it right.

On the other hand, there was nothing the general population could have done about any of it if they had known. So perhaps it was for the best that they simply weren’t told? Why worry them with news of threats they could do nothing about? Threats they would simply have to let the princesses deal with anyway?

If the ponies he had seen protesting on the side of the road earlier … If they had even the slightest clue about everything their princesses were doing to keep them safe … To make sure they could get up in the morning and go outside, knowing they would be safe on Celestia’s watch … To make sure they could go to bed at night, confident in the knowledge that nothing would harm them that night. Not on Luna’s watch. If they had any clue at all, would they still be out there protesting?

He found himself starting to get angry about it now. And now, he understood why Twilight had gotten so angry about it. The very freedom they abuse in order to protest against the princesses … That very freedom, is provided by and kept safe by the very ones they are protesting against. The more he thought about it, the more angry he became. And the more he thought it just wasn’t right for them to be protesting. Not when the princesses, and the Council, and the Royal Guard, were so hard at work behind the scenes keeping them safe, never expecting any recognition for it.

Perhaps that’s why they protested. In their ignorance, did they believe the princesses were just living the lazy good life in Canterlot? That other than raising the sun and the moon, they just spent the rest of their time living a life of luxury and opulence at the expense of other ponies? How wrong they were! How wrong!

He arrived back at the dorm just as the last remnants of the sun were dropping below the horizon. He wasted no time in going up to his room and changing into his field uniform. Then, he quickly left the building again and made his way back towards the castle.

As he walked, a few pops and flashes as the first fireworks of the night began to start up again. The longer he walked, the more constant they became, until once again, it was a near constant background noise resembling the Fourth of July back home.

He arrived at the castle, passing through the main gate and then making his way through the gardens around to the back. He passed several guards along the way, but true to Swordstorm’s word, none of them stopped him or questioned him.

Arriving at the back, he found Captain Swordstorm, along with an entire wing of Pegasus Guards, geared up and ready to go. Other than Swordstorm himself, there were fourteen more armored pegasi gathered in the staging area. They’re sending fifteen Pegasus Guards up there with us? They’re certainly not messing around, he thought to himself.

“Captain,” he acknowledged as he approached Swordstorm.

“Doctor Peterson,” the pegasus acknowledged back. “As soon as Theory Point arrives, we can leave. She should be here shortly. She had to go back to the dorm and change. You were right. My guard says she was rather displeased about being pulled away from the party.”

“She’ll get over it. Eventually,” James responded.

“Other than that, we are good to go. We have clearance from Princess Celestia to leave, and we are authorized to collect the object and bring it back to the lab. Assuming it can be brought back safely that is, which is for you and Theory Point to determine.”

He nodded and looked around a bit more. There was one armored transport chariot for him and Theory Point. A second chariot, had no windows. He assumed it must be the cargo transport. Then he looked back in the other direction to see a displeased looking Theory Point arriving.

“They drag me away from the biggest party of the year,” she complained to him. “This better be worth it.”

He realized the Pegasus Guard that had gone to get her had not told her anything. Of course he hadn’t. There were too many other ponies around who could have overheard. It was also possible the guard sent to get her didn’t even know, and only knew that he was supposed to find her, tell her to dress warmly in her field uniform and come to the castle. In fact, now that he thought about it, she hadn’t been at The Council meeting last night. It’s possible she wasn’t aware of anything that had transpired over the last twenty four hours.

He filled her in on the events that had transpired, where they were going, and why. As he had thought, she was aware of none of it until now. Once he had finished, her mood seemed to have improved somewhat. She was still somewhat annoyed about missing the parties tomorrow, and the fact that by the time they got back, the Summer Sun Celebration would be over. But at the same time, he could see the gleam in her eye—the scientist in her that was fascinated and intrigued about going up there and finding out exactly what had fallen out of the sky and did so much damage.

“Let’s pony up!” Captain Swordstorm called out. The Pegasus Guards immediately fell into formation at his command, some of them hooking up to the two chariots.

James turned back to Theory Point. “I think that’s our cue.”

The two of them quickly boarded the chariot, one of the guards closing and securing the door. He watched out the window, as the Pegasus Guards started to take flight, their own chariot lifting off the ground in the midst of them. Strong g-forces pressed down on him like a pile of bricks as the chariot pitched up sharply, entering a steep climb. He watched as the ground fell away rapidly, his ears popping as they adjusted to the rapidly changing pressure. He guessed they must be pitched up nearly sixty or even seventy degrees. He wondered why the pegasi were climbing so rapidly and at such a sharp angle. He quickly got his answer in the sound of a loud pop as something hit their chariot, bouncing off the side. One of the firework shells, he realized. That’s why they were climbing so quickly. To get out of the range of the fireworks.

Another loud pop, as another shell hit the chariot. Then, it was quiet. A few seconds later, the chariot leveled off.

He looked out the window again, looking down towards the ground. Fireworks lit up the sky a thousand feet below them. Looking to the side, as far as he could see, the sky shimmered over the entire city with rainbow explosions of color, as if they were inside a giant kaleidoscope, of ever changing colors and designs. A slight tinge of sulphur in the air from the constant explosions of color that illuminated the night. But from their vantage point, all was silent, as the rainbow webs of color spread out into the night sky, weaving their intricate patterns underneath them, all around them, a surreal experience as if a thousand spiders were performing an intricate dance in the sky, weaving webs of reds, blues, greens, oranges, yellows, and purples. Weaving every color in the spectrum.

He turned his head. Theory Point was watching out the other window, just as mesmerized as he was by the light show outside the window. Then he looked back out the window.

As they left the city, the explosions of color began to dissipate, giving way to the darkness of the night sky. But in the far distance, in all directions, bright flashes of exploding color, like distant thunderstorms with rainbow colored lightning dancing in the clouds, each one of them marking a city or town in Equestria that was celebrating the Summer Sun Celebration, just as Canterlot was.

And so they continued onward, the magic of that special night continuing to mesmerize them with its swirling, dancing symphony of color as their squadron flew further and further into the frozen North sky …

27 - Unfriendly Skies

Author's Note: Sorry for any formatting problems in this chapter. If you find any, please let me know so I can fix them. This is the first time I've tried using the experimental "Import from Google Docs" feature. It munged up the formatting pretty badly and I had to fix everything by hand. Won't be using it again. Going back to the old fashioned way. I apologize for any problems I missed. Thanks again. And hope you enjoy chapter 27.

The God Particle

Chapter 27: Unfriendly Skies

As the squadron of Pegasus Guards continued to make their way further North, the colored light shows began to become fewer and further between. Eventually, they disappeared completely, giving way to an impenetrable inky blackness on this moonless night. He looked down and could not see the ground, but he knew that only wilderness lay beneath them. This far North, only the occasional small village spaced two hundred thousand strides apart or more broke the dense evergreen forests. No roads connected them to anything. The only way in or out was by air.

The ponies that chose to live in these remote northern villages prided themselves on rugged individualism. That was something he had learned well when he had been in the small town of Whitepony several months ago. He doubted there would be much celebrating up here for the Summer Sun Celebration. Ponies up here had little use for the affairs of the princesses. The further they could distance themselves from anything that had to do with Canterlot or matters of the Royal Sisters, the happier they seemed to be.

In these parts, any form of magic was something to be distrusted—as if it were the dark hand of devils themselves at work. It was little wonder that not many unicorns were found living in these parts. The few unicorns that did choose to make their homes up here were shunned as outsiders; looked upon with fear and distrust by most, and downright hatred by some.

Indeed, even the weather was left to its own whims up here because that’s the way the ponies of the North preferred it. Controlling the weather was considered a form of magic—something unnatural to be feared and distrusted.

Knowing what he knew now about their distrust and fear of magic, he understood why he and Theory Point had gotten such a cold reception in Whitepony. The fact that they were from Canterlot was bad enough. The fact that he was a strange species never seen up here before was worse. But the fact that he was traveling with a unicorn—a pony capable of wielding the dark art of magic … the two of them may as well have been straight from the pit of Tartarus itself as far as the ponies up here were concerned. Sometimes he wondered what Celestia had been thinking with that decision. He suspected he would have had an easier time in Whitepony if she had sent an earth pony with him instead of a unicorn. And he might have been able to get a better price on the flight up to the outpost as well.

He tilted his head upward. Above them, he could barely make out the silhouettes of the Pegasus Guards flying in formation around their chariot, skillfully maintaining a distance of less than one meter of separation from the craft and from each other. He felt safer, knowing they were there. Not that he had any idea what might be out there that they would need protection from.

Frost began to form on the windows, as if they had crossed some invisible weather boundary, a cold front perhaps, and the outside air temperature had suddenly dropped several degrees. Within a few minutes, the windows were fully covered with a thin layer of ice crystals on the inside surface where the moisture from their breath had condensed on the cold glass. He didn’t bother to clean it off. There was nothing to see outside anyway.

He turned away from the window, looking at Theory Point now. For the first time since leaving the ground, it occurred to him that neither one of them had said a word since boarding the chariot. He waited a full minute for her to say something. When she didn’t he finally spoke first.

“You haven't said a single word the entire trip.”

“I could say the same about you.”

“Fair enough,” he nodded in acknowledgment. “ … So what’s the deal between you and Twilight? For as much as you were looking forward to meeting her, that introduction seemed like it could have gone better.

She shrugged slightly. “I just got the impression she didn’t like me. You know, when you just get that feeling about somepony?

“I have a feeling she got the same impression about you.”

“I’ll try again … next time she’s in Canterlot. Maybe we just got off on the wrong hoof.”

“It would be nice … if you two got along. I’d hate to have my two closest scientific friends fighting with each other … especially if I’m somehow the cause of it.

“I said I’d try again, didn’t I?” There was a hint of annoyance in her voice now.

“Alright … That’s all I ask,” he said, a bit taken aback by her sudden hostility.

She sighed, looking back at him apologetically. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to snap at you. It’s just this trip … I hate these northern parts of Equestria. And I had plans for tomorrow—the last day of the Celebration tomorrow. Which of course, are now ruined."

“I had plans too. I’m disappointed, but sometimes it can’t be helped. And besides, aren’t you just the least bit curious?”

“No,” she said, averting her eyes, trying to keep him from seeing them.

“Yes, you are. I could see it in your eyes before we left. That child like gleam of excitement. That scientist part of you that just has to know what it is. It’s not enough for somepony to just tell you what it is. You have to be a part of the discovery. To be part of the excitement of cracking it. To be one of the first to know.” He could tell she was trying to remain stubborn. Trying not to smile. “For that precious amount of time after a new discovery. That time when you know something nopony else in the world knows. Not even the princesses. You need that.”

Finally, she couldn’t avoid a small smile. “Alright,” she admitted. “Yes, I’m curious. But I’m not holding my breath. If it turns out to be as useless as the last object we found, then this trip is another massive waste of time.”

“I wouldn’t say that object has been a waste of time. You have to admit, it has some very interesting properties.”

“Interesting properties or not, the object still seems to be useless—to have no purpose.”

“Well, maybe this one will fill in some missing pieces of the puzzle,” he said, closing his eyes and leaning back against the wall of the chariot behind him.

“Tired?”

“Not really. But it’s going to be a long day tomorrow, I suspect. If we have to dig that thing out of the ground."

“You mean if you and the guards have to dig that thing out of the ground. Surely you aren’t going to make a mare go down there and dig,” she giggled.

He opened one eye slightly, saw her grinning, closed it again.

“Get some sleep, Theory …"

…

“It doesn’t make any sense!” Twilight complained to her friends who were sitting around the table in the Castle garden, sipping glasses of iced tea. A flash and another firework exploding outside the courtyard punctuated her complaint. “‘I’m sorry, Twilight,’ she says, ‘but his duties at the Academy pulled him away and he won’t be able to see you again before you leave,’” a note of mocking sarcasm in her voice.

Spike and the gathered ponies looked at her with expressions ranging from surprise, to downright shock. For Twilight to repeat something Princess Celestia had told her using such a disrespectful tone of voice … it was extremely unlike her. If she noticed their looks of disbelief, however, she gave no indication of such as she continued.

“During the Summer Sun Celebration? What duties? The Academy is practically shut down during the Summer Sun Celebration!” She slammed her forehoof down on the table for emphasis, the gathered ponies quickly having to grab their drinks to prevent them from tipping over. The sloshing liquid in the glasses still spilled over the side though, forming small puddles on the table that radiated outwards slowly.

“Twilight, don’t ya think yer’ overreacting just a bit? I mean this is The Princess yer’ talking about. You know that wherever she sent him, she must have had a good reason for it,” Applejack stated, a look of concern on her face.

“I’m not overreacting!” she said loudly, raising her forehoof to slam it down on the table again, but stopping short when all of the ponies grabbed their drinks in preparation. “Why won’t she tell me what’s going on?”

“I’m sure she must have her reasons, Twi. Are ya sure yer’ alright? You’ve never distrusted Princess Celestia before. This isn’t like you, Twi.

“Do I look like I’m alright?” she responded incredulously. “I’m—”

She didn’t finish her statement, instead simply standing up from the table and trotting off towards the castle, stiff legged and with her ears laid back angrily.

Spike winced as he watched her go, waiting until she disappeared beyond the outer pillars in front of the side entrance that lead out to the garden. Then he turned back to the rest of the ponies at the table.

“I uh … better go talk to her.” He stood up nervously, then turned and walked towards the entrance himself.

Once inside, he worked his way through the corridors, and up the winding staircases towards the guest rooms. Climbing the large staircases designed for an adult pony was no small feat for such a young dragon. By the time he arrived at the top of the last staircase, he was panting slightly from the workout. He turned the corner at the top, walking down the long, tapestry lined hallways until he came to the guest room he and Twilight were staying in. By time he arrived, his breathing from the stair climbing workout had returned to normal.

Given the circumstances, he thought it best to knock before entering, not that he could reach the door knob anyway.

“Twilight? You in there?” he said, knocking on the door with a claw.

The door started to glow with a lavender magic as Twilight opened it. He stepped through and she quickly closed it behind him.

Arriving in the room, he found Twilight sitting on her haunches near the bed, staring at the ground. Her ears drooped down, her tail wrapped around in front of her. For several long moments she said nothing. Finally, she spoke.

“I have to send him home, Spike. Before he loses himself completely.”

“It’s too dangerous, Twilight. Remember what happened last time you tried to open up that portal?”

“I have to figure out how to make the portal stable, and control its sphere of influence.”

The young dragon looked at the ground, his shoulders drooping as what he knew he had to do weighed on him like a brick. He sighed, gathering his resolve, and then looking at his unicorn friend.

“Twilight, you know I’m your loyal assistant. You know I’ll always be there for you. And you know I’d never do anything to hurt you. But I can’t let you keep endangering yourself like this … If something were to happen to you I … I couldn’t … I’m going to tell Princess Celestia what you’re trying to do.”

Her head suddenly shot up, her eyes going wide as she looked directly at the young dragon now. “Spike, you can’t! She’d never allow me to keep working on it!” she said in a desperate tone of voice, her eyes practically pleading with him. “Please, Spike! You can’t!”

The young dragon could feel his heart breaking for his friend—seeing her in such a pitiful state. Begging him, pleading with him not to tell The Princess. Along with his heart, his resolve was also breaking. He almost lost his nerve. Almost didn’t have the heart to go through with it. No, I have to do this. It’s because I care about her that I’m doing this, he told himself, trying to pull his shattered resolve back together.

“I know she won’t let you continue, Twilight. Because it’s just too dangerous. And that’s why I have to tell her. It’s too dangerous. After seeing what almost happened to you … I can’t let you keep doing it … I can’t.” He averted his eyes to the ground. He knew if he looked into her begging and pleading eyes, that he would lose his resolve. That he wouldn’t go through with it.

“Please, Spike,” she said quietly again, her voice pleading and pitiful. “You can’t … You can’t.”

“Why don’t you just let him stay? You want him around anyway. You like him.”

“It doesn’t matter what I want, Spike. It matters what’s best for him.”

“Twilight, It’s not for you to decide what’s best for him.”

“You can’t … You can’t,” was all she said again, still in a pleading tone of voice.

The young dragon continued looking at the ground, his resolve almost breaking again. “I’m sorry, Twilight,” he finally said, turning and moving towards the door.

He half expected her to stop him. There were any number of ways she could do so. She could ward the door, placing a spell on it so that he couldn’t walk through it. She could place a spell on him so that he couldn’t leave the room. She could place a binding spell on him so that he could not travel more than a certain distance away from her. All these things, he knew she had the ability to do. He was surprised when she did none of them.

She did not, however, open the door for him. He had to jump twice, but on the second jump, he was able to reach the latch and push the door open enough for him to slip through. He hesitated for a moment, almost turning around. Then he walked out the door, straining to push it shut.

“Spike, please... You can’t …” he heard once more as he started down the hallway. Her voice was still pleading, but now it also had the sound of defeat in it, and it broke his heart to hear her like that. I’m doing it because I care about her. And I couldn’t bare to see her get hurt … or worse,” he kept telling himself as he continued down the hallway, her pleading calls becoming more distant, until he could no longer hear them at all as he turned a corner and started down the stairs …

…

James found himself inside a featureless stone room lined with benches on either side. Immediately, he recognized the room. He looked away, looked at the floor, looked anywhere but forward. The stench of death lay heavy in the air. He knew what he would see if he looked forward.

He looked out the window. Canterlot castle, black and twisted, burning. The once pristine gardens, now decaying and rotting. A tangle of dried thorns and brambles dripping with the blood of those who had been forced to flee through them, attempting to escape the calamity that had befallen the ruined castle.

He shut his eyes. No direction was safe to look. Everywhere, the sight of decay and corruption. Almost everything was already dead. The few things there were not would be soon enough.

Finally, he forced himself to open his eyes and look forward. The same six caskets containing the bodies of the Elements of Harmony. Next to them, he saw himself standing, chain still around his neck. The other end of the chain, as it was last time, was held by Nightmare Moon’s fetlock, binding him to her. He looked up, the malevolent alicorn looking back at him with a twisted dark smile on her face.

“I must say, James … I’m somewhat disappointed. Still being Celestia’s puppet I see … Doing her bidding,” the midnight black alicorn sneered “I warned you about being careful who you serve,” she said in an almost snarling voice.

“I’m no pony’s puppet,” he responded, trying to hide his fear. “I know what you are. And above all, I am not your puppet.”

“Foalish boy,” the alicorn that he knew was not really an alicorn mocked him. “You belong to me. You will serve me either by choice, or against your will. I would prefer by choice. And it will go easier on you that way. But we can do it against your will just as easily.”

“You lie. You are incapable of truth. Everything you say is a lie,” James said, his voice quivering slightly as he looked away, the alicorn that was not an alicorn’s stare unnerving him.

The figure that pretended to be Nightmare Moon laughed darkly. A twisted, mocking laughter. “Is that what she told you? And you believe it. Without questioning her. Like a good little pony slave. And I thought you were a scientist,” the being laughed malevolently again.

“You lie. You are incapable of truth. Everything you say is a lie,” he repeated again. Although now, he wasn’t sure who he was trying to convince. He repeated the words again in his mind like a mantra, as if trying to convince himself of their truth.

The being simply laughed darkly again—even darker than last time. “I pity you, so wrapped around the hooves of the Royal Sisters. I don’t pity many. But I pity you. Because of that, I’m going to make your decision easier.”

He heard the sizzling buzz of electricity, saw a bright flickering bluish white light reflecting off the floor. He looked up. Electricity arced from the false alicorn’s horn to one of the caskets. He looked down again, the arc blinding—as if he had looked at a welder. A few seconds later, the hissing stopped, the light of the arc disappearing.

He looked up again. The casket Twilight Sparkle had been in was empty. She was standing next to his other self now, apparently alive, and like him, bound to Nightmare Moon.

“I will let you have Twilight Sparkle. I know you care for her. I know there is nothing you wouldn’t do to ensure her safety.”

Luna told me it couldn’t read my mind, he thought in a panic. How does it know I care for Twilight Sparkle?

He started breathing heavier, looking away again. He hesitated several moments before answering.

“She is not yours to give … You lie … You are incapable of truth … Everything you say is a lie …” Did he still believe that? Despite the fact that both Princess Celestia and Princess Luna had told him that … did he still believe it? He wasn’t sure.

“Do I now …” The false alicorn chuckled darkly. “Equestria is doomed … Even Celestia knows this. She has foreseen it. Go ahead. Ask her about it next time you see her, boy. Ask her. See if she can look you in the eye without telling you the truth about what she saw.”

“… You lie … You are incapable of truth … Everything you say is a lie …” he practically had to force himself to say the words now.

“Equestria is doomed,” the false alicorn stated again. “But you can avoid dooming Twilight along with it. You can save her. If you serve me willingly. Either way, you will serve me. The only real decision you have to make is whether Twilight will be dead or alive. You belong to me, either way.”

He hesitated again, breathing heavily, then looked up at the false alicorn again “… You lie … You are incapable of truth … Everything you say … is a lie …” he said with as much determination as he could muster.

This time, the false alicorn narrowed her eyes at him. She snorted loudly and lashed her tail once angrily, ears laid back against her head aggressively. When she spoke again, it was in a low almost growling tone of voice.

“Then … die!” She stomped her forehoof on the floor. A deafening crack rose from the ground, as if a firework had exploded next to his head. Showers of sparks flew from the ground where her hoof had struck, also like an exploding firework. But the sparks had no beauty to them at all. There were a menacing deep crimson. The color of blood.

The ground underneath her forehoof split open and the stone building around him started to shake violently. He braced himself, panicking now, struggling to retain his balance. The roar of the shaking building was like a freight train speeding past his ear. Like constant thunder if lightning strikes were going off all around him. The sound almost drowned out the malevolent laughter of the false alicorn. Almost.

“And watch her die with you!” she growled out just as the building started collapsing around him, stones falling from the ceiling, popping out of walls as if having been hurled by giants, great clouds of dust forming. And then, he saw Twilight Sparkle go down, buried under the heap of falling debris from the ceiling.

“Twilight, no!” he cried out trying to run for her, losing his footing and falling to the stone floor that was heaving and shaking under him. Fluorescent lights fell from the ceiling. Electronic equipment fell off collapsing shelves. Alarm klaxons rang out loudly as numerous warning and failure messages flashed across the screen … What? He blinked. He was back in the lab at home, the earthquake raging all around him.

He looked around frantically. He could no longer see the false alicorn, or Twilight, or the caskets, or anything else that had been in the room. But he could still hear her dark laughter as the lab continued to collapse around him.

"Twilight, no!” he called out again, feeling himself waking from the dream. But something was wrong. Even though he was waking up the shaking motion of the earthquake was still there. It wasn’t a dream this time? He scrambled, fingers digging into the floor as the ground heaved and shook beneath him. Then he opened his eyes. The floor and the walls vibrated around him. He looked around, breathing heavily, frantically trying to get to his feet.

“James! What in Celestia? You’d think you’d never flown before or were suddenly terrified of flying! Are you alright?” he heard a female voice call out.

He looked up to see Theory Point standing over him, a look of concern on her muzzle. He was lying on the floor, his knuckles white from pressure where he had been clawing at the floor, as if he had been trying to dig a hole through it.

“It’s just a little air turbulence, James. The pegasi are descending and we hit a layer of turbulence. That’s all.”

He looked around again, awareness coming back to him. Yes, he was in a flying chariot, headed North. A few more mild jolts—they had seemed so much more violent in the dream—confirmed the unicorn’s words. Yes, it was just air turbulence. That’s all.

“I’m sorry …” he finally said. “It was … The earthquake back at the lab and …”

She nodded, her expression softening. “A nightmare … I understand,” she said, offering her shoulder to help him up, which he accepted gratefully, getting back to his feet and taking his seat again.

“You know …” she continued, a bit hesitantly. “I’m not saying you … well … There are counselors at the Academy that provide free counseling services to faculty … Maybe you should talk to one … There’s no shame it it … Especially not after what you have been through to end up here.”

“You really think a pony counselor understands the mind of a human well enough to be of use?” he looked at her dubiously. “We are different species that have never met before. We grew up in entirely different societies. Molded by entirely different cultures and values. Do you really think a pony counselor would be of any use to me at all.” It was his turn to get snappy with her now, just as she had been snappy with him earlier in the trip.

“I’m sorry, James,” she looked at the floor. “I just thought … That maybe it would help.”

He sighed and frowned. She might be right. and even if she wasn’t, taking it out on her was wrong, and wouldn’t help matters any. “I’m the one who’s sorry, Theory. I didn’t mean to get mad at you. Maybe you are right. Maybe just too much has happened over the last few days. The stress of the Celebration and all.” Maybe that’s really all it was?

She nodded slightly. “Maybe you just need to unwind then.”

“I could go for a night at The Underhoof with you and the others,” he admitted.

“We’re not so different, you know,” she looked back at him now. “Despite being from different species, different societies, different cultures … We’re not that different. I’ve known you long enough now to know that. At the core, we all experience the same emotions. We all experience happiness, sadness, anger, pain, fear … We all have goals … We all need friendship and we all need to love and to be loved. Yes, there are cultural, social, and species differences. But are we really so different after all?”

“You’re right. We’re not.” He managed a small smile. “Alright then. The day we get back, we will spend the entire night at The Underhoof. We won’t leave until they kick us out at closing time."

She raised an eyebrow, then chuckled. “We’ll make a party animal out of you yet.”

He looked at the window. It was still covered in frost. Pushing his hand against it, he rubbed in a circular motion, the heat from his palm quickly melting the frost and leaving a small round viewing port. In the distance, to the East, pink color spilled out over the sky. Celestia’s sun was still below the horizon, but its faint light already heralded the start of a new day.

Looking down, the growing light was enough for him to just barely make out the dark silhouettes of trees flowing by beneath them—dense unbroken evergreens hardy enough to survive the harsh Northern climate. The changing pressure in his ears and the ever approaching trees letting him know the squadron was still in a slow but steady descent. They must be getting close their destination.

He turned his head back from the window, losing himself in his own thoughts again. Maybe he really should talk to one of the counselors at the Academy? He knew she was right in that there was no shame in it. Nopony would blame him or judge him for doing so. Not given the manner in which he had arrived here, and the fact that he could probably never go home. But that wasn’t his real concern anyway. No—his real concern was whether he really was going crazy. But then again, neither Princess Celestia or Princess Luna seemed to think his dreams were crazy, or that they were the result of post traumatic stress.

But then his mind went back to the possibility that Luna herself might be crazy. He’d only been away from his home for about a year. She had been away for a thousand years before returning. That kind of experience could leave anyone with serious psychological disturbances.

And finally, there was a much darker possibility he had to consider. One he hated to think about. But none the less, he had to consider it. What if Luna herself were behind all of it? What if she were the one causing his dreams? What if she was attempting to manipulate both him and her own sister in preparation for another attempt at grabbing sole monarchy power? The emotional part of him refused to believe that she would do that. Despite her sometimes harsh treatment of him, he had no doubt she deeply loved and cared about her sister, despite their past problems. Indeed, part of her harsh treatment of him had stemmed out of concern that he would harm her sister. He couldn’t believe she would be attempting to overthrow her sister again. But logically, he couldn’t rule it out.

The last possibility was one he definitely could not bring up with Celestia. That kind of accusation against one of the Royal Sisters by an Academy member would be considered a serious breach of respect. It would almost certainly earn him a stay in the dungeon, and quite probably, get him decommissioned from the Academy.

His thoughts were interrupted as he felt himself being lightly pulled forward in his seat. The chariot was slowing down. Suddenly, there was a pounding sound—a knocking on the door. At first he was startled—the idea of someone knocking on the door of an aircraft that was in flight obviously not something he was prepared for. He looked at the window in the door to see Captain Swordstorm flying next to them. The pegasus raised a forehoof, pointing it forward, then pointing it at the ground before making a circling motion with his forehoof. Then he pointed at the ground again, looking at James and nodding, as if asking for confirmation.

James nodded his head, also giving the thumbs up sign through the window. He had no idea if the Captain would have any idea what the thumbs up sign meant, given pegasi had no thumbs. Either way, the pegasus nodded, then gained speed and flew back to the front of his formation, presumably to give orders to his squadron leader.

James turned away from the window, looking at Theory Point now. “He’s going to have the chariot circle over the area where the device landed. So that we can get an aerial view of the damage. At least that’s what I think he was trying to tell me.”

She nodded. The chariot was slowing down again, as evidenced by the decreasing wind noise. He felt it pitch down slightly again, resuming a gradual descent. The ice crystals on the window began to condense into water as Celestia’s continually rising sun began to heat the glass and the outside air became warmer as the chariot continued its gradual path to a lower altitude. It was light enough now to see the ground clearly, but James still couldn’t see the area where the object had come down.

Another knock on the door. He looked back out the window to see one of the Pegasus Guards pointing at the ground again. Then it banked sharply away from the chariot so they would have a clear view out the window.

“Hey, Theory. Come over here,” he called out to her. He couldn’t see anything yet. But he assumed he would soon.

The unicorn moved to the side of the bench on the other side of the chariot, looking out the same window he was now. The chariot banked sharply in the direction of that window, the sky no longer visible through it, but giving them an unobstructed view of the ground. And there, underneath them, he saw it.

His eyes got wider. Captain Swordstorm had said that every tree was flattened, but James had thought he had been exaggerating slightly. He hadn’t been. Every tree visible in the damage area was flattened. But there was more. Judging by the density of the rest of the forest, many of the trees in the damage area weren’t even there anymore. They were just gone having left no trace that they ever even existed. The damage area was not very large, extending outward for a radius of less than two hundred meters. But inside the damaged area, the destruction was absolute. Whatever had impacted here had done so with an enormous amount of energy. He glanced at Theory Point. she had the same wide eyed expression he did.

The chariot continued to circle around the damaged area in a steep bank, giving them a view from all sides. In the center, there was a deep indentation where the ground had been thrown into the sky and then come back down, burying whatever had impacted there. That , at, least, was a good sign. It meant whatever had done the damage had survived the entire trip to the ground. That in itself, amazed him. The damage was so severe, he didn’t see how the object itself could have survived without disintegrating. Or simply vaporizing.

He glanced over at Theory Point to see the same shocked expression of surprise on her muzzle as she stared at the damage below them. He turned to look back at the ground again.

Other than the extensive damage, he also counted fifteen Pegasus Guards on the ground, assembled in a perimeter around the area. He thought that was probably overkill. Given the remoteness of the area, there seemed to be little chance of anypony or anything else coming across the site. Perhaps only a curious flier who happened to pass over it. It was unlikely anypony would travel this far into the wilderness. The country was simply too rough, inaccessible by ground and too remote.

The chariot made one more circle over the area before rolling back in the other direction, resuming level flight again. flying out over the tree covered wilderness once more before making one more turn, setting up an approach for landing. The escort, which had moved away slightly to give them a clear view, rejoined them.

He turned and looked at Theory Point again. “Still going to try to tell me you aren’t curious about what could possibly have caused that?”

She shook her head in response. “The parties will be there next year … But this …” she had a look of excitement in her eyes now—the look one might have if they were about to embark on a fantastic adventure of discovery to an uncharted island.

“I don’t see how they are going to land though,” he commented. “It’s solid trees down there, except for the damaged area.”

“The same way they got up,” she answered. “By coming in at a very steep angle and rapid rate of descent, hitting the ground hard, and then stopping very quickly. You’ll want to brace yourself. This ride’s about to get rough.”

She laid down on the floor and he could see her bracing all four hooves heavily against it. He looked around for something to grab onto, but found nothing. Of course there’s nothing to grab. This chariot wasn’t designed for things with hands. Instead, he copied her, laying down on the floor of the chariot and bracing himself as best he could.

For a few minutes, there was nothing, Just gentle level flight. Then, another knock at the door. He looked up at the window to find one of the Pegasus Guards making a motion at the ground, giving them a nod when he saw they were already on the floor of the chariot, braced for the rough landing that was to come.

Another minute passed with nothing. Then, the chariot suddenly pitched down sharply, as if they had just crested the first part of a roller coaster and gone over the drop. Negative g-forces nearly pulled him off the floor, and for a moment, he felt like an astronaut, nearly weightless as the chariot began to drop out of the sky suddenly. The terrifying drop lasted for several more seconds before the negative g-forces suddenly reversed, becoming positive ones that pinned him to the floor like lead weights as the chariot pitched back up sharply again. Then, a hard jolt and a loud noise as the chariot slammed into the ground roughly. No sooner had he felt the jolt, and forces started trying to throw him to the front as they slowed down rapidly, coming to a stop in a couple of seconds, as a fighter jet might do when landing on an aircraft carrier.

He tried to get his breathing back under control, his knuckles white again from his fingers trying to dig into the floor to hold on. “I didn’t sign up for this …” he said in an exasperated tone of voice when the wild ride had finally come to a stop, letting out a gasp of relief now that the chariot was firmly planted on the ground and no longer moving.

“Never a dull flight when you are traveling with the Pegasus Guard,” Theory Point grinned at him.

One of the guards outside opened the door, a blast of cold air hitting them despite the fact that it was the second day of Summer. Theory Point got to her hooves and stepped out. He followed shortly after. The smell of burned wood hit his nose immediately, like a fireplace on a cold winter morning. But there was no sign that anything was currently burning.

Captain Swordstorm approached them from the front of the squadron. “I do apologize for that approach and landing. It’s the only way we could get down into a space this tight. I have some guards unloading the equipment from the cargo chariot as we speak.”

“Thank you, Captain,” James nodded, then looked out towards the crater. He wasted no time before starting to walk towards it—the pegasi had already assured him there was no radiation danger. That didn’t necessarily mean the object was not emitting any radiation. It could mean it was simply buried so deep that none of the radiation was reaching the surface. They would have to be careful while they dug, taking constant measurements in case that changed. It hadn’t occurred to him until now that they might not be able to recover the device at all if they start detecting radiation while digging. There were no radiation suits in Equestria. If they started detecting dangerous levels of radiation, they would simply have to abandon the dig and seal up the site. He hoped it wouldn’t come to that.

Arriving at the edge of the crater, he looked down inside of it. It was deeper than it had appeared from the air. The walls were steep, but he thought he could scramble down them, and probably scramble back up them. If he couldn’t, the Pegasus Guards would be able to lift him out of the crater. But he had a bigger concern. Was the bottom of the crater stable? Or would it collapse as soon as he put weight on it and bury him alive? He turned to look backward again.

“Captain? Has anypony been down inside yet?”

“No. I gave them instructions that nopony was to go down inside until you arrived and okayed it.”

He nodded and turned back to the crater, looking down inside again, Theory Point standing next to him. “We’re gonna need ropes so they can lower us carefully and pull us out if the ground starts to give way.”

“I’ll go get them,” she said, turning and walking back to the cargo chariot.

He turned away from the crater, squatting down to the ground now, surveying the damage. Specifically, he was looking for trinitite—a form of glass created when an extremely hot explosion melts sand into liquid. He didn’t expect to find any. The only thing that could produce trinitite, at least where he was from, was a nuclear detonation. But he was still convinced there hadn’t been one, despite the massive heat damage. The complete lack of elevated radiation levels almost certainly ruled it out. He hoped he wouldn’t find any trinitite at least.

He heard a noise overhead and looked up to see two guards flying over. Scouts, he thought. Patrolling the area.

Looking back down, he picked up a handful of the charred earth, letting it sift through his hands like sand.

“Go! Go! Go! Go!” Captain Swordstorm suddenly shouted out, startling him. He looked up to see eight pegasus guards galloping directly at him. Before he even had time to react, they had surrounded him and roughly yanked him back to his feet.

“Doctor Peterson! Back to the chariot!” Captain Swordstorm shouted, the guards surrounding him herding him back towards the chariot rapidly.

“What’s going on!” he called out, the nervousness clear in his voice.

“Don’t argue with me! Just go!” Captain Swordstorm shouted at him again, the Pegasus Guards surrounding him forcing him to run, shoving him in the back roughly with their heads when he didn’t move fast enough for them.

“Get in the chariot!” Swordstorm shouted when they had arrived back at the door of the chariot.

He hesitated. “Captain what’s—”

“Do as I say!” the pegasus stallion shouted, raising a forehoof and shoving him roughly—with all the strength that James thought a full grown stallion on Earth would have. The force of the shove practically threw him in the chariot. As soon as he was inside, Swordstorm slammed the door roughly, turned, and galloped back out to his guards. Before he had even stopped galloping, he was already shouting orders at them, although James could not make out what he was saying through the closed door.

“What’s going on?” he heard Theory Point say, glancing to see her in the chariot as well, looking as if she’d been herded inside by the guards just as roughly as he had.

“I don’t know,” was all he could say, turning to look back out the window again. All of the pegasi had instantly formed up into formation. Another order shouted, and two of the groups spread their wings, taking to the sky. The rest, remained in formation, scanning the sky, the younger, less experienced among them looking nervous, the veterans looking confident and sure of themselves.

A low, rumbling noise. Like a distant freight train. He felt it more than heard it. Felt it in his bones. Like standing next to the subwoofers at The Underhoof. The chariot door vibrated. The rumbling feeling, growing stronger. Another shouted order, the remaining Pegasus Guard formations, including Captain Swordstorm himself, took to the sky.

The door vibrated again. His bones vibrated with it. The rumbling, closer. The sound of rushing air currents, vibrating at a very low frequency. An enormous shadow, covering the length of the entire damaged area, passed over the chariot, blotting out the sun as it moved over. The shadow changed directions, coming back around. Twenty smaller shadows rushed towards the larger one, converging on it from all sides. Compared to the larger shadow, the smaller ones looked small indeed, as hornets might look swarming around him. A loud roar, like the screech of a thousand vultures split the air.

Oh Celestia, no … This can’t be real … it can’t be, his mind scrambling, his heart simultaneously trying to sink into his stomach, rise into his throat, and beat out of his chest. The air became chilled, as cold as the grave itself as fear surged through him. Oh, but it is real. It is very real, he heard a dark voice chuckle in his mind.

Craning his neck to look upward, his worst fears were confirmed. It loomed in the sky above them, as if it had flown straight out of some dark nightmarish fairytale. He still could barely believe he was seeing it. But there it was—a fully grown dragon …

28 - Firewing

The God Particle

Chapter 28: Firewing

They'll be slaughtered! he thought to himself as he watched the Pegasus Guards descend toward the dragon, preparing for aerial battle. Maybe it's a peaceful dragon? A peaceful dragon … he thought dubiously. Granted, the only dragon he knew was Spike. He seemed easy going enough. But Spike was also young and had been raised with ponies.

He got his answer in a terrifying jet of flame striking the ground at the other side of the damaged area. A roar accompanied it, like that of a jet aircraft taking off. The ground scorched and smoldered under the flame that spread out like waves from a stone thrown into a pond. Black smoke billowed from the spot where the jet of flame had hit the ground. If one of the pegasi had been in the path of that flame …

Another jet of flame shot to the ground, this one closer to the chariot than the last. "We're sitting ducks in this chariot!" he called out to Theory Point without turning his head away from the window. His eyes were transfixed on the awesomely fearful events unfolding in the air above them, as one might be transfixed by an approaching tornado.

"No we aren't. These armored chariots are flame proof. Even against dragon fire," Theory Point assured him, although she still sounded very nervous herself. "We're safe … at least from the flames themselves."

How are they possibly going to fight a dragon? He got his answer when he saw a guard in front of the dragon suddenly dart out of the way as another one dived from above, attacking the dragon from behind.

The Pegasus Guards attacked the dragon like a pack of wolves isolating and wearing down a bull moose. They kept pressure on the beast from all sides, including above and below. As soon as it turned its great head to strike at one of them, another would attack its unprotected side from behind. Before it could turn its head to strike back at the one that had attacked it, they had already darted out of the way.

The chariot may be flame proof, but he doubted it was crush proof. And the dragon was truly enormous. He estimated its wing span to be at least four hundred feet. If the Pegasus Guard were like aircraft, the dragon was like an aircraft carrier. Such was the size difference. If it were able to get a hold of the chariot …

It seemed that's exactly what the pegasi were trying to prevent. Again the dragon banked sharply, turning towards the chariot, one of its burning golden eyes looking down on them like the eye of a hurricane bearing down on a city. But as it approached, an entire line of Pegasus Guards dove in front of it, blocking its path and driving it backwards.

A blast of orange and red traveled towards the chariot, almost appearing to be in slow motion. The leading edge of the blast rolled and churned like a lake of lava, alternating colors of red, yellow, orange, and searing white. James was mesmerized, watching it move closer. It was as if a star had been thrown from the sky from some cosmic sling shot, and was now on a collision course with them. Finally, the reality of what was about to happen hit him, He dove for the floor, grabbing Theory Point and pulling her down with him. A loud bang, like a bomb had gone off. The chariot shook and rocked, the inside lit up as if the star had opened up and swallowed them. A strong, putrid smell resembling that of burning oil filled the air. Even through the armor, the heat inside the chariot was intense, like the heat wave that comes with opening the door of a hot oven.

The flames burned around the chariot, then slowly started to dim before going out completely. Black smoke mixed with steam rose from the area where they had been. Flame proof or not, this chariot will roast us like a broiler if we keep getting hit with those! he thought in a panic.

He slowly stood up, helping Theory Point up as well. The dragon shrieked again. If pure rage had a sound, James thought that must be what it was. It opened its great mouth preparing to unleash another blast of flame and incinerate the pegasi flying in front of its face. Just as James was about to look away, a line of pegasi dove from the sky behind the dragon, flaring up and slamming their armored back hooves into the back of the dragon's head. The pegasi in the line of fire broke left and right, again darting out of harm's way.

The dragon turned its great head in an attempt to catch one of the pegasi that had attacked it from behind. Suddenly, four more pegasi guards seemed to appear from nowhere underneath the dragon, flying upwards rapidly. Their armored hooves slammed into the exposed underside of the dragon's throat.

The dragon attempted to let out another screech but it was cut off by choking as it gasped for breath. It attempted to let loose a blast of flame at the pegasi that had attacked its throat, but only smoke came from its mouth, the attack seeming to have rendered it unable to use its primary weapon.

The Pegasus Guards wasted no time exploiting the current crippled state of the dragon, diving from all sides and attacking viciously. The dragon wasn't even trying to strike now. It was too busy focusing its efforts on protecting itself against the attacking ponies. It wasn't long though, before the dragon recovered from the attack on its throat, letting out another ear shattering shriek that James thought was more anger, rage, and frustration, then it was pain.

Again, the dragon let loose a stream of flame. And again, the pegasi darted out of the way just before being struck. As the battle continued, James began to think the Pegasus Guard might actually do the impossible. They might actually defeat the dragon!

The ground smoldered and smoked where the dragon's blasts of flame had scorched it—large blackened areas that resembled smoldering tar pits. As the battle continued to rage overhead it became clear it was the ponies that actually had the advantage. They were simply too quick, too maneuverable for the huge lumbering dragon. The dragon's attacks would have been devastating, and instantly fatal, if it had been able to hit them. But not only was the dragon too slow to hit them, it was also too cumbersome to avoid their attacks.

The huge beast was moving slower now, he could tell. It was getting tired. The Pegasus Guard, however, seemed to have lost none of their speed or stamina. It was only a matter of time now, he thought. Like a pack of wolves, they would wear their much larger opponent down a little bit more, then move in for the kill.

As the dragon grew more fatigued, it appeared to know it was defeated. It quickly turned—as quickly as a dragon with a four hundred foot wing span can turn at least, then began to retreat. But instead of letting it go, the pegasi formed up and gave chase as it fled. It wasn't long before they had passed from sight, the trees blocking his view. Only one flight of pegasi had stayed behind to guard the area. The rest, had gone in pursuit of the dragon.

Are they intent on killing it? he thought to himself. Surely, they couldn't be planning to capture it. They had nothing with which to hold it, and he doubted the dragon would submit to voluntary capture. Granted, he didn't know very much about dragon behavior. But he suspected such a large, powerful, and proud creature as a dragon would probably rather fight to the death than surrender to a bunch of ponies that were as birds compared to its enormous size.

Minutes seemed like hours as he and Theory Point waited for any signs of the Pegasus Guards' return. They said nothing to each other, still in a form of shock over the events that had just transpired. The one flight of guards that had stayed behind to guard the area were silent, offering no information about what was going on.

Eventually, they returned, coming in for steep landings in groups. Captain Swordstorm stalked to his guards occasionally pointing with his forehoof in the direction the dragon had gone, and occasionally looking back toward the chariot he and Theory Point were in. James could hear nothing of the conversation though.

Finally, Swordstorm motioned with his forehoof, indicating for him to come out of the chariot. The Captain had a look on his face that seemed a combination of both anger and disappointment. James reached for the door handle, grabbed on it. Immediately, he let go as a burning pain spread through his hand, he shook his hand and gasped out. "Damn it! Still hot!" he said loudly.

"Are you alright?" Theory Point looked at him, then at his hand.

He looked at his hand. Other than some redness, there didn't seem to be any serious damage. "Yes. It looks like it will be fine."

This time, he leaned backward, putting his boot on the latch and pushing upward, then pushing the door outward with the bottom of his boot. Theory Point didn't move an inch.

"Coming?" he asked in a still shaky voice.

"I think … I'll stay here actually." Her voice was just as shaky as his was.

He nodded and stepped out the door. He could hardly blame her for not wanting to leave the chariot.

As his feet hit the ground, his legs almost fell out from under him, feeling like they were made out of rubber from adrenaline overload. The ground crunched and crackled beneath him as the charred remnants of the vegetation that had been there gave way, gray clouds of soot rising as he stepped. He caught his balance, closed the door, and walked towards the Captain. Small fires still burned in various spots around the area, thick smoke rose from several parts of the ground, and the strong smell of burning oil and wood still filled the air.

"We were able to drive it away," Captain Swordstorm explained. "But we failed to capture it," he said in a tone of annoyance.

"The guards … are they all—"

"We had no casualties and no injuries," the Captain responded.

He successfully drove away an adult dragon without so much as even an injury to any of his guards … and he thinks they failed? James thought to himself. "You were trying to capture it, sir? What would you have done with …"

"Taken him back to Canterlot for questioning. Her Majesty probably would have done the questioning herself. She would be very interested to know why he decided to attack one of her scientific expeditions and two squadrons of Royal Guards."

"Taken him back? A dragon in Canterlot?" he raised an eyebrow.

"There are two chambers in the castle dungeon specifically designed for holding dragons. And a secret way into the dungeon large enough to get them down there … although the dragon chambers are rarely used. They've never been used in my time as Captain of the Pegasus Guard. We just don't have problems with dragons very often. All the more reason Her Majesty would probably want to question this one herself."

He nodded slightly, imagining that it must be very uncomfortable for a dragon down in that dungeon. Such a large creature who needs wide open spaces, confined to a small underground chamber, almost certainly chained heavily to the point that it could barely move, for the safety of the guards and the princesses that came to question it. He could almost feel bad for any poor dragon that did end up in the Canterlot Castle dungeon … almost … if it were not for the fact that one had just attacked them.

"Doctor Peterson, pack anything you and Theory took out of the chariots. And be quick about it. We're leaving. I sent scouts out ahead of us to make sure there are no surprises waiting for us along the route. They will arrive at Canterlot before we do and inform Her Majesty of the situation."

"We're leaving without the object, sir?"

"Her Majesty would have my hide if anything happened to you or Theory Point. It was a Celestia damned miracle we were able to drive that one away. I'm not going to stick around here hoping for another one if he comes back with friends. If we come back, it will be with a detachment of Unicorn Guards to ward the area against dragon attacks. Now get going," Captain Swordstorm barked at him, almost as if James were one the guards under his command.

The Pegasus Guard Captain turned and trotted back towards his squadrons. "Prepare to leave! We fly to Canterlot!"

Technically, Captain Swordstorm couldn't give him orders, despite the fact that he had barked out the command to get ready to leave as if it were an order. The Academy might have a military level of discipline, and a military like structure. But it was not part of the Royal Guard. Guard officers didn't have the authority to give orders to Academy faculty. He was hardly about to argue with the Captain in this case though. He didn't want to stick around either waiting for the dragon to come back with friends. That and he figured Captain Swordstorm was in charge of this mission, and he was just along as a specialist.

James turned and started back towards the chariot where Theory Point had dropped the things she'd been carrying as she was herded back inside. As he turned, he stopped in surprise, getting his first view of the outside of the chariot.

The entire surface was blackened with carbon and soot, as if it had just been removed from a burning building. The surface bubbled and blistered where the paint had melted and peeled off. The royal insignias on the doors were barely visible. Celestia's golden, blazing sun insignia looked dim, as if it were covered by a layer of dark gray cloud. The harnesses attached to the chariot had not survived the intense blast of dragon fire. But since broken harnesses were a fairly common problem, extra ones were carried in the chariot's small cargo area. Despite the fact that the chariot looked like it had just been removed from a volcano, it seemed structurally intact and undamaged—a testament to the workmanship of whatever ponies had built it. He was so relieved, he thought he might find out who they were, track them down, and kiss them while thanking them personally.

He leaned down, picked up a radiation detector and a few other things she had dropped. Scanning the ground, he came across a few more items, but they had been burnt beyond recognition. Salvaging all he could, he started back toward the chariot. There were two pegasi inspecting it now, presumably making sure it was still structurally sound and safe for flight, at the same time, marveling, as he had been, at how well the chariot had withstood the blast of dragon fire, losing nothing but the paint.

He stopped near Captain Swordstorm. "I salvaged everything I could, Captain. We're ready."

"Good," the pegasus turned to the rest of his guards. "Lets fly!" he barked at them, then turned back to James. "I'm leaving one wing here to guard the area. But if the dragon returns, their orders are to retreat. One wing will not be able to defeat a dragon."

James simply nodded before opening the door and climbing in the chariot. One of the guards outside closed it, making sure the door was secure.

"We're going back to Canterlot," he informed Theory Point, looking down at his hands and finding them covered with dark gray carbon from the door handle. He looked around for something to wipe them on. Finding nothing, he ended up using his pants, which were already covered with soot anyway from the short time outside.

"We're not going to try to recover the object?"

He shook his head. "Captain Swordstorm doesn't want to risk the dragon coming back … possibly with friends. They wouldn't be able to drive him off if there were more than one."

She breathed a sigh of relief, as the chariot jerked forward, briefly, then pitched up sharply, making another short takeoff and rapid climb similar to the one they made when leaving Canterlot. No sooner had they left the ground, and the squadron had already formed up around the chariot like a protective shell. Even with the steep climb, the tops of the trees passed a little closer to the bottom of the chariot than he would have liked. The Pegasus Guards are highly trained fliers. They know what they are doing, he reminded himself. They cleared the tree tops, then reduced their angle of climb, and turned East.

At first, he wondered why they were flying such an easterly coast. It was clearly the wrong direction if they were going back to Canterlot. Then it occurred to him. They were taking an indirect route back to throw off any potential ambushes that might be waiting for them along the most direct route.

The flight back was tense. Despite the cold outside air, James felt hot—almost sweaty. Neither he or Theory Point said anything, but he was sure she was absorbed in her own fears just as he was.

He stared out the window again, scanning all parts of the sky that he could see for any sign of a dragon. Even with all of the Pegasus Guard escort, he didn't feel safe right now.

He tried to recall everything Twilight had taught him about dragons. There were quite a few dragons living in Equestria. Technically, they were under Celestia and Luna's rule. But the princesses let the dragons govern themselves for the most part, as long as they didn't cause problems. That governing, was carried out by the Elder Dragon Council—otherwise known as the Council of Nine. It was made up of nine of the oldest and wisest dragons, one of whom was the ambassador to Canterlot. Ambassador Firewing, he thought Twilight had said his name was? The decisions of the Elder Dragon Council were final and binding in dragon society. Even some of the younger dragons, who would just as soon incinerate any pony they came across, would refrain from doing so. They respected the Elder Dragon Council too much, and they had forbade attacking ponies. It was a bold dragon indeed that would go against the directives of the Elder Dragon Council … bold or foalish.

The chariot continued its eastern course for about thirty minutes, then banked right in a standard shallow turn, as did the guards escorting it. It leveled off again on what James assumed must be a south heading. He briefly looked down at the ground. It seemed to be moving by very quickly under them. The pegasi were flying faster than normal, he realized. In the distance, smoke rose from a chimney in some small town. A bakery perhaps. The smoke rose lazily into the sky, then fanned out towards the South in the same direction they were flying. If the winds up here were the same as they were near the ground, it meant they had a strong tailwind that was also helping them along. He was grateful for that. The sooner they were back in Canterlot, the safer he would feel.

He quickly looked back up towards the sky, resuming his scan for dragons, as if they might suddenly appear out of some invisible hole. Was he being paranoid? He glanced over at Theory Point quickly, to see her doing the same thing through the window on the other side of the chariot. Well, if I am paranoid. I'm not the only one.

The flight droned on for hours. To him, it seemed like days. His heart raced the entire time, adrenaline keeping him on edge. Eventually, the squadron banked again, turning towards the west, correcting their course so they wouldn't fly past Canterlot to far to the East. The turn probably meant they were close to Canterlot now. That gave him a small amount of relief. But he wouldn't truly feel relieved until they were safely on the ground inside the castle walls.

Eventually, the banners of Canterlot castle became visible in the distance, flapping in the wind atop their tall spires. The chariot and its escort started their descent. Beneath them, the wilderness became dotted with small houses, farm fields, and dirt roads. Gradually, dirt roads gave way to paved roads and the Romanesque stone construction of the city of Canterlot proper. He could feel his heart rate slowing, his anxiety decreasing once they were over the city. No dragon would dare try to attack them inside the well defended airspace of Canterlot, would they?

The formation circled around the great towers towards the back of the castle, continuing to descend. He looked toward the ground, watching it rise up to meet them. A gentle bump as the wheels contacted stone pavement. The chariot gradually came to a stop and he breathed a sigh of relief.

Looking out the window, Princess Celestia was already coming down the castle steps to meet them, moving at a fast trot and flanked by four of her Celestial Guard. He opened the door, stepping out and holding it for Theory Point. The Pegasus Guard quickly gathered into formation, the ones pulling the chariots unhitching and joining the formation as well.

James and Theory Point both knelt and bowed as Princess Celestia approached, as did all of the Pegasus Guards. She shook her head.

"Please, no need for such formalities right now," she spoke in a concerned tone of voice. "As you were. All of you are okay?"

"We are, Your Majesty," Captain Swordstorm spoke as they all stood back up. "We have no casualties or injuries."

She nodded and James thought he could detect a look of relief on her muzzle now that they were safely back in Canterlot. Then she turned to one of her Celestial guards. "See to Captain Swordstorm's guards. Make sure they are well taken care of."

Two of the Celestial Guards with her nodded, then left her side to tend to the Pegasus Guards. James glanced at the guards that had flown back with them. All of them looked battle fatigued, as well as exhausted from the hard flying they had done to get back to Canterlot so quickly.

Celestia turned and looked back towards the chariot. "Captain, James, Theory. With me," she said, turning and trotting back up the stairs to the castle entrance, the remaining Celestial Guards flanking her on either side, the three of them following behind.

She led them into the castle, down several long corridors and up a staircase, arriving at a featureless iron door. It started to glow with a golden aura as she magically opened it. Inside, the Royal Council members had gathered. They quickly bowed as she entered.

"Please, you may all rise," she said, magically closing the door again, walking to an unoccupied spot at the round table in the room. It was made of stone, and looked similar to the one James had seen before, except that it was missing the large crack down the middle. He also found a spot at the table, as did Captain Swordstorm. Theory Point hesitated, looking nervous. He put a hand on her whithers to reassure her, assuming it was the first Council meeting she had been at, just as the one two nights ago had been his first. That seemed to calm her, and she found a spot at the table as well.

Celestia's eyes narrowed, almost blazing with the solar flame itself. When she spoke, it was in a stern tone of voice laced with anger. "Somepony find me a parchment, and a quill."

One of the robed unicorn Council members quickly trotted to a set of cupboards in the wall at the back of the room, returning shortly with a parchment and quill that he floated over to Celestia. It occurred to James that this was the first time he had ever seen Celestia truly angry. He felt a twinge of fear go through him, even though her anger was not directed at him. Oh how thankful he was it was not directed at him.

The alicorn took hold of the parchment and quill with her magic, then began to write on it, the angry look in her eyes remaining the whole time. When she had finished, she magically floated it over to the Council member who happened to be seated at her right. "Read this out loud to the rest of the Council," she said, the sternness still prevalent in her voice.

"Yes, Your Majesty," the Council member responded, then started to read:

Ambassador Firewing:

Approximately eight hours ago, one of my scientific expeditions in the North, along with two squadrons of my Royal Guards, was attacked by a fire dragon. This attack was sudden, unprovoked, and in direct violation of the agreement between us that allows dragon self-governance. We do not yet know if this was a rogue dragon, or something more insidious. But be assured that if we find this attack was authorized, consequences for the Elder Dragon Council will be very severe. I expect an expeditious and full accounting from you.

Her Grand Royal Highness,

Princess Celestia

When he had finished reading, all of the Council members nodded in agreement.

"Consent is unanimous, Your Majesty," the Council member that had read the drafted letter stated.

She nodded. "Prepare it for sending."

He rolled up the parchment into a scroll and tied it with a string. A golden aura surrounded it as Celestia took hold of it with her magic. A small flash of light in the middle of it, and the Royal Seal of the Sun Princess was attached to it, leaving no doubt to anyone who saw the parchment that it was an authentic communication, authorized by Princess Celestia herself. Then, the scroll erupted into a small golden flame, and was gone.

It wasn't long, less than a minute, before the air crackled slightly. A small green flame appeared and a rolled up scroll materialized out of it, falling onto the table.

"That was a little too fast," one of the Council members commented.

"Read it," Celestia ordered the Council member on her right—the same one that had read the letter she had written.

"Yes, Your Majesty," he responded, removing the seal from the scroll with magic and unrolling it. Then he started to read:

Your Most Gracious Majesty,

On behalf of myself and the entire Council of Nine, please accept my deepest apologies for this attack. I sincerely hope none of your expedition or guards were injured. You must believe me when I say that the Council of Nine did not authorize this attack, nor did we have any advanced knowledge that it was to occur. Rest assured, we will find the dragon responsible and he will be dealt with most severely.

Ambassador and High Elder of the Elder Dragon Council,

Firewing

"The response came too quickly," another Council member commented. "He wrote it in advance. He must have. He knew about the attack already."

Princess Celestia nodded. "I agree. But we mustn't be hasty. That does not necessarily mean that he authorized it, or had advanced knowledge of the attack before it happened."

She picked up another piece of parchment and the quill, a golden glow surrounding them as she started to write again. The anger was still clearly visible in her eyes. When she finished writing, she gave it back to the same unicorn Council members sitting at her right. This time, she said nothing to him. He knew what to do. He held it in front of him and began to read:

Ambassador Firewing,

I thank you for your concern and your apologies. However, given the serious nature of what has happened, you will surely understand that I will not allow this matter to be handled by the Elder Dragon Council. I must demand that when the dragon responsible for this is caught, he be brought to Canterlot where I will question him myself, and then decide his punishment under Equestrian law. I know you will give me your full cooperation in this matter, and I thank you in advance.

Her Grand Royal Highness,

Princess Celestia

Once again, all of the Council members nodded in agreement when he had finished reading it.

"Consent is unanimous, Your Majesty," he stated again.

She nodded. "Prepare it for sending."

Again, he rolled it up into a scroll, tied it, and gave it back to Princess Celestia. She magically affixed her royal seal on it, then sent it off in a small burst of golden flame.

This time, there was a much longer pause. James estimated at least five minutes went by. Then, another small green flame in the air, and a scroll fell onto the table. Celestia nodded to it, and the unicorn at her right floated it in front of him, unrolled it, and began to read:

It will be as you require, Your Majesty.

"That's all it says, Your Majesty. Just the one line. No greeting, no closing," he said as he rolled it back up and tied it again.

"He's not gonna do it," a pegasus Council member said. "The Dragon Council will protect whatever dragon did this. He just said that to get you off his back … Your Majesty."

"I'm not so sure," an earth pony commented. "His first letter sounded like he was pretty nervous. I think he's pretty scared there's going to be a crackdown from Canterlot."

"And there very well might be," Celestia stated firmly. "If I don't get full cooperation from him. I can revoke their right to self-governance anytime I want. I can dissolve the Elder Dragon Council and place them completely under Canterlot rule. He knows this perfectly well."

The unicorn to Celestia's right spoke up. "Perhaps fear of losing his own power will make him think twice before sheltering the one responsible for this."

"Let us hope so," Celestia responded, pausing for a few moments before continuing. "Thank you for all for coming. I think we've done everything that needs to be done for now. You may all return to your normal duties."

All of the Council members bowed, as did Captain Swordstorm, James, and Theory Point, then began to file out of the room.

"James," Celestia spoke. "If you would remain here. I wish to speak with you in private."

He stopped. "Yes, Your Majesty."

The two of them waited until everypony had left the room except for the two Celestial Guards who were The Princess's escort. Celestia looked at the door and magically closed it. Then she turned back to him. Her expression had softened now to the caring, wise, motherly one he was more used to.

"I am very sorry about the dragon … We almost never have problems with dragons. And a fire dragon that far North where it is so cold … It's unheard of."

"It's not your fault, Your Majesty. Not something you could have predicted." Or could she have? He didn't know where the limits of her power were … or even if there were any limits.

"Something else bothers you, James. Besides the dragon."

She did it again! He hated how she could read him like that. Read him like he was an open book. Part of the reason he hated it, is because he didn't know how she did it. And that unnerved him. He wasn't sure he wanted to tell her about this dream—especially not the part where it told him he could save Twilight Sparkle by serving it. If Celestia knew about that part, she might decide that he was a betrayal risk and … No. He had trusted her this far. He would continue to trust her.

He shifted his eyes sideways slightly, glancing at one of the Celestial Guards, then shifted them back to her. She nodded her head once, apparently getting his hint.

"Leave us," she said, looking at the guards. The two of them bowed to her, then left the room, closing the door behind them. Celestia's horn glowed with a golden radiance for a few seconds before returning to its normal appearance.

"I've warded the room so that nopony outside these walls will be able to hear us talk," she said, answering his unasked question.

He hesitated one more moment, then spoke.

"I had another dream, Your Majesty."

"With the aisling?"

"Yes, Your Majesty."

She nodded slightly. "I want Luna to hear it. Please, sit down. I will have one of my guards go get her."

He sat down and waited as Celestia went to the door, opening it and saying something quietly to one of the guards outside. She closed the door and walked back to the table. As they waited for Luna, he thought about the Council meeting that had just ended.

The way Celestia had spoken of simply forcing the dragons fully under her rule … he wondered if perhaps she was a bit too sure of herself? Did she really have the power to simply order dragons around like that? It seemed somewhat lofty to him. But Firewing had seemed rather nervous in the first letter of apology he'd sent. And she did control the sun. That alone was something that James still couldn't fully grasp. The full extent of her power was beyond his comprehension. Maybe she really could expect even the mighty dragons to bow to her will?

The sound of the door opening interrupted his thoughts as the Princess of the Night entered the room. He rose to his feet to bow, but she raised a forehoof to stop him.

"No need for those formalities. Not now." Then she turned her attention to Celestia. "I should not be up for another three hours yet," she said with a tone of annoyance in her voice.

"James had another dream, sister," Celestia responded.

"And you cannot listen to his dream, Tia?"

"You're better at dream interpretation than I am, Luna. You always have been. It's one of your gifts as the Ruler of the Night."

"Very well … Tell me of your dream, James."

"Well, it was similar to the last one, Your Majesty … But this time … Twilight was brought back to life." He hesitated now, getting to the part he was afraid to tell them. Gathering his courage, he continued. "It told me … It told me that I could save Twilight … if I agreed to serve it." He shuddered, recalling the dream again.

"What did you tell it?" Luna demanded.

"Nothing, Your Majesty … I told it that it was lying. That it was incapable of telling the truth."

"Good," she nodded approvingly. "Was there anything else?"

"It told me … that I would serve it whether I wanted to or not. That the only real choice I had was whether I wanted to doom Twilight or not. Then later … It told me to die. Nightmar … the thing that pretended to be Nightmare Moon that is, stomped her hoof, and there was an earthquake. It buried Twilight, and I ended up back in the lab in Chicago … with the lab falling apart around me."

Luna nodded again. "It sounds as if you did well then … Did everything right." It was rare that Luna complimented him. In some small way, the fact that she had made him feel a little better. But there was one thing that was still gnawing at him.

"Your Majesty … You said it couldn't read my mind … How did it know that I care about Twilight Sparkle?"

Luna shook her head. "It didn't, James. It's like I told you before. Your mind inserts the values. It needed someone you cared about to try to manipulate you with. Your mind chose Twilight Sparkle."

He nodded slightly, shuddering a bit at recalling the details of the dream. "Yes, Your Majesty … If Twilight's fate is intertwined in this along with mine … how come she's not having nightmares? How come it's leaving her alone?" This time, it was Celestia that answered.

"I don't know for a fact that she isn't. Though if she has been, she probably would have told me. But to answer your question … If she isn't, it's because she's not attracting the same kind of attention you are. She's not actively involved in the situation right now as you are."

"So you threw me to the wolves …" He said it with a hint of anger in his voice. He said it before he had even realized how accusing it sounded. Definitely not something he should have said to The Princess. He winced internally, waiting for a harsh rebuke he was sure to come.

Celestia narrowed her eyes at him. "One of you had to do it. Would you rather that it was her?" she asked sternly.

"No …" he looked down now, "Forgive me, Your Majesty. I spoke hastily." And the truth was, even if she had thrown him to the wolves, he thought he would face a thousand wolves bare handed if it would protect Twilight from having to endure the types of nightmares he was experiencing.

Her angered expression was gone almost instantly, replaced by her usual kind, caring one. "There is nothing to forgive, James. I am sorry you have been experiencing these nightmares. But it is vital now that you remain firm and steadfast."

He looked back up at her now. "There's something else, Your Majesty … It told me that Equestria was doomed … that you know this, and had already foreseen the end. Please, Your Majesty … I must know."

Celestia turned her head away, and he could see her wince. It had definitely made her uncomfortable. It was several long moments before she turned back, looking straight at him. She paused another moment, and he thought she were choosing her words very carefully. Finally she answered.

"I did have a dream vision of the final destruction of Equestria, yes."

His shoulders sank and he let out an involuntary sigh of exasperation. She continued speaking.

"But you must remember, James. Everything it says is a lie intended to manipulate. And this outcome I saw in my dream is not certain. It would not be trying to bargain with you if it thought it could win without you."

"Yes, Your Majesty … There is one other thing."

"Go on."

"I'd like to put in a good word for Captain Swordstorm, Your Majesty. He and his guards performed flawlessly … even though he seems to think they failed because they were not able to capture the dragon."

Celestia nodded and smiled slightly. Then the smile turned into a small frown. "He is too hard on himself. His only flaw really. He's the best captain of the Pegasus Guard that has ever served me." The frown turned back into a smile. "I thank for your compliment of him and I will ensure that he knows he did better than anypony else could have under the circumstances."

James nodded, and there was a pause before Celestia spoke again.

"Is there anything else you need? Anything you need tended to?"

"No, Your Majesty. I'm just tired and could use some rest." After everything that had happened, he was exhausted and really just wanted to get back to his room in the dorm for now.

The alicorn stepped forward slightly, giving his cheek a comforting and reassuring rub with her muzzle, then stepped back again. "I understand. You may go. And rest well. We will speak more tomorrow."

"Thank you, Your Majesty." He took two steps backwards then knelt and bowed to the two alicorns before turning and leaving the room.

...

Luna turned to her sister once James had left the room. "The hour is later than we thought, sister."

Celestia nodded. "Maybe you were right in the beginning, Luna. Maybe we should find a way to send him home. After that dream … having him here may be far too dangerous."

Luna shook her head. "The hour for that has come and gone, sister, if it ever existed at all. We are fortunate in that the aisling made at least one, and possibly two mistakes in this dream. Your dream interpretation skills are lacking indeed if you did not pick up on them."

Celestia frowned at the barb Luna had thrown at her. But this was not the time to get into a petty argument over it. "What was it you picked up on, Luna?"

"The first one I can't be sure of. But I believe it knows about the intertwined fates of James and Twilight Sparkle. That's why it tried to manipulate James using images of Twilight."

"But it can't read his mind. You said James was the one who chose Twilight."

"It didn't have to read his mind, Tia. All it had to know was that the fates of Twilight and James are deeply connected. But that was the mistake it made. It didn't know that I was also aware of the connected fates. It wanted us to think that James inserted Twilight into the dream. And that is what we would have thought, if I didn't know about the connected fates of the two."

"And you can be sure of this, Luna?"

"Not completely. But the second mistake I am completely sure of. James managed to frustrate it enough that it threatened to kill him along with Twilight Sparkle. And it also allowed him to see a glimpse of his home back in Chicago. Both of those, were a huge mistake on its part … It doesn't need James to serve it in order for the beyond to win. All it needs to do, is separate him and Twilight." She paused, several long moments of uncomfortable silence before she continued. "Sending him home now, sister … could spell the end of Equestria."

Celestia was silent for several moments, letting everything Luna had told her sink in. When she didn't speak, Luna finally spoke up again.

"You were going to ask him anyway, sister."

"Yes, but not so soon."

"Fate does things in its own time. Even you cannot control that, Tia."

Celestia nodded. "It's more vital now then ever that he trust us completely."

"Perhaps, sister, almost getting him incinerated by dragon fire is not constructive in ensuring he trusts us completely," Luna sneered.

"That's not fair, Luna," Celestia frowned. "Neither one of us could have predicted there would be a fire dragon up there. That far North?" She shook her head. "It's unheard of."

"Very well … Will the binding spell even work on a human?"

"Yes. Magic affects him the same way it affects a pony."

"And what if he says no, Tia?"

"Then I'll not force him. It will do us no good to try to force him. We must tread very lightly, or he will run in every direction except the one we want him to."

There was silence for nearly a minute. Neither sister said anything. Finally Celestia spoke again.

"I'll ask him tomorrow, Luna … Let us hope he says yes …"

29 - The Loyalty of Dragons

The God Particle

Chapter 29: The Loyalty of Dragons

Spike walked down another flight of stairs, then turned to his right, proceeding down the long tapestry lined corridor to the throne room. Finally, he arrived outside the tall gold and silver inlaid doors bearing the royal cutie marks of the two princesses. The two guards standing at the doors recognized him and paid him no mind. He nodded slightly to them, although they gave no response, then raised his clawed hand to knock. He paused. If I go through with this, Twilight will never trust me again, he thought to himself, lowering his hand. But then he shook his head. No … I'm doing it because I care about her. I have to go through with it. He raised his hand once more to knock, but again paused. All his life, since Twilight hatched him from an egg, he had trusted her. He trusted her with his well-being—even with his very life. Should he really stop trusting her now? She had trusted him enough to let him know what she was working on—trusted that he would keep her secret. Could he really betray her trust? He glanced at the two Unicorn Guards standing on either side of the door. By now, they were giving him strange looks. But still, neither of them said anything.

He made up his mind, lowering his hand from the door and sighing. He turned away, his shoulders lowered slightly and looking at the floor. Then he started on his way back toward the guest room. You better know what you're doing, Twilight Sparkle, he thought to himself. He was already second-guessing his decision. But deep down inside himself, he knew he had made the right one. Mutual trust. That was the most important cement that bonded his relationship with Twilight. If he cracked that cement by telling Celestia what was going on, the bond would be weakened. And if they didn't have trust, what did they have?

Arriving back at their room, he raised his hand and knocked.

"I'm here, Princess," the dejected voice of his unicorn friend called back. He cringed at the sound of her voice: Sadness, and fear. He could hear both in the sound. No doubt, she was afraid Princess Celestia would punish her.

"It's me, Twilight," he answered. "Just me."

The door glowed with a lavender aura as Twilight magically opened it. He stepped inside, stopping as he saw her.

She sat on the bed on her haunches, her tail curled around her. The end of it was frayed and wet—wet with tears, he thought. She'd been crying with her face buried in her tail. Her eyes were reddened from the salty tears that had been flowing from them. The fur on her muzzle was still wet, and her ears lay flat on her head in defeat. He felt terrible now. Terrible that he had put her through this—that he had ever said he was going to tell The Princess.

She looked at the floor, sniffing. He could see more tears trying to come. Then, she spoke in a quiet, timid voice.

"So how bad is it … Am I going back to magic kindergarten?"

"I didn't tell her, Twilight … I couldn't go through with it."

She looked up at him, sniffing again a couple of times. "You didn't?" Her voice was slightly perkier now.

He only shook his head back and forth once in response.

Her ears perked back up, a small smile returning to her muzzle. She wiped her eyes once with a forehoof. Her horn glowed, and Spike felt himself being lifted off the ground, surrounded by a lavender bubble.

"Whoa!" he exclaimed as he rapidly floated through the air over to her. She spread her forelegs and wrapped them around him, squeezing him tightly to her once he got there.

"Oh, thank you Spike! Thank you so much!" she exclaimed, all of the sadness and fear in her voice gone.

He grunted slightly from the tight embrace. "… You're welcome Twilight. But you have to promise me you'll be careful. And that you won't try to open any more portals without telling me first. So I can be there to help you if something goes wrong again."

"I promise, Spike. I promise," she said, still holding him tightly to her.

He wrapped his arms around her neck, hugging her back gently, smiling at seeing her happy again. But inside, his heart was still in turmoil. He was her faithful assistant. And his place was to be loyal to her. Loyalty no matter what. But if anything happened to her … With Celestia as my witness, I'm going to ask AJ to teach me how to use a rope to tie you up so you can't get in trouble, he thought to himself …

...

Ambassador Firewing nervously paced back and forth through the large clearing in the forest. At the sound of wind above him, he turned his great head skyward to see another crimson dragon coming in for a landing. The other dragon touched down in front of him, folded his wings, then gave a stiff bow. Firewing was sure the bow was intended more to be mocking than respectful. He narrowed his eyes, not even waiting for the other dragon to rise from his bow.

"What in the name of all the ancestors were you thinking, Cinderfang?" he yelled in a booming voice, the other dragon crouching backwards at the sudden verbal assault.

"It will blow over, Firewing. It will be forgotten about soon enough," the other dragon said, coming up from his bow. There were damaged scales on his neck and head, a few dried streaks of blood—areas where the Pegasus Guard had made some good strikes, Firewing assumed.

"No, Cinderfang! It won't blow over! It's not like you stole one of their milk cows. You attacked two squadrons of Royal Guards!"

"The Elder Council will protect me, Firewing," he waved a wing dismissively.

"No, Cinderfang. Not this time they won't." He picked up a scroll, unrolled it, and thrust it in front of the other dragon's muzzle. "Written by Celestia herself. Asking … No, demanding that the Elder Council turn you over to her for punishment."

The other dragon glared at the letter, but now there was a glint of fear in his eyes. He seemed to shrink slightly upon staring at the writing on the paper. "I will not go to Canterlot. I will not be judged by some … pony." He spat the word pony as if he had just bitten into a piece of stink weed. "Not even if it is Celestia herself. I will not spend the rest of my life rotting away in her dungeon."

"If it were up to me, you would Cinderfang! You should thank the ancestors the rest of the Elder Council is not so willing as I to turn you over to her."

"Why should you care, Firewing?" the other dragon spat venomously. "Was it not Celestia herself who scarred you for life? Who left your wings and chest disfigured? When she used the solar flame to burn you? Why should you have any love for her at all!"

"She was not herself when that happened! And I will not get into this with you."

"Of course you won't," Cinderfang sneered. "Or perhaps you have no love for her at all. Perhaps, you are simply too afraid she will strip you of the power she has granted you—granted the rest of the Council of Nine. We wouldn't want that, now would we. The Elder Council losing their power over the rest of us."

Firewing was silent for several long seconds before speaking again. He looked the other dragon straight in the eye, his golden irises glaring with anger. "You, Cinderfang, are hereby banished from the Kingdom of Equestria. If I ever see you within the boundaries of Equestria again, I will march you into Canterlot and turn you over to Celestia myself. Now get out of my sight. You have one day to get your affairs in order and be gone."

For a moment, the other dragon's eyes were wide with surprise. But only for a moment. They quickly narrowed. His chest expanded rapidly as he took in a deep breath of air, preparing to unleash a torrent of flame.

"You dare threaten an elder?" Firewing boomed out. "Do not even try it, Cinderfang! You may have youth on your side, but I have experience. And have you forgotten that in addition to scarring me, Celestia also gifted me with resistance to flame attacks when she realized what she had done to me? The most intense flame you can produce will not leave a mark on me."

Cinderfang snarled deeply, but released the breath of air he had taken, now simply glaring daggers at him, but saying nothing.

"Get out of my sight," Firewing snarled at the other dragon. "Get out of my sight before I kill you myself. I'm sure Celestia will understand if I tell her I had no choice but to kill you because you became combative when I tried to capture you."

Cinderfang glared back at him and snarled. Firewing braced himself for any attack that might come. But it never did. Instead, Cinderfang spread his wings and took to the sky, turning to the west and disappearing over the treeline.

Firewing frowned, lowering his eyes, looking down at his scarred chest now. It was true, what Cinderfang had said. It was Celestia who had disfigured him. But she had not been herself when it happened, and he had remained loyal to her, maintaining a good relationship with her.

He shifted his eyes from his chest to the large amulet hanging around his neck. With one claw, he lifted it, looking at it. It was a solid gold casting of Celestia's cutie mark. At the center of the solar disk, was Luna's crescent moon cutie mark. At the bottom of the two royal symbols, the image of the dragon fang. Around the edges of the amulet, words written in the ancient dragon script translated to Elder Ambassador to the Royal Pony Sisters—the amulet of the Elder Dragon Council Ambassador to Canterlot.

He let the amulet slide off his claw to dangle down his neck again. For over a thousand years, he had served as the Ambassador to Canterlot, having been appointed to the position at the young age of only four hundred years—young by dragon standards at least. In actual years, he was older than even Celestia herself, although he was not immortal like she was. He figured he probably had another four hundred good years left in him to serve.

He thought about this most recent turn of events, sighing to himself. He had a good relationship with Princess Celestia. He had been Ambassador to Canterlot since even before the original Nightmare Moon conflict. And he had been there to comfort her after Luna's banishment. He could still remember it like it was yesterday. After the Elements of Harmony had done their terrible work … after Luna was gone … it was said that Celestia's cries of anguish could be heard throughout the entire world. That day, she swore she would never touch the Elements of Harmony again—those cursed objects she had called them—cursed by everything that was evil. It was he who had to stop her from outright destroying them in her anguish. And when he had stopped her, she had turned her anguish against him, nearly destroying him instead. The scars, where she had used the solar flame to burn him, were still visible on his chest, wings, and neck.

But he had remained loyal to her, and he had comforted her. Many times throughout those thousand years he had done so. As the first decades passed, all of the ponies alive during the time of Luna's banishing grew old and died, and the time came where he was the only being other than Celestia who even remembered Luna at all. He was the only one she could talk to about her sister who would truly understand. And their relationship had grown even closer. There were many nights, where she had slept in his cave, curled up next to him, not wanting to be alone. For every night, she had to endure the torment of raising the moon and seeing the image of the dark alicorn that used to be her sister emblazoned on it. And then, she dreaded going back to Canterlot. For she knew that come morning, she would have to endure the torture all over again when she lowered the moon. It had never gotten any easier for her, he remembered. For a thousand years, every morning, and every night, Celestia had endured the torture. And every morning and every evening he had been there for her. Countless nights, he had been there for her. He was not immortal like she was. But dragons were very long lived—longer lived than any other mortal species in Equestria. And he was the only one who could even begin to understand things from her viewpoint.

He looked up at the sky again. The sun had set, and twilight was descending on the forest, the very first stars becoming visible in the darkening sky … ever darkening. "I fear we will soon face dark times indeed, my Princess. Darker than the darkest of nights," he said quietly to himself. "Cinderfang will be the least of our worries …"

...

James left the faculty dorm and started towards the physics building early the next morning. The construction ponies were out in force again, taking down all of the Summer Sun decorations they had put up the week before. Trash littered the ground, as if a carnival had just left, or there had been a large concert the night before. Custodial ponies walked down the streets and sidewalks with their carts, cleaning it all up. The massive crowds which had flooded the city just twenty four hours earlier were gone now, the campus seeming eerily quiet without the crowd noise and constant rush of Pegasus Guard patrols overhead. The only sound now was the occasional breeze, perhaps accompanied by the sound of a piece of trash it had caught up and was blowing across the street. The only place in the city now that would be truly crowded was the train station, with ponies who had stayed until the end of the last day rushing to get back to their home towns. Even though the Summer Sun Celebration was over, for some of those ponies, the work it generated was just beginning. Applejack and Pinkie Pie had hundreds of orders to fill for new customers. Rarity had clothing to design and make.

In most ways, it was a relief that the city of Canterlot was back to normal and the large crowds were gone. But there was also certain sadness to it. Like the sadness that comes after the last day of a large fair, when all of the rides are shut down, all of the venues closed. The spark of excitement in the city over the last few days was gone. And now the routine of it all would start again.

He sighed as he kept walking. He wished he would have been able to go to the train station and see Twilight Sparkle and the others off. But he knew they had left last night. After the dragon attack, and the long flight home, he was in no condition to go see them off. That, and he knew Twilight would have asked him questions he was not prepared to answer. He was, at least sure they had probably made it back to Ponyville safely. If they hadn't, he thought he would probably know by now … at least he hoped they made it back safely.

He arrived at the physics building, went inside, and climbed the stairs to his office. Unexpectedly, the gray mane and tailed colonel was waiting for him down the hallway, outside his office.

"Doctor Peterson," he acknowledged. "Her Majesty, Princess Celestia, requires your presence in the throne room at the castle." There was a definite hint of disappointment in the Colonel's voice.

"Right now, sir? This early in the morning?"

"Yes," he responded simply.

"… Did she say what it was about, sir?"

"Yes."

"… May I ask what it was about sir?"

"No, you may not. She will tell you when you get there," he said, a tone of annoyance joining the disappointment now, although James got the impression the annoyance was not with him. "Do not keep her waiting," the Colonel stated a bit sharply.

"Yes, sir. Thank you for coming here to tell me, sir," James responded, then turned around, and proceeded back down the hallway. Colonel Stardust only grunted in response as he started to descend the stairs.

Back outside, and on his way to the castle, his mind raced. Had he done something wrong? Colonel Stardust had seemed disappointed. But again, the annoyance and disappointment didn't seem to be with him. Was it with Celestia herself? That seemed doubtful. Even if the Colonel Stardust was annoyed with Celestia, it was highly unlikely he would have let it show. Yet it seemed odd that Colonel Stardust wouldn't tell him what Celestia wanted, even though he apparently knew.

The closer he got to the castle, the more nervous he became. Please don't let it be bad news about Twilight and the others, he thought frantically to himself. That was his biggest concern right now. What if they hadn't made it back safely? And the fact that Colonel Stardust refused to tell him the news himself …

He arrived at the castle, went inside, and made his way along the now familiar route to the throne room.

"Doctor Peterson," the Unicorn Guard on the right of the door acknowledged. "Her Majesty is expecting you." The two guards turned and knocked on the door. The guards on the inside unlocked it and it swung open slowly. Celestia was already seated on the throne at the other end of the room.

He entered, walked down the carpet, stopping to kneel and bow at the required distance.

"James, please stand," the alicorn said quickly. There was no hint of sadness or anger in her voice at all, which helped get rid of the remaining nervousness he was feeling.

He rose to his feet at the same time Celestia rose to her hooves. She stepped down the stairs leading up to the throne and he bowed his head respectfully as she approached him.

"First, to put your mind at ease, I want to let you know that I've received confirmation from Spike that they all arrived safely back in Ponyville."

"Thank you, Your Majesty," he breathed a sigh of relief at hearing that.

"But that is not why I called you here this morning." She paused for several long moments before continuing. "What I am about to offer you, James, is considered by most, to be the highest honor it is possible to achieve in Equestria. But it is not a life of glory or fame. Rather, it is a life of service to Equestria. A life of servitude to me and my sister. It is not a commitment to be entered into lightly. For if you accept what I am about to offer, you will be bound to me and my sister, both by oath, and by magic. This bond will last for the rest of your life, and can never be broken.

"There is no shame in declining what I am about to offer, and you will not be thought any less of if you do choose to decline. Most who are offered, do decline, being unwilling to make the commitment required. Of those who initially accept, most change their minds before taking the final oath. For once the final oath has been taken, you can never return to the life you had before taking the oath."

He listened closely, and she stopped speaking. He waited for several moments for her to continue. When she didn't, he thought she must be waiting for a response from him. "I'm listening, Your Majesty," he answered. After all, there was no harm in at least listening.

"My sister and I would like to offer you the chance to become a member of the Royal Council. If you accept, you must leave the Academy, although you will still work on projects there with Theory Point. You must move into the castle with the rest of the Council. You will be at the beck and call of me and my sister at all times. Always, we must know where you are. You will not be able to leave the castle courtyard without permission from one of us.

"As I said, what I offer is not a life that most ponies are willing to accept. And most who are asked, decline. If you wish, you may decline right now and be thought no less of. But it is an offer that can only be made once. If it is declined, it can never be offered again according to Council law. You cannot however, accept right now. You must wait three days before doing that. Council law requires the waiting period because of the permanent life changing nature of the decision. Those three days, must be spent solely on making this decision."

"… Am I allowed to speak to others about this, Your Majesty? To ask them for advice?"

"You may speak to whomever you like. But the decision must be yours, and yours alone."

"I … am truly honored, Your Majesty … I will consider it very carefully," he answered, his mind really at a loss for words, reeling from the magnitude of the decision she had just placed before him.

"I know you will," she smiled. "Now go, and consider what has been offered. I will not see you again until the three days have passed and you are prepared to give me your answer."

"Yes, Your Majesty." He stepped backwards, knelt and bowed, before standing back up, turning, and leaving the throne room. He felt strangely uncomfortable inside the castle now, like a feeling of claustrophobia despite the large enormous open spaces inside the castle. No wonder I'm claustrophobic, he thought to himself. They're trying to trap me … the same way the aisling is. He felt like it was a game of tug of war, and he was the rope they were all pulling on—both sides in a race to bind him before the other could do so. The magnitude of the decision Celestia had just laid on him weighed down on him heavily. A million questions flew through is mind. Like a television displaying all channels at the same time, he found he couldn't stay focused on any of them.

The long, narrow corridors seemed to close in around him as he walked through the halls—they were narrow for defensive reasons, so that any invading force would only be able to proceed down them two abreast. But right now, they seemed even narrower than usual. Even once he reached the enormous grand foyer, the feeling of claustrophobia remained. He was relieved to finally step outside the doors. But even outside, he still found it difficult to focus on any one question.

At least she had said he could ask others for advice. He made his way back to the Academy campus. But instead of going back to the physics building, he went to the administration building. Colonel Stardust might as well be his first stop. After all, presumably he already knew what Celestia had wanted.

"Come," said the voice on the other side of the door when he knocked.

He opened the door, entering and then standing in front of the large cherry wood desk, the gray maned pony regarding him with an unreadable expression.

"Doctor Peterson … No doubt, you have spoken with Her Majesty."

"Yes, sir. I have."

"And what is it I can do for you?"

"I'd … like your advice, sir."

The unicorn hesitated for a moment. "It's your decision, Doctor Peterson. You alone must make it. But choose carefully, for the decision you make is one you will have to live with for the rest of your life."

James was silent for several seconds. Still, he could read nothing in the Colonel's face. Finally, he responded.

"Yes, sir … But what would you do, sir? If it were you?"

The pony looked at him for a few seconds, as if unsure he wanted to answer that question. Then he sighed slightly before answering. "You put me in a tough spot, Doctor Peterson … On the record, as your commanding officer, and commander of this Academy, I must tell you that you are an extremely valuable faculty member. Your teaching skills are impeccable, your research detailed and flawless, and I would hate to lose you … Off the record, as your friend … if it were me? And I were younger and did not have a family? I don't think I could pass up the opportunity to be on the Royal Council. Even with all the sacrifices it entails."

James nodded slightly. "Thank you for your compliments, sir … and for your honesty."

"You're a smart pon … human, James … you will make the right decision. Now go. You will want to take advantage of all the time you can to consider it."

"Thank you for your time, sir."

"You're welcome. And good luck, James," the unicorn responded as he left the office.

Once outside he made his way back to the dorm, going to Theory Point's room instead of his own. Please let her be home, he thought to himself as he knocked on her door.

She opened the door, looking like she had only recently gotten out of bed. Her mane was still unbrushed and she was not wearing any clothes. Of course, it wasn't unusual for ponies not to wear clothes, but this was the first time he'd seen Theory Point without any, given the Academy uniform requirements.

"James? What are you doing here so early in the morning? Come in." She took a few steps to the side, clearing the door so he could get in. "What's on your mind?"

"I didn't wake you, did I?"

"No. I was up already. Just starting to get ready."

He nodded. "Are you doing alright? After the dragon and all?"

"Still a little shook up I guess … but I'll be fine. That's not why you came over here, though. You could have asked me that when I got to the lab." She eyed him curiously now.

He nodded, hesitated for a moment. "Celestia asked me to join the Royal Council this morning."

Theory Point nodded slightly. If she were at all surprised, she didn't show it. "I knew she'd tap you for The Council. You're too smart for her not to. But I didn't think she'd do it so soon." He thought he could detect a hint of concern, and possibly even disappointment in her voice.

"… How come your not on The Council, Theory? You're at least as smart as I am."

She gave a brief chuckle. "Me? On The Council? Celestia asked me to join once. I declined. No, that's not the kind of life I want. To always be at the beck and call of the princesses. Like I told you before, I want to have a family some day."

He nodded slightly, but didn't say anything in response.

"What are you going to do?" she asked.

"I don't know yet. I have to think about it for three days before I give her an answer. Unless the answer is no. But I can't accept for three days."

"You should ask your friend Twilight for advice. Since she's so close to Princess Celestia."

"I probably will ask her."

Several long seconds of silence passed before Theory Point spoke again. "James … if you join The Council … your life won't belong to you anymore. It will belong to Princess Celestia and Princess Luna. All of the freedoms they have granted you since arriving in Equestria will be gone. You will have even fewer freedoms then when you first arrived here. You won't even be able to leave the castle courtyard without one of them knowing where you are going, why you are going, how long you will be gone, where you will be staying when you get there, who you will be meeting, and why. And then, only if they approve it."

He nodded slightly, contemplating what she had said for several long moments. "I'll take that all into consideration."

For nearly a minute, neither one of them said anything. Finally, he spoke up again.

"Well … I suppose I should probably go back to my own room and start thinking … Thank you for your time, Theory."

"You know you can always come to me, James. Good luck." She sounded concerned now.

"Thank you," he said as he left the room, pulling the door shut behind him.

Back in his own room, he sat down on his bed, taking a deep breath and letting it out slowly as he tried to organize his thoughts. "Well, that was helpful," he said to himself sarcastically. He had two opinions that were basically polar opposites of each other: One who said he wouldn't be able to pass up the chance to be on the Royal Council, even though the sacrifices were hard. Another who acted as if joining the Royal Council was like spending the rest of your life in the dungeon.

Surely, it couldn't be as bad as Theory Point had made it sound, could it? The Council members he had seen in the two meetings he had been at did not seem unhappy. Deadly serious about their business, yes. But not unhappy. And if it were truly that bad, surely they would revolt against the princesses, wouldn't they?

He had told Theory Point he was going to ask Twilight for her advice. But the truth is, he didn't think he would do so. Again, he was sure she would ask questions he was not prepared to answer, or couldn't answer. But there was an even bigger reason he didn't want to ask her: He didn't want her anywhere near this whole mess. He wanted to protect her from this whole thing—whatever this was … If he were on The Council, he might be in a better position to do that.

He laid down in his bed, staring up at the ceiling now, trying to focus his thoughts. Too much had happened over the last week. The Summer Sun Celebration. The nightmare. The object that had been launched and come down in the forest. The dragon attack. And now this …

...

The blue skies over Canterlot began to fade into darkness with reds and oranges dominating the Western horizon. On the balcony of one of the castle's tall towers, Princess Celestia stood, lowering the sun. Just as she had finished, she heard hoof steps behind her. Turning her head, she saw Luna approaching, joining her on the balcony to raise the moon. For several long moments, the two of them stood next to each other in silence, looking out into the distance as the last sliver of sunlight disappeared below the horizon.

"You asked him, sister?" Luna finally spoke, without turning her head to look at the Sun Princess, continuing to look out at the horizon instead.

Celestia nodded once. "I did. All we can do now is hope he accepts."

"And you were completely honest with him?"

"I was. Everypony who is invited to join the Council has always been aware of the extent of commitment required. It has been that way since the creation of the Council over a thousand years ago, sister. I told him everything all of the others were told."

"And the other Council members are okay with it?"

"They want him on The Council, Luna. They are uncomfortable with the fact that he is so involved, and yet not on The Council. They fear the fact that he is not on The Council makes him a risk." She sighed and frowned, looking down at the ground slightly. "I fear that if he declines, it will be hard for The Council members to trust him at all, Luna."

Luna only nodded, but gave no response, her dark purple horn glowing with a silvery light as she began to raise the moon. Celestia remained silent for several moments, before turning her head slightly, looking at Luna now.

"And what about you, sister? I am surprised you even agreed to the idea of asking him to join The Council, given you still don't fully trust him."

"If he is on The Council, Tia, I will be able to keep him on a very short leash," the dark alicorn responded, her horn still glowing as the silver light of the moon began to sparkle off the ponds in the garden below.

Celestia frowned and spoke with a hint of sharpness in her voice. "He will be a full fledged Council member, Luna. Not a slave. I expect you to treat him with the same respect you do all of the other Council members."

"Oh … of course … Leash was merely an … unfortunate word choice on my part, sister," Luna responded flatly. The glow of her horn faded as she finished her task. Then she turned, and walked back inside the tower without saying another word.

Celestia turned her head to watch her go. "Have a good night, sister?" she said, sighing sadly when she didn't get any response. It seemed, lately, that Luna had become more and more distant, her behavior increasingly erratic. She turned back toward the balcony, looking out into the distance again. "Never have I seen such a strange pattern being woven," she said, seemingly to the sky. "There are threads that remain hidden to me. I fear I may not see them until it is too late."

She closed her magenta eyes, focusing her mind on the pattern, watching all of the intricate designs and threads woven into it. The Weaver had been weaving the pattern since the beginning of time—since the moment of creation when The Beyond had been pushed to the edge of the dimensional plain. Uncountable numbers of threads made up the pattern now, but she found the one she was looking for—a very bright blue thread. At several points in the pattern, it crossed paths with a very bright lavender thread. For a time, they ran parallel to each other, like two streams merging together to form an unstoppable river of rushing water. Then, they would split off into separate directions. From time to time, they would converge again only to go their separate ways once more. They were the threads of James and Twilight Sparkle. Right now, they were weaving towards each other again. Soon, they would become one once more, baring something sending one of them off in a different direction. Beyond that, she could not predict what pattern the two threads would weave.

She opened her eyes, took a deep breath, then sighed heavily. So many unknowns, she thought to herself. Other then the fact that she was having difficulty reading the pattern, the increasingly strained relationship with her sister weighed heavily on her heart. It had started several months ago … that day Luna had spent the entire night out, and she had had to lower the moon for her in the morning. Had she been too hard on Luna? Things had been strained ever since. The few times they talked, Luna often found some way to insult her. Such as the verbal barb she had thrown at her yesterday. And then there was her aloof attitude regarding James—at least it seemed aloof anytime she discussed the issue with her—and increasingly erratic behavior, such as what had happened a few minutes ago.

"Please Luna, I can't lose you again … I can't," she said to herself, emotion starting to overcome her. "Please don't be mixed up in this on the wrong side of things." She looked down at the floor now, turmoil tormenting her heart like waves jostling a small boat on the sea.

A small green flame, and a scroll appearing in the air, then falling to the floor of the balcony, interrupted her thoughts. She looked down at it for a moment, then magically picked it up, unrolling it and holding it in front of her:

I have not felt you in so much pain since the time of Luna's banishment, my Princess. My ear, and my cave, are always open to you. Please, tell me how I may help you.

She smiled slightly at the letter. Firewing, the Elder Dragon Ambassador. Ever since he'd met her, he had called her my Princess anytime formal titles were not required. Even though she had told him he could just call her Celestia, he always insisted on my Princess. He said he thought it was a cute name for her. It always made her giggle when he told her that. He would often contact her when he knew she was emotionally down. Ever since the incident where she had burned him with the solar flame, he had been able to feel when she was emotionally distraught, even when the two were separated by vast distances.

The slight smile turned to a frown as she remembered that day. That day Luna was banished to the moon. How she was so distraught, she tried to destroy the Elements of Harmony, blaming them for the fact that her sister was gone. How she had brutally attacked him when he stopped her. And how she had nearly killed him before she came out of her rage and stopped her attack. But despite what she had done to him, he had remained loyal to her. Never was another dragon born with a heart as loyal as his. And never, she was convinced, would there ever be another one.

She rolled the scroll back up, walked inside to her private quarters. Laying down on her bed, she magically retrieved a stack of paper and a quill from her desk and started to write:

Hello, Firewing. Sadly, it is Luna's behavior that troubles me. She's starting to act a little bit like she did before the Nightmare Moon incident.

She frowned again. She hated even thinking that. But she couldn't deny it. She hesitated for a few moments, then rolled up the scroll and magically sent it off with a small burst of golden flame. There were no formalities now as there had been at the Council meeting. No royal seals attached to it. Just communication with a loyal friend.

It wasn't long before another small green flame formed in the air, followed by another scroll falling to the floor in front of her:

Oh, my dear Princess. My heart aches for you. But I don't think she would do that again. I've seen dark times ahead in the pattern, as you have. But I haven't seen any indication in the pattern that Luna is the cause of them, or plays any role for evil in them.

That was reassuring to her at least. She had not seen any indication in the pattern that Luna would be involved with any evil either. But of course, she had not seen it coming before the Nightmare Moon incident either … maybe the signs were there, and she just didn't want to believe them?

There was something else she had to know though. She took another piece of paper and began to write again:

Firewing, please tell me you weren't involved in the attack on my Pegasus Guards and my scientists. Please tell me you didn't authorize it.

She hesitated for a few moments, almost afraid to send it. He couldn't have, could he? Not after everything they had been through together for more than a thousand years? Finally, she rolled it up, and sent it on its way. A response came shortly after:

You know I would never lie to you, my Princess. You also know I would never do anything to hurt you or any of your subjects. Sadly though, I was unable to convince the rest of the Council to turn the attacker over to you. We did find out who he is though. His name is Cinderfang. I banished him from Equestria forever. If he ever comes back to Equestria, I will bring him to you myself. I am sorry, my Princess, that I could not do as you asked.

She nodded slightly to herself. She had half expected that would happen. Firewing might be a good friend, willing to give his own life for her if he had to. But not all of the Elder Dragon Council shared his love for the Princess of Equestria. The fact that he openly told her he had not done as she asked, even knowing the severe consequences she could impose on him and the rest of the Dragon Council, only proved the unbreakable trust they had for each other. She began to compose her response:

That's not entirely unexpected. Thank you for your honesty, and thank you for trying. I won't take any action against the Elder Dragon Council at this time. I know you'll keep your word and bring him to me if he comes back.

Again, she sent the response, and another scroll appeared in the air shortly after:

Thank you for understanding, my Princess. How is your little human doing?

She chuckled and shook her head slightly before writing her response:

I wouldn't exactly call him *my** little human. But he is doing well. I asked him to join the Royal Council today. Let us hope he accepts.*

She sent the scroll away in another small golden flame, noticing she was out of paper. She hadn't expected the conversation to be so long. She magically floated more paper over from her desk as another response came in a small green burst of flame. She unrolled it and began to read:

Everything seems little to a dragon, my Princess … There is another of his kind, my Princess. I saw the thread today, very faint and distant. He is not yet part of the pattern, but he is converging towards it and will soon merge with it. He will play an important role in this as well, although he does not know he is involved yet. But he has already been chosen.

"What!?" She hadn't even realized she said it out loud. So surprised was she by the words she had just read, that she lost the spell holding the scroll in front of her, it fluttered to the floor, like a leaf falling from a tree, landing between her outstretched forelegs. She stared down at the paper, reading the words again, her eyes wide with disbelief …

30 - Fealty

The God Particle

Chapter 30: Fealty

Celestia stared at the piece of paper between her forelegs, reading the words again, certain she had misread them the first time. Finally, she picked up her quill, a blank piece of paper, and composed her response:

Are you sure of this? How come I didn't see it? I just looked at the pattern no more than thirty minutes ago.

She sent it off, then impatiently waited for a response. It came a minute or two later:

It was very hard to see. I almost missed it myself. It's in the background, behind the pattern. He's very far away. Like a distant star. But it's very bright. I am certain he's involved. But whether to our benefit, or to our harm, I cannot determine.

She finished reading, then quickly wrote her response:

Is he coming here?

Another small golden flame, and the paper had disappeared. Again, she waited for a response, which arrived quickly:

I do not know, my Princess.

She considered this for a moment. Firewing had said the other human was very far away. That meant they probably had some time before he came here—if he was in fact coming here at all. She'd have to talk to James, find out everything she could about the people he knew—not that she could even be sure the person in question was someone James knew. But again, she had time. Enough time to give James his three uninterrupted days of contemplation on the decision he had to make. She'd wait until those were over before she asked him.

She wrote another response:

Thank you, Firewing. You've been a loyal friend to me since the day I met you.

Once more she sent it off and did not have to wait long for a response:

And I always will be your friend. Good night, my Princess.

Good night, Firewing.

She sent her response. Then she stood up, removed her tiara and other royal adornments, and prepared for bed. Just as she was about to lay down, there was a knock at her door.

"Your Majesty?" one of her Celestial Guards called from outside. Her horn glowed as she magically opened the door.

"Yes? What is it?"

"We have a … situation, Your Majesty. The underground lab at the Academy physics building has been broken into."

"What? How did they get past the guards?"

"We don't know, Your Majesty. We don't even know when the break in happened. It was just reported to us by Theory Point. She noticed it about an hour ago. It's the first time either she or Doctor Peterson has been to the lab since the Summer Sun Celebration."

"The lab was warded … Not even a unicorn could have gotten in using teleportation," she responded confusedly, floating her tiara and other royal adornments over to her, putting them back on. "Send for my Pegasus Guard escort."

"I already took the liberty of doing so, Your Majesty. I thought you would want to go there. They are waiting for you outside the balcony, your Majesty."

She smiled at the guard. "Thank you, for your foresight."

"It is my honor to serve, Your Majesty," he bowed to her as she turned towards her balcony, walking out onto it. She looked up to see four Pegasus Guard escort circling just above it. Then she spread her wings, lifted off the balcony and joined them. The guards formed up in a protective shell around her, then started towards the Academy.

Landing a few minutes later, she walked towards the building. There were several guards standing outside, along with Theory Point, and Colonel Stardust. They all turned and bowed when she landed.

"Please, as you were." she said, looking around a bit before turning her attention to Theory Point. "What did they take?"

"They didn't take the object, Your Majesty. But most of the research notes James and I had written down are missing."

She nodded once. "And you don't know when it happened?"

Theory Point shook her head. "It could have happened anytime between the start of the Summer Sun Celebration and today."

The alicorn nodded again and looked around more, a look of concern on her face.

"Don't worry, Your Majesty," Theory Point continued. "Between the two of us, James and I should be able to reconstruct most of the research notes. He has a near photographic memory when it comes to equations and numbers."

"I'm sure you can," Celestia smiled slightly, but then frowned. "My bigger concern is those notes ending up in the wrong hooves." She walked towards the building now, entering and going downstairs before stepping into the lab. Several Unicorn Guards in the lab stopped what they were doing and started to bow.

"Please, as you were," she said as she walked over to the locked filing cabinet where James and Theory Point had kept their research notes. She lowered her head, examining the heavy steel lock that lay on the floor. It had been melted off of the cabinet—probably by a very intense heat spell, or possibly an electric arc spell. Not all of the notes had been taken, but a good number of them had been.

She raised her head back up, and the tip of her horn glowed slightly as she tested the area around the lab, then blinked in surprise. "Well, now we know how they got in," she said, turning to the guards in the room. "The magical wards are gone. Any unicorn with any teleportation skill at all could have gotten in here undetected as long as there was nopony in the lab to see them once they were in. But it would have taken a master thief highly skilled in magic to remove the wards without tripping their alarm traps."

"We will scour the entire lab Your Majesty. For any magical signature they may have left behind," one of the Unicorn Guards assured her.

"I know you will do your best." She smiled and turned, walking back upstairs and outside again. She called her Pegasus Guard escort back to her. "We will return to the castle. There is nothing else to be done here and we will only be in the way." She sighed to herself slightly. "All we can do now, is wait for the Unicorn Guards to finish their work and hope they can find some trace of who might have broken in."

"As you wish, Your Majesty," one the Pegasus Guards responded. Again, they formed up around her, took to the sky, and the formation made its way back to the castle.

...

Cinderfang sat on the open plain just outside the eastern border of Equestria. Looking towards the west, he could just barely make out an approaching cart in the early morning light. Two large gray earth ponies pulled the cart. In front of them, a large jet black unicorn led the way. Even from this distance, he could see the amber irises of the black unicorn's eyes.

He spread his great wings, taking to the sky. It took him less then a minute to cover the distance. He landed in front of the cart, drew in a deep breath, and let loose with a burst of flame and an eardrum shattering roar. The two earth ponies pulling the cart stopped immediately, cowering and shaking before the great dragon. The black unicorn, however, gave no indications of fear at all.

"Was that really necessary, Cinderfang?" the unicorn, a female, said in an unamused tone of voice once the echoes of the roar had faded.

"You didn't tell me they were going to have escort!" the dragon snarled in response.

"You couldn't handle a few guards?" the unicorn scoffed.

"Even a dragon is no match for two squadrons of Pegasus Guards!" he shot back angrily.

"We can't afford to let them recover another object, Cinderfang!" The unicorn stomped her forehoof angrily.

He snorted in response. "I guess this little coup of yours against Celestia isn't going as smoothly as you planned, hmmm pony?" he mocked.

The unicorn shook her head. "The human they have working for them is dangerously close to finding out the truth about what we are trying to do!"

"And you know this, how?" Cinderfang raised an eyebrow.

"We broke into the lab during the Summer Sun Celebration and stole some of his research notes. The foals were so focused on security for the Celebration itself, they probably still don't even know we were there." She smiled now, a smile that Cinderfang could only think of as smugness.

"Clever, I suppose," he responded.

"You need to go back and get the object, Cinderfang. Before they have a chance to make another recovery attempt."

He snorted again. "In case you haven't heard, the old dragon banished me from Equestria. Do you have any idea how hard it is to find food outside the borders of Equestria? The hunting here is terrible."

"Yes, I'm sure it must be so much harder to hunt when you can't prey on their milk cows," the unicorn responded sarcastically.

"And are you going to come break me out of pony dungeon if I get caught? Forget it, I'm not going back there. When they go back up they will have Unicorn Guards with them who'll be casting anti-flame shields. What am I supposed to do then, pony?"

"If you hurry, you could get up there before they went back. Surely, you can fend off the one wing they left up there to guard the area."

"And then have the Elder Dragon Council send out a hunting party to find me? I think not. If you want it so badly, why don't you go up there and get it yourself?"

"Do I look like a pegasus to you? Or perhaps you think I can just sprout wings and turn into an alicorn? I can't get up there, you foal! Look … once Celestia is out of the picture, the Elder Dragon Council will nave no power anymore. You'll be welcome back in Equestria immediately. Even now, the magical barriers weaken. It won't be long before they break completely, and those from The Beyond can come through to help us. We must persevere until then."

"You and your Beyond," he rolled his eyes. "Fine, I'll think about it. That's all I'm promising."

"Don't think too long, dragon. Or you're right, they will have another recovery team up there that will be better prepared for warding you off."

"Yes, yes," he waved a claw dismissively.

The unicorn motioned with her forehoof towards the earth ponies pulling the cart. With a nervous and jerky start, they made a tight circle, turning the cart around so the back was facing the dragon. The unicorn's horn glowed with a red aura as she lifted the tailgate from the back of the cart. Inside, was a large dead bull. Cinderfang could smell the taste of fresh meat. It had been killed very recently.

"For your trouble," the unicorn said flatly, pointing to the bull with her horn.

He drooled as he lowered his great head, opening his jaws to snap up the dead bull from the cart. The two earth ponies pulling the cart fidgeted nervously—probably afraid he might take a bite out of them too while he was grabbing the bull, he thought. He quickly snatched up the bull, the earth ponies shifting to compensate for the suddenly reduced weight of the cart.

As soon as his head was clear, the cart lurched forward again as the earth ponies turned the cart around, apparently afraid to have their backs facing him. But now they looked as if they might vomit, watching him start to devour the bull. He delighted in their reaction as he bit down on the dead bull with a sickening crunch. They started fidgeting again, their faces twisting with a reaction of disgust. They looked as if they couldn't get underway fast enough.

The unicorn, however, seemed completely unfazed by his eating habits as she lifted the tailgate with her magic, replacing it in the slots at the back of the cart. She turned and looked at him again. "Next time we see each other, Cinderfang, I certainly hope you have something better for me."

He said nothing in response, his mouth too full of fresh meat to do so. It was probably just as well that his mouth was full. If it had not been, he wasn't sure he'd be able resist the urge to incinerate the sassy, arrogant little unicorn.

The unicorn walked around the cart, moving in front of it again. She motioned for the earth ponies to start moving. Immediately, they jerked forward, starting out at a fast walk. Occasionally, they would speed up to a trot, at which point the unicorn would stumble forward, then turn her had back and shout curses at them, telling them to slow down. He watched this cycle repeat a few more times—the earth ponies always wanting to move faster, the unicorn stumbling forward, then rounding on them and cursing at them. Only when they had put several hundred strides of distance between him and them, did the earth ponies seem to calm down and start walking normally.

He merely chuckled to himself again at their reaction, then resumed his meal of fresh cattle, another satisfying crunch reaching his ears as he bit down once more …

...

Even though the morning sun was already well above the horizon, James continued to lay in bed, undressed and staring at the ceiling as he contemplated Celestia's offer. Was he really willing to give up so much freedom? Was it really as bad as Theory Point had said? He thought about what his professional goals had been before he arrived in Equestria. There were any number of paths his career could have taken. But being a top adviser to the most powerful ruler in the world before he had even reached the age of thirty … That was definitely not a path he had considered even in his wildest dreams. He had no doubt Celestia was telling the truth when she had said it was considered by most to the highest honor that could be achieved in Equestria.

He sat up, and climbed out of bed, going over to the wardrobe to get dressed. "She said, I could talk to anypony I wanted. Presumably, that also includes existing Council members," he said to himself as he finished dressing, then left the dorm building and made his way to the castle.

It didn't occur to him until he reached the Grand Foyer inside the castle entrance that he had no idea where the Council living area was. Being bolder than normal, he simply stopped one of the patrolling Royal Guards and asked them to show him the way. To his surprise, the guard quickly obliged, almost like he had been expecting him to show up. Maybe he had been? Perhaps Celestia had already considered he might show up to talk to existing Council members, and had informed the guards?

The guard lead him up a flight of stars he had not traveled before, then to a large door at the end of a corridor. Two unicorn guards stood on either side, guarding the door. Neither one of them attempted to stop him or his guard escort, or questioned them. That could be a good sign, he thought. Perhaps it meant visitors to the Council members were allowed to come and go freely. On the other hand, it could simply mean they had been expecting he would show up.

The door began to glow slightly as one of the unicorns magically opened it. Behind the door, he found himself in a well furnished common room. A large stone fireplace dominated one wall, although there was no fire in it right now, being summer. On the far wall, there was a large bookshelf. He recognized some of the titles on it, including the Daring Do series. Most of the books on the shelves seemed to be for recreational reading rather than research or education. A large polished oak table dominated part of the room. Currently, three Council members were seated at it, playing some type of board game he didn't recognize. They were dressed in the same robes he had seen them wearing at the meeting, but the atmosphere seemed much more laid back than it had at the meeting. They looked up, smiled, and nodded at him.

"Welcome to our humble home, Doctor Peterson," one of the players, a light green female pegasus said. "We figured you'd stop by." The pegasus looked at the guard who escorted him. "Thank you for bringing him. You can go. One of us will guide him back out if he can't find the way."

The guard nodded, but said nothing. Turning and stepping back out of the room. For now, James continued to stand just inside the doorway, looking about slightly nervously.

"You can come in," the same pegasus that had spoken earlier said. "We might seem a little mysterious to you right now, but we don't bite."

He stepped in further. A unicorn seated at the table magically closed the door behind him. He looked at the three ponies seated in the room right now. There was the pegasus, who had done most of the talking so far, a unicorn, and an earth pony. Immediately, he was struck by their eyes. All three had magenta eyes, the same color as Celestia's. Vaguely, he thought he remembered that they had been a deep blue at the first council meeting he had gone to—the color of Luna's eyes. But that couldn't be possible, could it?

"I imagine you have a lot of questions. We will answer the ones we can. I'm Storm Runner, by the way," the same pegasus that had spoken earlier said. "The unicorn here is Moon Song, and the earth pony is River Rock." The two ponies simply nodded as the pegasus spoke.

"A pleasure to meet you," James responded.

"Likewise," The pegasus responded. "Can I get you something? Some tea or something else to drink?"

"Thank you, but I'm fine … So do you really have to get permission from one of the princesses to even leave the castle courtyard?"

The pegasus nodded. "We do. It's not nearly as bad as it sounds though. Basically, both of Their Majesties almost always give permission. There's really only two times they don't. If there's a high threat level and she thinks she may need to call a Council meeting on very short notice, she might restrict us to the local area. If there's a threat to the Council itself, then she may not let us leave the castle at all until the threat has been sorted out. Her Majesty is deeply concerned for our safety and well being."

"It's that simple?" he raised an eyebrow.

She nodded. "Basically, yes. I mean unless your travel plans are ridiculously outrageous, Their Majesties almost never deny them. Even if it's very short notice … We do tend to stay rather busy though. So often, there is little time for travel. But we're a very close knit group and we have plenty of fun. You'd quickly become part of it if you joined us."

He nodded slightly. "And what about the oath? I know there's an oath involved. But I still haven't seen the words."

"It's the same oath the Royal Guards take actually. The Equestrian Oath of Fealty. Don't worry. You'll get to see it before you have to take it. There's a whole ceremony you'll have to memorize actually. The whole thing is very ritualized."

"Very well." He decided just to take the direct route with questions and put them on the spot. "Alright then. Tell me … Why should I leave a very prestigious job at the Academy to join you?"

All three of them gave him strange looks now, as if he had just asked the strangest question in the world. There was silence for several seconds before the pegasus named Storm Runner answered him. "Is not the honor of serving Her Majesty reason enough?"

Definitely very devoted, he thought to himself. "Fair enough … but … what are some of the other benefits of being on the Council?"

This time the unicorn spoke up. "The ability to play a direct role in shaping the future of your home. Yes, Her Majesty still makes all the decisions. But with the exception of Her Majesty, Princess Luna, nopony has more influence on what she decides than the Council members do."

"It's not my home," he shook his head once.

The pegasus responded again. "With all due respect, Doctor Peterson, if Equestria still isn't your home … than what is?"

Her response had caught him off guard. He tried to think of a good comeback for it, but came up with nothing. She did have a valid point, he thought. If he could never go back to Earth, which seemed likely, and he had pretty much accepted that he could not, then where was his home now? If it wasn't Equestria? He didn't answer, instead changing the subject.

"What about all the restrictions? I talked to one of my friends at the Academy and—"

Storm Runner cut him off. "There are a lot of rumors floating around about the Council. We can't talk about what we do with most other ponies, so rumors abound. Some of the rumors are truly outrageous. Once, I even heard a rumor that Her Majesty keeps us chained up in a secret part of the dungeon even the Royal Guards don't know exists. And that she only lets us out when she needs us to do something." That got small chuckles from the other two Council members. "As you can see, there are no chains on any of us, and we have quite decent accommodations. I also heard a rumor once that she has spells on all of us so that if we ever betray the oath, we will instantly fall over dead. Of course, that rumor isn't true either."

"Alright … so maybe she was exaggerating a bit," he conceded. "But still, it sounds like you need permission to do just about anything. That there are a lot of restrictions."

"It depends on your perspective," the earth pony finally spoke up. "Consider that the Council operates outside of the normal chain of government and serves Their Majesties directly. That means when you are on the Council, there are only two ponies in the entire world you answer to: Princess Celestia, and Princess Luna. There's nopony in between, no chain of command. You report directly to the princesses and they are the only ones who can tell you what to do."

"He's right," the pegasus nodded. "No colonel at the Academy, no dean of the college. You report directly to Their Majesties, and only to Their Majesties."

He nodded slightly, thinking for a moment. "So those rumors … why doesn't the Council quash them? Or one of the princesses quash them?"

"Because the more time they spend thinking about and spreading the rumors they create themselves, the less time they spend worrying about what we really do," the pegasus grinned.

"And what is it you really do?"

She shook her head. "I can't tell you that right now. Other than the bit you already know from the two meetings you were at. And I can tell you that we were the first to know about your arrival here, other than Their Majesties themselves. And we played a big role in the decisions about what should be done with you."

He raised an eyebrow. "Really? well … I guess I should thank you then. For not recommending that she throw me in the dungeon for the rest of my life."

"Well, That's what Moon Song wanted to do with you. But Her Majesty would have none of it."

He blinked and looked at the unicorn, who nodded once, then he looked back at Storm Runner.

"I'm just kidding," she chuckled. "None of us wanted to keep you in the dungeon."

"Oh … well, that's a relief," he said awkwardly.

"I can also say that as a Council member, nothing is off limits to you. The entire Royal Archive is open to you, including all content that has been sealed from the public. And if something happens anywhere in the world that is significant to Equestria, you will know about it. And you'll be one of the first to know about it."

He nodded slightly in response, considering everything she had said. It really didn't sound nearly as bad as Theory Point had made it out to be. And if Equestria was to be his home for the rest of his life, the ability to influence it at such a high level seemed like a good benefit. Also, full access to the Royal Archives—hundreds of thousands of new volumes of literature he had not yet had any access to … that was also very tempting.

"So where are all the others?" he finally asked. "I know there are a lot more Council members than just you three."

"Out doing their various jobs," the earth pony named River Rock responded. The only reason we three are here is because we were up very late last night working on various projects for Her Majesty. But we'll be leaving soon."

"In that case, I should probably let you go … I hope I didn't make you late for anything," he said with a hint of nervousness in his voice.

"It's alright," the unicorn responded. "We don't have to leave yet." He motioned toward the game board on the table. "You play?"

He looked at the game board. It wasn't anything he had seen before. On the surface were chips of various colors that resembled checkers. There was also a deck of cards divided equally between the three ponies. He shook his head slightly. "I've never seen the game before."

"Well, if you join the Council, you'll have to learn how to play it," the unicorn responded. We have games almost every night. Of course, usually there are more than three of us playing. When you don't feel like playing a game, there's always books to read. We even have the latest Daring Do book."

"How'd you manage that? I read in the Canterlot Courier that the new Daring Do book was on a two month back order and the first printing had already sold out eight months before it went to press."

"It's one of the perks of being that close to royalty. They'd start up the presses just to run off one copy if they knew one of Their Majesties … or one of their Council members wanted it."

If Rainbow Dash knew I had a copy of the latest Daring Do book here, she'd probably fight me to get her hooves on it, he thought to himself. Yeah … she'd almost certainly win too.

"Come on. I'll show you around," Storm Runner said, motioning him to the hallway at the other end of the room. She went through a door on her right and he followed, Behind the door, additional doors lined both sides of the hall.

"These are the living quarters," she said as she lead him down the hall, "We each have our own private bedroom, but bathroom facilities are shared," she said as she opened the door to one of the bedrooms, pushing it inward. Inside, was fairly spartan room. There was a bed along one wall and a small writing desk in front of the window. Aside from a few framed pictures, The walls were bare mostly white stone—the same color as the stone that made the outer castle walls. The pictures appeared to be of a personal nature. He took it to mean that Council members were free to decorate the walls, at least as long as they didn't go overboard with it.

She showed him around the rest of living quarters as well before leading him back to the common area near the entrance.

"There's no kitchen here?" he questioned.

She shook her head once. "Not really needed. Most mornings, you will have breakfast with Her Majesty, Princess Celestia. Most evenings, dinner with Her Majesty, Princess Luna. The only meal you really have to worry about is lunch. And the castle kitchen is always open and free to Council members. They can make just about anything you want."

She glanced at the clock above the fireplace, then turned back to him. "I hate to cut this short, but we have to go. But thank you for stopping by. I know you'll make the right decision. I look forward to having you as a brother, if that is what you choose."

"A brother?" he raised an eyebrow.

"As I said, the Council is a very tight knit group. We care about, and take care of each other, as a brother takes care of a brother, or a sister. You can follow us out." She walked towards the door.

"Thank you for the tour," he said as they arrived at the ground floor level of the castle. "It was nice meeting all of you."

"You're welcome," Storm Runner responded. "Good luck, Doctor Peterson. With your decision."

"Thank you," he nodded respectfully, then turned and made his way to the grand foyer before leaving the castle and returning to his dorm room to think …

...

Four days later …

James stood outside a small stone building in the castle courtyard. He was dressed in a plain gray hooded robe. A simple beige cord tied around his waist held the robe shut, the two ends of the beige cord dragging on the ground behind him. The building he stood outside of was unremarkable. Only two features distinguished it from any other building. The first, was that it had no roof, the top of the building being completely open and exposed to the sky. The second, was the large carving on the wall next to the door. On the left of the carving, was a simple circle. On the right, an engraving of Celestia's blazing sun superimposed with Luna's crescent moon. A straight line connected the circle with the sun and moon engraving. Just to the left of the circle, a bright reflection of the sun was slowly moving towards the right as the sun tracked across the sky above them. He knew from reading about the Council initiation ceremony that the circle on the left represented him, the sun and moon on the right represented Celestia and Luna, and the line connecting the two represented the path he must walk.

He looked up at the sky. The sun and the moon were both visible high in the sky. He had never seen both of them up at the same time in Equestria before, and he knew it only happened for special events. They both looked as if they were staring down at the open roofed building. He looked back down and took a nervous deep breath, letting it out slowly as he glanced again at the bright reflection of the sun inching closer to the circle.

"Don't be nervous," Storm Runner said, standing next to him in front of the door. "You've got the entire ceremony memorized. You'll do fine," she reassured him.

He nodded slightly and tried to calm his nerves, watching the bright reflected light continuing to inch closer to the circle. The edge of the reflection had just passed over the circle, bathing it in sunlight.

"It is time," Storm Runner said. Then she knocked on the stone door three times. It began to glow with magic as it opened. A male voice came from inside.

"Who hast thou brought to us, sister?"

"I bring Doctor James Peterson, of the Royal Equestria Academy, brother."

"Why hast thou brought him to us?"

"So that he may join us as a brother."

"Why does he wish to join us?"

"Only to serve."

"Is he willing to give up all that he is to join us?"

"He is."

"Has he come of his own free will?"

"He has."

"Then let him enter, and speak for himself."

She stepped to her right, clearing the way to the door so that James could step in front of it. He stepped in front of the door, then stepped inside, trying to keep his breathing under control. Already, he could feel the magic in the air—the energy building for the spell that would later be cast. The ceremony would help to build that magical energy. Then, after he had sworn the oath, Celestia and Luna would release the built up energy in a powerful binding spell. The energy zipped around him in all directions, making his skin tingle.

Inside the building, at the center of the floor, was a mosaic of gold and silver tiles—again, the golden sun with the silver crescent moon superimposed on it. Around the circle formed by the golden tiles, the Council members were arranged in a crescent—a crescent shaped like Luna's crescent moon. The open end of the crescent faced him. At the mid-way point of the crescent, stood Celestia and Luna themselves. He felt the feeling of awe coming over him again. The same one he had felt when he first met Princess Celestia, and again when he had watched her raise the sun.

He stopped once he was clear of the door, as required by the ceremony protocol, standing still and looking straight forward now.

"Why hast thou come to us?" the same voice spoke again. It was a unicorn, standing to Celestia's right.

"To join thee as a brother."

"Why doest thou wish to join us?"

"Only to serve."

"Art thou willing to give up all that thou art to join us?"

"I am."

"Hast thou come to us of thy own free will?"

"I have."

"Then step forward, my future brother, that thou mayst speak the oath of fealty and leave thy former self behind."

He stepped forward into the crescent formed by the Council members standing in a semicircle. Once he was standing in the middle of the tile mosaic of the sun and moon, he stopped and knelt before the Royal Sisters. The unicorn to Celestia's right spoke again.

"To serve Their Majesties, is to serve Equestria. and to serve Equestria, is to serve Their Majesties. To always strive for a better Equestria that benefits all. From the youngest colt, to the oldest mare. For ponykind and non-ponykind alike. For all who live in Equestria are valued citizens of Equestria. To protect and defend, especially those who cannot defend themselves. This is the duty of every Council member. Art thou willing to accept these duties?"

"I am."

"Thou art reminded that once the oath of fealty has been spoken, it is binding for life and thou canst never go back. Now, if thou art still willing, thou mayst speak the oath."

There is no going back, he thought to himself. Then, he began to speak the oath, still kneeling with his head bowed to the two princesses.

"With the sun and moon as my witnesses

Do I bow of my own free will

Without coercion or duress

Now and forever do I swear fealty and allegiance

To Princess Celestia and Princess Luna

To be true and faithful

In living and in dying

To never rise against them

To protect and defend them against all who would oppose them

Even if it require the forfeiture of my own life

To the Royal Sisters do I swear eternal service

To them alone and forsaking all else

Until death take me

Or the world ends."

Then, he lowered his head towards the floor, kissing the right forehoof of first Princess Celestia, then Princess Luna.

"The initiate has been bound by oath. Now let him be bound by magic," the unicorn spoke again.

This was the part he had been dreading. The part he feared the most. He knew a binding spell would be placed on him, and he knew the spell would last for the rest of his life. But exactly what the spell did, he wasn't entirely sure.

He kept his head bowed as he felt the horns of Celestia and Luna touch his left and right shoulders. He felt a tingling at the point where their horns touched him. A sensation of warmness began at the points of contact and quickly started to move throughout his body, filling him as if it were flowing through his veins. A feeling like electricity traveled through him. But it was not unpleasant. Not at all. In fact, it was ecstasy. In his mind, he reached out towards the sun and the moon, He touched them, first the moon, and then the sun. The very surface of the sun. But it did not burn him. Instead, he felt himself becoming one with them. A calm, Utopian feeling began to fill him, starting at his feet and filling him like clear sparkling water filling a crystal pool. He could feel the connection forming, being woven from gold and silver threads as he was bound to Celestia and Luna. And it felt more pleasurable than anything he had ever felt in his life. The magic surged through him, power flowing from the two alicorns filled him. But despite the power, it was a feeling of calmness, like a mighty waterfall from the side of a mountain falling into a forest river.

He felt their horns leave his shoulders. Gradually, the room returned into focus, and the feeling of ecstasy started to flow out of him as if he were returning to the real world from some fantasy dreamland. But the pleasant warming sensation remained. Vaguely, he was aware of the unicorn to Celestia's right speaking again.

"The cord tied around thee and dragging behind thee represents thy ties that thou must now shed. Let it now be severed."

Celesta and Luna both lowered their horns again, touching the cord on either side of his waist. A small glow from their horns, and the two sections of cord immediately burst into small flames. The cord burned through quickly and fell to the ground. The unicorn spoke again.

"The binding is complete, rise, my new brother, and shed the gray robe. For thou hath now earned the honor of wearing the Council robe."

He stood and spread his arms slightly. The two Council members to Celestia and Luna's right and left stepped forward, removing the gray robe he had been wearing. They placed the white and midnight blue robe of the Council over his arms, folding it closed at his chest. Then a gold and silver cord was tied around his waist to hold the robe shut. Once completed, they stepped backwards to take up their positions next to the princesses again.

"The initiation ceremony is now complete," the unicorn to Celestia's right spoke again. "Thou art now a fully sworn member of the Council, and a brother to us all. May the light of the sun and the moon shine on thee always. And may thou serve thy princesses with honor, respect, loyalty, and humility, for the rest of thy days. For to serve Their Majesties, is to serve Equestria. And to serve Equestria is to serve Their Majesties. Let us all welcome James, our newest brother."

Celestia herself was the first to approach him. She nuzzled his cheek gently with her muzzle. "Thank you. And welcome to Royal Council," she said in her usual caring voice.

The other Council members took turns welcoming him as well, But each kept their welcome brief. There would be plenty of time for welcoming at the small, private initiate banquet that followed. Even Celestia and Luna would attend the banquet in his honor as the newest Council member.

All of them knelt and bowed as Princess Celestia and Princess Luna left the building. The Council members, including James, followed her out.

Once outside, James turned to look at the carving on the building again. The bright reflection of the sun had traveled completely across the line and was now shining on the image of the sun and crescent moon at the other side of the line, marking that he had walked the path and arrived at the destination.

Celestia and Luna were gone now, having quickly made their way back to the castle where they would join the Council again in about an hour for the feast. Yet even though they were gone, he could still feel their presence. It was as if they were still standing right next to him. It must be the binding spell, he thought to himself. The warming sensation was still there. And he hoped it would never leave. It was as if he could reach deep inside of himself and touch it. And when he touched it, a strange sensation like nothing he had ever felt before came over him. When he let go of it, the sensation would disappear, despite the fact that the warmth was still there. The feeling was so strange, he could think of absolutely nothing in his prior experiences to compare it too. But whatever it was, he hoped it would never leave. It was comforting, reassuring, and strength granting all at the same time. As he continued walking toward the castle for the banquet with the other Council members, he looked around briefly, then back forward. He smiled now, certain he had made the right choice …

...

Later in the day, James settled into his new room in the castle. His only regret now was that he had eaten too much at the banquet, as had all of the other Council members.

He opened the wardrobe door, then stood in front of the mirror, undoing the gold and silver cord that held the robe in place. He made sure to pay attention to the knot that had been used to tie it so that he would be able to tie it again when he put the robe back on. Looking in the mirror, he saw that his eye color had changed from brown to the same magenta color of Celestia's eyes. Later in the evening, after the sun had set, he went back to the mirror again. Now, his eye color had changed to deep blue, the same color as Luna's eyes. So I did remember, correctly, he thought to himself, recalling that all the Council members he had met had had magenta eyes that he was sure were deep blue at the first Council meeting. Another effect of the binding spell, he assumed. His eyes must now be the color of Celestia's during the day, and Luna's at night. It would take some getting used to, but all of the other Council members were the same way.

He climbed into bed and smiled again. The sense of warmness was still there, as was the feeling of presence; the presence of the two princesses. Never before had he felt so whole, as if a void had been filled. He closed his eyes, still smiling as he drifted off to sleep.

...

James found himself inside the familiar stone building with the seven caskets again. Outside, the towers of the castle continued to burn. He turned his eyes back to the front of the room. The thing that pretended to be Nightmare Moon stood glaring at him with all the intensity of an inferno. It was a look of pure malice and hatred. The image of himself stood next to her again, the collar around his neck, the chain running from his collar to the false alicorn's fetlock, binding him to her. This time, Twilight was no where to be seen. Finally, it spoke.

"I've grown weary of waiting for you, human. I've been more than lenient with you. But soon the time will come where I will force you to serve me whether you want to or not."

"You are too late," James responded confidently. "I have chosen my side."

The false alicorn chuckled darkly in response. "Foalish boy. You say that like you actually had a choice to make. Fate chose for you long before you were born, human. You belong to me, and you will serve me." She stomped her forehoof once, sparks flying from the shoe on her hoof scraping the stone floor. He almost lost his nerve when she stomped, remembering the earthquake the last time she had done so. But this time, nothing happened except for the sparks. He regathered his courage and spoke as forcefully as possible.

"You are too late. I belong to Princess Celestia and Princess Luna. I am bound to them for life, and I will serve only them. Now go and trouble me no more."

The false alicorn laughed with a sinister growl. "Do you really think you can get rid of me that easily? By simply telling me to go?" She laughed again. "You will serve me!" she snarled.

"No, he will not!"

James nearly jumped, startled at the unexpected female voice that boomed out from behind him. Even the false alicorn's eyes widened, looking behind James now instead of at him. He turned his head to see Princess Luna, walking towards them, her horn already glowing, her eyes narrowed as she fixed them on the thing that looked like Nightmare Moon. She stopped and stood next to him before she continued speaking.

"He belongs to me and my sister now," Luna spoke sternly. "He is bound to us by oath. You will not have him."

The intensity of Luna's glare increased and the light from her horn brightened. Suddenly, a blinding bolt of lightening shot from her horn, lighting up the entire building as if it were broad daylight. A loud crack as the heat from the bolt caused the air to expand explosively. The lightening struck the image of James, hitting the collar around his neck, splitting it in two. It fell from his neck, hitting the ground with an echoing clang. The image of himself took on a surprised look, then quickly ran towards them, passing them and then fading. The two halves of the collar smoldered on the floor, the edges where the lightening had rended it in two glowing white hot.

"This cannot be!" the false alicorn proclaimed in a rage, the chain she held now dangling limply on the ground with nothing attached to the collar. The false alicorn's eyes became even wider as she stomped her hoof nervously, looking squarely at Luna. "You cannot be here!"

"We are here!" Luna responded, using the Royal Canterlot voice now. "Thou wilt torment him no longer! Be gone with thee!"

Luna lowered her head, her horn pointing straight forward now, then started prancing towards the false alicorn. Much to James' surprise, the false alicorn began to dance backward awkwardly, stumbling under Luna's assault. Finally, the false alicorn spread her wings. She glared at Luna, growling and shouting.

"You and I are one, Luna! Do you forget yourself? I am you! It is only a matter of time before you realize that and join with me once more!"

A dark mist surrounded the false alicorn now, like a dense black fog rising from the floor. It cleared almost as fast as it had come. When it did, she was gone.

James looked down at the collar again. The white hot edges where Luna's lightening bolt had cut it had cooled to a dull orange now. He turned and looked at Luna. "Your Majesty? How did you—"

"It is one of the effects of the binding spell. As long as you are close enough, I and my sister can sense when you are in trouble, and come to your aid," Luna responded. She looked a little shaken herself though, by what had just happened.

"Does it only work in dreams? Or …"

She shook her head slightly. "It works when you are awake as well. And as long as you are within teleportation distance, I or my sister can come to your aid. With time, you will learn many more mysteries of the binding spell. Indeed, some of the very secrets of the Universe itself will be revealed to you through the binding spell. Some, you will learn from your brothers and sisters on the Council. Others, you will learn from me or my sister. And still others, you must discover on your own when the time is right." She looked at the ground now, her expression distant and troubled, a look of deep sadness and concern in her eyes.

"… It's not true, Your Majesty … what it said. You are not Nightmare Moon anymore. Nightmare Moon is gone."

She nodded slightly in response. "Yes … Well, at least somepon … someone believes in me," she said, forcing a small, brief smile. Then she turned, her head lowered to the ground, her ears drooping against her head as if she were tormented by some great inner sadness.

He wanted to follow her. To comfort her. But her image faded into nothingness, disappearing from his dream. The stone walls and floor of the building he was in soon followed, leaving only darkness as the dream ended and he returned to a dreamless sleep.

31 - The Royal Council

"And so I say unto thee, persevere my brothers and sisters! Do not lose hope. For this I have seen in the stars: The day is coming when two sisters shall be born. And they shall have the combined powers of the unicorn, the pegasus, and the earth pony. Their power shall be multiplied a thousand times a thousand fold. Then shall they do battle with he that causes chaos, and they shall strike him down. They shall render him powerless and they shall bind him in stone for an age. Then shall the two sisters take up the throne of Equestria and rule with peace, love, and wisdom. Power over the very forces that drive the Universe shall be theirs. Even the sun and moon shall bow before them. Keep watch, my fellow ponies! For our deliverance draws nigh."

— Excerpt from The Alicorn Prophecies as written by Star Swirl the Bearded in the year 36 BCL (Before Celestia and Luna)

The God Particle

Chapter 31: The Royal Council

James awoke early the next morning. At first, it took him a moment to get his bearings before remembering he was no longer in the Academy dorm, but rather, in the Council living quarters of the castle. He could still feel the gentle warmth of the binding spell inside of him. Again, he reached deep inside himself and touched the energy. He held onto it for a moment, feeling it move and flow through him. He jumped, startling himself and suddenly letting go of it … Had he actually manipulated it? Changed its shape? At least for a brief moment, he thought he had.

Before he had much time to ponder that, and what it might mean, the dream started to come back to him. Luna! He quickly got out of bed, put on his Council robe, and tied it with the gold and silver cord. At least there was one benefit of the Council robe over the Academy uniform: It was much faster to put on. He finished dressing, then quickly left his room, walked down the hall, and out the door of the Council living area. Then he made his way down the corridors, and up the stairs to the private living areas of the two princesses.

Arriving outside Luna's door—it was a midnight blue color with silver stars and a crescent moon engraved into it—he stopped and glanced at the two Lunar Guards standing on either side of it. After a few moments, the one on the right spoke.

"You are on the Royal Council now, James. You do not need permission or an appointment to see the princesses anymore. We will inform you if she has requested not to be disturbed. Even then, you may still see her anyway if you think it is important enough to disturb her. No guard will try to stop you. But any consequences of disturbing her when she has requested not to be disturbed will be on you. Not on the guards."

He nodded "Thank you … for letting me know." Then he raised his hand and knocked on the door. The edges of it glowed with a silver aura as it opened. He stepped inside and knelt before the Princess of the Night.

"James … You may stand. Your visit is … unexpected. What brings you to me?"

He stood up, clumsily almost tripping on the robe—he wasn't used to wearing such attire. He recovered quickly though. "I wanted to thank you, Your Majesty … for coming to me last night. But also, I wanted to make sure you were alright."

She had a brief look of surprise on her face … as if she were surprised he had come to check on her. But then she resumed a stoic expression. "I am doing fine, James. The aisling … probably will not trouble your dreams anymore. Now that it knows I am aware of when it is and can show up to confront it."

"If you can drive them off so easily, Your Majesty … than why is there concern about The Beyond?"

She shook her head slightly. "The aisling is only a servant, James. A relatively weak one at that. There are far more dangerous creatures to be found in The Beyond than aislings … You'd better go. You must have breakfast with my sister and the other Council members. You don't want to be late."

"Yes, Your Majesty. And thank you, again." He bowed before stepping back and turning, starting to leave her room.

"James?"

He stopped, turning to face her again. "Yes, Your Majesty?"

"Thank you … For stopping by to check on me." She gave him a small smile.

He bowed again. "It is my honor to serve, Your Majesty." Then he turned and left, making his way to the private dining area where he had been told Celestia and the Council ate breakfast every morning. He smiled slightly. Luna had thanked him. She rarely did that. In fact, she almost never did that. It seemed maybe the ice was finally melting. He hoped this time it would continue to melt, and that it would stay melted instead of refreezing again, like it seemed to have done so many times before when they had made a connection to each other.

Arriving in the dining room, he greeted his fellow Council members, the ones that had arrived anyway, then found a seat at the table. The table, once again, was round. The table always seemed to be round whenever the Council was involved. He looked around as more of the Council members began to trickle in. The far wall was dominated by a large stone hearth, although no fire burned in it right now. A large map of Equestria and the lands beyond its borders hung on the wall across from him. There were colored push pins stuck in it at various places. A green chalk board hung next to it. The dining room appeared to be set up so that important affairs could be discussed while eating.

He turned his attention back to the door as it opened again and Princess Celestia stepped through it. He bowed, along with all the other Council members. She took an empty spot at the table.

"Good morning. You may all be seated," she smiled.

As they were all taking their seats, a tuxedo wearing unicorn from the kitchen entered through another door and began to serve a before breakfast hot tea. Celestia didn't wait until he had left before beginning, apparently he was trusted enough that she didn't mind him listening in.

"First, I want to fill James in on the situation at the physics lab. He hasn't been told yet because I wanted to give him his three uninterrupted days to consider the Council invitation." She turned her head slightly to look at him now. "Two days ago, the lab was broken into. The object wasn't taken. But, I'm sorry to say, most of your research notes were."

"Your Majesty?" he raised an eyebrow. "How'd they get in, Your Majesty? There were magical wards on that lab, weren't there? And anti-teleportation spells?"

She nodded slightly. "Yes, there were. Only a master thief could have done it, very knowledgeable and talented in warding magic to remove them without tripping the alarm traps. Theory Point says she thinks you can reconstruct the notes. Can you?"

He nodded once. "Yes, Your Majesty. We should be able to reconstruct most of them."

"And what do you consider the risk to be if the notes were to fall into the wrong hooves?"

"Probably not very high, Your Majesty. There's probably little in the notes they didn't already know, And even for things they didn't know, it's unlikely to be of much use … My bigger concern, Your Majesty, is that the notes will let them know how much progress we have made on figuring out what the object is."

She nodded. "Well, there's nothing that can be done about that now. Perhaps though, the Unicorn Guards working the lab may find a signature in the residual magic," she said, her horn glowing lightly as she floated a tea cup up to her muzzle and sipped from it.

"A signature, Your Majesty?" he questioned.

"Each unicorn has a magical signature," she explained, setting the tea cup down again. "Even if two unicorns cast the exact same spell, the energy will be slightly different. No unicorn is one hundred percent efficient when casting. Not all of the energy they unleash actually goes into the spell. Some of the energy simply scatters in random directions. That scattered energy sometimes stays around for awhile after the spell has been cast, and it can sometimes be used to identify the unicorn who cast a certain spell."

So basically, like a magic fingerprint, "Thank you for explaining, Your Majesty."

She nodded and smiled briefly before continuing. "The problem is, exceptionally good magicians often are close enough to one hundred percent efficient, that the residual magic they leave behind is not enough to be detected. So the Unicorn Guard may find nothing. I fear that any magician talented enough to remove the wards without triggering their alarms is probably talented enough to make sure the spell they cast was efficient enough not to leave a detectable trace."

She paused again, taking another sip of tea, then continued. "That brings us to the issue of the other object. A second recovery attempt will be made today. Firewing assures me the dragon that attacked the last recovery mission is unlikely to pose a threat this time. However, I am still sending Unicorn Guards up there with the Pegasus Guards to ward the area and provide anti-flame shields if needed." She looked at him again. "Because of what happened last time, I will not be sending you or Theory Point along on this one. Please get with Captain Swordstorm and brief him on anything he needs to know about how to safely handle and move the object. The mission leaves in two hours, so make sure to give yourself enough time."

"Yes, Your Majesty," James responded after finishing a sip of his own tea.

"Good," she nodded, then looked at the rest of the Council again. "What news of the effort to find the weakened area of the barrier?"

The unicorn, Moon Song, spoke. "The Captain of Magical Defenses assures me he has every unicorn he can spare searching for the weak spot. But so far, they have found nothing, Your Majesty. It's a slow and tedious process as the only thing they can do is check every seal in the barrier."

"Report to me as soon as they find anything," she said.

"Of course, Your Majesty," Moon Song responded.

The tuxedo wearing unicorn returned with the main breakfast course and began to serve them, starting with Princess Celestia. There was little talk while they ate. When they had finished, other Council issues not related to the object or the weakening magical barrier were discussed. There was a request for funding from the City of Manehattan to help restore a historic old school, petitions from other towns and individuals for bits, seeking approval for various projects, and many other more mundane issues. It served as a stark reminder that despite the seemingly unfolding crisis, there was still a country that had to be run. And as the more mundane issues continued to be introduced and discussed, James began to become aware of just how much work was truly involved in running a country.

Finally, the rest of the business was finished, and Celestia dismissed the Council. All of the Council members bowed, then began to file out of the dining room.

"James," Celestia spoke, stopping him. "Please come see me after you have spoken with Captain Swordstorm. There is another issue I need to discuss with you."

"Yes, Your Majesty," he said, bowing again before stepping out of the room.

...

Once he had given Captain Swordstorm a crash course in radiation safety, and safe handling of nuclear materials, he returned to the castle. He entered the throne room, bowed, and was given permission to stand. Celestia hesitated only a moment before speaking.

"… There's another human involved in this, James."

His jaw dropped for a moment, but he quickly closed it again. "Your Majesty? How do you know this, if I may ask?"

"Firewing, the Elder Dragon Ambassador, saw him. He's not yet part of the pattern, but he is approaching it from a distance."

He considered for a moment. "With all due respect, Your Majesty, he must be mistaken. As you and your advisers stated yourself, the possibility of duplicating the exact conditions that brought me here are so astronomically small—"

"He isn't here yet, James. But Firewing was certain he will be involved."

"If I may ask, Your Majesty, when did you learn of this?"

"Shortly after giving you the Council invitation. I didn't tell you sooner because I'd promised you three full days of uninterrupted time to consider your decision."

He nodded slightly. "Is he coming here, Your Majesty?"

"I don't know. Neither does Firewing. All we know is that he will be involved. For our benefit or detriment, we do not yet know."

He said nothing in response, trying to take in what she had said. Could it be someone he knew? He didn't see how. Even if the exact conditions could be duplicated, he was almost certain the Tevatron had not survived the earthquake. Even if it were possible to use some other particle accelerator to achieve the same results, the conditions would no doubt have to be different to account for different locations. They'd probably even have to be different to account for different times. Celestia spoke again, bringing him out of his thoughts.

"James, I'll need you to tell me everything you know about the other humans you worked with. I can't be sure it's one of them that is involved, but if it is, I want to be prepared."

He nodded slightly. "Yes, Your Majesty … I can even get you pictures of some of them if there's any charge left on my iPhone after a pony I gave it to gets all the music off of it … I can probably go get it today actually. It's at Vinyl Scratch's music studio on the other side of the city."

She nodded. "You have my permission to go get it. But hurry back."

"Yes, Your Majesty," he said, backing up and bowing before leaving.

"Firewing must be mistaken," he said to himself again as he walked. There was no way he could think of that another human could come here. His mind scrambled over the possibilities … what if it was not random chance that he had been brought here? What if The Beyond had brought him here, and now that it had failed to convince him to serve it, it was trying again with another human? No … that didn't fit the time line. Firewing had already seen the other human before the last dream he had with the aisling. And the aisling still thought he might serve it.

He made his way to the music studio as quickly as he could, pushing the button next the door. The DJ pony answered shortly after.

"Hel—Whoa! James? You're on the Council now? Guess we won't be seeing you around the club anymore," she looked at the robe he was wearing.

"Hi, DJ. Yes, I'm on the Council. But I might still be able to stop by the club from time to time." He knew that probably wasn't true. Even if Celestia or Luna would give him permission to go to The Underhoof, it didn't seem to him like it would be an appropriate place for a Council member to hang out. He doubted he would even ask.

"Come on in, I got all the music off your iPhone thing. Didn't even have to use up your battery to do it. I figured out what the battery puts out, then just disconnected it and hooked up a power supply in its place."

"You did? That was clever of you. Thank you," he smiled.

"Would you mind if I sampled some of that music? Maybe used some of it in remixes?"

"I don't mind, I doubt the dead composers that wrote it will mind, and the orchestras that played it aren't around to complain. Knock yourself out. So how much I owe you for all this?"

"Since you're letting me use the music in my remixes, we'll just call it even."

"Really? Thanks, DJ. I really appreciate this."

"Don't worry about it. It's nothing," she said, her horn glowing as she magically floated the iPhone and two digital audio tapes over to him. "I made you two copies, since I know you said you wanted to give one to Octavia."

"Thanks again, DJ … Well, I'll see you around I guess?"

"Yeah. Hopefully you will." He got the impression she saw through what he had said about stopping by the club from time to time. That she knew as well as he did that he'd probably never be at the club again.

"May the light of Their Majesties' Sun and Moon guide you," he responded.

"Okay, you're weirdin' out on me now, James." She looked at him strangely.

"It's uh … the standard parting that the Council uses," he explained.

"Uh huh …" she responded, but seemed to let it go after that. "Well, hopefully, I'll see you around. Even if not at the club."

The two of them hugged briefly, then he turned and left, making his way back to the castle.

Back in front of the throne room, he almost stopped to ask the Celestial Guards at the door to see The Princess. Then he remembered what the Lunar Guards had told him when he visited Princess Luna earlier that morning. He knocked on the door himself instead, getting no reaction from the Celestial Guards on either side of the door. Once the guards inside had opened it, he entered, bowed and then began to show Celestia the photos on the iPhone.

In the back of his mind, he thought it was a little big brother like. Here he was, sharing everything he knew about his closest friends on Earth with a powerful ruler of another nation so that she could make decisions about what should be done with them if she ever encountered them. It's not like it really matters if I tell her I guess. None of them are going to show up here. The dragon must be mistaken, he told himself again.

Celestia seemed as fascinated by the pictures as Twilight and the others had been. Again, it was hard for him to look at some of them, and even harder to talk about them, remembering what they were like. He felt a sense of relief when he had reached the last picture.

"Of course, I can't even be sure it is someone you know," Celestia started. "But if it is, do you have any thoughts?"

He looked at the floor for a moment, consumed by his own thoughts before responding. "I don't think it's possible for any of them to come here, Your Majesty. But if any of them could figure it out, it would be Eric. Eric Thompson. If it can be done, he'd be the one that would figure out how to do it. He's extremely intelligent. He was also my most trusted friend. You'd have nothing to fear from him." He paused for a moment. It wasn't lost on him that he had spoken about Eric being his friend in past tense—almost as if he really didn't exist anymore. As if all of it were some previous life that didn't exist anymore, or had been some fantasy. Equestria was the only reality he knew now. Then he shook his head slightly. "But I don't even see why it would even cross his mind, Your Majesty. No doubt, they all think I am dead. The fact that they never found a body wouldn't mean very much. It's entirely possible I'd be buried under thousands of tons of concrete if the accelerator tunnel collapsed underneath the lab."

She nodded slightly. "This will, of course, be brought up at the next Council meeting. But I wanted to talk to you first so that I wasn't springing a total surprise on you."

"Thank you, Your Majesty. I appreciate that."

"Thank you, James, for giving me all this information., I know it must have been hard for you to talk about." He only nodded slightly in response, and she continued. "You may go. Please get with Theory Point and see how many of those notes you can reconstruct. You may go to the Academy dorm, or the physics lab. Wherever you think you will be most likely to find her. And get with Captain Swordstorm as soon as he returns from up North."

"Yes, Your Majesty." He bowed before taking his leave.

As he passed through the main gate and left the castle courtyard, he took note of the fact that the guards did not stop him to question him. They hadn't questioned him when he left to go get his iPhone either—had not asked him to see any kind of proof he was authorized to leave the castle. Given the robe he was wearing, the guards would clearly know he was a Council member. And Council members were not allowed to leave the castle without permission from one of the princesses. But it seemed the only thing enforcing that restriction was trust—trust that the Council members were loyal enough that they would not leave without permission, even if there was physically nothing stopping them from doing so. He was glad to see the trust relationship between the princesses and the Council ran so deeply.

He made his way to the Academy faculty dorm now. He wasn't sure if Theory Point would be there, or at the lab. But the dorm seemed to be a safer bet, especially if the Unicorn Guards had not finished their work in the lab.

He went to her room and knocked on the door, waiting only a few seconds before she opened it.

"So my plans for going steady with you are out the window I see," she snickered, stepping aside to allow him in.

He rolled his eyes as he stepped in. "It's good to see you again too, Theory Point," he said flatly.

"I'm just kidding with you," she sounded slightly defensive now. "It's your life after all. Who am I to tell you what to do with it? Considering your young age though, it seems like a rather rash decision to make. Given you've committed yourself for the rest of your days to a hard way of life you can never leave."

"And if I had said no, the opportunity would never have been offered again," he pointed out.

"That's the only reason anypony says yes. Because she only makes the offer once. If she allowed you to say no, and then change your mind later, nopony would ever accept. The only reason they do is because they know if they pass it up now, it will never come again."

He sighed and frowned, throwing his hands in the air. "Do we really have to have this conversation, Theory? I knew what I was getting into when I accepted the invitation. She was completely up front about what it entailed. And it's not why I came over here."

"Fine. You're right. Lets just get down to reconstructing the notes. How much do you remember?"

"Almost everything."

She nodded and magically retrieved a notebook and quill from her desk. Then they started reconstructing the notes, mathematical equations and formulas, and diagrams from memory.

He thought about telling her that a second recovery effort for the new object was in progress as they spoke, but decided against it. At the first Council meeting, he had been told that nothing said in the Council meetings was to leave the meeting without permission from one of the princesses. Besides, she would find out soon enough, assuming Captain Swordstorm was successful at recovering the object this time.

He and Theory Point spent the next several hours rewriting notes from memory, occasionally getting into long discussions when one of them remembered something differently than the other. It was during these discussions, that he could sense a certain tension coming from her, as if she no longer fully accepted him because he was on the Royal Council. He hoped she would get over it, and he hoped the rest of his friends at the Academy didn't feel the same way she did. But then again, could he really blame her for not fully accepting him anymore? To most ponies, the Royal Council was something mysterious. Any number of rumors about the Council, many of them untrue, floated around the public. Could he really blame anypony for not feeling entirely comfortable around a Council member?

Eventually, he announced he had to leave. Dinner would be soon, and he didn't dare miss his first one with Princess Luna as a Council member.

"May the light of Their Majesties' Sun and Moon guide you," he gave Theory Point the traditional Council parting as he left, getting a small head shake from her and a sigh. Neither one of them pressed the issue though as she closed her door and he turned, walking down the hallway. As he walked back to the castle, he wondered how the recovery mission was going. He didn't think they would be back until tomorrow morning sometime … hopefully early enough for him to get together with Captain Swordstorm before the breakfast briefing so he would be able to share whatever he learned with the rest of the Council that morning.

Back at the castle, he rejoined the rest of the Council in the same room they had had breakfast in that morning. Dinner with Princess Luna seemed to be somewhat more laid back than breakfast with Princess Celestia had been. Most of the Council business had been taken care of that morning and there were only a few items that needed to be dealt with that night. When they had finished eating, Luna dismissed the Council, and they all returned to the Council living quarters.

That evening, Moon Song taught him how to play the game they'd been playing when he had visited them a few days prior. The game was heavily strategy and logic based. Although it was relatively complex, it didn't take him long to get the hang of it. Well, the basics of it anyway. There was a lot of strategy to learn. Becoming good at it, was a different story. But after about an hour of practice, he managed to start winning a round once in awhile, although he still lost far more often than he won. It was good mental exercise though, with the strategy and logic involved.

"Something's bothering, you James," Storm Runner said as Moon Song dealt the deck of cards for another round.

"Are my emotions really that obvious? Her Majesty can read me like that too," he responded.

"In this case, they are," The pegasus said. "We are your brothers and sisters. You can talk to us."

He hesitated for a few moments before nodding slightly a couple of times. "One of my best friends at the Academy. Well, now that I'm a Council member …" He tried to find the right word. It's not as if she seemed to dislike him. Or that they weren't friends anymore. But their relationship was … well much different than it had been.

"Standoffish? Less open to you then she used to be? A little stiff and focused only on the task at hoof?"

"Basically, yes … Yes, that's it exactly."

Storm Runner nodded understandingly as she raised a forehoof, putting it on his shoulder comfortingly. "Unfortunately, it happens with some ponies. They don't understand the Council or what it does. And they fear what they don't understand."

"It seems less like fear, and more like disgust with me."

"There are a lot of ponies who won't understand the decision you made, James. As Her Majesty no doubt told you, most ponies who are offered the chance to join The Council, decline the offer. But trust me, even if most ponies don't show it, there is an element of fear there as well."

"Why should they fear me? They know the Council exists to ensure the safety of Equestria. They know the Council members are oath bound to serve Their Majesties. I don't understand why they should fear me."

"The fact that you are oath bound to serve Their Majesties plays a role in it."

He raised an eyebrow. "They are afraid of Their Majesties?"

She shook her head. "No, but they fear how much influence you have on the decisions Their Majesties make. And … well, although they do not fear Princess Celestia, there are still a lot ponies who do fear Princess Luna because of the second Nightmare Moon incident. They know you are bound to Princess Luna as well as Princess Celestia."

He nodded understandingly. Despite the way Luna sometimes treated him, he truly felt for her. He knew a lot of ponies still didn't like her, and didn't trust her. It might even be safe to say that most ponies didn't like her, didn't trust her, and were afraid of her. Her dark, mysterious image didn't help matters any. She almost never appeared in public. In fact, she was almost never seen at all. The circle of ponies who had any contact with her at all was very small. What Storm Runner had said definitely made sense. The fact that ponies knew he was part of Princess Luna's inner circle now might play a role in why they wanted to avoid him and closed themselves off to him. He frowned at the thought, and his heart ached for Luna—even if she did bring much of it on herself if she treated other ponies the same way she sometimes treated him.

The pegasus patted his shoulder once reassuringly with her forehoof. "A lot of sacrifices must be made to be on the Council, James. Unfortunately, the trust of some former friends is sometimes one of them. But you must remember all of the good you do for Equestria, and be content with that knowledge as your reward. And always remember that every Council member is always here to support you like a brother. Because a brother to us is what you are now."

He smiled slightly now, her words lifting his spirits again. Then he picked up the cards he had been dealt. "Thank you … Alright, enough of me moping around. Lets get this game back underway."

Eventually, they wrapped up the game and all retired to bed. As he lay in bed, he paid attention to the strange warming feeling of the binding spell again. It was like a spring of clear, warm water welling up inside of him. Reaching deep inside of himself again, he found that he could touch it once more. The harder he concentrated on it, the more intense it seemed to become.

He pushed that to the back of his mind for now, and sighed slightly. He thought about Twilight Sparkle and felt a twinge of worry go through his bones. Now that Luna said the aisling would probably leave him alone, would it start going after Twilight instead? He wasn't sure if it even knew she was involved, and he wanted to keep it that way by drawing as little attention to her as possible. Still though, there was a conversation he would have to have with her that he was not looking forward to. Any thought of hiding the fact that he was on the Council from her by simply not ever letting her see him wear the robe had been rendered moot by his eyes … his eyes that now changed color between Celestia's magenta during the day, and Luna's deep blue at night. Sooner or later, that conversation would have to happen. A few months at the latest because he was certain to see her at the Autumn Moon Celebration.

Sleep gradually drifted over him. As Luna had promised, the aisling did not trouble his dreams, and he slept soundly and peacefully through the entire night.

...

He awoke before sunrise the next morning, quickly getting out of bed and leaving his room, making his way toward the shared bathroom facilities where he showered and dressed. He was up earlier than normal, and was the only one there right now. But it occurred to him for the first time that given the shared bathroom and shower facilities, he would have to get comfortable with the idea of ponies seeing him nude, as well as with the idea of showering with ponies. The thought made him slightly uncomfortable, although he figured once he had gotten through it the first time, it would be second nature after that.

When he had finished putting the robe on and tying it shut, he went down to the main level of the castle, going around to the back and stepping outside. Even though it was still dark, the warm humid summer air hit him like he had stepped into steamy rain forest. It felt like rain was coming, possibly even a storm. He'd have to check what the weather ponies had planned for later that day when he got back to the Council living area.

Looking further out into the darkness behind the Castle, he could see four chariots and a squadron of Pegasus Guards. They looked like they had just recently arrived. He recognized Captain Swordstorm and quickly descended the stairs, pacing over to him at a fast walk.

"Privy Councilor James," Captain Swordstorm acknowledged and nodded. "Congratulations on your acceptance to the Council."

"Thank you, Captain," he slowed down and looked at the chariots and the rest of the Royal Guards. All seemed to be in good shape as best he could tell in the predawn low light conditions. "No more trouble with dragons, I hope?"

The pegasus shook his head. "We didn't run into any dragons." He frowned then, a frown that James knew meant whatever was coming next was not what he wanted to hear. "Unfortunately, we didn't get the object either. There was nothing to get. We dug until we hit solid rock. We never encountered any radiation either. We brought back some samples from the crater for you though. We thought perhaps you might be able to analyze them and find traces of whatever it was."

James blinked. "There was nothing there? How is that possible? Did something beat us up there? and recover it before we did?"

Captain Swordstorm shook his head. "The wing of guards I left up there encountered nothing after the dragon."

Could somepony, or something else for that matter, have beaten them up there and removed the object even before the original guards that established the perimeter found it? That seemed unlikely. There hadn't been any evidence that anything had been there before those guards had gotten there. Nor had there been any evidence that any attempt had been made to dig something out of the crater. "Could it have been so hot it completely burned away?" he said more to himself than to anypony that might be listening. He thought for a few more moments, then turned his attention back to Captain Swordstorm. The pony had a look of disappointment on his muzzle. "You did everything you could, Captain. If it's not there now, it almost certainly wasn't there the first time we went up either. Thank you for your efforts in trying to recover it. And that was good thinking in bringing the samples back. Can you have them taken to the physics lab? I'll inform Her Majesty at the Council meeting."

The pegasus nodded. In addition to looking disappointed, James thought he looked exhausted, as did the rest of the Pegasus Guards. They had probably worked half the day yesterday and half the night trying to recover the object, then spent the rest of the night flying to get back here before sunrise. Only the Unicorn Guards didn't look tired. They had ridden in the chariots and hadn't had to do very much once arriving up North since no dragons came back.

"You and your guards should get some well deserved rest," he said.

"Thank you, Privy Councilor James," he responded, then turned and went back to the rest of his guards, gathering them together as new guards showed up to deal with taking the carriages and other equipment back to storage. Two of them briefly talked to Captain Swordstorm, then hooked up to one of the chariots and began to take it towards the Academy. James assumed it must contain the samples, as well as the monitoring equipment that had been taken from the Academy. He watched the Pegasus Guards march off towards the barracks for some much needed sleep, then turned and went back to the castle himself.

He arrived at the breakfast room and made smalltalk with a few of the other Council members until Celestia arrived, at which point they all bowed and took their seats while the morning tea was served. As was protocol, Celestia was the first to speak.

"Good morning. I hope you all had a good night last night. We may as well start with Captain Swordstorm's recovery efforts up North. I trust you have spoken with him this morning, James?"

"I have, Your Majesty. Unfortunately, they found nothing to recover. They dug until they hit solid rock looking for it, but no object was found. They did bring us back some samples from inside the crater that we can analyze to look for anything out of the ordinary. But that's all we have to go on right now, Your Majesty."

If she were surprised or dismayed by that, she didn't show it. Instead, she simply nodded once. "Do you think somepony or something else could have gotten up there and recovered it?"

"It's unlikely, Your Majesty. The Pegasus Guards that were left up there did not encounter anything after the dragon forced us to leave. And there was no evidence of any activity there before we arrived the first time. No evidence that any attempts had been made to remove something from the crater … My best guess, Your Majesty, is that there was never anything there to recover. Or at least there wasn't for very long after impact."

"And what do you think happened to it?" she asked.

"Anything I can say is really just a guess, Your Majesty. It's possible it burned. But if it did it was completely consumed. I have no doubt that it did survive re-entry and did impact the ground. The crater is too large to have been made by something that exploded in the air."

She nodded slightly. "It's unfortunate. But we did what we could. Would it be worth you or Theory Point going back up there to look at other possibilities?"

He hesitated before responding. He definitely was not looking forward to the possibility of going back up there. Not after what had happened the first time. But, he'd be lying if he said it wouldn't be worth it. If the object had burned, they may find traces of it on nearby objects, or evidence of burning in the crater itself—evidence that might require a trained scientific eye to find and that the guards might have overlooked. And despite the possibility of another dragon encounter, the strange object had definitely caught his interest—even more so now that it had seemingly just disappeared. But, first things first. Finally, he gave his answer.

"There definitely could be value in it, Your Majesty. But I would suggest that we analyze the samples Captain Swordstorm and his team brought back first before we make any decisions about going back up there."

She nodded. "Make it so."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

She turned her attention back to the table as a whole. "There is another issue. One that may or may not be related. Just yesterday, I received a report from one of the teams looking for the weakness in the barrier of griffins flying near the magical barrier in Everfree Forest. There's nothing for them to hunt along the barriers. And even griffins won't venture that deep into Everfree Forest lightly. At this point, we don't know what they were doing there. But I think we can safely assume they weren't just out on a leisurely sightseeing flight. As soon as I know anything more about the situation, you will all know as well."

Everfree Forest, James thought to himself. The feared, untamed forest the ponies didn't control. He'd only been in Everfree Forest once, when Twilight had taken him to see the ruins of the Ancient Castle of the Royal Pony Sisters. The magical barrier was much deeper into Everfree Forest than the ruined castle. It was in the skies above that castle, that the first battle of Nightmare Moon had been fought more than one thousand years ago. The backlash of the dark magic released on that day had permanently tainted the land of Everfree Forest, and all the creatures that lived there. The air itself was dangerous to flying creatures, and it was unlikely griffins would go there without good reason. Violent and rapid weather changes were common in Everfree. Sudden changes in wind direction and speed could send a pegasus, griffin, or even a dragon into a rapid stall, or throw them into an uncontrolled spin towards the ground. Unexpected severe turbulence strong enough to break wings could occur without warning. Dangerous creatures of myth and legend, tainted by the dark magic, roamed the woods. That taint had been passed down from generation to generation, like an ugly and twisted family heirloom. Creatures like manticores, with poisonous stingers the size of small swords on their scorpion like tails; three headed hydras, which could swallow you whole with one mouth, or tear you in half with two; the dreaded cockatrice, capable of turning you into stone if you looked at it. Most ponies—and most griffins and dragons for that matter—refused to even go near the edge of Everfree Forest, much less take one step inside of it, even though most ponies who had never been in Everfree didn't even believe that manticores, hydras, and cockatrices existed, instead believing them to be imaginary monsters in stories told to young colts and fillies to frighten them into behaving. But all three of those frightening creatures were very real. James had never seen any of them outside of the sketchings in some of Twilight's books. He hoped it would stay that way.

"Moving on to other things," Celestia said, turning her head and looking at Storm Runner, the pegasus now. "Storm Runner, I want you to mentor James today."

"Yes, Your Majesty," the pegasus responded.

"There is one more important issue," Celestia continued. "Although at this point, I am unsure of what it means. There is another human involved in this whole strange affair. He has been seen in the background of the pattern."

That drew looks of surprise from all of the Council members, along with an awkward pause. Finally, the earth pony, River Rock, spoke. "Is the other human coming here, Your Majesty?"

"At this point, I don't know. I don't even know who he is. But I have spoken to James about it and gathered as much information as possible about the people he knows. I will share that information with you at a later meeting. Before then, you are, of course, free to talk amongst yourselves with James about it. Right now, the other human is very far in the background. It will likely be awhile before he becomes a factor. But he definitely will become a factor. If it does turn out to be someone James knows, the information he has shared with us will be invaluable. But right now, I don't know anything else. As soon as I do, I will let you all know, and we will decide what to do then."

Breakfast was served shortly afterward. When they had finished eating, Celestia dismissed them. The Council rose, and in a flurry of bows, left the room.

He followed Storm Runner as she trotted down the hall and down a flight of stairs. She tuned her head over her whithers briefly to look at him, then back forward as she continued towards a nondescript door on the right side of the hall.

"One of the first things you'll find about the Council, James, is that you'll have to broaden your knowledge base quite a bit. There aren't a lot of us, so we have to strive to become experts in multiple fields. For example, you'll want to become an expert in more fields of science than just physics. But since physics is your specialty for now, I hope you like atmospheric thermodynamics."

"Atmospheric thermodynamics?" He raised his eyebrows as she hooked the latch on the door with her forehoof—all doors in Equestria used pull or push type latches, never doorknobs—pushing it down and then pushing the door open. She stepped inside, motioning him to follow with a nod of her head.

Inside, a large table dominated the floor of the room. Multiple maps and charts were spread out on it, in addition to several large aerial photographs of what looked like farm fields. Maps, charts, and graphs also covered almost every available square inch of space on the wall. It might as well have been wallpapered with them. He couldn't even see the stone wall behind it. Freestanding green chalkboards stood near the table and near the walls, each one covered with complex mathematical calculations. The charts on the wall and table, he recognized as climate data charts, tracking rainfall amounts, temperature, humidity, pressure, sunrise and sunset times, moon rise and moon set times, cloud cover, and many other weather and astronomical related variables.

"Welcome to Climate Central," Storm Runner said to him, looking back over her shoulder at him. He looked around, a look of confusion on his face before turning his head back to look at her, the look of questioning on his face apparently obvious as she spoke again. "What, you didn't think Their Majesties and the pegasus weather ponies just guess at it, did you?"

"I guess … I never really thought much about it at all," he said, a note of bewilderment in his voice.

"Most ponies don't. They'd rather not think about all the work that really goes into this," she nodded. "This is basically where we make the climate, and make small adjustments to it whenever needed. The weather pegasi send us data from all the different parts of Equestria regarding temperature, humidity, barometric pressure, soil conditions such as moisture content. You name it, and if it has to do with climate or growing food, it probably comes through this room. Then we crunch the numbers, and produce recommendations. Everything from when Her Majesty should raise and lower the sun each day and what angle the rays should strike the ground at, to how much rain the weather ponies should try to produce in Manehattan."

He continued to look around the room, still bewildered. He had known the pegasi controlled the weather—everypony in Equestria knew that. But until now, it had never occurred to him that it was such a major operation that was being scientifically directed from Canterlot. He had also finally come to accept that Princess Celestia really did control the movement of the sun, but it had never occurred to him that it was such a complex operation of determining exactly when it should rise, when it should set, even what angle the rays should strike the surface at, and various other aspects to achieve ideal climate conditions. Adviser to a princess? or adviser to a goddess? He looked back at the pegasus with him again, a sense of wonder still on his face.

"Of course," she began a bit sheepishly, "its not an exact science. Not yet anyway. We don't always get it right. But we get better at it all the time."

"At least it's probably a more exact science than trying to predict the weather where I am from," he said absentmindedly, joking to himself.

He spent the next several hours learning about the weather making process from Storm Runner, all the variables that went into deciding when it should rain in a given area, how much it should rain, how much sunlight a given area should get, and my another variables. Thanks to his physics background, a lot of it came relatively easy to him. He understood thermodynamics, and thus understanding atmospheric heat transfer was second nature to him, as were calculations regarding different types of terrain absorbing and reflecting heat at different rates. The entire operation fascinated him. On one hand, it was slightly frightening to comprehend: A world so … broken … for lack of a better term, that even weather patterns didn't work without ponies controlling them. But on the other hand, the fact that they did control the weather … He thought about how different things could be on his own planet if they had the ability to control the weather. How many global problems could be eliminated with the ability to do that? No more famine, no more hunger, no more devastating floods, no more hurricanes or tornadoes, no more deadly heat waves or destructive blizzards. The possibilities for solving world hunger, and other problems, seemed endless.

Of course, it wasn't quite that simple, as she explained to him. The pegasus weather ponies, after all, couldn't simply pull moisture out of dry air. They couldn't make it rain where there was no moisture to work with. And that's where the sun came in. The sun had to evaporate enough moisture from lakes, ponds, and streams to give the pegasi enough to work with. But evaporate too much, and you would dry out the ground, which had many undesirable effects. And that's what made the process so complicated, and yet so challenging and fascinating. So many intertwined variables went into achieving the desired outcome. And changing one of them often had a cascading effect that caused a lot of other ones to change, or required that they be adjusted. As in his own world, weather here wasn't an exact science that was fully understood. That meant sometimes the effects of changing one variable weren't fully predictable, or understood. Anytime the outcome they got wasn't the outcome they intended, they would try to analyze where their calculations and formulas were wrong, and try to update them to produce better and more accurate results. It was the kind of problem a super computer would have modeled on Earth. Except here, they didn't have super computers. What they did have, were some extremely intelligent Council members, of which he was now counted one of.

Of course, despite his new duties on the Council, there was still other work to be done, and the next morning found him back in the Academy physics lab with Theory Point. The wards that were supposed to prevent teleportation into or out of the lab had been recast. And now there would be guards posted inside the lab whenever he or Theory Point were not there.

The two of them said little to each other as they prepared some of the samples Swordstorm had brought back for analysis. When he tried to talk to her, the answers she gave were short, and strictly related to the project they were working on. There was none of the usual casual conversation, none of the occasional innocent flirting they had occasionally engaged in with each other, none of the back and forth good natured ribbing. She had definitely cooled towards him. He was sure of it now. Was she really that strongly opposed to him being on the Council?

He finished some analysis on one of the samples, and turned to look at her. "The hydrogen content of this sample is very high. Much higher than I would expect to see."

She simply nodded slightly in response. "And what do you think that means?" she said flatly.

He rubbed his forehead with thumb and forefinger for a moment. "That there was probably hydrogen in the object? But beyond that? I have no idea what it means. Other than the fact that the object probably contained a lot of hydrogen. For what purpose, I don't know. The hydrogen may have burned on impact, which would explain some of the extensive fire damage we saw up there. The concentration of hydrogen may have even been higher before that happened."

"The first object we found didn't have any hydrogen," she noted. "This one must be very different."

He paused for several seconds, rubbing his forehead in thought. "I don't know … it may mean nothing. I could have been mistaken that the object was launched by magic instead of a chemical fueled rocket. If it was a failed rocket, the hydrogen we are seeing could be from some kind of rocket fuel … There's probably nothing else to learn from these samples. I don't see anything else unusual."

"I guess all we can do is wait for the next clue to fall out of the sky then."

He nodded slightly, but sighed. "We've been lucky that they've screwed up enough to even give us the clues we already got. I'm not comfortable just sitting around waiting and hoping they will drop another one for us. Sooner or later, our luck's gonna run out."

He blinked as Theory Point simply closed up a notebook she had been writing in and started to leave the lab. "Where are you going?" he called out to her.

"Class. I'm teaching a summer course, and the summer session starts today," she responded without even looking back over her shoulder at him. Before he had time to say anything else, she had already closed the door behind her and was on her way up the stairs.

He frowned and shook his head. I hope Twilight and the others from Ponyville don't give me the same cold shoulder just because I'm on the Council … He repacked and re-secured the samples before leaving the lab, informing the guards outside the door that he would not be back for the rest of the day, and as far as he knew, Theory Point would not be coming back either. Then he left the building and made his way back to the castle …

...

The long, hot summer days continued to go by, but now there were the occasional tell-tail signs of change. A cool, crisp breeze from the North. The fact that Celestia was lowering the sun earlier in the day, and Luna was raising the moon earlier. The signs of approaching Autumn were becoming harder to ignore—much harder for James to ignore actually. In the three months he had been on the Council now, he had gained a reputation for being a natural at the Climate planning tasks. It was one of the duties he spent a lot of time working on and had learned a great deal about. The approaching autumn was one he had helped plan. Of course, as it got closer, they would make adjustments to the plan to correct for things that weren't going quite as they had predicted.

He had settled into Council life quite well. Even the restrictions regarding not leaving the castle grounds without permission were not nearly as bad as Theory Point had made them sound. For someone who was very spontaneous, he could see where they could be a problem. But being the careful analytical person that he was, he pretty much just planned his day as he normally would anyway, then got one of the princesses to approve it. Even Princess Luna had so far never denied any of his requests to leave the castle courtyard.

Sadly, his relationship with Theory Point remained cold. It was like a switch had been turned off as soon as he joined the Council, and had never been turned back on.

As days turned into weeks, and weeks turned into months, he found himself leaving the castle courtyard less and less. Even though neither princess had ever denied one of his requests to do so, he simply found himself making fewer requests. If his relationship with Theory Point had grown more distant, his relationship with the other Council members had definitely grown much closer. He lived as a crew on a space station might live: Relatively isolated from the outside, but doing literally everything together with the rest of his "crew". There were fourteen other Council members, besides himself. He had become incredibly close with them. He lived with them, ate with them, worked with them, even showered with them. If anything at all was bothering him, he knew he could talk to any of them, and they would listen and be supportive. And sometimes, he had been the same for one of them. He truly had come to think of each one of them as a brother or sister.

As Storm Runner had told him, there often wasn't much free time. The Council stayed very busy with all of the work required to keep Equestria running. Of course, some of the things, such as climate planning, had never even occurred to him until he was already on the Council. But the work was rewarding and enjoyable, made even more so by the close nature of the Council.

This particular day, however, there was no work. It was one of the free days Princess Celestia had scheduled for most of the castle staff, including the Council and many of the Royal Guards. Council members intermingled with Royal Guards. By now, all of them looked like a rather ragtag bunch, all of them having at least some bruises and soreness from the various physical games they had played, including a variation of rugby that James was certain he was going to regret participating in the next morning after about the fourth time of getting tackled to the ground by one of the Royal Guard stallions. Now, however, he stood facing Captain Swordstorm. In his hands, was a practice sword.

"You ever use one of these before?" the pegasus asked him, standing confidently with all four hooves braced on the ground. Even Swordstorm had taken a few hits during the rugby like game. So it wasn't as if he was in top condition right now either.

"I was in the fencing club in college," James said a little nervously. "But that was a long time ago." The practice sword he held was also nothing like a fencing sword. For one, it was much heavier, more like a traditional long sword than any of the three types of swords commonly used in fencing.

"It will come back to you," Captain Swordstorm assured him. "Although not in time to do you much good in this spar," he grinned, getting some chuckles from behind James.

He turned his head to look behind him. "I don't know how I let you talk me into this, Storm Runner … Sparing with the Captain of the Pegasus Guard. What was I thinking?" He shook his head.

"I'm just very persuasive like that," she grinned. "You're not thinking of backing out are you?"

"Actually, yes … I am," he responded flatly.

"Oh we can't have that," the unicorn, Moon Song said, shaking his head. "How to motivate him?" he asked, pausing for a few moments. Then he tapped his forehoof on the ground once. "I have just the thing. Perhaps Her Majesty would be willing to grant a kiss to the winner of the spar," he said, grinning and turning his head to look at Princess Celestia now, who was standing on the side. The other Council members and Royal Guards gathered around the area chuckled quietly and hid small smiles.

Celestia appeared to be lost in thought for a moment, although James thought it was mostly for show. "mmm … perhaps," she said smiling sweetly.

"It is settled then!" Moon Song called out, raising a forehoof into the air like a showman introducing a spectacle. "These two brave warriors will battle for the ultimate prize! A kiss from the beautiful Princess Celestia!"

Even Captain Swordstorm chuckled a bit at the Council unicorn's proclamation. James merely shook his head and tried to hide a blush.

"On the other hoof …" Celestia interrupted, all eyes going back to her now. "Perhaps I will give a kiss to the loser instead. As a consolation prize," she grinned, getting more chuckles and grins from the gathered Council members and Royal Guards. "Or perhaps," she started again, "If I am entertained by their performance, I will give them both a kiss." Even she couldn't suppress a small chuckle of her own now, getting more chuckles from the small crowd.

"So then!" Moon Song started again. "Who will get the kiss from the beautiful Princess Celestia? Will it be one of them? Both of them? Or neither of them? There's only one way to find out!"

James hesitated for a few more seconds, finally shaking his head slightly. "Alright, fine. I'll do it," he said, stepping forward a few more paces, holding the practice sword with uncertainty.

"That's the spirit!" Captain Swordstorm said. "I'll give you a warm up period. To get used to the feel of the sword."

"For all the good it will do me," he responded, swinging the sword, trying to get the feel of it, hoping the techniques he had learned in fencing would come back to him quickly, like getting back on a bicycle after having been off of one for several years. But even if they did come back, he was well aware that fencing with an opponent who walked on all fours, and fought with his hooves, would be far different than any spar he had ever had before.

"For all the good it will do you?" Captain Swordstorm raised an eyebrow and snorted, flicking his tail once. "With an attitude like that James, you've already lost. Think positive. You knew how to do this. It will come back to you."

He glanced sideways at the Captain, then nodded slightly. "Positive … right …" He tried to calm himself and tune out the rest of the environment, focusing only on the sword in his hand and the pegasus stallion standing across from him. He swung the sword through its range of motion a couple more times, getting a feel for the heft and balance of it. Then, he looked straight at the Captain, trying to project an image of confidence, although he was almost certain he was failing miserably at it. "Alright … I'm as ready as I'll ever be," he finally said.

"On your command, Your Majesty?" Captain Swordstorm said.

Celestia nodded, waiting until the two combatants were ready. "Begin," she said with a nod of her head.

Again, James tried to blot out everything except his sword and the pegasus across from him. Captain Swordstorm wore only his armor, having no weapons. But he knew from watching them battle the dragon that the Pegasus Guards were very skilled at hoof to hoof, or in this case, hoof to hand combat.

He took a quick jab, thrusting the practice blade straight forward, testing the pony's reflexes. He was not surprised to find they were very good. The pegasus darted sideways enough to avoid the jab. His extended arm left him open for a counterattack. He already knew he had made a mistake before he felt the pony's forehoof connect just below his ribs, not hard enough to do any real damage, but hard enough to make sure he felt it.

He jumped backwards, retracting his sword arm, wincing slightly. If the pony had been armed with a spear, sword, or any type of sharp weapon attached to his forehoof, it would have been a fatal hit, striking the vulnerable area below his ribcage, angled upward to pierce the heart and lung area.

He shook it off, refocusing his concentration and trying to will everything that he had learned in the fencing club to come back to him. This time, instead of a thrusting jab, he made a series of strikes from the side. But Swordstorm successfully blocked every one of them using the greaves on his forelegs. He heard Celestia call out:

"Your telegraphing your strikes, James," she said. "He knows what you're going to do before you do it."

He started to retreat backwards in frustration, but the pony took advantage of it to go on the attack. Now, James found himself on the defensive, using the flat edge of the practice blade to deflect the blows of Swordstorm's forehooves. Once he had been driven backwards, Swordstorm backed off and the two resumed their standoff.

"It's coming back to you," the Captain said. "You defend well for having been away from it for so many years. But we need to work on your attacks."

He nodded slightly, breathing a bit heavier from both the exertion of the spar and nervousness. He knew he was sparring with a pony far better trained in the art of combat than he was. All he had was a few years of fencing under his belt. Swordstorm had an entire career of combat training and experience.

He raised the practice sword again, moving back and swinging with a cross stroke that Swordstorm handily blocked with the greave on his right foreleg. He quickly recovered and tried a stroke from the side. Blocked again. A few more blocked exchanges.

He made another attempt, coming down from the top this time. Again, his blow was blocked, but this time, he felt Swordstorm's armored foreleg bend and hook under his sword arm. Quickly, his arm was wrenched forward, and without knowing exactly how, his sword had been wrenched free and was lying on the ground out of reach. While he was still stunned in surprise, trying to figure out how that had happened, he suddenly found himself falling, flat on his back now. He didn't even get a chance to try to recover before the pony was standing over his prone form, his forehoof resting lightly on his throat.

Nothing needed to be said, They both knew the spar was over. Even with no sharp weapons, it would have been a fatal blow. All the pegasus had to do was press his armored forehoof down, and James' throat would be crushed.

The pony removed his forehoof and stepped off of him, looking down at him. "You did well for having been away from it for so long. Your defensive tactics are good and solid. But your attacks need work. As Her Majesty said, you are telegraphing your strikes. And you are leaving yourself vulnerable after you make a strike. We'll work on that. And of course, more of it will come back to you naturally. But that down stroke you used?" The Captain's voice took on a commanding tone again, as if James were one of the Royal Guards serving under him. "I don't ever want to see you use that again. That might work with a saber against an unarmored opponent. But you aren't going to cut through plate armor with a longsword using that stroke. In a real fight, it will get you killed every time. It won't harm your opponent, and it will leave you exposed for them to bury their own blade deep in your unprotected gut."

He blinked and nodded. "Yes, sir," he responded. He wasn't under Captain Swordstorm's command. Nevertheless, the Captain's presence and powerful voice commanded a great deal of respect. And James felt compelled to call him "sir" whenever he took up that commanding tone with him.

"And now, the moment everypony has been waiting for …" Moon Song called out. "Which one of them, if any, will get the kiss. Or will it be both?" Moon Song said dramatically, again getting chuckles from the gathered crowd of Royal Guards and Council members who had watched the spar.

Still lying on his back, he turned his head to the right, hearing the sound of hoofsteps. Princess Celestia was walking towards the two of them now.

She stopped, standing next to James, then looked back and forth between him and Captain Swordstorm, The expression on her face revealed nothing as she good-naturedly drew out the suspense. After several long seconds she finally spoke:

"Captain Swordstorm won the spar, but James did put in an impressive effort for having been away from any sparring for so many years. I enjoyed watching the two of them spar. So both of them shall receive the prize."

She lowered her head toward the ground, her muzzle approaching James' cheek. Then she kissed him. He felt a shiver go through him. Although she had nuzzled his face multiple times before when comforting him or reassuring him, it was the first time he'd actually gotten a kiss from The Princess. He knew he must be blushing madly, if the chuckling reactions of the gathered crowd was any indication.

After she kissed him she moved to Captain Swordstorm, giving him a kiss on the muzzle as well. James was somewhat disappointed that the Captain didn't have the same reaction of blushing that he was certain was on his own face. After she had kissed him, she took a few steps backwards. Swordstorm looked down at James again.

"Are you alright? You look a little bewildered there." James could tell he was trying to suppress a snicker.

"A little sore. a little bruised. And I'm sure I'll feel it in the morning. But I'll be fine," James responded.

"I almost feel sorry for you. Beaten, sore, bruised, and blushing like a red rose in the Royal Gardens after that kiss." This time, he wasn't able to suppress a small snicker.

He was certain the comment had probably only made him blush worse. He glanced over at Celestia, then turned his eyes back to the Captain. "Worth it," he grinned. "Every last bruise was worth it."

The pegasus chuckled in response and offered a forehoof, which he gladly accepted with both hands. With one pull of his foreleg, the stallion helped him back to his feet.

Celestia spoke again. "I think a round of applause is in order for our two combatants."

The gathered ponies stomped their forehooves on the ground in approval—he had learned long ago that was how ponies offered applause—then started to disperse from the circle that had gathered around to watch the spar. The sky was starting to darken slightly as autumn dusk approached, the days much shorter now than they had been even a month ago. A chill gust of wind foretold the winter that would be here all too soon—his second Winter in Canterlot. It was hard to believe, he'd been in Equestria well over a year now. Approaching a year and a half actually. His thoughts were interrupted as Princess Celestia walked up in front of him again.

"I can do something about the bruises and the soreness," she said to him. "Hold still for a moment." Then she touched his forehead with the tip of her horn. He felt a warming sensation radiate through his body and was aware of the golden aura just above his eyes from the tip of her horn. He felt the soreness leave his body, as if it were simply being lifted away. When she took her horn away from his forehead, he looked down at his arms in wonder. The bruises, from some of hard hits he had taken during the rugby like game, were gone. He felt no soreness, and the fatigue of the day was gone. He felt as refreshed as if he had just woken up in the morning from a perfect night's sleep.

He looked at her in wonder, too overwhelmed with the fact that she had just instantly healed all his bruises and restored his stamina to even remember to thank her for doing so. She gave him a small grin.

"I'm afraid I can't do anything about the blush that's still painted all over your face though. That's just going to have to go away on its own." She gave a brief giggle, before turning and walking towards her other Council members and Royal Guards, doing the same healing magic for all of them, as all of them had sustained soreness and bruises in the various games of the day.

When she had finished healing them all, they all started to make their way back to the castle. Even Princess Celestia was milling around and chatting with him and the others in a very informal way, as if she were not even royalty. On this day, almost all formalities were forgotten for the sake of simply having a good time. He noticed, however, that she suddenly seemed very tired. Her normally vibrant tail and mane seemed to flow more slowly in their unseen breeze, and she walked as if she were sore herself.

He looked around, finding Moon Song, speeding up his walk for a moment to get close to the unicorn. Then he nodded his head towards The Princess. "She seems very tired … All of the sudden," he said looking at the Council unicorn.

Moon Song nodded slightly. "Even magic is subject to energy conservation. Even magic performed by Her Majesty."

"What do you mean?" James asked.

"Even Her Majesty can't just create energy out of nothing," the unicorn explained. "She can only concentrate it, gather it, channel it, transform it from one type to another, or transfer it from one place to another."

James raised his eyebrows. "Transfer it from one place to another? … You mean she restored our energy by giving us her own?"

"That's exactly what she did. She'll need to rest now. To recover her own strength and energy."

"Can't she just gather energy to herself and restore it that way?" he asked as they continued walking towards the castle.

The unicorn shook his head. "Life energy is a specific kind of energy. She could gather energy, but she'd have to transform it into life energy. And it takes energy to transform energy. So the net benefit to her would be nothing. It might even take more energy to transform it into life energy than she would get from doing it." He paused for a moment, then continued. "The only way she could gather life energy to herself without simply resting to let it replenish naturally would be to take it from another living creature. And although she is capable of doing that, she never will. She gives life energy to others. She never takes it for herself. Whether from a dangerous manticore, or a lowly field mouse, Her Majesty would never take life energy from another living creature. Only changelings steal life energy from other creatures to sustain themselves."

James said nothing in response as he continued walking back to the castle entrance next to Moon Song. He was too lost in contemplation of this latest information he had learned about Celestia. And once again, in awe of her generosity and altruism …

Back in the Council living quarters, he sat at his desk, considering. It had been about three months since he joined the Council, and everything was going well. Very well, actually. But there were four things that deeply concerned him.

The first, was that the Quest of the Mysterious Objects as he had taken to calling it, had gone silent. There had been no more happenings since the strange launch and impact event during the Summer Sun Celebration. it was possible that whoever was responsible for them had simply given up after what appeared to be a series of failures. Maybe they had finally decided that whatever it was they were trying to do wasn't scientifically feasible. That was one possibility. But it was one he doubted. Rather, he thought it more likely they were still busy analyzing their failure, trying to figure out what went wrong and fix it for their next attempt. He feared that attempt could come at any time. And if their next attempt was a success … well, who knows what that could mean for Equestria, given they didn't even know what it was they were trying to do yet.

His second big concern, was that the search for the weakness—and possibly weaknesses—in the magical barrier had so far, turned up nothing. Granted, there was still a lot of barrier to search, and a lot of seals to check. It was a slow and tedious process as every seal had to be checked individually. And from what little he understood about the process, the spells required to check the seals were difficult and time consuming to perform, as was analyzing what the results of those spells meant. He had asked Moon Song to explain the process to him. The explanation Moon Song gave him only confirmed that the processes was difficult and complicated—so much so that James found himself getting lost trying to understand it. He simply didn't have the necessary knowledge of complex magic. Moon Song clearly understood it, and he was certain Twilight Sparkle would have understood it if Moon Song had explained it to her. But not him. He resolved that he would learn a lot more about magical theory and practice, even though he could not perform magic himself.

A third concern also bothered him. There had been no satisfactory explanation for what the griffins were doing with their occasional flights along the magical barrier. Griffins were not magical. At least not in the same way that unicorns were. They probably didn't even know about the weaknesses in the barrier. And even if they did, they wouldn't have any idea how to find them or repair them. And as Celestia said, they certainly wouldn't be flying around in Everfree Forest just for sightseeing.

And finally, were these all linked together somehow? Or was it simply coincidence? It seemed unlikely all of them could be mere coincidence. The weaknesses in the barrier, and the griffins flying near the barrier, were probably related somehow. The strange objects could be entirely unrelated to the barrier or the griffins. But they might not be.

Oddly, he found himself almost wishing the nightmares with the aisling would come back The aisling had not troubled him since Luna had driven it away. Of course, he was glad to be sleeping without those nightmares, but the fact that no information was flowing at all now—not even nightmares—almost gave a too quiet feeling to things.

The sound of his door opening brought him out of his thoughts. One of the other Council members, he assumed, standing up from the desk. He turned around just in time to see a brightly glowing unicorn horn. A bolt of energy shot from it, traveling straight at him. Just as it was about to hit him, he saw a speckled gold and silver aura around himself. The bolt hit the aura, and fizzled out, the aura disappearing along with it. Complete confusion over what had just happened prevented him from responding. Had the Council robe somehow blocked the spell?

His mind quickly reminded him that he had bigger problems to worry about just now than how the spell was blocked—like the fact that a unicorn had just tried to attack him. Refocusing on his attacker, his jaw dropped and his eyes went wide. Standing just inside his door, was Twilight Sparkle. For a moment, she looked as confused as he did, seemingly wondering why her spell had failed to do whatever it had been intended to do to him. But she recovered quickly, charging at him and rearing up on her hind legs. Unfortunately, whatever had protected him from her spell did not protect him from her right forehoof cuffing the side of his face.

He stumbled backward slightly from the impact, tasting blood in his mouth. She reared up on her hind legs again. "How could you have been so stupid James!" She yelled at him as she started pounding her forehooves on his chest, seemingly more out of rage and frustration than any real attempt to do serious damage to him. "Without telling me! Without even talking to me first! Stupid! You are such an idiot! How could you have been that stupid!" she said, still pounding her forehooves on his chest repeatedly.

"Whoa! Twilight! Calm down!" he stammered, scrambling to grab her forelegs, eventually catching both of them and holding on, stopping her from striking him anymore. "I don't understand why you're … well, I do, but I didn't think you'd be this angry about it …"

She struggled to get her forelegs free from his grip, but he held them firmly. "Stupid! I thought you were a smart scientist! How could you have been such an idiot!" she yelled at him, again. She stopped trying to get her forelegs free now, and he chanced letting go of them. She went back down on all fours and didn't try to hit him again, but she was breathing heavily, and he could see tears forming in her eyes. "You joined the Council?" she yelled again between breaths. "Without even talking to me first? How could you have been so stupid!"

By now, there were several other Council members, including Storm Runner rushing through his door, ready to come to the aid of one of their own. He raised a hand to stop them. "It's okay. I know her," he said nervously, looking at them past Twilight. Storm Runner looked at him uncertainly for a moment, but then nodded. She turned around, motioning for the others to leave his room, closing the door behind her once they had all done so, leaving him alone with Twilight.

"No, it's not okay!" she yelled at him again. "Stupid, James! Stupid!" She raised a forehoof as if to strike him again, causing him to wince and raise his arm reflexively to protect his face. She lowered her forehoof again, seeming to get some semblance of control over herself now.

"Twilight, I don't understand—"

"The portal! I found a way to make it stable long enough!" she yelled out exasperatedly.

"The portal? What portal? Twilight what are you—"

"A gateway to your world, James! I found a way to send you home! …"

32 - Lament

**Author Note:* I apologize that this chapter took almost a week longer than I intended. The good news is, I have walked away from the distraction that was preventing me from focusing on writing. So I should have much more time to write now.*

For those of you who didn't see my blog entry, if you could all check out my deviantART journal entry, there is some important information there regarding The God Particle. There is also a blog entry here that explains things. But also refers you to my deviantART page for more information. For anyone who's willing to re-read the chapters as they are published on dA, thank you very much.

Anyway, that's all I have to say. Thank you again, for your patience. And thank you all for reading this story. It really does make my day to see people liking this story. I hope you enjoy chapter 32.

The God Particle

Chapter 32: Lament

Twilight's words left James in stunned silence. He opened his mouth to say something, then closed it again. His knees felt weak, as if they were made from rubber, and he backed up slowly. When he backed against the bed, he fell onto it in a sitting position. Once more, he opened his mouth to speak and closed it again, still in shock over what she had just said. He could go home! She'd found a way! … he could go home … except he couldn't … because he was bound to serve the princesses of this land for the rest of his life. He continued to sit in stunned silence for nearly a minute, looking down at the floor as his world crashed down around him. When he glanced up at Twilight, he found she was in a similar state, looking at the floor as if in despair—despair that all the work she had invested to help him had been for naught. Finally, she looked back up and spoke again.

"I'm sorry, James … I'm sorry I struck you. This is my fault. I should have told you I was trying to send you home … I should have told you."

He shook his head slightly. "No, Twilight. I don't want to play the blame game. I should have talked to you before I decided to join the Council. But … I was afraid. Afraid of all the questions I thought you would ask. Questions I wouldn't have answers for."

As the shock of what she had just told him began to wear off, questions started to fill his mind, rushing in like water rushing through a dam that had just burst open. "How … How long have you been working on this, Twilight? Her Majesty said it couldn't be done."

"Over a year," she responded, a deep frown etched on her muzzle. "Since before you moved to Canterlot even … I hid it from you. It's the research I was doing that I wouldn't let you help with … I'm so sorry … Please don't be mad at Princess Celestia. I didn't think it could be done either. It took me over ten months to even open a portal that led anywhere besides the dark energy that exists between dimensions. And after that, it took me over two months more to stabilize it enough to be safe for you to travel through. … I didn't think I'd ever be able to make it safe. That's why I never told you. I didn't want to disappoint you." She stopped, looking at the floor. Her ears drooped low, her eyes glistening. He knew she was trying to hold back tears. She's taking this even worse than I am.

"Twilight … how did you ever find it in the first place? My world that is?"

The look of despair on her muzzle changed to one that he thought was a look of tremendous guilt. She paused, looking like a dog that had just gotten caught chewing up an expensive shoe. Her mouth opened several times, then closed, as if she were trying to work up the courage to say something. "I … I probed your mind, James … back when you were still living with me at the library. I did it when you were asleep. I didn't read any of your thoughts. I was just looking for the connection to your world." Now, she did start to cry, tears flowing freely from her lavender eyes. "James, I'm so sorry! Please don't hate me. I only … I—" she stopped, whatever it was she was trying to say choked off by sobbing.

You what? he thought to himself. It was all he could do not to say it out loud. Anger welled up inside of him, like a volcano getting ready to erupt. He was ready to tell her to get out of his room. Ready to skip telling her to get out and go straight to calling for the Royal Guards to come remove her. He was ready to send her out of his life forever. To tell her to go back to Ponyville and never come looking for him again. To tell the castle mail service to destroy any letters that came from her without even telling him they had come. All of this, he was ready to do.

But when she started to sob … When she begged him not to hate her in that pleading voice, he knew he could do none of it. He knew he could not stay mad at her. He opened his mouth to say something, then closed it, reaching out with both arms and pulling her into a hug.

"I could never hate you, Twilight. I'm angry, yes. But I could never hate you."

For the next minute or so, he simply hugged her, letting her sob onto his shoulder. Eventually, she pulled back slightly, sniffling and wiping her eyes with a forehoof. Yes, she was definitely taking it harder than he was. It seemed odd that he was the one who had just learned he could go home, but couldn't really go home, yet he was the one comforting her.

"By the way," he finally spoke again, "What was it you tried to do to me when you first came in? And why didn't it work?"

She looked at the floor sheepishly, an apologetic look on her muzzle before looking back at him. "I tried to pin you to the wall so I could lecture you … like I did that time back at the library. It didn't work because that Council robe you're wearing … it's enchanted to resist offensive magic. I didn't sense it when I first came in because I was too angry. But it's enchanted by both princesses."

"So you mean magical attacks can't hurt me? As long as I am wearing this robe?" He raised an eyebrow.

"Not exactly." She sniffled once more. "The robe is resistant to offensive magic. But it's not immune to it. Each spell that hits it weakens it. So they would eventually break through. The enchantment recharges over time using energy from the light of the sun or moon. Also, a powerful enough spell could break through the enchantment. I could have cast one powerful enough to break through it."

"Then why didn't you?"

"Because I wanted to pin you to the wall, James. Not kill you. Without the protection from the enchantment, a spell that powerful would have killed you. And as I said, I didn't know when I cast it that the robe was enchanted."

He only nodded slightly in response. Then, the two were silent. James was lost in his own thoughts, and he could only assume she was as well.

Suddenly, Twilight perked up, a small smile, and a look of determination on her muzzle, her ears rising from their folded position. "I'm going to go talk to Princess Celestia," she said in a confident tone of voice, turning and trotting towards the door. "Once she learns I've figured out how to send you home, she'll release you from the oath. I know she will, given the extraordinary circumstances. She has to."

"Twilight, I'm not so sure that's—" He stopped. She wasn't paying attention to him at all anymore. She walked out the door. It glowed with a purple aura, than closed behind her.

He slumped his shoulders, sighing heavily to himself once she was gone. "What a mess," was all he could think of to say to himself.

Even if Celestia would release him from the oath, did he really want to go home anymore? He'd been in Equestria for over a year and a half now. He wasn't even sure he'd have anything to go home to. He definitely wouldn't have a job. Even if the Lab was still open, no doubt his position would be filled by now. All his possessions would have been sold by now. His friends may not even have survived the earthquake. And the truth is he had more friends here than he had ever had back home anyway. Still, he missed his family, even though he had never gotten along with them very well. He missed the modern conveniences of his homeland, like computers, and especially the Internet.

A knock on his door interrupted his thoughts. It opened slightly.

"James?" Storm Runner questioned quietly, poking her head through the door. "We uh … weren't eavesdropping … but she was yelling so loud at first that we couldn't help but overhear what she said … Can we come in?"

He only nodded in response. She opened the door further and stepped in along with Moon Song, and River Rock—the original three he had met when he first came to the Council living area before joining them.

"How much did you hear?" he asked once the three of them had entered the room.

"Enough," Storm Runner responded.

He only nodded in response.

This time it was Moon Song that spoke. "We're very sorry, James. At the time … we honestly believed there wouldn't be any safe way to send you home. And that's what we advised Her Majesty." The unicorn had a look of shame in his eyes. He lowered his head, looking at the floor.

James shook his head slightly, put a hand on the unicorn's withers. "It's not your fault. I don't believe there was any malicious intent on the part of any of you. You gave Her Majesty the best advice you could based on the information available to you at the time."

"Even if we did, that doesn't make us feel any better about it," the earth pony, River Rock said. "We still made a recommendation to her that was incorrect, and will seriously alter the rest of your life."

"None of you forced me to join the Council, River. That was my decision."

"Based on the belief that you would never be able to go home," River Rock added.

"That belief was based on the best information we all had available at the time. I have to live my life based on that, and make decisions based on that. Just as we all do. It's what we do as Council members. We take all the information we have, compile it, analyze it, and make the best recommendation we can based on it. That's all we can do. You know that River."

The pony only nodded slightly in response, but still looked distraught. All three of them still did actually. He shook his head slightly and then forced himself to smile.

"I don't want any of you feeling guilty about this. Besides, Twilight took it upon herself to talk to Her Majesty. She thinks she might be willing to release me from the oath given the extraordinary circumstances."

Storm Runner shook her head twice. "The Council has been around for more than a thousand years. In that time, nopony has ever been released from the oath. Not even one. Of course, nopony has ever actually asked to be released. But even if one did ask … No. Her Majesty would never allow it." She shook her head again. "She'd never allow that precedent to be set. That an oath that is binding for life could be broken simply by asking her to break it. She won't allow it. Not even in an exceptional circumstance like this."

"I would never ask her anyway," James shook his head. "I knew it was a life long bond when I took it. I'd never ask her to let me out of it. But I think Twilight plans to do just that."

"Even Twilight probably won't be able to convince her," Moon Song responded.

Moon Song put a forehoof on his shoulder. "We'll go back out to the common room and give you some time. But if you want to talk to any of us, just come out there."

He forced a small smile again, "Thank you. I'll do that," he said as all three of them turned and left his room, Moon Song magically closing the door behind him.

He looked at the floor and sighed slightly, then shook his head and gave a small chuckle of amazement. "Scientifically, it can't be done. … Magically, it can't be done … Leave it to Twilight Sparkle, to do it anyway …"

* * *

"Your Majesty?"

Celestia looked up from the scroll she had been reading with the latest calculations from the Council on what time she should raise the sun for the next few days. The Celestial Guard that had spoken bowed, then continued.

"Your student, Miss Twilight Sparkle, is here to see you, Your Majesty."

"Twilight is here?" she answered confusedly. "I wasn't expecting a visit from her … Send her in, please."

"Right away, Your Majesty," the guard responded. He bowed again, then turned and opened the doors to the great throne room.

Twilight entered, walking down the crimson carpet isle. She moved slowly, Celestia noted, as if tired. Exhausted even. Her ears drooped low on her head and her eyes looked puffy and reddened. She had been crying, Celestia realized. Crying heavily.

"Twilight, my faithful student." She said it with a deep note of concern in her voice. "I wasn't expecting you. What's wrong?"

The unicorn hesitated for only a moment. "I found a way to send James home, Princess!" she practically shouted.

Celestia's eyes widened, and she felt her heart jump. For several long seconds, she said nothing, Twilight's words hitting her like a charging stallion. "Does James know about this?" she finally asked.

"He had a right to know."

"Yes … Yes, I suppose he does," Celestia responded, pausing again as she thought about what Twilight had said. She was wrong. She had to be. There was no way a portal between the two dimensions could be intentionally opened at all much less kept stable long enough for anything to travel through. She must be wrong … "Does James know you came to see me?"

"He does … Although he didn't want me to come. I heard him trying to stop me when I left."

Celestia nodded. "You have your magical research notes with you and will explain to me how you did this?" she finally asked.

"Of course I do," Twilight responded as her horn started to glow. The buckle on one of her saddle bags opened magically and a stack of notes large enough to fill several books floated out. Celestia's jaw started to drop, but she quickly closed it.

"I'm afraid, Twilight, that you will have to give me the condensed version."

"Oh … Right," she responded a bit sheepishly. Then she flipped through the pages of notes, pulling a few out once in awhile. Eventually she put the rest of the stack down and began to explain the theory, magic, and process involved in the entire spell.

For the next several hours, Celestia listened intently to Twilight explain in detail how she had done the spell. She frowned when Twilight mentioned the mind probing she had done to James without his permission while he was sleeping, but she didn't stop her to interrupt.

As Twilight continued explaining the theory of the spell to her, she began to become more and more concerned. Everything the unicorn had said so far, seemed to fit everything she knew about magic and dimensional theory. She searched her mind, trying to find any flaw in Twilight's observations or conclusions. But the more Twilight explained, the more diagrams she showed her, and the more she studied them looking for even the smallest flaw, mistake, or uncertainty, the more she convinced herself that there wasn't one. As much as she didn't want to believe it, Twilight was right she realized.

The unicorn continued to drone on about the mechanics of the spell, the shape of the magic she had used, and many other things. She flipped through diagram after diagram after diagram. Charts, figures, graphs. But to Celestia, it was all becoming a blur. Long before Twilight had finished, she already knew that the young unicorn was correct. Her thoughts had drifted far from Twilight's lecture now, and onto what she would do about James.

"Princess?"

The word brought her attention back to Twilight. She returned her gaze to the unicorn's face forcing a small smile before speaking.

"This is very impressive work, my faithful student. I can find no flaw in any of your methods, analysis, or conclusions. Yes … yes, I believe the spell would work. And that it would send James back to his own dimension … to exactly the same place he was when he left."

Twilight smiled now, and looked like she had perked up quite a bit since entering. Her ears stood up straighter, and even the redness had started to leave her eyes. "So you'll release him from the oath then? You'll allow him to go home?"

Celestia winced internally and looked at the floor. Now she almost wished she hadn't asked Twilight to give her the condensed version of how the spell worked. But what good would delaying the inevitable be? As soon as she had accepted that Twilight's spell would work, she knew this question was going to come up. She looked up from the floor, her heart and her spirit in turmoil, as if a great weight had just been pressed down on them. When she answered, it was in a resigned and regretful, yet firm tone of voice.

"No, Twilight. I will not."

Twilight blinked. Then her eyes went wider. Her jaw started to drop, but then she closed it. She opened her mouth to say something, but then closed it again. Celestia could see tears trying to well up in the her eyes again. Clearly, it had not been the answer the unicorn had expected. Finally, she answered.

"But … you said it would work … You said it yourself, Princess … that it would work." She spoke in a bewildered tone now.

"Twilight, please try to understand that—"

"You said yourself it would work!" Twilight raised her voice, a tone of anger in it now as she interrupted Celestia's response. Her wide eyes began to narrow.

"I said no, Twilight. He will stay in Equestria," Celestia responded calmly, but firmly. Nevertheless, she could feel her own anger building over the fact that Twilight had snapped at her and cut her off. If it were any other pony, except maybe Luna, that had spoken to her and interrupted her that way, she wouldn't have tolerated the disrespect. But this was Twilight, her faithful student. Instead of reprimanding her, she braced herself for an argument.

Twilight backed up slightly. But then stopped. A few moments later, she burst out in an angry and frustrated tone. "How can you do this to him, Princess? How! When he has been nothing but loyal to you! Done everything you asked of him! How, Princess? How!"

Celestia blinked and recoiled slightly. She knew Twilight was going to be angry. But she didn't expect that kind outburst She recovered quickly though and answered calmly. "Twilight, you must understand that there are certain things I can't—"

"Don't tell me there are certain things you can't tell me! Don't tell me there are things I have to discover with time! Or learn on my own! Or am not ready to know yet! Don't tell me any of that!" Twilight said, interrupting her again, her voice loud enough to be considered shouting now. "After as loyal as he has been to you, how can you deny him the chance to go home now that it's possible to give it to him?"

Celestia's own eyes narrowed now. Even from her own faithful student, there was only so much disrespect she would tolerate. She turned her head away from Twilight quickly, then trotted over to a locked chest next to her throne. Lowering her horn to it, she opened it with a magic golden glow. She found the scroll she was looking for picking it up magically, and turning back around. Her horn glowed brighter as she threw it at Twilight. The unicorn recoiled slightly as the scroll bounced off of her, landing on the ground in front of her.

"Read it, Twilight. Out loud so I can here it," Celestia said in a louder, more commanding tone, anger slipping into her own voice now.

Twilight hesitated only a moment before magically picking it up and unrolling it. She began to read.

"With the sun and moon as my witnesses

Do I bow of my own free will

Without coercion or duress Now and—"

"Without what?" Celestia asked firmly, interrupting Twilight.

"Coercion or duress," the unicorn responded in an annoyed tone of voice.

"That's right, Twilight. He made the decision, Using his own free will. He was not coerced into it. Continue reading please."

Twilight looked at her mentor uncertainly for a moment, but then started to read again.

"Now and forever do I swear fealty and allegiance.

To Prin—"

"Now and what?" Celestia interrupted again.

"Forever …" the unicorn responded, the annoyed tone slowly changing over to one of anger.

"Yes. Forever. Please, continue."

"To Princess Celestia and Princess Luna

To be true and faithful

In living and in dying

To never rise against them

To protect and defend them against all would oppose them

Even if it require the forfeiture of my own life

To the Royal Sisters do I swear eternal service

To th—"

"How long service?" Celestia interrupted.

"… eternal …" Twilight responded, through slightly clenched teeth.

"Good, you may continue," Celestia responded.

Twilight hesitated for a moment before starting to read again.

"To them alone and forsaking all else

unti—"

"Forsaking what else?" Celestia cut her off again.

"All else," Twilight answered, again through clenched teeth.

"Thank you. You may continue,"

"Until death take me

Or the world ends."

"Until death take me, or the world ends," Celestia repeated, using magic to lift the scroll away from Twilight, putting it back in the locked chest next to her throne. "He knew full well when he took the oath that it was binding for life. And what he would have to give up to be on the Council."

"But he didn't have all the information!" Twilight protested. "He took it while believing he would never be able to go home!"

Celestia opened her mouth to respond, then paused. No … There was no need to remind Twilight that if she had talked to James, he would have had the information. Twilight already knew that. And she was already racked with guilt and punishing herself badly for it. Reminding her would only rub it in. She opened her mouth again.

"We never have all the information when we make decisions, Twilight. So we make the best decision we can based on the information we have. James knows this. And so do you."

"But Princess! You have to make an exception!"

"I can't, Twilight! You know why I can't!" Celestia said, throwing up a forehoof in frustration. "In the entire history of the Council. For well over fifteen hundred years, nopony has ever been released from the oath. No pony has ever even asked to be released from the oath."

"But, Princess, the circumstances here are extraordinary!"

"The oath is very clear that it's a life long commitment. And all else must be given up if necessary. If I were to make an exception for James, I would undermine the very sacredness of the oath. What is the meaning of a life long oath if it's not really life long? If somepony can just have the oath nullified as soon as something else comes along in their life that they decide is more important?" Celestia shook her head once. "No, Twilight. I cannot make an exception. I cannot set a precedent that the oath can be broken."

"How can you do this to him, Princess! How can you take him away from his friends! His family! How can you!" Twilight shouted again, glaring at her.

"You don't even know what you'd be sending him home to, Twilight!" Celestia shouted back, startling even herself at the tone of her own voice. "For all you know his friends and family are dead! They may not have survived the quake! He could very well get home and find himself alone with no job, no where to live, no friends to turn to! Is that what you want for him?"

Twilight turned her head away rapidly, looking at the floor. When she gave no response, Celestia continued.

"And besides, do you think I enjoy being in this position, Twilight? Do you think I enjoy having to make this decision? I have to do what's best for Equestria!" she stomped a forehoof on the stone floor, as a judge might pound a gavel when closing a court case.

"You have to reconsider!" Twilight shouted back, seemingly undaunted by her growing anger.

Celestia sighed in frustration, then responded in a calm, but firm voice. "He will not be released from his oath. He will not be sent home. He will remain in Equestria. My decision is final and I will speak no more of this."

Twilight opened her mouth to respond, but then closed it again. Her eyes quivered as they started to fill with tears again. Suddenly, she bolted around, galloping down the isle to the doors.

"Twilight, wait!" Celestia called out, raising a forehoof. But the young unicorn paid her no mind, opening the doors with her own magic, galloping through them, and slamming them with the sound of a cannon shot reverberating off the walls and high ceiling.

Celestia sighed, lowering her raised forehoof. Her own ears drooped now as she frowned, looking at the floor. If James did ask her to be released from the oath, would she release him? Even if she did, she could not allow him to leave Equestria now. It was times like these, that she hated being the ruler of Equestria. She liked James, and she cared a great deal about him. She hated the decision she had just made. But knowing what she knew about his importance to Equestria, and Luna's warning about sending him home now, she had made the only decision she could make. She valued James as much as she valued any of her ponies, for she basically considered him one of them now. But James was one man. And when it came to a choice of potentially hurting all of her ponies by letting him go home now, or hurting only him by refusing to let him leave, the choice was obvious. She had to hurt him. She wished she could come up with some way of not having to hurt anypony. Oh how she wished she could. But given what she knew, she could not. Her head drooped slightly lower as she continued to turn what had just happened over and over in her mind, mentally torturing herself over the decision she had made, despite knowing that she did the only thing she could.

"It would seem, sister, that you vastly underestimated the magical potential of your student."

Celestia jumped at the unexpected voice behind her, turning around to see Luna standing to the left and behind the throne. "Luna, you startled me," she said with a sigh of relief that it was, in fact, Luna, and not some assassin who had managed to sneak up behind her. "I never saw you come in ... How much did you hear?"

"All of it."

Celestia nodded slightly, but said nothing, just looking at the floor again.

"Tia, we cannot protect Twilight Sparkle any longer by hiding the truth from her," Luna said in stern tone of voice, almost as if she were giving an order to a servant. "The Beyond knows she is involved. I'm sure of it. Sooner or later she will have to be told."

"The Beyond will certainly know she is involved if I tell her, sister. Then she will certainly be in danger."

"You will be putting all of Equestria in danger if you don't tell her soon, Tia. We barely avoided disaster as it is. Disaster caused by the fact that she doesn't know. What if she had sent James home without asking your permission first?"

Celestia immediately shook her head. "No. Twilight would never have done anything that serious without asking me first. She's my most faithful student."

"If James hadn't been on the Council, Tia … Are you sure she would have asked you? She wouldn't have been forcing a sacred oath to be broken in that case. We dodged an arrow, sister. How many more do you think we can dodge before we jump the wrong way?"

Celestia remained silent, looking at the floor for a few more moment. Finally, she nodded her head slightly. "You are right, Luna. She must be told. Soon. And you are right. I underestimated her …" She sighed, but at the same time, a small smile of pride spread over her muzzle. "Her destiny is a powerful one, Luna. Before this is over, she will become the most powerful unicorn Equestria has ever seen. Far more powerful than even Star Swirl the Bearded ever was …"

* * *

A soft knock on his door brought James out of his thoughts. "Come," was all he answered in response.

The door opened, and Twilight Sparkle stepped in. He could tell from her drooping ears—he'd become quite adept at reading pony body language—that she had not gotten the results she'd hoped for. As soon as she had cleared the door and closed it, she burst into tears again, running to him and wrapping her forehooves around him.

"I'm sorry, James," she managed to say between sobs. "I tried … I tried …" She cried bitterly and her tears soaked his robe.

"It's okay, Twilight. It really is," he said, trying to console her. "It's alright. I'm happy here, Twilight. I really am."

"But, your friends back home … your family …" she sniffled, pulling back from the hug just far enough to use a forehoof to wipe her eyes.

"I have new friends here. More than I had back home. Sure, I'll miss my friends back home. But things happen. Sometimes circumstance forces us to move on. To leave old friends and find new ones. And I have better friends, Twilight. Friends like you."

She smiled momentarily at that last part, but the frown quickly returned. "And what about everything else you wanted back home? Your goals, your plans for the future?" she questioned, looking at him with tormented eyes.

He shook his head. "My goals back home were entirely focused around my career, Twilight. If that's the measure of my goals … Well, there's a thousand different paths my career could have taken back home. But being an advisor to the most powerful ruler in the world before I even reached the age of thirty was definitely not even in my wildest dreams," he smiled at her now.

She smiled slightly in response, although it appeared to be a forced smile to him.

The two of them hugged tightly again for several long seconds. Twilight sniffled a few more times, but seemed to have gotten her sobbing under control. Finally he pulled back slightly and looked at her again. "It's late and you look exhausted, Twilight. You should go. I'll arrange for a castle guest room for you."

She shook her head. "I don't … think I want to stay in the castle tonight. I'll find a hotel."

"Twilight, I can't let you do that. You are Her Majesty's most faithful student. You should stay here in the castle." He frowned.

"Really, I don't want to. I need some time alone tonight. And I need to go find Spike. I left him with Princess Luna."

"Alright … If you're sure that's really what you want," he said, still disappointed and concerned.

"It is," she nodded and the two of them hugged again. "I'm going to catch the earliest train back to Ponyville in the morning. I probably won't be able to see you before I leave."

"I'll try to come see you in Ponyville soon, Twilight. I'll ask Her Majesty for some time in the morning."

She nodded and gave him another small smile that looked forced. Then she turned around and walked to his door. A purple aura around the frame as it opened and she stepped through, closing it behind her without saying anything more.

James' shoulders slumped and he sighed. Worry about Twilight plagued his thoughts now. Despite his reassurances to her that he was okay with staying in Equestria, he could tell she was still torturing herself with guilt, still troubled by despair. After a few more moments, he stood up from the bed. There was a conversation he had to have with Celestia. He doubted she was looking forward to it anymore than he was. But there was no point in delaying it. He changed his robe—they had given him several after the ceremony—to one that wasn't stained with Twilight's tears, then left his room and the Council living area. She'd be in her own personal quarters by now, he thought, as it was well into Luna's night watch now. Gathering his resolve, he made his way down the tapestry lined hall and up the stairs to Celestia's quarters.

* * *

Thunder echoed through the walls of the hotel as an autumn storm rolled through the nighttime Canterlot sky. Spike sat on the edge of a lumpy, flat mattress that had seen to many nights, staring at a metal bucket on the floor. The steady drip, drip, drip of water from the leaking roof the only sound other than the thunderstorm raging outside.

The hotel was in an area of the city near The Underhoof. The room was small. Gray stains marred the once white walls, which were badly in need of repainting. The floor, once polished cherry wood, was now a dull faded beige, most of the varnish scuffed off by years of hooves walking on it, deep scratches marring it. Twilight hadn't intended on needing a hotel in Canterlot, and hadn't brought very many bits along for the trip. But after the argument she had gotten into With Princess Celestia, she'd insisted she didn't want to stay in a castle guest room. The hotel they stayed in now was only named "Cheap Hotel." At least that's what the sign hanging outside the front door had said. If they had gotten a more expensive one, they wouldn't have had enough bits left to pay for the train ticket back to Ponyville.

"There's no reason to torture yourself like this, Twilight," Spike finally said, looking up at his unicorn friend. "I'm sure either Princess Celestia or James would have given you the bits to pay for a ticket back to Ponyville."

Twilight shook her head in response. "I can't ask James for bits. Not after all this. And the Princess … after that argument …" She shook her head again, stomping her forehoof once, the old floorboards creaking in protest at the abuse. "She's mistaken. I can't believe she'd do this to him! She's wrong, Spike. She's wrong." The unicorn's eyes had a dangerous gleam now that made Spike suddenly feel chilled.

"… Twilight … You're not thinking of sending him home despite Princess Celestia's specific orders that he stay in Canterlot, are you?"

She hesitated, but only for a moment. "No, Spike. Even if I did offer to send him home against the Princess's wishes, he'd never agree to it. He's on the Council now. He won't even step beyond the boundary of the castle court yard without permission from one of the princesses, much less leave Equestria without permission."

That's a relief, Spike thought to himself. But she had momentarily hesitated … "I don't know very much about the Royal Council," he said slowly.

"Even I don't know that much about it, Spike," Twilight said, her ears lowering slightly. "They are very secretive. But I do know they are fanatically devoted to the princesses. Some ponies even say the devotion is cult like." She shook her head slightly. "I don't know if that's true, but I do know the devotion is strong enough that he'd never agree to leave without permission, even if there was no way he could ever face any consequences for doing so."

A knock interrupted Spike just as he opened his mouth to respond. He and Twilight both looked to the door. Spike blinked. "Nopony knows we are staying here, Twilight. Who could that be?"

"I don't know Spike. Stay back here." Her voice had a note of concern in it. She walked to the door—there was no peephole in it— and slowly opened it with her magic. Suddenly, she gave a slight squeak of startled surprise, and perhaps, even a tinge of fear, jumping backwards. At the door, a pony, with a midnight blue and white robe bearing the Royal symbols of Princess Celestia and Princess Luna. A hood was pulled over the pony's head, completely obscuring their face.

The pony stepped in, making no sound, a feat that seemed like it should be impossible given the old creaky floorboards. The door automatically closed behind. Twilight backed up, standing protectively in front of Spike.

The pony reached up with a forehoof, pushing the hood back, revealing a light green pony with a sky blue mane. The pony wasn't a unicorn, but because of the robe, it was impossible to tell whether they were an earth pony, or a pegasus. The pony spoke with a female voice.

"If you are even considering it, Twilight Sparkle. Don't. If you send him home now, you would condemn him to death—a slow and tormenting death."

"Who are you?" Twilight gasped. "You aren't supposed to leave the castle without permission."

"I do have permission. From Her Majesty, Princess Luna."

"How did you find me here?" Twilight asked in a slightly shaky voice, leading Spike to think even she was nervous in the presence of the Council member.

"I followed you. You did not hear me or see me? Nopony else did either. It is one of the gifts Her Majesty of the Night gives to Council members through the binding spell. With time, James will learn to use the gift as well, and move in absolute silence and invisibility."

"Why … why would sending him home kill him?" Twilight's voice seemed even more shaky now.

"If he leaves this dimension, the binding spell will be broken. And if the binding spell is broken, he will die."

Twilight immediately shook her head. "No … No! Neither princess would ever do that. Place a binding spell on somepony that causes them to die if it were broken. Even if it is to enforce a life long oath. Neither princess would do that!" The shakiness had left Twilight's voice, and had been replaced with a tone of indignance—indignance that the Council pony would dare suggest the princesses would do such a thing.

The Council pony shook her head. "You do not understand, Twilight Sparkle. Through the binding spell, he has touched the Solar Source and the Lunar Source. If you sent him home, you would separate him from that. You may as well ask him to give up air, or give up water. If you separate him from the solar and lunar sources, he will always know they are still there. Always sensing their presence, but never being able to touch them. He would die not because the binding spell is poisoned, but because he would simply lose the will to live, never being able to touch the Solar or Lunar source again, but always knowing they are there."

Twilight said nothing in response. Spike thought she seemed too bewildered to respond.

"Heed my warning, Twilight Sparkle," the Council pony said as she raised a forehoof, pulling her hood back up over her head, concealing her face again. "May the light of Their Majesties' Sun and Moon guide you."

Then, she turned, opened the door, and stepped out into the hallway. Spike and Twilight both blinked. It was as if the robe had taken on the color of the walls, perfectly camouflaged to blend into the background. As she walked further away, making no sound at all on the old wood floors, he found it harder and harder to keep track her, like trying to keep track of a dim distant satellite moving through a dark starry sky. And before she had even reached the stairs, she was gone, winking out like a glowing ember rising into the night sky …

33 - The Crisis Deepens

The God Particle

Chapter 33: The Crisis Deepens

Another rumble of thunder from the storm rolling through Canterlot echoed through the castle as James climbed the last stair to the corridor leading to Celestia's private chambers. He turned the situation over and over in his mind as he walked down the hallway towards her door. Right now, he didn't want to go home. That much was true. But he decided he wouldn't tell her that. If she came right out and asked him, he would not lie to her. Then he would tell her he didn't want to go home. But if she didn't ask … well, it's not like he would be lying to her. He just wouldn't volunteer information she didn't specifically ask for. Better to let her think, at least for now, that she was keeping him here against his will. That might make her more inclined to tell him what he wanted to know. As he reached the door to the chambers, he nodded politely to the two Celestia Guards posted outside.

"Privy Counselor Peterson," one of them acknowledged. "I believe Her Majesty is expecting you. I am sorry … to hear about what happened."

"You know already?"

"Everypony in the castle knows, Counselor Peterson. It was difficult not to overhear the shouting match Her Majesty had with her student. Word traveled quickly from the ones outside the door that heard it."

James winced. Of course, he knew Twilight had talked to Celestia about it. But he had had no idea they'd gotten into an argument so tense it involved shouting at each other. "Thank you, sir," he responded to the guard, then knocked on the door. A golden aura surrounded it as it swung open. He stepped inside, watching Celestia stand from the rug she had been lying on in the middle of the floor. Candles flickered on the two tables in the room as an unfelt draft from the open door danced with their flames. To the left, a fire glowed and crackled in a large stone hearth, keeping the cold damp autumn night at bay. The door closed behind him as he knelt and bowed before her.

"Please, stand, James. No need for formalities right now." He could hear the lament in her voice. The lament of a tormented spirit saddled with a decision she wished she had not had to make. "You may speak freely without fear of any repercussions … You are going to ask me to release you from the oath, aren't you." She said it as a statement more than a question. A statement spoken in a voice troubled with sorrow and ridden with guilt.

"No, Your Majesty," he said, standing up. "I am not. I took a life long oath to be faithful and loyal to you, and I intend to fulfill it … But I've surrendered my entire life to you, Your Majesty. All that I am, I've given to you. Tell me whatever it is you know about what's going on. You owe me that much."

She sighed slightly, but nodded twice. "Yes, I do," she responded softly.

Suddenly, the room went dark as midnight on a moonless night. A sizzle from the left, like water had been poured on the fire. With a start, James looked in the direction of the sound. Not even a glowing ember remained as evidence that the fire ever even existed. The candles had also gone out. Then, a faint golden glow in front of him, partially illuminating Celestia's muzzle. An image formed above her head, like a holographic projection. The image expanded into a lattice of interconnected lines of different colors. To James, it resembled the primitive three dimensional wire frame graphics of vintage computer games.

"This, is what we call the macro pattern," Celestia began. "What I'm showing you, is an abstract visualization of it. For the pattern has no visible form of its own that can be seen. Nor does it have any physical form. My sister and I can see the pattern. Most mortals cannot. There are a few exceptions. Star Swirl the Bearded was able to see the pattern. And Firewing, the Elder Dragon ambassador, can also see it. We can zoom out to see the big picture." The interconnected lines bunched closer together as the three dimensional hologram appeared to move backward, as if they were flying away from it, becoming an impossible number of lines. Twisting, turning, merging, parting, running in all directions. A complex neon quilt woven from millions of glowing threads. "Or we can zoom in to focus on small details." The edges of the pattern disappeared as they seemed to fly towards it again, the individual lines in the lattice becoming more defined, more distinct. Celestia continued speaking.

"The macro pattern is woven by The Weaver, as opposed to the micro patterns, which I will get into shortly. Again, this is an abstraction that has no actual physical form. But, there she is." A spot on the pattern blinked twice in a bright yellow color, drawing his attention. The Weaver. To him, she looked like a strange spider with thousands of legs instead of just eight. Behind her, streamed hundreds, maybe thousands of threads, like silk webbing from spinnerets. "Each thread represents a single individual—an individual capable of altering the pattern by joining with other threads, weaving along side of them, crossing over them, or moving away from them. The threads streaming behind her, are new threads she is adding to the pattern. New foals, just being born, for example. For awhile, she will guide their thread, spinning it out behind her, weaving it with her legs. Then she will cut them loose, and they, like you, will influence the pattern, but will be influenced by other threads as well."

The lattice moved again, and they flew even closer to it, until a single white point was highlighted. It appeared to be the end of a thread, or was it the beginning? He couldn't tell. It moved forward. Several other points surrounded it, attached to it, which were in turn, surrounded by several more threads attached to them, forming a complex fractal like pattern. He remained silent, simply taking in everything Celestia was telling him. She continued.

"This thread I have highlighted in bright white, is you. Where you currently are now. The threads surrounding you, attached to you, are other individuals that are currently influencing you, and thus influencing the pattern your thread weaves. This one," she highlighted one of the threads attached to his thread, "is me. This one is Luna. These three are other members on the Council. This one is Captain Swordstorm. And this one that I've highlighted in lavender, is Twilight Sparkle. The pattern being woven by you, is a micro pattern. The pattern being woven by those around you is also a micro pattern. The pattern being woven by the joining of those two micro patterns is another micro pattern. Just as they are influencing the pattern you weave, so too, are you influencing them. Like bricks, of a building, micro patterns are assembled to form larger micro patterns, which are assembled to form still larger micro patterns. Together, as a whole, they make up the macro pattern."

The quilt like lattice appeared to move backwards now, as if they were traveling backwards along the thread that represented him. It zoomed out slightly, showing a length of lattice where his thread weaved with Twilight's, the two crossing back and forth over each other, woven together to form a complex pattern of white and lavender. "This, is about a year back in time. When you were staying with Twilight at the library. If we move further back, your thread makes a sharp turn, and travels off behind the pattern until it runs out of sight." They moved backward a little more along the pattern, and he saw what she had said. The white thread separating from Twilight's, then branching off, traveling backward behind the pattern, disappearing into an infinite dark void.

"This is where things get more complicated," Celestia continued. "Each universe. Each dimension, has its own separate macro pattern. But there is only one weaver. She is everywhere at the same time. Normally, the macro patterns stay separate. But every once in awhile, The Weaver will cross two macro patterns by branching a thread off from one pattern, and bringing it to another. This is what happened with your thread. You can see where it merges with our pattern after coming in from behind."

They traveled forward through the pattern again, moving along dense lattices of connections and points, past the length where he weaved with Twilight Sparkle, past the point where the princesses and council members influenced him. The threads became much lighter, more difficult to see. And they became much less dense, like approaching the end of a forest where trees thin out to open grassland. Celestia spoke again.

"This, is the future. It's dimmer and harder to see, and sparsely populated because much of the future has not been woven yet. And even what has been woven, can be unwoven and rewoven a different way if influenced by forces happening now." She amplified the light coming from a white thread, making it easier to see. "Here is your thread again. And over to the left," she amplified another thread in lavender, "is Twilight's pattern. As you can see, they are far apart right now. But they are on a course that will merge them back together at some point in the future. But there is another thread merging with yours and with Twilight's." She highlighted a dark thread now, so dark he wouldn't have seen it if it hadn't been for her highlight. It was the color of nothing. The color of emptiness, of the void. It had the appearance of nothing more than a simple thread. A thread that might have been unwound from one of the spools in Rarity's boutique. But he was terrified of it. His breath came faster and he could feel his own heart beat. He was aware of Celestia speaking again. "This, is The Beyond, James. Weaving towards you and Twilight. Twilight's thread runs a little behind yours. It may be that you pave the way for her." She paused for a moment. "When, or if—because nothing is absolute in the future—but if it reaches you and Twilight, and the two of you cannot stop it, it will plunge all the way through to the core of the pattern. The very heart where the first thread was woven at the beginning of time. And it will travel out from there, along each of the threads like waves traveling from a stone thrown into a mill pond, devouring each thread as it goes. All of Equestria … will be destroyed."

The terror he felt from the dark thread lashed out at him like a whip, sending waves of chill through his spine. He stood there, staring at the pattern, saying nothing as he let it all sink in. The pattern winked out, and the room became light again. The candles were relit, and the fire blazed in the hearth as if it had never been extinguished. There was silence for several long moments before James finally spoke, in a shaky, unsure voice.

"So … so what is this then … Am I like … is this some kind of chosen one type thing? Chosen before birth and all that? Like it was my destiny and I had no control over it?"

Celestia shook her head. "That's not how it works, James. The Weaver, is ever the opportunist. You chose to work late at your lab that cold winter night. You chose to run the experiment. The earthquake happening at the same time was a random chance event. At that moment, an event occurred inside your particle accelerator. In a sense, it was what you call a god particle event. But it was not the one you were looking for. It was something far more fundamental. Something far more powerful. Something that dwarfs the particle you were looking for in terms of importance. A particle so fundamental, that all temporal dimensions originated from it. That release of core energy—that fundamental energy so essential to the existence of every dimension—is what attracted the attention of The Weaver. And that is when you were chosen, James. That is when she reached out with one of her great legs, plucked your thread, and pulled it here."

The two of them remained silent for several seconds, an uncomfortable silence. Celestia finally spoke again.

"Even if you had not been on the Council, I could not have allowed you to leave Equestria, James. Not knowing all of this."

He nodded in response. Another pause of a few seconds. "What would have happened if I wasn't in the lab that night? Or I hadn't run the experiment?"

"If someone else had been in the lab and run the experiment, we would have gotten them instead. If no one had been there, or you had been there, but had not run the experiment, we probably wouldn't have gotten anyone. And Twilight Sparkle would have to face this threat alone."

He winced at the thought of Twilight being all alone up against … whatever this thing was. "But if I'm not some kind of chosen one … how do you know I will be able to figure out a way to stop The Beyond?"

Celestia shook her slowly. "We don't. We only know that if you and Twilight can't figure out how to stop it, there is nopony who can." She paused for a few moments. "I know this is difficult for you to understand, James. Normally, I wouldn't have told you this until you'd been studying metaphysics for at least a year with one of the other Council members. But I fear we don't have a year."

"Did you know I was coming before I got here? I mean, you said there was another human involved. Did you see me in the pattern before I was involved?"

"No. Your arrival was a complete surprise. You were brought here the instant you caught the attention of The Weaver. I could not see your thread at all until you were here. The other human … Some event happened in your world that got him involved, even though he isn't here yet. But we don't know what that event was."

"If twilight can stop it … she's in danger now. I have to go get her and stop her from going back to Ponyville." James said resolutely.

"She's safer going back to Ponyville than she would be staying here," Celestia responded calmly.

James shook his head. "No, I have to go get her. I have to protect—"

"James, you have to believe me that—"

"No, I have to go get her!"

"James, you will do no such thing! You are on my Royal Council and you will do as I command!" Celestia responded in a stern voice, stomping her forehoof once.

James winced slightly, not having realized the tone of voice he had used with her until she had harshly rebuked him. "Yes, Your Majesty," he responded in a calmer quieter voice.

Celestia sighed slightly, and leaned forward, nuzzling his cheek lightly with her muzzle, then speaking in a calm reassuring voice. "I know you care for her. But please, you must trust me when I tell you that for now, she will be safer going back to Ponyville in the morning than she will be remaining in Canterlot."

He nodded, but said nothing.

"You are angry with me," Celestia said, still calmly. "And I don't blame you. It's understandable. You have every right to be angry with me. And I am sorry I had to do this to you."

He could tell from the tone of her voice that she meant it. She really was sorry. He shook his head. "No, Your Majesty. Actually, I'm not angry with you. Given everything you know, and what you have told me … As your adviser, I would have to advise you not to let me leave Equestria either."

"Thank you … for your understanding." The tone of her voice still contained sorrow and regret, and he could tell his understanding hadn't made her feel any better about the decision.

"Well, it's logical. The needs of the many … outweigh the needs of the one." It seemed an appropriate quote for the situation. And besides, she wouldn't know it came from a Star Trek movie.

"The logical thing to do, isn't always the right thing to do, James."

"You know it is in this case, Your Majesty. I could not expect you to risk all of your subjects—your entire world even—just so that I can go home. That would be extremely irresponsible of you as a ruler. You know that."

"Yes … I do know that." He could tell she was still deeply troubled. There was no reason to let her suffer anymore. He may as well tell her now that she'd given him what he wanted to know.

"Besides, I'll be fine, Your Majesty. I'm happy here. I have good friends who are very supportive. More than I did before I came here actually. And I have a good job helping to shape the future of a nation. I'm happy here. Really, I am." He smiled.

She managed to force a small smile now. "Are there any other questions you have?"

"Well, Your Majesty, I'd ask you how Twilight and I are supposed to stop this Beyond. But I'm assuming if you knew, you'd have told me already."

She nodded. "You will need to find a way, James. And Twilight will need to be told of all of this soon. For now, she is safer if she doesn't know because she's not attracting any attention. But that will not last for much longer. Soon, she will be in danger whether she knows or not. And you may need to be the one to tell her."

"Me, Your Majesty?"

"I cannot say any more about that. But if the time comes when you must tell her, you will know when it is."

He said nothing in response for a few moments, then finally spoke. His voice was nervous, sounding overwhelmed in his own ears. "With your permission, Your Majesty, I'd like to go back to my room. I have a lot to try to process."

She nodded and gave a small smile again. "Thank you … for being so understanding."

He nodded, then knelt and bowed before taking a step back and turning. The door frame glowed with a magical golden aura as she opened it for him. He stepped through, starting down the corridor, hearing the door close behind him.

...

Celestia awoke early the next morning, long before she needed to raise the sun. She stood up, her horn glowing with magic as she lit a few candles in her room. Then she went over to her mirror and started to prepare for the day.

"Your Majesty?" The voice of one of her Celestial Guards from the doorway.

"Yes?"

The guard bowed. "Twilight Sparkle is here to see you, Your Majesty."

"Please, send her in."

"Right away, Your Majesty." The guard bowed again, then stepped away, replaced moments later by Twilight walking through the door. She looked better than she had last night. But still, she looked unhappy and worn down.

"Twilight," Celestia managed a small smile. "What can I do for you this early morning?"

Twilight hesitated for a moment, then spoke. "Princess, I … I need to know. What the Council pony told me last night … Is it true? Will James die if he leaves Equestria?"

Celestia looked at the floor for a moment before responding. If Twilight knew for sure that James would die if he left Equestria, she'd never send him home. But the truth was, Celestia didn't know if that were true or not. It was a belief The Council had come up with on their own. One they strongly believed. But she didn't know if it was true. After all, no pony had ever been separated from the binding spell. Nevertheless, she briefly considered lying to Twilight and telling her with certainty that it was true. But only briefly. No, she couldn't do that. Twilight was her most faithful student. She couldn't lie to her. Finally, she looked back up and responded.

"I don't know, Twilight. It's what the Council believes. But they came up with that belief on their own. That if they are separated from the binding spell, they will die. I do not know if it is true. No pony has ever been separated from the spell. I do not know what would happen if one were separated from it."

Twilight nodded. "Thank you, Princess," she responded stoically. Then she turned, and left the room …

...

The wood of the practice target split, splinters flying off in all directions as James swung the sword down on top of it with both hands on the hilt, like a woodsman swinging an axe down to split a log.

"What in Celestia's name was that supposed to be?" Captain Swordstorm rebuked him, a strong hint of displeasure and annoyance in his voice.

"That was me being frustrated," James responded flatly.

"You think ruining my swords and practice targets is going to help? You get frustrated and pull something like that in a real battle, it'll be the last thing you ever do! Do it right, or don't do it at all! Now start the routine again from the top!" the pegasus captain scolded, stomping a forehoof in annoyance.

"Yes, sir." James sighed, then raised the sword, starting the series of practice strikes again.

"Sir?" from the right. James stopped in mid swing, both he and Captain Swordstorm looking in the direction of the voice. Another pegasus guard stood in the doorway of the training room. "A word with you, sir."

Captain Swordstorm nodded, then turned his head back to James. "You, keep practicing. Run through that routine again," he said, turning and trotting off to speak with the other guard. James turned his attention back to the practice target, raised the sword, and started the sequence of practice strikes again.

A few minutes later, he stopped as the Captain trotted back over to him.

"Well, I think I have something that might cheer you up a bit, James. One of my Pegasus Guard patrols along the magical borders spotted a strange unicorn who appeared to be doing something with the border. Not one of our own. When the unicorn left, a couple of my guards were able to follow without being seen. Followed them to a cave in the side of one of the hills. Unfortunately that unicorn, along with three others, were able to teleport away before my guards could capture them. But they left a gold mine behind. Two boxes of what my guards think are scientific notes related to your strange objects. They estimate there are over ten thousand pages of notes."

"Ten thousand?" his jaw dropped for a moment, his eyes going wide. "Where are the notes now?"

"Here in the armory. Under heavy guard."

James placed the sword back on the rack next to the others. "Thank you, Captain. Could you please have one of your guards let Her Majesty know I will be here in the armory all day, so she knows where to find me if she needs me?"

The Captain nodded. "Consider it done."

"Thank you sir. And thank you for the lessons," he responded, walking to the door, picking up his pace to a jog. Once outside, the guard that had spoken to Swordstorm earlier lead him to the reinforced secure inner room of the armory where the boxes of notes had been stored.

Ten thousand pages, he thought to himself again. Just as many questions drifted through is mind as he followed the guard. Surely they'd be able to figure it out now. He only hoped they had time. That was a lot of notes to go through and analyze. And things found in the notes might require additional research in the libraries. How were the objects tied to The Beyond? Were they even tied to it at all? Was somepony, or something else for that matter, helping The Beyond? Was it just coincidence? Perhaps The Beyond had simply chosen now because of the chaos the objects were causing? To force them to deal with multiple problems at the same time?

Four guards stood outside the reinforced door to the secure room, but they let him in without questioning him. Four more guards were posted inside the room. At the center, sitting on a table, were two wooden boxes. He walked over to them and examined the first one. It had been nailed shut, but the guards had already removed the nails. Popping the lid off, he reached inside and pulled out a thick stack of paper, a dog eared notebook with some pages folded over to mark positions and notes attached to other pages with paper clips, and another large stack of notes. He set them down on the table and started to skim through the notebook. It was filled with diagrams, mathematical equations, charts, graphs, and references to various scientific and magical publications. Setting that down, he picked up a stack of free papers, holding one edge of the stack in his left hand while flipping through with his right quickly, skimming for anything that might immediately stand out at him.

He passed a page and quickly stopped. What was that? He turned the page backward. In front of him, was something that looked like the blueprints for a house. As he examined them closer, to his horror, he realized they were blueprints for the castle. Circled in red ink, were the private chambers of both Princess Celestia, and Princess Luna. Traced on the blueprint in red ink, like a path drawn through a maze, were the various routes that could be used to get to those chambers.

He glanced at the bottom of the page where notes had been scribbled. Times that guard rotations happened, routes the guards took to get to and from the princesses quarters, what times the princesses would usually be there.

He gave an audible gasp and quickly pulled that sheet out of the pile, looking up towards the guards. "Assemble the Council. In the secure bunker. And get the princesses down there," he said, trying to keep his voice as calm as he could.

The guards hesitated for a moment, one of them speaking. "Is there a problem, Counselor?"

"Now! Go!" James said loudly.

They recoiled slightly at the abruptness of his voice, but two of them nodded and quickly turned, leaving the room at a gallop.

"Counselor, what's going on?" one of the remaining guards asked.

"I don't have time to explain right now," James responded as he jogged out of the room.

Once outside the armory, he broke into a run, towards the castle. Passing the main gate to the courtyard, he yelled out to the guards there.

"Close the gates! Close them! Let nopony in or out!"

The guards at the gate house hesitated only a moment before springing into action. James turned his head away from them and looked forward again, still running towards the castle Behind him, he heard the loud clang of the ratchet mechanism on the gate, the grinding of gears as the iron grate lowered, the squeaking of hinges as the huge reinforced doors closed, the clanging of chains as the drawbridge began to rise and cover the entire gate assembly. Ponies in the courtyard stopped what they were doing, turning their heads towards the gate, some blinking with confused looks on their muzzles. James ran passed them all, to the main entrance to the castle. A loud boom echoed off the castle and the outer walls as the gates finished closing, locking into place, sealing off the courtyard like a fortress.

He ran towards the main entrance to the castle, shouting at the guards as he neared the doors. "Close them! Don't let anypony in or out of the castle!"

The guards looked confused, but quickly started closing the doors as soon as he had passed through them. He quickly turned down the corridor, nearly running into a castle servant pony who gave a brief yelp of surprise. He didn't bother to stop and apologize, side stepping and continuing his run, the sound of the massive main doors of the castle closing behind him echoing off the walls and high ceilings like thunder.

As he continued running, he thought about the gravity of the situation. They would know their notes had been taken by the Royal Guard. They would know it was only a matter of a very short amount of time now before those blueprints were discovered, and their plan would be known. Whether they were ready to put it into action or not, it would be now or never for them.

"I'm sure there's a good reason you ordered the castle gates closed without consulting with Her Majesty first." He looked to his left. Captain Swordstorm galloped up beside him.

"How long ago did your guards find that cave? Find the notes?" he gasped between heavy breaths, the exertion from running combined with the urgency of the situation taking a toll on him.

"They initially found them about … eighteen hours ago."

"Eighteen hours," James said more to himself than to the Captain. "Eighteen Celestia damned hours! They've had eighteen hours to get assassins in here. Please don't let it be too late …"

34 - Darkness Falls

The God Particle

Chapter 34: Darkness Falls

James continued running through the corridor, Captain Swordstorm running next to him. He skidded around a corner, nearly falling as he flung open a heavy wooden door, pulling himself back up with his arm on the handle, then proceeding down a winding, torch lit stairwell.

"Are you going to tell me what this is about?" Captain Swordstorm asked, descending just behind.

"I'll tell you when get to the secure room," he said between heavy breaths. He took the last four steps of the stairwell at once jumping down them and then bolting down the underground hallway. The trip to the secure bunker seemed to take forever. Even running. Please don't let it be too late.

Rounding a few more corners, he passed the heavy, reinforced door, Captain Swordstorm following close behind. Then he bolted down the hallway, turning to the right and flinging the door open. He breathed a sigh of relief. Both Princess Celestia and Princess Luna were there, looking shaken from the sudden arousal and rush to get them down there, but otherwise, unharmed.

Princess Luna, he noticed, had none of her royal adornments on. He assumed she must have been woken from sleep and hurried down. Other than the two princesses, the rest of the Council members had already gathered as well, as had the captains of the Celestial and Lunar Guard.

He made a quick bow, then stepped into the room, Captain Swordstorm doing the same. Once they were inside, the guards posted outside quickly closed the door, two guards inside the door locking it.

For a few seconds, he panted, catching his breath and leaning on the wall with one hand as he recovered from the long sprint from the armory. Celestia and Luna both looked at him with questioning eyes, but neither one said anything, giving him time to recover. Finally, once he had his breathing under control, he spoke.

"It may be easier for me to simply show you then tell you why I ordered the gates closed and had both of you rushed down here, Your Majesties." He walked over to the table and laid the notes down in the middle, where both princesses, as well as the Council members, could see them.

For a long time, there was silence. He could feel the tension in the room as wide eyes stared at the paper. Only Celestia and Luna seemed to be unaffected, maintaining their usual calm demeanor. Mountains of stability in a crumbling world of uncertainty. It was Moon Song who finally spoke up.

"How could they have gotten this information? Other than the Council members, the Celestial and Lunar Guards, and certain members of the Royal Guard, nopony knows what time the guard changes happen, or what routes they take."

"An observant castle servant could have figured it out if they watched long enough," River Rock pointed out.

"But without attracting attention and looking suspicious? If they were watching all of the guard changes?" Moon Song countered.

James shook his head, looking at the other Council members. "There are more important things to worry about right now. Whether it's entirely an inside job or not, they've had eighteen hours to get potential assassins through the gates. Eighteen hours since those notes were found." He gasped once more, taking another deep breath from the exertion of the run, then looked over at Celestia and Luna. "Your Majesties. It is no longer safe for you to remain here. We must move you to alternate secret and secure locations."

"He's right, Your Majesties," The Captain of the Celestial Guard spoke up. "The time has come for you to leave Canterlot until we can remove any potential threat."

Celestia shook her head once. "I will not abandon my duties to my kingdom and to my subjects. This nation is not ruled by fear and I will not run and hide."

James could see the Celestial Guard Captain sigh in frustration at the stubbornness of his princess. He wanted to do the same thing, and wasn't entirely sure he hadn't. This time, Storm Runner spoke up.

"One of you must go, Your Majesty. If you will not leave, then perhaps Princess Luna …"

Celestia hesitated, looking at the floor, her eyes filled with turmoil. The room was as silent as death. Finally, Celestia responded. "Only if she agrees to it. I will not force my sister to leave Canterlot and go into hiding … only if she agrees to it." She turned her head, looking at Luna, her eyelids quivering slightly. James could tell she was holding back tears.

Luna answered without hesitating. "The Council is right, sister. One of us must go. I will go since you will not. But I believe it should be you that goes. If the worst were to happen here in Canterlot, you are far more capable than I of assuming sole leadership of Equestria." The sadness in her voice was apparent for all to hear.

"You don't have to do this, Luna," Celestia responded, her voice cracking slightly, a tear running down her muzzle now.

"I will be fine, sister … I spent a thousand years away from Canterlot. And at least this time, I won't be completely alone. I will have some of the Lunar Guards with me … I will go get ready to leave." the night princess turned and started for the door, her head hung low. James could tell from her appearance and tone of voice that despite her words, she herself, wasn't sure if she really would be fine. The Captain of the Lunar Guard spoke now.

"I'm afraid we cannot allow you back upstairs, Your Majesty. Not with this potential threat hanging over the castle. We will leave via the underground tunnel. I will send guards to your chambers to gather the things you will need."

Luna stared at the Lunar Guard Captain for a moment. He looked visibly nervous and for a few tense moments, James thought she was going to order him to let her back up to her chambers. Finally, she simply nodded her head.

"Very well then," she said sadly. "Take me to the secure loading area instead. My guards can wait with me there."

"As you wish, Your Majesty," the Captain responded, motioning to the two guards at the door. They unlocked it, and Luna stepped out with her escort, her head hanging low. The guards quickly closed the door again, re-locking it.

James turned his head away from the door, looking back at Celestia now. Her eyelids quivered more and he could see the tears welling up as she struggled to keep them from falling. She was silent for several long seconds. An oppressive weight hung over the room, as if they had been buried alive under a ton of mud, pressing down on them, weighing on them. Finally, Celestia spoke with a firm voice.

"The castle is on full lock down." Her eyes narrowed and she looked sternly at all assembled, her voice took on a harder tone now. "I will not lose my sister again. You find this threat. You find out what is going on using all means necessary." She looked down, her eyes quivering more. Suddenly she whipped her head around, bolting and starting towards the door at a near gallop, the guards scrambling to open it. It appeared she had no intention of stopping even if they didn't get it open in time, and would break right through it. She shouted in a cracking voice as she galloped towards it.

"You find and eliminate this threat! You find it or I will have everyone of you spending the rest of your days in the dungeon!" she cried out, rapidly approaching the door, the guards barely getting it open in time. She galloped through it, the guards quickly closing it again.

The room was silent, the oppressive weight hanging over it pressing down even more. James stared across the table, although his eyes focused on nothing, his mind reeling over the scene he had just witnessed. Finally, he felt Moon Song pat him on the shoulder with a forehoof.

"Don't worry about it. Just do your job and don't worry about it," he said in a reassuring tone.

"Don't worry about it," James responded in a voice as nervous as he felt. "She just threatened to throw us all in the dungeon for the rest of our lives. And you are telling me not to worry about it?" he looked at Moon Song incredulously.

"She doesn't mean it. Even Her Majesty has to vent once in awhile. She has to maintain a calm and composed demeanor when she is in public. Always looking confident and reassuring. But even she needs to vent sometimes. The only thing you need to do, is never let it leave this room, like anything else that is said or done here."

James wasn't reassured, and was certain he didn't look like he was. Moon Song must have picked up on it, and spoke again.

"In the entire history of the Council. In well over a thousand years, she has never once imprisoned any of her Council members for a day much less the rest of their lives. But as I said, even she needs to vent sometimes. During the first time Luna was banished to the moon? There are stories passed down in the Council since then. Her outbursts are the stuff of legends. You see that crack in the table?" He pointed to the huge crack that ran all the way through the round stone table. "She put it there with her forehoof. Shortly after Luna's banishment. We've often suggested the table should be replaced, but she won't allow it. She wants it as a reminder of the dangers of letting her anger have too much control."

James nodded slightly and there was silence in the room for several more seconds before Captain Swordstorm spoke.

"Alright, you all heard Her Majesty. The castle is on full lock down until further notice. The gates remain closed. Nopony and no anything else enters the courtyard. And nopony … no griffin, no dragon, no human, no anything that is currently within the courtyard walls leaves without written permission from Her Majesty. The guards at the gate will let no one out that does not have a note signed with the royal seal."

All of the Council members and the guards still in the room simply nodded in response. Then Storm Runner Spoke.

"The guards will start a search of every corner of the castle. Every building outside the castle. Every bush, every garden shed. Everywhere. Anypony who doesn't live in the castle will be questioned and searched. Only after every single pony who doesn't live here has been questioned and searched, and all areas of the castle and courtyard cleared, will any of them be allowed to leave."

"It will be as you say, Counselor Storm Runner," Captain Swordstorm responded. "But it may do us no good. There has to be somepony on the inside involved, given the notes that Counselor Peterson found. And it will take days to clear every area of the castle and courtyard."

"It's the best we can do right now," Storm Runner responded, sighing slightly.

"And of course, Her Majesty is not to leave the secure area," Moon Song added.

"We'll do our best to keep her down here," The Captain of the Celestial Guard responded.

"I'm going back to the armory," James said. "I had only started to go through those notes when I found that. I stopped instantly and came over here. But there's a lot more I need to go through. Maybe I learn something more that will help us out here."

"I'll go with you," Moon Song said, "Maybe I can help with something."

James nodded and started to file out of the room with the rest of the Council Members and the guards that were left. The Captain of the Celestial Guard turned and proceeded to the loading area. That was probably the direction Celestia had gone along with the rest of the Celestial Guards. For that was where Luna had gone, and no doubt Celestia would want to spend as much time with her sister as possible before she left with her convoy of Lunar Guards. James proceeded down the corridors in the direction of the stairwell leading back up to the main castle floor, along with Moon Song and Captain Swordstorm.

Arriving back at the Main Foyer, all three of them stopped and stared at the sight before them. To say the foyer was crowded would be an understatement. At least a hundred ponies milled around the closed main doors, trying to get information from the guards. The guards, of course, knew nothing, and could tell them nothing. Some of the ponies were angry and were shouting at nervous guards about not being allowed to leave the castle and not knowing why. The guards appeared to be doing their best to calm them. So far, at least, it didn't appear that the tense situation had turned violent. Fortunately, other than the few ponies arguing with the guards, most of them seemed to remain calm, if looking rather nervous about not knowing what was going on.

Captain Swordstorm shook his head a bit and looked at James. "If we get through this without any violence erupting just because of ponies angry about being detained, it's going to be a Celestia given miracle."

"Make them as comfortable as possible," James responded. "Make sure they have water, and food for those that need it. The elderly that need a place to rest … Search them and put them in guarded guest rooms."

Captain Swordstorm nodded. "We'll do the best we can."

James nodded respectfully, then turned and started down a side corridor with Moon Song, towards another staircase leading down below the castle. It was an underground tunnel leading to the armory. A longer route to get there than going outside, but opening the castle doors with all the ponies crowded near them was not feasible. Some of the more angry ones might start a stampede to get outside.

Both James and Moon Song were silent as they walked next to each other through the dimly lighted tunnel leading to the armory. But James was deep in thought over the last thing Celestia had said when she stormed out of the room. It frightened him. Frightened him to his core. It was not that he was afraid she really would imprison them all for life. No, he had convinced himself Moon Song was telling the truth that she was just venting. What frightened him, was that it was the first time he had ever seen Celestia lose her composure. The first time he had ever seen her completely unsure of herself. She had always seemed like an infallible mountain of stability to him. Somepony who always had the answers and was always firmly in control. No matter what happened, somehow, he had always thought she was in control of the situation and everything would work out. But for the first time, he had seen her lose her composure. And for the first time, he found himself wondering if perhaps she was not as infallible as he thought … that maybe, things would not be okay, and they wouldn't work out …

...

The sun had long since set, and it was well into the night. James paged through another folder of documents at the armory, Moon Song looking through a different one. They had found nothing more about any castle blueprints, or any concrete plans for any type of assassination attempt. But there were still thousands of pages of documents to go through.

Luna had probably gotten underway a couple of hours ago, he thought. The convoy would have waited to leave the secure loading area until they could do so under cover of darkness. Then, the Princess of the Night, along with her Lunar Guard escort could travel in near invisibility.

He flipped through a few more pages in the stack he was holding, stopping on a diagram of the object they had originally found nearly a year ago. The strange round sphere that was still sitting over in the physics lab at the Academy. The diagram had a large X crossing through it. Written over the page, in large script were the words 'DOES NOT WORK'. Well, I was right about that part, he thought to himself. The object had, indeed, been some type of failed experiment. But a failed experiment to do what? The notes he read shed no more light on it than what he already knew. What he had already figured out on his own and made notes for.

Putting that stack down, he sighed in frustration, looking over at Moon Song. "You come up with anything yet?"

"Some," he said, his horn glowing as he flipped the page on a stack of notes he was holding in front of him. "This is a schematic diagram for some type of magical launching device. Probably the one they used to launch whatever that was back during the Summer Sun Celebration. The notes on the diagram confirm that it was, indeed, supposed to put the object into orbit around the planet. So at least we know it was not intended to reenter the atmosphere and come down like it did. But neither the diagram or the notes say anything about what the payload was intended to be."

James nodded and reached into one of the boxes, picking up another stack of papers and starting to flip through it, he stopped on a reprint of an article from a very old journal, looking at the title. Alchemical Transmutation of Elements Using Subproton Magical Fields — Star Swirl the Bearded. He started flipping through the pages, looking at some complex mathematical formulas. "You know anything about magical alchemy, Moon Song?" he asked, eyes still focused on the formulas in the paper.

"Never studied alchemy. Almost all magicians and scientists in Equestria think it's junk science, and junk magic."

"Yeah … But Star Swirl may have been on to something here," James responded, never taking his eyes off the document, still staring at a couple of the mathematical formulas in front of him.

"Well, the alchemists spent most of their time trying to turn common elements into precious ones. Mostly gold," Moon Song commented.

"Yeah, that's what they did where I'm from too. But that's not what these ponies were trying to do." He stared at the formulas for a little bit longer before picking up some of the other research notes in his free hand. He looked back and forth between them a few times, then took them near the wall where a green chalkboard was mounted. He picked up a piece of chalk and started to write out some complex mathematical equations, solving them as he went along. As he wrote, he talked, more to himself than to Moon Song.

"So they have these spheres. Very heavy and made up of some extremely heavy element. They gain mass, which they were supposed to do according to these notes. But they were supposed to gain it at a faster rate than the one we found. This thing would have started to expand … It would have become enormous …" He paused for a moment, pondering that. Then shook his head slightly and continued. "At the impact site, we found an excess amount of hydrogen. Now Star Swirl presents a theory in this article called the theory of compounding proton loss that states that under certain magical conditions, elements will begin to lose protons at a compounding rate, thus transforming them into lighter elements. So if we take these heavy elements and plug them into Star Swirl's theory of compounding proton loss …" He stopped talking as he filled nearly the entire board with complex equations using formulas from Star Swirl's article. Once he had written them out, he started talking again. "That sphere, had it worked the way they intended, would have started to undergo proton loss at an exponentially increasing rate, becoming hydrogen ions. That explains the increased levels of hydrogen we found at the impact site … Why would they want to convert heavier elements into hydrogen …"

He thought for a moment, then picked up the eraser and cleared a section of the board, having run out of room to write. He resumed writing down more long equations, talking to himself again as he went.

"Okay … So once they had launched the sphere into orbit around the planet, it would have started to grow rapidly The heavy elements in it would convert into hydrogen ions. But the pressure at the core of the sphere would be increasing dramatically. The hydrogen ions would fuse together and form heli—" He stopped talking in mid sentence, stopped writing in mid equation, the piece of chalk in his hand falling to the floor and shattering into a million pieces, spreading in all directions. "They're trying to create an artificial sun …"

James bolted for the door, Moon Song jumping and following close behind. The two of them ran through the armory and down the stairs leading to the tunnel back to the castle.

Pain. Sudden. Severe. A thousand red hot knifes piercing through his skull. He reached up to grab his head. His vision went cloudy from the agony. He tripped and fell. Looking to his left, he could see Moon Song's face contorted in pain, his forehoof rubbing at his head, experiencing the same thing, he was, James thought through the agony. He started to feel dizzy, endorphins flooding his system, trying to dull the fire cutting through his head like a welding torch. Then as suddenly as it had come, the pain was gone. He stood back up, glancing at Moon Song. The unicorn looked just as confused as he was. James felt empty, as if something had been ripped out of him. The warmth. That feeling of the source. It was gone. In a near panic, he reached deep inside of himself. Then he found it. It was there, but very weak. But it was there.

"She's in trouble!" he shouted at Moon Song in a panicked voice, then quickly started running again, climbing the stairs back to the castle, darting through the hallways, then back down another set of stairs to the secure area. The run through the hallways seemed slow, tedious. But as he arrived near the secure room, his heart sank. Royal Guards poured through the huge reinforced door into the common area behind the blast door. Mass confusion seemed to run rampant. James and Moon Song forced themselves past the guards, down to the secure room Celestia would have been sleeping in.

The Captain of the Celestial Guard stood near the room, his eyes wide, his muzzle a combination of confusion and fright.

"Where is she!" James shouted at him.

"She's … she's gone. We heard a commotion inside the room. We went into the room to check on her and she was just gone."

"How can she just be gone?" Moon Song shouted. "That room is warded against magic. There's no way in or out of it other than the door your guards were securely guarding!"

"We don't know alright? We don't know!" The Celestial Guard Captain shouted in a bewildered tone of voice. "We don't know anything yet!"

"James! Moon Song!" Storm Runner's voice shouted from the council meeting room. She waved them into the conference room with a foreleg.

James took one last glance into the secure room Celestia had been sleeping in. Celestial Guards milled around inside, examining the room, shouting at each other in confusion and panic, he shook his head and shouted into the room. "Don't just stand around, you foals! Get outside and find her! They can't have gotten her outside the courtyard walls! Go!" He surprised even himself that he had shouted at the guards, and called them foals. But that thought drifted out of his mind as quickly as it had formed. He turned and rushed into the conference room, Moon Song running beside him. Two guards quickly closed the door, the chaos of voices outside being muted to a dull roar, but also being drowned about by ponies shouting at each other in the conference room. Captain Swordstorm stood in front of a large map of Equestria, along with Captain Starflash, Captain the Unicorn Guard, the two of them shouting at each other in heated argument.

"What do you mean she just disappeared!" Captain Swordstorm shouted.

"She'd still be here if your Pegasus Guards had done their job!" Captain Starflash shouted back. "But they were probably too busy practicing for Wonderbolts auditions to be watching the sky!"

Captain Swordstorm narrowed his eyes and took a step closer to the unicorn. "Perhaps you'd like to take a walk outside and say that to me again?"

"We don't even need to go outside we can do it right here!" Captain Starflash responded, not backing down at all.

"Whoa! Whoa! Whoa! you two!" Storm Runner interrupted, stepping between them. "Now this isn't helping. Pull yourselves together, apologize, and lets figure out what we are going to do!"

The two captains stared at each other tensely for a few more moments, then nodded. Both raised a forehoof and touched them together before backing up a few paces.

The door opened, the loud noise of confusion flowing through it again as the Captain of the Celestial Guard entered, quickly closing it, the sounds outside falling to a dull roar again.

"I have two hundred Pegasus and Unicorn guards up in the castle running around without a clue what they are supposed to be doing!" he started shouting at the two captains. "Where is your leadership? Are you both honestly that—"

James shook his head, pounded a fist on the table, and shouted. "Everypony sit down and shut up!"

That seemed to get their attention. Some of them looked at him with expressions of shock at his sudden assertiveness, but they nodded. Soon Council members and Guard Captains alike were seated around the table. James himself was shocked that his outburst had been that effective, but he composed himself and started speaking again, as calmly as possible, although unable to hide the fear and nervousness he was feeling.

"She's only been gone for a few minutes and we are already tearing ourselves apart from the inside without leadership. Now lets pull ourselves together … Alright, what do we know at this point." He looked at the Celestial Guard Captain.

"Not very much. Only that we checked on her ten minutes ago, she was fine. Sleeping soundly. We did a sweep of her room, there was nothing out of the ordinary. Five minutes later, my guards posted outside the door heard a commotion inside the room. They opened the door, she was gone. There is no way in or out of that room except through the reinforced locked door that was heavily guarded. Nothing went through that door. They must have teleported in and then teleported her out."

Captain Starflash shook his head. "No. That's not possible. My best protectors warded that room. There's no way anything teleported in there."

"You have any other suggestions?" The other Captain said in a raised voice, his eyes narrowing at Starflash. James winced as he could tell another argument and shouting match was about to start. Quickly, he spoke in a loud voice to stop it before it started.

"Could she have teleported herself out?"

Starflash gave him a questioning look for a moment, but then responded. "She could have. But why would she? Without letting any of us know?"

Storm Runner shook her head. "Something definitely happened to her. I felt it. All of the other Council members did too." James thought back to the sudden stabbing headaches he and Moon Song had had. "The solar source is still there, but weak. She's not dead. But we don't know what the weakening means. It's never happened before."

"You think she's alive, Counselor? Or you know she's alive?" Starflash asked.

The pegasus hesitated for moment, then looked at the floor, "I think she's alive … I believe she's alive. I cannot know for sure. Again, this has never happened before. We don't know what we're dealing with." A collective sigh of despair filled the room. James felt as if the temperature had suddenly decreased dramatically, the thought that she might not be turning his marrow to ice. He pulled himself back together and spoke again.

"Alright, lets not dwell on what might or might not be right now. All we know for sure is that she's not here and has probably been compromised."

"The sun may not rise in the morning if she's been compromised," Starflash pointed out.

"Right … right." James thought for a moment. "So what about Princess Luna? She should be to the secure location by now. Can Princess Luna raise the sun?"

"We don't know. She's never tried." Starflash responded flatly.

James' jaw nearly dropped as he looked at Starflash incredulously. Now, it was him who lost his composure and calmness. "You don't know? She's never tried?" his voice got louder. "In more than a thousand years, nopony ever thought 'Gee. This might be important, in case Celestia were ever unable to raise the sun.'?"

Storm Runner put a forehoof gently on his shoulder. "James, you calmed all of us down. Getting angry yourself now isn't going to help," she said calmly.

He looked at her for a moment, then nodded. "You're right. I'm sorry."

"Even if she can … The question is, will she …" The Celestial Guard Captain said quietly.

"What are you saying?" Storm Runner asked in a surprised voice, turning her attention to the Captain.

The Celestial Guard Captain hesitated only a moment before responding. "How do we know she's not behind this? Another attempt at usurping the throne? Bringing about eternal night?"

"She's not behind this!" James responded quickly, sternness in his voice as he glared at the Captain.

"Can you be sure of that, Counselor? Given some of her behavior of late? How can you know that she is not behind this, Counselor?" The Captain responded, not seeming intimidated by his glare at all.

James looked down at the table. Could he be sure? Some of her behavior had been difficult to explain. And some of her treatment of him had been harsh and enigmatic. But she loved Celestia. Of that he was sure. and it had seemed that her treatment of him had been partially out of fear that Celestia trusted him too much. And she had been afraid he might harm Celestia. His thoughts were interrupted by the Celestial Guard Captain addressing him again.

"Well, Counselor? How can you know she's not behind this?"

"… I have to believe she's not …" James said quietly, his glare gone as he looked across the table at the Captain. He simply couldn't believe she was involved. She couldn't be. She loved her sister, he was sure of that. She wouldn't do this again.

"So you want us to stake the future of Equestria on your belief, Counselor. Is that it?"

Storm Runner spoke up, her wings flaring angrily. "That's enough Captain! You forget yourself, and who it is you are accusing of betraying Equestria. I would remind you that in the absence of either of Their Majesties, this Council has the authority to relieve you of your command. Watch yourself, Captain."

The Celestial Guard Captain glared at Storm Runner for a moment, but then lowered his eyes and nodded his head once respectfully. "Forgive me Counselor. I was hasty and the stress of this whole thing has made me speak without thinking." James thought he sounded sincere.

Before anything else could be said, the door opened, a Royal Guard from outside sticking his head through. "I'm sorry to disturb you, Counselors, but a junior member of the Lunar Guard is here to see you. He says it is extremely urgent."

James felt his heart skip, another chill run through him. He answered when no one else did. "Send … Send him in."

One of the Lunar Guards—James could tell he was very young—stepped in. His armor was covered in mud and stains. James could feel his heart sink even further, the signs that the guard had been in a battle obvious. He breathed heavily and looked exhausted, distraught, and frightened. His tail flicked nervously a couple of times, probably the first time he had ever seen a Council member, much less had to interact with one, James thought. The young guard spoke in a shaky and nervous voice.

"We … we were ambushed. About an hour after leaving. Two dragons, sev … several griffins. Unicorns and pegasi. We were outnumbered, overwhelmed. The unicorns silenced Her Majesty. They … they took her." He shook visibly now.

James sighed and rubbed his head with the palm of his hand before responding. "They took her. They didn't kill her. They took her."

"Ye … Yes sir. They took her. I didn't run away. I … I didn't abandon her. Her … Her Majesty herself ordered me to run and come back here. To tell you. I didn't want to leave her. But she ordered me to."

James nodded slightly. "You did nothing wrong. You served Her Majesty with honor," he said reassuringly. "What of the rest of the guards?"

"D … dead. All twenty them. We were overwhelmed. There must have been a hundred of them. Maybe more. And with the dragons and the griffins." The young guard stopped, visibly shuddering again.

For several long moments, there was silence. James looked down at the floor, as did the rest of the Council members and the other guards present. Finally, he looked up. "Thank you. You served Her Majesty well," he assured the young guard again. Then turned and looked at one of the Royal Guards near the door. "Please see that he is tended to. Given medical attention if he needs it. Food, water, a comfortable place to rest …"

The Royal Guard nodded, then lead the young Lunar Guard out of the room, the door closing behind him.

James turned his back to the table. For several long moments, there was silence as the Council and the remaining guards paid their respects to the Lunar Guards that had fallen trying to protect Princess Luna.

"Alright." It was Storm Runner that spoke. "Then it's time to open the midnight box." The midnight box, as the Council called it, was a locked, magically sealed box hidden in the secure conference room behind a reinforced panel. Inside, were orders from Princess Celestia that were to be carried out by the Council in the event that both she and Luna were to become unable to lead Equestria. James never thought it would have to be opened.

Moon Song nodded then put a forehoof on James' shoulder before standing up and motioning for him to follow. He did so, walking over to where the reinforced hidden panel was. Moon Song lowered his head to it, touching it with his horn. The panel unlocked and fell free. James knelt down, reaching deep inside the compartment and removing the box, taking it back over to the table. He set it down, then looked out across the table towards the others.

"Before the box can be opened, two unicorns from the Council must verify that the magic seal is the authentic seal of Her Majesty." He spoke in a tired resigned voice, as if the words were being drug out of him. Words he didn't want to say. Had hoped he would never have to say.

"Do we really have time for this?" Captain Swordstorm said in frustration.

"The protocol is important, Captain," James responded. "To ensure that the box has not been tampered with between the time Her Majesty sealed it and now."

Swordstorm nodded. Moon Song stood next to James as another unicorn from the council walked over to the box. Moon Song lowered his head to the box. His horn glowed briefly as he read the magical signature on the seal. When he raised his head, the other unicorn did the same.

"I concur, the seal is authentic," Moon Song said. Like James, he sounded as if the words were being dragged out of him. Words he wished he had never had to say.

"I concur, the seal is authentic," the other unicorn responded.

Moon Song lowered his head to the box again. A moment's hesitation, before his horn glowed. A small crack as the royal seal of the sun on the box split into several small pieces, falling onto the table. James couldn't help but wince at the broken sun seal lying there. The symbolism of a broken world. A broken world that had been whole one minute, and shattered the next.

He forced his hands to move, opening the box and removing rolled up scrolls from it. There were fifteen scrolls, all containing the same words. One copy for each Council member. James passed them out to each of the Council members. Then, they each untied the crimson thread around it, unrolled it, and read in silence. When they had all finished reading, James nodded slightly and spoke again.

"Alright … We all know her Majesty's orders now. I'll go to Ponyville, along with five other Council members. We will get the Elements of Harmony and make sure they are brought safely to Canterlot."

Storm Runner nodded. "I will go with you. Those who are not going … Start doing whatever you can to figure out where both of our princesses are. And how we are going to get them back."

"It will be done, Counselor," Both Starflash and the Celestial Guard Captain responded.

"And Captain Swordstorm," James began sadly "Send a detachment of Pegasus Guards to retrieve the fallen Lunar Guards. They died protecting Her Majesty and protecting Equestria. We will not allow their sacrifice to end this way. Not being left in an empty field. Bring them back here. They will be given proper burials with the full honors they deserve for their sacrifice."

Captain Swordstorm nodded solemnly. "I will ensure it is done. Meet me in the back of the castle. I will assemble armored chariots and four squadrons of Pegasus Guards to escort you and the other Council members to Ponyville. It will only take me a few minutes to get them assembled. That route is dangerous enough at night. Now that we know we may have dragons and griffins to contend with, I'm not taking any chances with all six of the Elements of Harmony.

James nodded. "Thank you, Captain." Then he turned and left the room, followed closely by the rest of the Council and the Guard Captains.

He walked down the hall quickly, climbing the stairs and returning to the Council living quarters along with Moon Song, Storm Runner, River Rock, and the other Council members that would be accompanying him to Ponyville. They changed into heavier robes—it would be very cold up in the air—then left and hurried to the back of the castle. The site that greeted them was impressive indeed. Six armored chariots waited for them. Lined up in formation, ready to take to the skies, were more than two hundred Pegasus Guards to make sure they arrived in Ponville, and got back here safely with the passengers they picked up there. The passengers that had saved Equestria in the past, and might, once again, be the only hope for Equestria's future.

"Counselors!" Captain Swordstorm called out. James turned his head and the Captain motioned them over with a forehoof. He was standing next to one of the armored chariots. They walked over to him and stopped, standing in a semicircle around him.

"Alright," he began in the authoritative, confident voice that made James feel like he was one of the guards serving under him. "Here's how this operation is going to work. Each of you will ride in a separate chariot. Each of you will accompany one of the Elements of Harmony back here. We aren't going risk having all of you ride in the same chariot. It'd make too tempting of a target for any dragons or griffins we might encounter. When we get to Ponyville, the chariots will land by each of the houses of the Elements. You get out as soon as the chariot is on the ground. You get in, you get your Element, you get out, you get back in the air. As quickly as possible. You give them no time to pack anything. Everything they need will be provided for them in Canterlot. The squadrons will remain in the air above you looking for any sign of trouble."

He hooked the latch on the chariot he was standing next to, opening the door. Then he picked up what looked like a cylindrical gray tube with his mouth, giving one to each of the Council members.

"This is a magic signal flare. It's enchanted by the Unicorn Guards so that non magic users can activate it. If you get into any trouble down there, you remove the cap, and break it in half. My guards will be on the ground in a matter of seconds to assist you. Do not look at it when you activate it. It will temporarily blind you if you do."

He reached back in the chariot again, and removed a long object with a belt attached to it. He gave it to James, then gave one to each of the other ponies on the Council, except for the unicorns.

"Let us hope to Celestia, that you do not need these," was all he said before turning and trotting off to speak with the rest of his guards.

James stared at the top of what he was holding in his hand. The design at the top of the hilt, a golden blazing sun. At its center, a silver crescent moon. The cross guard took the form of two golden Pegasus wings, spread as if for flight. Next to the sun, on either side, unicorns reared up on their hind legs, their forelegs resting on top of the sun, the tips of their horns touching the base of the polished, razor sharp steel blade. An actual sword of Equestria. Very different than the practice blades he had been using up to that point.

Had the situation not been so urgent, he would have spent more time marveling at the exquisite craftsmanship of whatever master weaponsmith had made it. Instead, he quickly strapped the belt around his robe, the sword hanging from his left hip. He assumed the unicorn Council members did not get swords because they preferred to use magic to defend themselves.

"To Ponyville!" Captain Swordstorm called out.

Quickly the Council members spread out, each boarding one of the chariots and closing the door. Once James had secured himself in the chariot, he watched out the window as the Pegasus Guards began to take flight, line by line into the night sky. Shortly, his own chariot lifted off the ground. Once they were all in the air, the Guard escorts formed a protective cocoon around the six chariots, surrounding them on all sides. Reaching a safe distance above the ground, they banked to the right, and flew towards Ponyville.

James leaned back against the wall of the chariot, emptiness and coldness filling him. He had become so used to that warm feeling of the binding spell inside of him. That thing he could reach out and touch inside of him. Also, he had also become used to the near constant companionship of the other Council members, seeing as how they lived together and did virtually everything together. But now he was alone in the chariot. And that warm feeling of the binding spell felt so weak. So distant. He felt as if he were in a dark space, devoid of any life. Devoid or movement or sound. A cold area of the universe where no stars shined. No sun existed. Never had he felt so alone before.

He tried to force his mind off of the lonely feeling. But nothing else that occupied his thoughts was any more pleasant. He thought of Celestia and Luna, and hoped wherever they were, they were alright. He thought of the Lunar Guards who had given the ultimate sacrifice to protect Princess Luna. And he thought of Twilight Sparkle. A vision of arriving in Ponyville to find nothing but the burning charred remains of a town with no signs of life forced its way into his mind. He tried to force it away, even banging the back of his head hard on the chariot wall in frustration once. Please, let Twilight be alright.

He thought of Celestia's words to him. "Twilight Sparkle will need to be told of all this soon. And you may need to be the one to tell her." She had also told him that if and when that time came, he would know when it was. Now, he knew what she meant. Now was that time …

...

Celestia awoke slowly, her vision clearing as if stepping out of a fog. She found herself lying on the ground, surrounded by trees. It was completely dark out, and it was cold. Looking up, she could see no stars, and no moon. A cold breeze blew at her, darting through her fur and biting at her. She shivered and stood up, looking around. Nothing but trees. The sounds of the woods. Wind blowing through the leaves. Branches creaking and moaning as they swayed in the wind. She had no idea what time it was, but the fact that she could see no evidence of the moon made her think it was supposed to be day. Despite soreness and pain in her body—she thought she must have fallen to the ground—she gathered her willpower. Her horn glowed and she attempted to raise the sun … Nothing happened.

Celestia nearly panicked. The dream she had had so many months ago. The dream of the forest. Of the cold. Of her subjects dying around her. Of her beautiful kingdom coming to ruin. The dream where she could not raise the sun. All of it had become reality. The sun would not obey her.

Desperately, she concentrated harder, pouring all of her energy into the effort. Her horn glowed. A golden aura surrounded her. The sun fought against her. Refusing to rise. She thought she had no more to give, but still she poured even more of her willpower into it. Finally, the sun yielded to her. A glow on the horizon. Oranges, pinks, and reds began to spill out over the sky. Finally, the glowing orb began to appear. Darkness gave way to shadows of trees on the forest floor, which eventually gave way to light, revealing a green carpet of grass and foliage underneath her hooves.

She breathed a sigh of relief, nearly collapsing, breathing heavily from the effort it had taken to raise the sun. For a full minute, she stood resting, recovering her strength. Never before, had it taken nearly so much effort for her to raise the sun. Something must be wrong with her, she thought. Had her magic weakened?

She gasped as it suddenly came flooding back to her. She had been asleep. In a secure room in an underground bunker of the castle. Five, maybe more unicorns had teleported in. The silencing spell was already on her before she had fully awoken. Then, all of their horns had glowed at the same time, and they had teleported her out of the castle. It made sense now. That's why raising the sun was so hard. The effects of the silencing spell they had used on her were still wearing off. Again she sighed in relief, at least her nightmare had not become real.

She started to walk. She didn't know where she was, or which direction to go in. But she knew she had to get back to the castle. As she walked the soreness started to leave her body, and the strength she had lost from her battle with the sun returned to her. Eventually, she began to hear sounds in the distance. The muted sounds of activity. She must be close to Canterlot now.

She smiled and felt well enough to stretch her wings now. They seemed to work. She leapt into the air, rising into the sky, clearing the tree tops. Her jaw dropped, Her eyes widened like saucers as she stared at the sight in front of her, beyond the tree line. Roads. Enormous ones, covered in gray and black. Eight lanes across. Bridges snaking in all directions. Thousands of objects covered the roads, at a stand still in most places. Loud buzzing noises reached her ears that seemed to come from the objects blocking the roads. The same type of objects flowed up and down cloverleaf shaped roads that lead on to and off of the large roads. Beyond the roads, buildings. Tall skyscrapers. Taller than even Manehattan's skyline. One so tall the top of it was obscured in the clouds. A roaring noise above her. She looked up. A massive gray and white object with enormous wings as large as some dragon's flew high over her, faster than a lumbering dragon could ever move. In the distance, she saw more of the huge flying objects, all going to a large field covered in long roads that looked like they went no where. On the ground, many of the large objects sat, lined up, waiting to use the roads, although none of them seemed to move out on to it. The belly of the object that had flown over her slowly split open. Wheels broke through, coming down out of the belly. The object continued towards the large field, descending, landing on one of the roads. More sounds flooded her ears. The constant buzzing from the other roads that were jammed with the smaller objects.

In a panic, Celestia folded her wings to her sides, letting herself fall out of the sky like a brick tossed from the top of a mountain. When she neared the ground, she extended her wings, slowing her descent, landing back in the cover of the trees.

She stood where she was, hyperventilating, realization hitting her. The objects jamming the roads. She had seen them in pictures on that strange device James had shown her. Automobiles, she thought he had called them. The tall building she had seen. She recognized that from his photos. What had he called it. The Sears Tower? Was that it?

She shook her head. It didn't matter what the building was called. She needed to focus. To think. What if they had seen her? When she had been in the air? Even if they had. Nothing could be done about that now. She could avoid being seen by anyone who came looking for her if she needed to. But she had bigger problems, she knew. She was alone and she had no idea how to get home. She knew she needed help. "Eric …" she said to herself. "James' friend … But how will I find him? He's in that city. Somewhere … How will I find him …"

...

James looked at the ground through the chariot window in relief. The town of Ponyville skidded past beneath them, still intact, sleeping peacefully in the night. At least, he could put the vision of finding Ponyville in ruins to rest now. The chariot he was in circled once, then began a steep descent toward the library. He placed his hand on the door latch, ready to open it and be out as soon as the chariot had stopped.

The wheels touched down gently, silently. He opened the door before the chariot had even come to a full stop, stepping out as soon as it was in front of Twilight's door. Quickly, he knocked on the door, the Pegasus Guards pulling the chariot scanning left and right, keeping an eye out for any threats on the ground, the guards overhead keeping the sky safe.

A slight glow from the upstairs window, then an increasing light. A candle being lit. At least the knock had woken her up. The flickering light disappeared from the window above, then slowly began to fill the window on the first floor. He heard the latch on the door, then it opened.

Twilight Sparkle stood on the other side, her mane hanging roughly down her face as would be expected for somepony who had just been roused out of bed in the middle of the night. She rubbed her sleepy eyes once with a forehoof, then looked at him, her eyes going wide with surprise, She didn't look sleepy at all anymore.

"James? What are you doing here? It's after two o'clock in the morning." Her eyes went down to his left side, where the sword was hanging from his robe. She looked back up at him with worry in her eyes. "You're armed. This can't be good. James wha—"

"Hurry Twilight. Grab Spike. No time to explain right now. You have to come to Canterlot with me. I'll explain once we are on the way."

"James, wha—"

"Please, hurry." He said, in a hushed urgent voice. "I'll explain on the way. You have to come now. Don't take anything with you. Everything you need will be provided in Canterlot. Just grab Spike and lets go. As fast as you can."

Twilight blinked, but gave a quick nod. She appeared to be wide awake now as she turned and quickly went back up the stairs. a few seconds later, she came back down with a yawning and very sleepy Spike in tow, the young dragon grumbling about being awoken in the middle of the night.

"Put the candle out and lets go." James said quickly.

She looked confused, but did as he asked, trotting through the door with Spike. James pulled it shut behind her. Twilight almost stopped and blinked upon sighting the armored chariot. James quickly gave her a nudge forward.

"Go. Get in the chariot," he said urgently again.

She climbed in, along with Spike. He quickly jumped in behind her, pulling the door shut. As soon as it was closed, the Pegasus Guards started moving quickly, the chariot taking to the sky rapidly.

"James, what's going on?" Twilight said, concern in her voice. She seemed fully awake now.

"Their Majesties are missing, Twilight. Both of them. We don't know where Celestia is. We were sending Luna to a secret secure location. Her convoy was ambushed and she was captured. We don't know where she was taken."

Twilight's jaw dropped, her eyes blinking, then going wide. He glanced at Spike from the corner of his eye. The sleepy dragon was now wide awake, an expression of shock on his face. He turned his attention back to Twilight. Her mouth moved several times with nothing coming out. Finally she spoke.

"Are they … Are the both aliv—"

"We think so. But we have no idea where either one of them are. There is a lot I must tell you. The rest of the Elements of Harmony are being gathered as we speak. Other Council members and parts of the Royal Guard are trying to figure out where their Majesties might be and what we can do." He spoke in a frantic, hurried manner. "But the first thing we need to do is get back to Canterlot so the regent can be sworn in."

"The regent?" Twilight questioned, confusion in her eyes.

"The interim ruler of Equestria," he responded quickly.

"Wait a minute, James. The interim ruler? Who's the interim ruler of Equestria?"

"You are, Twilight …"

35 - The Windy City

The God Particle

Chapter 35: The Windy City

Twilight's jaw dropped, then closed again. She stared at him, her eyes wide with fear and uncertainty. For several long seconds, she said nothing, her mouth opening and closing, but no words coming out. Finally, she spoke in a shaky voice. "Me? But I can't … I can't rule a kingdom … James, I can't! I'm too young! I don't know … Why did The Council pick me?"

He shook his head. "It wasn't our decision, Twilight. Her Majesty left contingency instructions for such an occasion. She's the one that chose you."

"But, James, I can't! One of the Council members should do it."

"We can't, Twilight. No Council member can ever sit on the throne of Equestria because all Council members are forever equal. There is no pony higher than any other. By the Council's own rules, none of us can ever sit on the throne."

"But, James, I …" she seemed to be fumbling for words, her tail flicking nervously a few times. "What if … What if I …" She swallowed hard, but then looked at him with a firm expression on her muzzle, finally saying what she wanted to say. "James, what if I say no. What if I won't do it."

James blinked in surprise. Her tone sounded more like she had made a statement rather than asked a question. The whole trip to Ponyville, he had known she would be frightened when he told her she would be the one ruling Equestria. But it had never occurred to him that she would say no, given her loyalty to Princess Celestia. He recovered from his surprise and answered her.

"You would even consider saying no? Twilight, even if weren't for the fact that she's the sovereign ruler of Equestria … She's your teacher. Your mentor. You would abandon the task she has given to you when she needs you the most?" he asked in a taken aback tone of voice.

"But what if I do … What if I say no?" she asked again, seemingly undeterred.

For a moment he said nothing, just looking at her in disbelief. He answered in a distraught, worried tone. "If you say no, Twilight … Then by default, the future of Equestria will be in the hooves of her distant nephew, Prince Blueblood. And even though he will be the official head of government if you say no, The Council will not follow him because he was not chosen by Her Majesty. You remember that The Council operates outside of the normal chain of government and serves Their Majesties directly, don't you? Half of the Royal Guard would probably follow Prince Blueblood. The other half would probably remain loyal to The Council … Twilight, if you say no … Equestria would fall into civil war."

He could see her wince visibly at that. Her legs started to shake slightly and she quickly sat down on her haunches before losing her balance. She looked at the floor for several long moments, her ears laid back against her head. He knew the weight of the responsibility that he had just placed on her must be like that of a mountain being set on her back. But he wasn't prepared when she suddenly looked up and shouted at him.

"I didn't ask for this, James! Why does this responsibility have to be dumped on me! I didn't ask for it! I don't want it! I didn't—"

"Twilight, I didn't ask to be brought to magic pony land either! But I didn't get to make that decision!" he shouted back at her in frustration.

Immediately, he regretted it. She recoiled backwards, her ears drooping to her head, her eyes lowered as she stared at the floor of the chariot. He frowned and sighed, reaching out a hand and placing it on her withers comfortingly, then spoke again in a soft compassionate tone.

"I'm sorry, Twilight. I didn't mean to snap at you. I know you're scared. We all are. But we have to come together and solve this crisis. None of us want to be in this situation. But that was not a decision that was given to us to make. And whether we want to be or not, we are in this situation. And all we can do now is come together and figure out how we are going to get out of it. Her Majesty would not have chosen you to lead Equestria through this if she did not think you were the pony most capable of doing it."

The unicorn nodded slightly, then took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "Alright … So … So what's the current situation like in Canterlot?"

"Tense … And I'm sorry to say, there may be some dissension," he responded, looking at the floor.

"Dissension? In what way?"

"There are those … Who question whether Princess Luna may be behind the disappearance. Another attempt at usurping the throne and claiming sole power in Equestria."

Twilight's eyes widened again, she paused for a moment before responding. "And what do you think, James?"

He hesitated and looked at the floor. He still refused to believe she was involved. But could he completely rule out the possibility? After several seconds, he looked back up and responded softly. "I have to believe she's not, Twilight … I simply can't believe she'd try this again … And if she is involved, she had twenty of her own Lunar Guards killed."

Twilight recoiled slightly again. "Dead? Twenty Lunar Guards?"

He nodded and frowned. "During the ambush. Two dragons, multiple griffins, unicorns, and multiple pegasi were involved in attacking her convoy. We don't know anything else at this point. We knew there was a group of ponies that had been working on something we thought was malicious. But we didn't know they had formed some kind of apparent alliance with some dragons and griffins. That part, I'm afraid, came as a surprise to us."

"You knew?" She had an uncertain look now. A look of somepony who had been betrayed. He felt terrible about it. She looked back at him, a frown and hurt expression on her muzzle. "James … Why didn't you tell me any of this? Why? Why didn't Princess Celestia tell me any of this? Doesn't she trust me? Don't you trust me?"

"Twilight, it's not that at all. It's because we have more problems than just the fact that Their Majesties are missing … The magical barriers that protect this world are weakening. Entities from The Beyond are threatening to break through. I wanted to tell you, Twilight … Princess Celestia wanted to tell you … But we couldn't. Because if you had known, you would have attracted the attention of The Beyond, and that would have put you in terrible danger. We had to protect you Twilight, especially now that you are the one who needs to lead Equestria through this crisis … Her Majesty told me I would have to tell you everything eventually. And that I would know when that time came. That time is now I am sure. There is much I must tell you. I will start from the beginning."

Before he could start telling her, however, a change of wind noise around the chariot. It was subtle, but his ears detected it. Twilight's ears swiveled in the direction of the door and he knew she had heard it too.

Looking out the window into the inky darkness, he could barely see an entire squadron of Pegasus Guards bank sharply, racing away from the rest of the formation. The night sky lit up in the direction they had broken, a blinding stream of orange and red erupting in the distance and streaming towards the formation, like a giant serpent made of pure fire that had suddenly uncoiled and struck out from its hiding place. From the corner of his eye, another bright orange flash caught his attention. Turning his head, a second orange tongue of flame raced towards the formation.

He could not see the source of the flames, but he didn't need to. He stared in the direction the flames had come from. Flying death cloaked by the dark sky, like an approaching lion in the dark that he knew was out there, but could not see. Stalking, waiting, hungry.

He forced his glance towards Twilight. Her eyes were fixed wide, staring out the window as he was. Neither one of them said anything. They didn't have to. He was sure she must be thinking the same thing he was. They were not going to make it back to Canterlot alive …

…

Princess Celestia lie at the edge of the forest, her back legs tucked under her, front hooves out in front of her. The edge of the forest opened up onto the top of a hill that overlooked the massive city beneath her. Tall grass waved back and forth in the light breezes, breaking up her outline and obscuring her from any prying eyes below. She surveyed the strange sights beneath her. The strange metallic objects darting along the enormous roads. The similar objects that were so jammed trying to get onto the roads that none of them were actually moving. The constant buzzing noise from the stalled objects continued to assault her ears.

She swiveled her ears right at a low rumbling sound, far in front of her. One of the objects on the road, a large one that pulled some kind of long windowless carriage like thing behind it slowed down as it reached the jammed road. Black smoke spewed from a shiny metal pipe that extended above its head, followed by a loud grinding noise that hurt her ears. A minute later, a strange smell reached her nose. The smell of something burning. Like oil, but somehow different. She wrinkled her nose. She did not like that smell at all.

She took a deep breath and let it out, trying to keep herself calm and take stock of her situation. That she had somehow ended up in James' world, she had no doubt. The skyline in front of her was unmistakable from the photos he had shown her on his strange device.

She thought about the other human in the pattern and mentally chastised herself for being a foal. She had automatically assumed another human would be coming to Equestria. It had never occurred to her that the other human would play a role without ever leaving James' world. She couldn't even be sure it was Eric. But he seemed like the most likely candidate. He was the one who James had talked about the most. The one he had called his best friend in this world. But how would she find him? And when she did, how would she approach him without him running away, attempting to attack her, or who knows what other reaction he might have?

She sighed to herself and stood up again, shaking herself slightly. A few pieces of dead grass that had clung to her brilliant white fur flew off of her in both directions, lazily floating back to the ground. Then she turned and walked slowly back into the forest. The accelerator lab where James had worked. She should be able to find that, she thought. He had shown her a photograph of it taken from the air. The enormous ring of the main tunnel should be easily visible from the air, even if it had been damaged in the quake and collapsed in on itself. That meant she would have to fly. A risk, yes, as she might be spotted. But a necessary risk, she decided. She increased her speed to a trot now. If she had to take the risk, she at least wanted to be as far away from those busy roads and that massive city skyline as possible.

She trotted for a while, then increased her speed to a canter. Shortly after, she started into a full gallop. The wind whipped passed her ethereal mane, her tail blowing in the breeze. Trees flew past her in a blur of green and brown as she ran as fast as her legs would carry her. She ran for twenty minutes, perhaps even longer. She wasn't sure. Finally, she slowed down, coming to an area of the forest where the trees gave way to a small clearing. Her breath came in deep rapid huffs now as she recovered from her long, fast trek through the woods.

For a long time, she did nothing, waiting for her breath to slow down so she could listen. When it did, she swiveled her ears in all directions. The dull constant roar of the city was gone, as was the constant blaring, buzzing noise that had been assaulting her ears from the roads. The large shiny objects still flew overhead, but they were quieter now, and much higher up. The only other sounds she heard now were the sounds of birds singing, and of a light breeze blowing through the leaves of the trees and rustling the grass on the ground.

She tilted her head up, smelling the air around her for any sign of danger. Only the smell of pine reached her nose now, combined with the scent of various woodland flowers and plants.

Carefully, she stepped out into the clearing, turning her head first left, then right. She saw nothing out of the ordinary. Nothing she wouldn't expect to find in any other forest clearing. Birds flew from tree branch to tree branch. A squirrel raced away from her hooves, than quickly scampered up the trunk of a pine tree. From there, it moved out on to a branch, looked down at her, and began to scold her, chattering at her relentlessly. That caused her to recoil slightly, taken aback at the scolding. Where she was from, even the animals of the forest knew who she was, knew that she was the bringer of the sun, and treated her with respect and reverence. Of course, the animals here have no idea who I am, she reminded herself, as she started to walk slowly out into the clearing. The squirrel continued to scold her from the safety of its treetop sanctuary, but she paid it no more mind.

Seeing nothing unusual, she looked toward the sky again, waiting for an opportunity where she could neither see nor hear any of the large flying objects. The frequency at which they came by became fewer and further between. She wasn't sure how long she had waited, but eventually, they stopped coming completely and the sky seemed clear. It was now or never she decided as she spread her wings and took to the sky.

Higher and higher she soared, her majestic wings carrying her aloft with a grace that would shame eagles, or even angels. She continued to rise further into the air until the trees were small clumps of dark green below her, broken here and there by small clearings, ponds, and lakes. Now she had a view of the entire area.

In front of her, the skyline of the city was visible on the horizon, large skyscrapers reaching for the clouds, their glass reflecting the light of the sun. From this distance, she could see the entire skyline, and the city was even larger than she had thought.

Looking to her right, she could see the large field with the roads that went nowhere—the roads the large objects from the sky had been landing on. But now, nothing was landing there. Although the ground itself was congested with hundreds of the large flying objects, none of which appeared to be moving anywhere.

Looking beyond that, a great lake, that stretched on until it joined with the horizon, its blue water blending with the sky. Various boats sailed on the large lake, although they were nothing like she had ever seen before. They had no sails. Briefly, she wondered what powered their movement, but then quickly brought her mind back to the task at hand.

She turned around, still hovering in one spot high above the clearing. There! Slightly to the left, maybe fifteen thousand strides in front of her. There were several open fields, and in the center of them, she could see the outside of two enormous rings. The larger of the two, she estimated, must be at least fifteen hundred strides from one side to the other. That had to be the lab James had worked at. She was sure of it. Surely there could be nothing else in the area that looked like that from the air.

She folded her great wings slightly, allowing herself to glide back down as she flew in the direction of the lab. She passed over the clearing, skimming the tree tops closely now. Arriving near the edge of the woods, she descended further, flaring her wings and landing gracefully. She took a few steps forward, then folded her wings to her sides again. A few more steps, and she was at the edge of the first field.

She sighed slightly as she looked out across it. Short green stalks covered it from here to the edge of the lab far on the other side. She recognized it as a corn field, and had it been later in the year, the corn would have been tall enough to nearly conceal her as she crossed the field to the lab. But it must have been early in the summer. As it was, the green ears of corn didn't even come up as far as her belly. Crossing the field would be unsafe and would leave her dangerously exposed to anyone who might look across it. What about teleporting? Could she teleport across it? She definitely couldn't teleport all the way across. If she did, she might come out of the teleport directly in front of any humans that might be at the lab. She could perhaps teleport most of the way across the field, and then walk the rest of the way. But if she misjudged the distance she needed to teleport at all …

She looked to the left and frowned. A whitewashed wooden farmhouse bordered the side of the field. It was three stories tall and had two large windows on the top floor facing her direction. Anypony … Or any human looking through one of those windows would easily see her anywhere in the field. And there was no way to tell if anyone was looking through the window or not. She'd have to teleport most of the way, she decided. It was risky, but not as risky as attempting to cross the entire field on hoof.

She took a deep breath and calculated the distance as carefully as she could. Then her horn started to glow.

The vertigo hit her, the ground and sky spinning around her. A few seconds later it stopped and she regained focus. Looking in front of her, she had covered most of the distance to the lab. She was at the border of the outer ring now. A large chain link fence topped with razor wire stood between her and the ring itself. There actual lab buildings were still a fair distance away. And there didn't appear to be any activity on this side of the ring. The chain link fence was no problem for her, even with the razor wire. Her horn glowed again as she teleported the short distance to the other side of the fence.

Once inside, she walked carefully towards the buildings, alert for any sign of activity. Everything seemed extremely quiet. In a few areas, yellow tape with black words on it written in a language she could not understand marked areas where the ground had collapsed into the accelerator tunnel beneath it. At one such point, she stopped, looking down into the open ground. A deep tunnel that appeared to be made from concrete ran beneath it. Large metal conduits ran the length of the tunnel, although in many areas, the support beams and conduits had twisted, bent, and broken open, revealing a complex series of wires inside. She considered going down inside the tunnel. It might be safer than traveling above ground. And she was sure the accelerator was not actually running. Not with the extensive damage she could see, and not with what James had told her. She decided against it, however. The possibility of a cave in seemed all too real. Instead, she walked along the edge of the ring, following it around towards the buildings. Small grass covered hills that ran along it allowed her at least some cover she could probably duck behind if she needed to.

It seemed to take forever, but eventually, she neared the buildings. She swiveled her ears towards them, listening for any signs of activity at all. Still, she heard nothing. The entire area seemed as deserted as a ghost down. Again, she sniffed the air. No signs of anything living at all. Only the metallic smell of rusting metal and the musty smell of concrete dust that had settled into the tunnel.

Still, she walked slowly and quietly, coming upon an area with broken chunks of concrete. And twisted metal support structures sticking out of the ground, reaching upwards like macabre, bony fingers sticking out from a grave. They had been the support structures of a building at one point, she surmised. She sniffed the ground again. It had a faint smell of something she could not identify—an acrid burned odor to it. Stubs of grass had started to push up through cracks in the broken concrete as nature had already begun to reclaim the land that had once been the mighty physics research facility she knew James had worked at. And still, there was no sound, no movement.

Deciding no one was around, she let her guard down slightly as she walked along the parameter where it appeared the building had once been. She kept her head lowered to the ground, sniffing at various spots with her sensitive nose, although she did not know what she was looking for. For several long minutes she smelled at the ground, then walked a little further, stopping to sniff again. There had definitely been large buildings here at one point. Although there were many strange smells she didn't recognize mixed in with the scent, the scent of concrete construction was apparent. But those buildings had since been removed it seemed. There were a few that still stood, but they looked structurally unsafe. Their windows were boarded up, as were their doors. Some of them tilted to one side. Others had roofs that were sagging inward. On still others, the roofs had collapsed into the building. She walked towards one, examining the front. Even though this particular building seemed intact, it looked unstable. She wondered if perhaps, even one strong kick would collapse the whole thing. Any idea she had of going inside quickly vanished at the thought of the heavy concrete roof collapsing on her.

And so instead, she sighed, sitting down on her haunches and just staring at the cold gray brick of the building. Her head hung low and she laid her ears back Tears began to form in her eyes as she thought about Equestria. What had happened? Was Luna okay? Were her subjects safe? She chided herself mentally that she had not seen this coming. If Luna was okay, could she raise the sun if she had to? She had never tried before. Oh how she wished he had taught her to do it now. Raising the sun was like tickling an enormous dragon with a breath of fire that could destroy an entire world in the blink of an eye if even one wrong move were made. If Luna tried to raise the sun, and did any part of it wrong … But if she didn't try to raise the sun, how long would it be before everything in Equestria froze to death? She shuttered, thinking of her nightmare from so many months ago. The one where she had seen dragons and ponies dying in a frozen snow covered land. Her nightmare was coming true. Except, she wouldn't be there to see it … Wouldn't be there to stop it.

She shook her head and pushed that out of her mind. But the next thought that crept in was no more pleasant. She thought of her Council now, and the last thing she had said to them before she had ended up here. She hadn't meant it, of course. She would never do anything of the sort. Would she ever get a chance to apologize for it now? Again, she mentally tortured herself over what had happened. She did not deserve their loyalty, she thought. Not after that. And yet, she knew they would stay loyal to her. No matter what, she knew they would remain loyal to her and would never turn their flanks on her. That gave her at least some comfort. Her Council would be working on solving this problem right now. The entire Council would be putting everything they had into it. They would come up with a way to save Equestria even if she could not. She was sure of it and had full confidence in them.

"I take it you must be Princess Celestia?"

She jumped at the sudden voice behind her, quickly turning around. In front of her, maybe four strides away, a man stood with his hands raised in the air as if to show he was not a threat. He was about the same height as James, although his hair was black instead of brown. It was cropped short, and brushed neatly back against his head, although the breeze had blown some strands of it out of place. He wore a long gray coat, buttoned at the front that went nearly to his feet, which were covered in black shoes. His hazel eyes regarded her with a calm appearance, almost as if he had expected her, and were not surprised to see her.

"Who … who are you?" she stammered. "How … how do you know who I am?" She pranced backward one step, lowering her head slightly in a defensive stance, her horn pointing at him, ready to immobilize him should he threaten her. But he made no move, continuing to only stand there with his hands in the air.

"My name is Eric Thompson. I'm a friend of James Peterson. Can I reach into my inside coat pocket? There's something I want to show you that will make your second question easier to answer.

She blinked, her heart surging with hope despite her nervousness. Eric! The one she wanted to find! She relaxed her stance and nodded her head twice. "I will do nothing to harm you. You have my word."

Eric lowered his hands now, reaching inside his coat and pulling out an old brown book. The golden image of a unicorn head adorned its cover, the unicorn's eye inlaid with a turquoise sparkling jewel. She'd recognize that book anywhere. She stared at it in wonder for a moment before responding, a tone of bewilderment in her voice.

"Where … How'd you get that? You could read it?"

"I was actually hoping you could tell me how I got this, Princess. I found it lying on the floor inside the lab that used to sit on this very spot of ground. The one that James disappeared from. As far as reading it … well, once I discovered it was a phonetic alphabet for the same language we speak, it wasn't that hard to translate the entire thing once I figured out what a few words were based on some pictures."

She nodded slightly, still amazed that he had found the book. It didn't take long, however, to come to the conclusion that Twilight must have accidently sent it here when she was trying to figure out how to send James home. At least that gave her a ray of hope. If it was possible, and repeatable, to send something, or somepony to this world, then hopefully it would be possible for her to go back to Equestria.

"How did you know to find me here?" she asked.

"Well, James left from this spot. The book arrived at this spot. It seemed like the most sensible place to start looking for you."

"Yes, but I mean how did you know I'd be here? On your planet?"

"Well … Your calling card was a little hard to miss, Princess." He tipped his head skyward slightly, then back down and looked at her again. "You've caused quite a bit of trouble, Princess. In the short time you've been here."

"Excuse me?" she said, confused by his statement.

He reached inside his coat again, putting the book away. Then he pulled out another object. It was one of those small black devices with the shiny back. Like the one James had shown her photos on. He motioned at her with one hand to come over. She did so, looking at the device in his other hand. He tapped a finger on the screen. It lit up, and a moving image of a person talking started to appear on the small electronic wonder, sound also coming from the device:

"NASA officials continue to insist they do not know why the sun appeared to rise over the Central United States a full half hour earlier than it should have. However, they have urged the public to remain calm and insist they have no evidence to support the rumor that the Earth has fallen out of orbit and is plunging towards the sun—a rumor that has been spreading via Twitter and other social media outlets. Meanwhile, the Pentagon released a statement denying any military involvement. Quote 'There is no U.S. military involvement with this event. It is not some type of secret Air Force climate or weather control experiment as some have suggested. We urge the public to remain calm while the experts at NASA attempt to figure out what is going on.'"

He tapped the screen again, and the device stopped talking, the screen going dark.

Celestia winced. She knew if she had a mirror right now, the look on her muzzle must be beyond sheepish. She looked at the ground, fidgeting with sheepishness, lifting first her left, then her right forehoof and tapping them on the ground. After a few seconds, she looked back up at him. She was surprised to see that he had what seemed to be a very non-worried, almost amused expression on his face.

"I don't know what you did, or how you did it," he said in a tone of voice that sounded almost as amused as he looked. "But I certainly hope you can fix it. Other than the sun apparently rising a half hour too early, you've managed to shutdown O'Hare International Airport. Apparently the chief controller there ordered all planes to remain on the ground and they stopped landing planes as well, diverting them somewhere else. He was concerned it might be some kind of strange weather phenomena that was dangerous to flight."

She winced again, but then shook her head up and down slowly once. "I … I can fix it. I think … if I just slow it down a little bit until it's back on schedule … that should cause less confusion than if I move it backwards."

"I don't think you actually moved the sun in this case, Princess. I think you probably slightly sped up the rotation of the Earth. How you did that without crushing us with rapidly accelerating g-forces is something I don't quite understand though."

She blinked and gave him a confused look.

"In our world, Princess, the planet orbits the sun. I suspect what you did was sort of like … rowing a boat in the water. By pushing against the water, you move the boat. I suspect something similar happened here. Which is rather fortunate for us …" She waited for him to explain that part. But he didn't, changing the subject instead. "We can talk more later. For now, I think we better get you out of here, Princess. And back to my apartment. I don't think you want to be here when the first shift of demolition workers shows up this morning to keep tearing this place down and hauling it away. It'll be tight, but I think you will fit in the back of my SUV with all the seats down, as long as you are lying down. I brought a tarp to cover you with so no one will see you through the windows."

He turned and started walking down a path towards an open paved lot containing one of the strange metal objects she had seen on the roads near the city. Now that she was close enough, she was able to get a better look at what the objects actually looked like. James had told her a little bit about them. She thought they were basically chariots that were self-powered, not requiring any ponies to pull them. This particular one was rather large and painted a shiny black color. The windows on it were tinted dark, making it difficult to see inside. That was good, she thought. It would reduce the chance of her being seen. The wheels on the object were strange and foreign to her. The inside of them almost looked like shiny metal carriage wheels. But the outsides were covered in a strange looking black material that bulged out and had dimples all over it.

She watched as he took something out of his pocket and pressed a button on it. Then she stopped in surprise, as the strange carriage started to beep, the back of it opening upward without him touching it. She stared at it in confusion for a moment, before speaking.

"James told me you didn't have magic in your world."

"Magic? Oh … You mean the door opening automatically. It's not magic. It's an electric motor. It gets a radio signal from the key in my hand which tells it to open the door … So James is alive? And in your world, Princess?"

She nodded. "He is. He's on my Royal Council. One of my most trusted advisers."

"Adviser to a princess? To the ruler of a kingdom?" he chuckled and shook his head. "That man always did have extraordinary ambitions. But I doubt even he ever thought his ambitions would take him that far … I'm not sure how to … Do you need any help getting in, Princess?"

She looked into the back of the strange chariot again. Getting in the "traditional" way appeared that it might be a little bit awkward, given it was not tall enough for her to stand up in the back. Maybe if she lie down on the ground, she could teleport into it?

She decided that was probably the best option and lie down on the ground.

"Princess, this is no time to—"

Her horn glowed briefly, and then, she was in the back of the strange chariot, lying on the floor.

She looked up to see Eric staring at her. He opened his mouth, but then closed it and shook his head. "I'll ask about it later," he said. Then, he picked up the tarp he had brought and started covering her with it. "It's not very far to my apartment, so you won't have to stay covered long. Once we get there. I suggest you … do whatever it was you did to get in here to get in there as well. It probably wouldn't be wise for you to go walking through the hallways and use the elevator.

She shook her head. "I can't. I wouldn't know where I was teleporting to. I could end up teleporting into a solid wall or something. Or teleporting right on top of you. Or worse, into the same space you are, which would be disastrous for you."

"Right … I guess that could be a problem … Well, I guess we'll just have to take our chances then. At this time of day, there shouldn't be very much activity in the hallways. And there's a code to lock the elevator so it won't stop on any floor between the ground and the floor I'm on. We aren't supposed to know the code, but it's amazing what you can find on the Internet if you know the elevator manufacturer and model number, and the owner hasn't changed the default code," he said as he finished pulling the tarp over her. She could see his silhouette step backwards through the material. "Well, I guess that'll work. It breaks up your figure well enough that it's not possible to tell what's under the tarp."

Then she heard the beeping sound again and saw the silhouette of the door lowering over the back of the chariot, followed by a click as it closed and latched.

She heard him get into the front of the chariot, then a strange low rumbling sound. Next she felt them moving and the pitch of the rumbling sound increased. Although she couldn't see anything from under the tarp, she could tell they had made a turn and were now driving on a road

For a few seconds, she tried to ask him questions, but found his responses difficult to hear over the road noise and the rumbling. In addition, it seemed he was having a hard time hearing her as well. After a few minutes, she turned to her own thoughts instead. But none of them were comforting. Again, she thought about Luna, wondering if she was alright. She thought about all of her subjects and the kind of panic that must be running through Equestria right now. And she thought of her Council. They would figure out a way to solve this problem. They had to figure out a way. And perhaps, Eric would be able to help. James had said Eric was very resourceful, and that if anyone from his planet were able to figure out how to come to Equestria, it would be Eric. Now, she just hoped he would be able to figure out a way to get her back there.

It wasn't long before she felt the vehicle come to a stop.

"Wait here, Princess. Let me make sure there's no one around." She heard the door open, the sound of him getting out, followed by the door closing. It wasn't more than a minute before she heard the beeping again, and the sound of the rear hatch opening. He reached in and removed the tarp that was covering her.

"Alright, let's hurry. The first floor is clear and the elevators are just past the doors. Thankfully, there are no security cameras in this building."

She nodded and quickly teleported out of the vehicle, then stood up. She had no time to take in the features of the building in front of her as Eric was already jogging towards the double glass doors on the front. He quickly opened them, holding them for her. She trotted rapidly, entering them.

"In the elevator … uh, that's that small room at the other side with the open doors," he said quickly. She did as he indicated, quickly entering the small room. It was very cramped, obviously not designed for a horse sized creature. But Eric managed to squeeze in with her. She watched him touch a button on a panel mounted on the wall and the doors closed.

The elevator started upward with a small jolt that startled her briefly. She looked around the small, cramped space. At the top of the shiny metal doors, red symbols on some kind of display ticked passed, although she did not recognize the symbols and had no idea what they meant. A few seconds later, she felt the elevator slowing down, a strange feeling of almost being pulled off the ground. A soft beep came from the panel on the wall. Then, the doors slid apart and opened.

Eric stuck his head out of the doors and looked left, then right. "It's clear," he said as he stepped out. Then he turned left and jogged down the hallway. She followed quickly. About half way down, he stopped at a door on the right side, quickly fumbling with something in his hand that she thought was a key. With a click, the lock disengaged and he pushed it open, stepping inside. She followed quickly, and he closed the door behind her, engaging the locks again.

She watched as he breathed a sigh of relief. Then she turned her head left and right, looking around. They were in open room with white walls. The floor felt strange to her—almost like grass, but yet somehow different. Looking down, she saw that it was covered in some kind of light gray fuzzy material that felt soft on her hoofs. She looked back up. Two green chairs sat in the room, along with a larger green bench. Both of them sat angled towards some kind of large square object with a shiny front. And black edges. Beyond the room they were in, she recognized a kitchen. To the left a small hallway with two doors. In it—one on one side of the wall, another on the other side.

She looked back at the room they were standing in again, back towards the green chairs. Clothes had been carelessly hung over the back of one of them, similar to the types of clothes that James had been wearing when he was first found in Equestria. A small wooden table sitting in front of the large green bench had an open cardboard box sitting on it with some kind of leftover food sitting in it that she did not think looked appealing at all. Her keen sense of smell told her it smelled even less appealing than it looked.

She watch as Eric quickly went into the room and closed the box, picking it up in one arm. Then he walked over to the chair and hastily started to gather the wrinkled clothes hanging over it, as he fumbled with his speech. "I … apologize for the mess, Princess. And for the Spartan conditions. I'm sure you're probably used to much more luxurious accommodations," he said as he quickly opened the door to a closet, tossing the clothes in carelessly before closing the door again. Then he closed the lid on the box of unappetizing food, opened the refrigerator door, and placed it inside, quickly pushing the door shut again before walking back out in to the main room. "Please … Make yourself comfortable," he said as he sat down on one of the chairs.

She nodded slightly and sat down on her haunches on the floor. "Thank you … For coming to find me and taking me in," she said kindly.

He nodded in response, then spoke again. "Well, Princess, as I said, your calling card pretty much tipped me off that you had come here. But what I don't pretend to know, is why you came here."

She took a deep breath, sighing and frowning before answering. "I didn't intend to come here. Some … I don't know if assassins is the right word … but ponies who wanted me out of the way, sent me here. And now my world is in trouble and I need your help to get home."

His eyes widened and he stared at her for a moment. "My help? Princess, I don't know … How am I supposed to help you?"

"James told me something about what he had been working on. How he had been looking for this particle that some have labeled the god particle. In a sense, there was an event that night inside the accelerator that could be considered a god particle event. But it was not the one he was looking for. It was the creation of a particle far more powerful, and far more fundamental. A particle so fundamental to all existence that all dimensions ultimately sprung from it. That was the catalyst that brought him to Equestria."

She stopped and watched him, waiting for his response. He appeared to be intently focused on her, eyes wide with fascination at what she was saying. After a few moments, he frowned and looked at her more questioningly. She could already feel her heart sinking before he spoke.

"And that's all you know about this particle is what it does … You don't know anything about its physical properties, or how it does what it does?"

She shook her head slightly.

"So what you are telling me, Princess … Is that you need me to produce another one of these so called god particle events to send you back to your world."

She nodded once. "Basically, yes …"

He took a deep breath and let it out slowly, his frown deepening as his face took on an apologetic look. "I'm afraid I can't help you, Princess."

Her heart sank, her hopes dashed. She felt the weight of Equestria descending on her back, and her utter helplessness to support it. Emotion welled up inside her as she spoke in a pleading voice. "But Doctor Thompson, please! You have to help! You have to!"

"Princess, you don't understand. I would help you if I could. But even if I could replicate the exact conditions of what happened that night … Even if I could produce another god particle event, the Tevatron is wasted. It'll never accelerate another proton again … I wish I could help you, Princess. I really do. But I'm afraid there's nothing I can do. I'm so sorry. I really am." He averted his eyes from her and looked down at the floor.

She only stared across the room, although her eyes focused on nothing in particular. Never before had she felt so completely helpless. So completely powerless. Somewhere, in some dimension, her world had tumbled into cataclysm. And there was nothing she could do to save it. Nothing she could do to protect her subjects.

Emotion threatened to overwhelm her, depression and anxiety cutting at her heart like a hot knife cuts through butter. She stood up, and turned, starting towards his door, her head hung so low in despair that her muzzle almost dragged along the strange fuzzy floor.

"Where are you going?" he called out softly from behind her.

"I'm sorry … I wasted your time, Doctor Thompson," she responded in a quiet shaky tone of voice as she continued towards the door.

"Don't go, Princess … Please don't go," he said softly. "Even if I can't help you get home, I'm not going to kick you out on the street. You are welcome to stay here as long as you need to."

She stopped and hesitated for a moment before turning around. Then she nodded slightly, although her head remained low to the ground. "Thank you, Doctor Thompson … For your kindness."

"Please … Just call me Eric … What kind of person would I be if I kicked a stranded princess out onto the street in a city like Chicago … Alright, look … I'll get the data the accelerator detectors recorded that night and see if I can find anything that might help. But I don't want you to get your hopes up, Princess. The detectors failed and stopped recording data almost as soon as the quake struck. So I seriously doubt they recorded anything that will be of any use. But I'll look at it. And I'll try."

"Thank you, Eric," she responded softly. "That's all I can ask you to do is to try."

He nodded slightly. "You look exhausted, Princess … Why don't you try to get some sleep. I'll go back to the lab and pull the data from that night. The server vault itself wasn't damaged by the quake so the data storage units are still intact. You can use my bedroom as long as you are here. I'll sleep on the couch."

She shook her head, once. "Thank you for the offer, Eric. But you are doing enough for me as it is by trying to help me and allowing me to stay here. I do not wish to kick you out of your own bedroom. I'm fine just sleeping out here."

"Really, it's okay … I want you to have it. I wish I could give you more … Just uh … Well, keep the shades on the windows pulled, don't answer the door, and don't go outside. I'll be back as soon as I can," he said, standing up and starting for the door again.

She nodded. "Thank you. Again," she responded, watching him leave.

Once he had closed the door, she stood up and turned, walking down the small hallway. The hall was narrow for her size, and the walls brushed against her fur as she walked through. She stopped in front of the door on the right side, looking down at the brass colored knob. Unlike doorknobs in Equestria, which all contained a handle that could be pushed down or up on for easy operation with a hoof, this one had a completely round knob. She forewent any attempt to operate it with her forehoof and instead simply opened it with magic, the small knob glowing with a golden aura as her ethereal energy grip turned it. Once it unlatched, she pushed the door in gently with a forehoof.

Inside, she stopped and looked around. The head of the bed was pushed against the far wall, its sheets and blankets lying on top of it in wrinkled chaos. The light green striped sheets clashed badly with the brown blanket and pillowcases. The gray floor was covered in various areas with clothes, including wads of wrinkled t-shirts and pants that had been balled up and carelessly thrown into a corner. The door on the closet was open, and more clothes were piled in a basket inside, the pants legs hanging over the edges. Open magazines that looked to contain complex mathematical equations and diagrams—she assumed they were science journals—lie on the floor next to the bed. There was a single window in the room, on the wall behind the bed, but its shade was closed. She resisted the temptation to open it and look outside, the possibility of being spotted not a risk she wanted to take.

She shook her head slightly in bewilderment. Definitely the bedroom of a male bachelor, she thought to herself. Not that she was about to complain about it. After all, he was kind enough to let her use it. Perhaps she could repay at least some of his kindness by cleaning up his bedroom and apartment while he was gone? Yes, she was tired. But she didn't think sleep would come to her. And lying around in bed trying to get to sleep would only keep her mind focused on Equestria and things she had no control over and could do nothing about right now. She really did want some activity to do that would keep her mind at least partially focused on something else.

And so her horn began to glow, followed by faint golden auras around the piles of clothes lying scattered about the floor as she started to pick them up, taking the task upon herself to turn Eric's bachelor pad into something that resembled actual living space …

37 - Confessions of Alicorns & Humans

The God Particle

Chapter 37: Confessions of Alicorns & Humans

Celestia lifted the last shirt out of the bathtub, her horn glowing with a golden aura. In a matter of a few seconds, she had dried it using the magic of the solar flame itself. Finally, she folded it neatly and added it to the pile next to her before magically lifting the entire pile and floating it back into Eric's bedroom. Four hangers in the closet began to glow as she spread the pile out, hanging each shirt over one of the hangers.

Now that she had finished washing all of the clothes she had found on the floor, she looked around the room again. The bed was neatly made, and the floor was clean. All of the magazines that had been on the floor were now neatly placed on the bookshelf against the left wall.

She smiled to herself at the improvement, then stepped out into the main room of the apartment again, which she had already cleaned. It had not taken her very long at all given that she could perform several tasks at the same time using magic. The entire apartment was now as clean as her own private chambers back at the castle. Various objects cluttering the floor had been picked up and put away, the dishes in the kitchen had been washed, dried, and placed in the cupboards, and not a single piece of stray dirty laundry was to be found.

She frowned again, sighing to herself. Now, she wished she had paced herself better and taken more time to clean. With nothing to occupy her anymore, worry about Equestria flooded her entire mind, threatening to overwhelm her with emotion. The silence of the empty apartment only made her feel worse, for it made her think of barren wastelands, lifeless and empty. The complete absence of movement. Empty frozen tundra without a single living thing to break the quiet. No wind to whistle through the trees. No trees for the wind to whistle through even if there had been a breeze. No light, no sun, only death.

"No!" she said loudly, startling herself as her own voice broke the quiet of the apartment. She narrowed her eyes, stomping one forehoof on the floor angrily, the anger directed purely at herself. You can't think that way, she chastised herself. Luna and your Royal Council will find a solution. And if Luna has been compromised as well, then Twilight Sparkle will.

She looked around now, trying to find something else to occupy her mind. Scanning over the living room, her magenta eyes fell curiously on the coffee table, where she looked at a small, strange, rectangular box she had seen earlier when cleaning. The box seemed to be covered in a multitude of small buttons, arranged in a grid like pattern. Curiosity getting the better of her, she leaned her head down and touched one of them with her horn. Nothing happened. She frowned slightly, but then noticed the one in the upper right corner was a different color, and seemed to be set slightly apart from the others. She moved her horn towards that one and pressed it gently.

Suddenly, a terrifying sound of somepony … or some human, screaming filled the room. Startled, she jerked her head up, her eyes going wide. On the wall in front of her, through something that appeared to be a window, was a man wearing some type of strange mask. But worse than that, the man was carrying a large machete and appeared to be coming towards her.

"Stop!" she commanded in her most regal voice, lowering her head and pointing her horn at the man defensively. But the man seemed to completely ignore her. Quickly, she unleashed a spell, sending a golden burst of magic towards the man, intending to immobilize him. The burst of magic struck the window like object, spreading out to cover it. Then, the man was gone, the window like object going completely dark. Only the sound of her own breath and heartbeat broke the quiet.

She blinked in confusion. The magic was only supposed to immobilize the man. To force him to stop his advance. It wasn't supposed to make him completely disappear … along with everything else outside the window.

For a few more moments, she stared at the dark window on the wall. Then, cautiously, she leaned her head back down, pushing the same button on the small rectangular object.

Again, the room filled with sound. Once more, she jerked her head back up, seeing the man with the machete again. She stepped backwards, her eyes widening once more. Again, she prepared to unleash a spell at the man. But this time, she hesitated. Strangely, even though the man appeared to be walking towards her, he wasn't actually getting any closer to her. She pondered this for several moments, just watching the scene in front of her in the strange window. Then, suddenly, it switched entirely to something else, and the man with the machete was gone. Now, it showed the outside of some sort of building.

"Aha!" she said to herself as she remembered the small box with the moving pictures that Eric had shown her earlier, and the similar box that James had back in Equestria. "It's one of those. Only a much bigger one."

She smiled to herself at her inductive reasoning, then looked down at the strange box with the buttons again. Experimentally, she pressed a different button. This time, she noticed a strange, almost imperceptible energy field coming from the small box while she was holding the button down. The energy field was very weak indeed. A lesser skilled magician than herself would not have detected it at all. Again, the sound in the room changed, as did the image on the wall mounted device. Now, it showed the image of a man kicking a ball down a green field. Several other men were chasing after him, and he kicked the ball to another man. Suddenly, a whistle sounded, and all of the action stopped. Some type of sport, she surmised.

Her thoughts returned to the energy field the small button box had emitted. Quickly, she analyzed the pattern in her mind. Then, she pointed her horn at the device on the wall, and unleashed a barely perceptible spell at it. A spell so light, that her horn didn't even glow at all.

The spell had the intended effect, the image on the screen changing again to a man sitting behind a desk.

"Gotcha!" She smiled to herself again, rather proud of herself at having figured out how to make the device on the wall obey her command without using the small button box. But then, she winced as she listened to the words of the man on the screen and saw a picture of the sun behind him.

NASA has now confirmed that a temporary increase in the Earth's rotation speed was responsible for the early sunrise across parts of the United States this morning. But scientists remain baffled at this point as no cause for the increase in rotation speed has yet been found. However, officials continue to insist that there is no cause for alarm, and that the issue seems to be gradually correcting itself. FAA officials have determined that the event does not pose a hazard to aircraft and airports are slowly resuming normal operations. Travelers are advised to check with their airline regarding flight cancellations and delays.

She knew the look on her face must be one of sheepishness again, and she quickly launched another light spell at the device, changing the scene again as she decided she didn't want to watch the fallout of her mistake. Her ears perked up now as she listened and watched. What she was watching now, appeared to be some type of documentary on the history of The United States. She knew that was the country she was in from what James had told her about where he had lived before arriving in Equestria. She continued watching that for about an hour until it ended. Then, she pointed her horn at the screen once more, changing the channel again. Her jaw dropped in horror at what she saw.

Just then, she heard the sound of the door unlocking. Her ears swiveled towards it, her eyes leaving the screen in front of her. The door opened, and Eric stepped in, balancing two large boxes, one stacked on top of the other. He set the boxes down on the floor and blinked once, his eyes going wide.

"This is not my apartment," he said, stepping back out and looking at the outside of the door again. Then, he stepped back inside. "Okay … this is my apartment. Princess, did you … aww shit … Princess, that's not what it looks like," he said as his eyes seemed to land on the screen while one hand closed the door behind him.

Celestia returned her attention to the screen as well, still looking at it in horror. Two men stood inside an octagon shaped cage facing each other. One of them kicked at the other, the other blocking it and responding with a punch. Both of them were bleeding lightly from cuts above their eyes.

"Not what it looks like!" she responded incredulously. "There are two men inside a cage fighting each other!"

"Well, it's actually a sport, Princess," Eric responded in a nervous tone of voice. He raised a hand, rubbing the hair near his forehead lightly, his face scrunching slightly into a wince.

"A sport?" she said, her voice still having a tone of anger in it. "You call locking two men in a cage and making them fight each other … a sport?" she said, raising her voice.

"No, no. They aren't locked in the cage. And well … they're athletes. They want to do it. And they aren't fighting out of anger for each other. It's a competition. Most of them actually get along with each other. And there's lots of rules in place to ensure they don't get seriously hurt." He still sounded bewildered, and somewhat nervous.

"Why would any human want to do that?" She was not at all convinced.

"I'm not … well, don't you have combat sports where you're from, Princess?"

"Yes, but light contact only. None where the competitors actually try to hurt each other."

She watched as Eric sighed, raising a hand and rubbing his forehead again. He was silent for several moments before responding. "Look, Princess … I'm not a fan of the sport. And I can't really speak for why they would want to do something like that. But I do know that despite what it looks like, they actually do have a good safety record, and serious injuries are rare because of the rules in place to prevent them. Can we … can we move on to another topic please?"

She remained unconvinced. She simply couldn't understand why anyone would want to do what the men on the screen were doing. Nor could she understand why the law would allow it even if they did want to do it. But it was obvious the discussion was making Eric uncomfortable. And that was the last thing she wanted to do, given he was gracious enough to allow her to stay here and was trying to help her. She nodded her head slightly, then pointed her horn at the screen again, the television turning off in response to her magical command.

Eric blinked, but then shook his head slightly. "Alright, you can explain that one to me later too … You … you cleaned my apartment, Princess?"

She nodded in response. "I thought it was the least I could do. Given everything you are doing for me," she said, her voice returning to a normal level, taking on her usual kind and compassionate tone again.

"Wow … thank you. I wasn't expecting … well, I mean I should be the one … Never mind. I brought some food back. I wasn't sure what you eat, but I mostly brought fruits, vegetables, bagels, some other breads. I also bought several different kinds of tea … I hope it's not just a stereotype that royalty drinks tea. And I already have coffee here. Normally, I just grab fast food myself, but I uh … doubt there's anything from the fast food restaurants that you'd eat. And I think dining out is out of the question.

She nodded in response, smiling reassuringly as he fumbled over his words. It was obvious he was a bit flabbergasted at having royalty in his apartment, even if she wasn't human and was from a different dimension, or universe. "I don't want to impose, Eric. I don't eat meat, of course, but whatever else you have is fine."

He seemed to breath a slight sigh of relief, than walked into the living room and sat down on one of the chairs across from where she was seated. "So … did you watch anything else interesting, Princess?"

"I watched a documentary about the history of your nation. It was fascinating … I couldn't help but notice that your society seems to be rather male dominated."

He fidgeted a bit, appearing nervous again. "Well … it used to be. But we have made a lot of progress towards gender equality … There's still room for improvement though, I admit."

She only nodded in response, and Eric looked at the floor for a moment before looking back up at her and speaking again, this time in a slightly more confident tone.

"With all due respect, Princess … couldn't the same thing be said about Equestria? Only in reverse? I mean you have two female monarchs who have maintained near absolute ruling authority for well over a thousand years. And it doesn't seem like that is likely to ever change."

She nodded. A valid point, she had to admit, even though it was also true that the overwhelming majority of ponies did not want that to change. She pondered for a moment before responding. "That is a valid observation. But the system works, and very few ponies actually want it to change. And we do have gender equality in government. My Royal Council is made up of both females and males, including James."

"And what about other areas of society?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Well, in all official matters, we have gender equality. But chivalry is a deeply held cultural value in Equestrian society. And in social situations, males are expected to defer to females."

"Uh huh. And can you provide some examples?" His tone seemed to be genuinely curious rather than accusing.

"Of course. When a mare and stallion go out to dinner, the stallion is expected to let the mare choose the place. When a mare and a stallion dance, the stallion is expected to let the mare choose whether she wants to lead or follow. And if a mare asks a stallion to dance, it's considered extremely rude for the stallion to refuse. But if a stallion asks a mare to dance, she can refuse, and no rudeness is implied."

He nodded and seemed to have an amused expression his face now. "And how has James, as a male, adapted to this?"

"Very well actually. It seems he's adapted very well to what is socially and culturally expected of him. Your species is very adaptable, Eric. If James is any indication," she responded.

He chuckled briefly at that, but then his expression turned serious and he looked directly at her. He seemed to hesitate for a few moments before speaking again. When he did, it was in a more serious tone.

"Your Majesty … I need to ask you the obvious question."

"I'm listening," she responded slowly. It wasn't lost on her that he had switched to calling her by a more regal and majestic title. That made her slightly nervous. Combined with his more serious look, she suspected it meant the conversation was about to turn uncomfortable.

"Well, the fact that you are here means it's obviously possible to send living beings from your world to here … Why didn't you allow James to come home, Your Majesty?"

She sighed and lowered her head towards the floor, he ears drooping slightly. It was the question she had expected, and the one she had feared. She really didn't want to answer it. But, Eric was James' best friend in this world. She owed him an answer. He deserved that much. She looked back up, knowing her eyes were filled with sadness, and responded in a soft, compassionate voice.

"When he first arrived in Equestria, we didn't think it was possible to send him home. We didn't know where he was from, and he didn't know how he had gotten there. And we thought there was simply no way we could possibly get him home without killing him in the process of trying. Eventually, my student, Twilight Sparkle, found a way to open a portal to your world. I hadn't known she was working on it, and it took her over a year of research and experimenting to make it work … By that time, we already knew that James was going to play a very important role in saving Equestria from the threat we now face … And I could no longer allow him to return home. It is a decision I deeply regret having to make. But it is the only one I could make in order to save my own world. I'm deeply sorry, Eric. If it's any comfort, James insists he is very happy in Equestria, and that he is alright with having to stay there."

The human across from her nodded once in response, then paused for a few long moments before responding. "Do you believe him?"

She nodded once. "Yes, I do. Absolute mutual trust is the most important bond that I have with my Council members. There are a lot of restrictions that Council members must follow. But I don't even allow my Royal Guards to question Council members. The only thing enforcing those restrictions is that I have complete trust in my Council members to follow them. I trust James completely. I know he would not lie to me. Not even to make me feel better about a decision I wish I had not had to make."

She thought to herself now. It was true that she could not let him come home now. But now that she was here, stuck in his world, she truly started to appreciate what it must have been like for James when he first arrived in Equestria. Only it must have been even worse for him. She, at least knew something of what to expect because she had the benefit of talking to James about his world before she arrived here. Furthermore, she had the benefit of a friendly human who already knew who she was finding her and taking her in. When James had first arrived in Equestria, he had no idea who or what they were, and they had no idea who or what he was. He had been arrested, imprisoned, and then had to start his life from scratch. It's true that he was on the Council now, and that was a life-long commitment. But was she not a monarch of Equestria? Co-ruler who had the power to do the right thing, even if it went against more than a thousand years of tradition? She came back out of her thoughts and looked back at Eric now, who was still looking at her in silence. In that moment, she made up her mind, and spoke again.

"You have my word, Eric, that when this crisis is over, I will ask him again if he wishes to return home. And if he does, I will allow him to do so. But I will not force him to leave if he tells me he wants to stay in Equestria."

The human seemed to ponder that for a moment, but then nodded acceptingly. "Fair enough, Your Majesty … Well, I guess we may as well have breakfast, and then get started on seeing if we can find a way to send you back home."

With that, he stood up and walked over to the boxes he had carried in with him, picking one up and carrying it into the kitchen. He returned a few seconds later and opened the second one, from which he started removing several large, gray rectangular objects. On the back, they appeared to have some type of connector for plugging into something, although she was not sure what.

"These are the RAID arrays from the lab. They are basically high capacity data recorders. They recorded everything that happened in the accelerator that night, right up until the point the detectors stopped working. If there's anything to find, it will be recorded somewhere on one of these boxes."

Then, she watched as he went back into the kitchen, and started to make some breakfast for the two of them.

...

James and Twilight sat in silence, the chariot continuing its long flight back to Canterlot. Spike was curled up in the far left corner on the floor across from James. Somehow, the young dragon had managed to fall asleep despite the circumstances and what he had just been through. The poor kid is probably traumatized to the point of exhaustion, James thought to himself, frowning. For several more minutes, the silence continued as the flight droned on through the cold night. It was Twilight that finally broke the quiet.

"James … Why did you join the Royal Council?"

He sighed and looked across the isle at her. "Twilight … I don't want to talk about this … Not now."

"If you hadn't joined the Council, you could have gone home, James," she responded in a troubled but stern voice, seemingly undeterred.

"No, Twilight, I couldn't have," he responded in frustration. "Her Majesty would not have allowed me to leave anyway. Not with this whole Beyond thing. Not with me somehow playing a key role in stopping it."

"You could have gone home after this is all over, James," she said back, narrowing her eyes, her voice a mixture of frustration, anger, and hurt now.

"And what if I am happy here? What if I don't want to go home? What if I think I am better off here than I ever was back there?" His own voice had tones of anger and frustration in it now.

"Why would you simply want to run away from your home like that, James? From everything you cared about back there? You could have taken the lessons you learned here and used them to make positive changes back there."

"I'm not running from my home. But I was running from my past. Princess Luna was right. I was running from it. But I'm not running anymore. I've faced it, and I've made peace with it. I can never go home."

"And you have no regrets? None at all? Somehow, I find that hard to believe, James."

"Of course, I have regrets, Twilight. There are things I never got to do back home that now I never will get to do. But there's nothing I can do about that now. All I can do is learn from those mistakes, make peace with them, and move on. So that I can do better in the future. But my future is here now. I've accepted that."

"And what if Princess Celestia were to change her mind when we find her? What if, when this is all over, she were to tell you that you could go home?"

He shook his head. "I'd say no, Twilight. I'd tell her I don't want to leave."

"This is my fault," Twilight responded, sighing.

"What is? What's your fault?" He raised an eyebrow.

"I should have started working on the spell to send you home sooner. If I had started on it right away … but I didn't. Because I didn't want you to go home. I was fascinated by you. So I never even started trying to find a way to send you home until after you'd already been here for almost three months … I was selfish, James. You must think I'm a terrible pony." He could see tears starting to well up in her eyes now.

He shook his head. "No, Twilight. I don't think that at all. And even if you had come up with a way to send me home before I joined the Council, I would have said no. I don't want to go home." He could feel tears starting to form in his own eyes now as well.

"Yes, you do. I can see you starting to cry. You miss your home. Don't try to lie to me, James!"

"I'm not lying to you!" He threw up his hands in frustration. "Of course, I miss my home! And of course, I miss my friends from back home! But you are starting to sound like you want me to leave or something!" Tears continued to well up in his eyes, and he felt a single one flow over and roll down his face.

"Of course, I don't want you to leave, James! But I don't understand. Why would you just abandon your friends like that? Why! Why would you abandon your family like that! If you had the chance to go home and be with them?"

"What if I think it was worth it! What if I think losing all that was worth it!"

"Why, James! Why wouldn't you want to go home if given the chance!"

"Because I don't wanna live in a world without you, Twilight!"

He had said it loudly, desperately, without even thinking. It was already out before he had even realized he was revealing his true feelings for her. Feelings he had kept hidden from everyone, including himself, only acknowledging them even to himself on rare occasions, such as when he had danced with her at the Solar Ball. And even then, he had tried to deny those feelings. But now, his true feelings were out. Now, he could no longer deny them. Not even to himself.

There was silence now, and the two of them simply looked across the isle at each other. Tears ran down his face freely now, and he was sure his face was a picture of pure, raw emotion. She opened her mouth to say something, then closed it again, a single tear rolling down her muzzle as well. When James spoke again, it was in a much quieter and soft, but still desperate tone.

"Even if there's no way we can ever be together, Twilight … I don't wanna live in a world without you."

Tears rolled down Twilight's muzzle freely now as she covered the distance across the isle to his side of the chariot in one bound. She wrapped both forelegs around the back of his head, pulling his face to her muzzle. For several long moments, the tears flowed freely from both of them as she held his face to her muzzle. Then, she touched his lips, and they kissed, the chariot pressing onward through the starlit Equestrian sky.

38 - The Magic of Dreams

The God Particle

Chapter 38: The Magic of Dreams

For several long seconds, James and Twilight continued to embrace each other, her muzzle pressed to his face, her forelegs wrapped tightly around the back of his head. Finally, she pulled back slightly. Her eyes were still full of tears.

"James … Why didn't you tell me about this before? How long have you felt this way?"

He felt another tear run down his face. "I was trying to deny it, Twilight. Even to myself. I didn't think that I could ever … I didn't think the feelings could be real. But now that I'm not denying them anymore … I guess I've known for quite a while. The flight to Canterlot a year ago when I ended up leaving Ponyville and moving here. The time we danced at the Solar Ball and I thought you were my entire world. The times I have known I would face any threat if it would protect you. And a few days ago, when you were in Canterlot, I nearly defied Her Majesty to go and warn you not to go back to Ponyville since I was sure you would be safer staying in Canterlot." He shuddered at that memory now. It was just two days ago when he and Princess Celestia had briefly argued about keeping Twilight in Canterlot instead of letting her go back to Ponyville. He had wanted to warn her to stay in Canterlot where she would be safe. Celestia had had to resort to commanding him in no uncertain terms not to say anything to Twilight, and told him he had to trust her that Twilight would be safer going back to Ponyville … What if he had warned her and she had stayed in Canterlot? Would she be missing too right now? Would they have captured her along with Princess Celestia and Princess Luna? He winced at the thought and tried to push it out of his mind. Finally, he spoke again, his voice pleading.

"I'm sorry, Twilight … I shouldn't have said anything … Please don't push me away. Please don't—"

The unicorn raised her right forehoof, pressing it lightly to his lips and stopping him in mid-sentence. "Shhhh," she said softly and smiled gently at him. Then she embraced him again, wrapping her forelegs around him once more. "I'll never push you away, James. Never," she said in a gentle and loving tone.

For several more moments, they continued to embrace, hugging warmly, until James finally noticed that Spike was awake. The young dragon stood in the corner of the chariot, his eyes wide. He opened his mouth as if to say something, then closed it again and just kept staring.

"Twilight … We woke up Spike," James said a bit nervously.

She released him from her embrace, then turned her head, looking at Spike now too. The dragon was silent for several moments before responding.

"My … my lips. These lips right here? They're sealed. Pinkie Pie Promise. I mean … I know I wouldn't want you telling all of Equestria about my crush on Rarity. So yeah … These dragon lips are sealed."

"Thank you, Spike," Twilight said, smiling a little at the small dragon. "You are a very faithful and loyal assistant." Spike smiled slightly. But the smile quickly changed back to a frown. None of them could smile for very long given the weight of the crisis baring down on them.

James wiped his tear filled eyes with the sleeve of his robe, then composed himself as best he could. "Alright. We have a lot of work to do when we get back to Canterlot. And I can only hope we get there before Ambassador Firewing does."

"Will he know something's happened? Even before the sun is due to rise?"

"Yes, he will. He no doubt knows already. Like Royal Council members, he is bound to Princess Celestia. And like us, he can sense when she is in trouble."

Twilight frowned. "Do you really think the Lunar Guard would kill him on sight? Not even give him a chance to surrender and explain why he was there?"

"I don't know. I hope not. But given the number of Lunar Guards that were killed by dragons when Princess Luna's convoy was attacked, I don't think they will be in the mood for talking when it comes to dragons." He shook his head once, wincing. "I should have thought of it before we left Canterlot. The Lunar Guard is oath bound to obey the orders of the Royal Council if neither Princess is around. We should have left standing orders with the Captain of the Lunar Guard not to attack Firewing if he did try to come to Canterlot."

Twilight shook her head once. "You can't blame yourself for not thinking of that, James. Not given all the stress you were under. And besides, maybe the other members of the Council that didn't come to Ponyville did think of it after you left."

He nodded once and hoped she was right.

The wind noise outside the chariot began to change, and he felt them pitch down slightly. Turning his head to look out the window again, the bright lights of Canterlot became visible in the distance, like stars twinkling on an inverted horizon. The sky above was like a well full of black ink, impenetrable and dark. Even though Luna's moon would be directly over Canterlot right now—and probably frozen in place without her to move it—no light shown from it without the Night Princess's power to illuminate it. And so the lighting from Canterlot itself was the only thing interrupting the impenetrable darkness.

"James? What's the swearing in ceremony for the regent like?" Twilight asked, drawing his attention away from the window and back to her. Some of the nervousness had returned to her voice.

"It's short, and to the point, Twilight. Basically, you will be presented before the entire Royal Council. You will be informed that you were chosen by Her Majesty, Princess Celestia, to assume full rulership of Equestria until such time as one or both of Their Majesties are able to return to the throne. Then you will take a brief oath affirming that you will carry out these duties and that you will faithfully serve Equestria. Once that is finished, each member of the Royal Council, along with the leaders of the Celestial Guard, the Lunar Guard, and the captains of the Royal Guard, will affirm their allegiance and loyalty to you until such time as Their Majesties return to the throne. That's about it really."

She nodded once, but he could clearly see a look of fear on her face. He reached out and placed a comforting hand on her withers. "You don't need to be afraid, Twilight. Yes, first encounters with the Royal Council can be intimidating because of the mysterious nature surrounding it. But please trust me when I tell you that all of them will be completely loyal to you."

"I'm not … I'm not going to have a bunch of ponies bowing to me, am I?"

He shook his head. "No, Twilight. You won't. We will serve you and be as loyal to you as if you were one of the princesses themselves. But we bow only to Princess Celestia and Princess Luna. Not to the regent."

She nodded, then hesitated for a few moments before responding in a still nervous voice. "James … I want … I want you to be the one that administers the oath to me. I'll feel more comfortable if you do it since I know you and trust you already."

He nodded. "I'll have to make sure it's alright with the rest of the Council, but they shouldn't have any problem with me administering the oath to you. Any Council member is authorized to do it."

As the chariot continued to approach Canterlot, the banners on top of the castle towers came into view. The crimson flags with Celestia's solar emblem waving in the breeze, proud and indomitable. James thought back to when he had first arrived in Equestria, and seen those banners. How he had thought their ever present constant reminders of Celestia's rule was too much. But now, he found that despite the crisis they faced, those banners, waving proudly in the window, gave him a feeling of hope. Now, he understood that they were something for the ponies of Equestria to rally behind. Something for ponies everywhere to look to and say "We will not go down without a fight. We will not be defeated. Our banner still flies." Now, for perhaps the first time, he truly understood. Now, he would fight as one of them. And, he realized, perhaps die as one of them.

About twenty minutes later they landed behind the castle, James opened the door and stepped out, holding it open for Twilight and Spike. He looked around as the other chariots landed, along with the nearly two-hundred Pegasus Guard escorts that had accompanied them. All of the pegasi, including the ones pulling the chariot they had been in, breathed heavily and looked completely exhausted. He turned to the left as he heard Captain Swordstorm's tired, but still commanding and firm voice call out.

"Get Twilight Sparkle to the secure meeting room in the castle. And get the rest of the Elements of Harmony to safe and secure locations. And make it happen yesterday."

Several fresh Pegasus Guards rushed down from the castle entrance, quickly escorting the Elements of Harmony, away to a safe location. They split Twilight off from the rest of them, rushing her in a different direction that lead to the secure underground meeting room in the castle. Twilight turned her head back to look at him, her face full of fear as she was rapidly rushed away.

"Don't be afraid, Twilight! I'll be down there with you soon!" he called out to her as she disappeared through the castle doors under heavy guard escort. He frowned, then turned and tried to catch a glimpse of the rest of the Elements as they were whisked away. All of them had expressions of fear and uncertainty painted on their muzzles. Even Rainbow Dash, who seemed practically immune to fear and was rarely daunted by anything, looked overwhelmed now that she had been informed what was going on. Then, the five Elements disappeared inside the castle.

Once they were gone, he turned his attention to Captain Swordstorm, who was walking towards him. The captain looked completely exhausted. Of course, he would be, James thought to himself. He and his Pegasus Guards had just flown all the way to Ponyville and back at much faster than normal speeds and had to fight an air battle against dragons and griffins in the process. He felt for Captain Swordstorm and his guards, but at the same time, deeply admired them, and their tenacity. Like the banners flying high over the castle, the guards gave him a sense of hope. With soldiers this dedicated to their duty, their nation, and their princesses, the situation didn't seem as hopeless as it had before they had left for Ponyville. They had already scored one victory: They had safely gotten the Elements of Harmony to Canterlot, despite an attempt by dragons and griffins to stop them. James turned back to the rear entrance to the castle. Several castle servants had emerged to see what the commotion was about. Now, they milled around with nervous looks on their muzzles, chatting nervously with each other. James knew that none of them had any idea what was going on yet.

"Take Captain Swordstorm's guards and make sure they are tended to. Give them food, water, medical attention if they need it, and a place to rest," he called out to the servants, then turned back to the captain. "I know you need to debrief your guards, and you've definitely earned some rest yourself. But Her Majesty's royal protocol requires you to be present at the swearing in ceremony for the regent."

Captain Swordstorm nodded once. "I'll be fine. I can join the rest of my guards after the ceremony is over and debrief them then. Lets get going."

James nodded and turned back towards the castle, then hurried his way inside, down the corridors and stairwells, to the secure area deep underground, Captain Swordstorm trotting close beside him.

They arrived in the meeting room to find most of the Royal Council already assembled. In addition, the Captains of the Celestial and Lunar guards were there, as was the Captain of the Unicorn Guard. Storm Runner, and the other members of the Royal Council that had made the trip to Ponyville arrived shortly. Twilight Sparkle was not in the room yet. According to the protocol, she would not be brought in until they summoned her. James knew she must be nervous and frightened, and wanted to get things moving as fast as possible. He faced the Council members and Guard captains.

"If Ambassador Firewing tries to come here, The Lunar Guard will be hot for revenge. We should make sure they have orders not to attack him if he does show up."

"Already been taken care of," the Captain of the Unicorn Guard responded.

James nodded and breathed a sigh of relief, then turned his attention only to the Council members. "Twilight Sparkle has requested that I be the one to administer the oath to her, since she knows me well and is comfortable with me … That and she was somewhat intimidated by her last encounter with a Council member other than myself." He cast a slightly accusing glance at Storm Runner. She gave him an apologetic look in response, but said nothing.

"We were actually discussing that before you entered," Moon Song said. "And we came to the same conclusion. We think it would be best if you administered the oath to her."

James nodded, relieved to see they were on the same page. "She's been given a copy of it to read? So she knows what to expect?"

Moon Song nodded in response. "She has been."

"Alright … I think we are ready to begin the ceremony then." James took a deep breath and let it out slowly, composing himself. Then, he took his place at the center of the half circle. On the wall behind him, Celestia's sun flanked him on one side, Luna's crescent moon on the other. He stood up straight and tried to look as confident as possible before speaking in a firm voice.

"The Royal Council of Their Grand Royal Majesties, Princess Celestia and Princess Luna, summons Twilight Sparkle to appear before us."

One of the Royal Guards at the entrance to the room opened the door and motioned for Twilight to enter. James stood motionless, as did the rest of the Council members as she entered She looked left, then right, then back forward at James. He could see the nervousness in her eyes as she entered the semi-circle of robed ponies. He hoped that seeing him at the center, as the one who would be administering the oath to her, would help ease her nervousness. He wanted to smile, nod, or make some other reassuring gesture to her. But Council ceremonial protocol didn't allow for such things. So he forced himself to maintain a neutral expression. Twilight continued until she was standing in front of him, then stopped, looking at him nervously. James was nervous as well, but he forced himself to speak with confidence.

"Twilight Sparkle. You have been summoned before the Royal Council because Her Grand Royal Majesty, Princess Celestia, has commanded us to appoint you regent of Equestria. And to grant you full rule of the kingdom of Equestria in her stead until such time as she or Her Majesty, Princess Luna, is able to return to the throne. Do you understand, and are you willing to accept the responsibility that Her Majesty has set before you."

"I … I am," Twilight responded with nervousness in her voice.

"Then with the sacred solar seal of Her Majesty, Princess Celestia on my left, and the sacred lunar seal of Her Majesty, Princess Luna on my right, I will now administer the oath of the regent to you. Are you prepared to recite the oath?"

"I am," she responded, still sounding nervous.

"Then repeat after me. With the sacred seals of Her Majesty Princess Celestia, and Her Majesty, Princess Luna as my witnesses."

Twilight repeated the words James has spoken, the nervousness in her voice becoming more apparent. But at the same time, he could see a look of determination in her eyes. He continued administering the oath.

"I swear to serve Equestria faithfully and to the best of my ability."

Again, Twilight repeated the words.

"To always rule with fairness, justice, and compassion, and always with the best interests of Her Majesty's subjects in heart and mind."

Once again, she recited the words James had spoken.

"Until such time as either Her Majesty, Princess Celestia, or Her Majesty, Princess Luna, is able to return to the throne of Equestria."

Twilight nervously repeated the final words of the oath.

"The oath of the regent is complete. Twilight Sparkle you must now kneel to receive the crown of the regent."

Twilight gently bent one of her forelegs, lowering herself until she was kneeling in front of James and the royal symbols on either side of him. James reached over and took the crown of the regent from Storm Runner, who was standing to his right. It was similar in design to the tiara that Princess Celestia normally wore, although it was bronze instead of gold, and not quite as extravagant. He held the crown in both hands, and gently and carefully, lowered it on to Twilight's head. Once he had it in place, he spoke again.

"Twilight Sparkle. By the power and authority given to me and to this Royal Council by Her Grand Royal Majesty, Princess Celestia, I hereby affirm you as Regent of Equestria, and grant to you full rulership over the kingdom of Equestria until such time as Her Majesty Princess Celestia, or Her Majesty Princess Luna returns to the throne. May you always rule with fairness, justice, and compassion. And may wisdom and love guide all of your decisions. Rise now, Lady Twilight, Regent of Equestria."

Twilight pushed her foreleg back under her and stood back up to her full height, and James looked to the rest of the room.

"Brothers and sisters of the Royal Council, honored Captains of the Guard, join me now in affirming our allegiance and loyalty to Lady Twilight, Regent of Equestria."

James looked to Twilight again and placed his right hand over his heart. "I swear full allegiance and loyalty to Lady Twilight, duly appointed by Her Majesty as Regent of Equestria. To serve her with the same faithfulness as I serve Their Majesties themselves, until such time as Their Majesties are able to return to the throne."

Then he stepped aside, and each of the Royal Council members and the four Royal Guard captains took the position he had been in, each raising a hoof to their chest and repeating the same words James had spoken. He could see the whole ceremony was making Twilight nervous and uncomfortable, and was glad this was the last part of it. When all of them had taken their turn repeating the words, James took up his position at the center of the half-circle again.

"The Ceremony of Appointing the Regent is now complete," he announced, feeling a sense of relief inside of himself. Now, he could step out of ceremonial protocol. He reached out to place a comforting hand on Twilight's withers again and said quietly so only she could hear. "Don't worry. The Council usually isn't this formal. Only during official ceremonies like the one we just finished. You can talk to any one of them as you would talk to your closest friends. Yes, they are your Royal Advisers. But they are also your friends." He forced himself give her a reassuring smile, although it was hard to smile given the dark cloud of crisis looming over them. It was hard to even force a smile.

She nodded slightly. "So what … what next?"

"Well, Captain Swordstorm and his guards will need to rest before they can do anything else. They flew all the way to Ponyville and back without a break at much faster than normal cruising speed and had to fight a battle with dragons and griffins along the way. They are beyond exhausted."

"I think you should join them, James. You look terrible yourself. When was the last time you slept?" the unicorn asked in a concerned voice.

"I don't know … I guess, not since last time you were in Canterlot."

"James, that was three days ago. You need to get some sleep." She frowned.

"I'm fine. Really I am," he responded in protest.

She answered with a bit more confidence and determination in her voice. "James … you have to obey me as if I were one of the princesses themselves, do you not?"

He winced, knowing exactly where this was going. "Yes, milady," he responded formally.

Twilight laid her ears back on her head, flicked her tail once, and spoke with a note of authority in her voice now. "Then I am commanding you to get some sleep, James. At least for a few hours. I need you at your best. And I need you to be able to think clearly. You can't do that if you haven't slept in three days."

"Yes, milady," he responded with no hint of emotion in his voice, nodding his head respectfully. Then he turned, and started walking to the door. Despite Twilight's confident and authoritative tone, he was certain he had detected a hint of regret in her voice as well, and her body language had told him she was not at all comfortable having to command him to do anything. Now, he wished he hadn't made her do so. After all, she was right. For at least the last twenty-four hours, he'd basically been running on an adrenaline rush. But even that couldn't keep him going forever. And when it ran out, he would be useless to Twilight, as well as useless to his princesses if he couldn't think clearly and make good decisions.

Reluctantly, despite knowing the wisdom and truth of Twilight's words to him, he climbed the stairs from the underground area, and started down the corridor to the Council living quarters. But how was he actually going to get to sleep? Even though he knew Twilight was right, and he badly needed it, he simply didn't see how he would sleep given the crisis looming over all of Equestria.

Suddenly he stopped, hesitating for a moment. Then he turned around, and walked towards one of the castle doors leading outside instead. He stepped outside, the cold dark night hitting him like ice. Pulling his robe tighter around himself, he walked down the marble stairs of the castle and towards the open air building near the garden. It was the same building he had undergone his Council initiation ceremony in. He stood outside the featureless stone door, hesitating for a moment before reaching and opening it, stepping inside and closing it behind him.

Inside the initiation chamber, it was cold and quiet. Dim torchlight danced off the walls, illuminating the sacred solar and lunar symbols of Celestia and Luna's cutie marks in flickering gold and silver light. The air inside the chamber, once vibrating and pulsing with magical energy, was now cold and still. Now, the building could have passed for the ruins of some ancient temple in Greece or Rome. James looked at the shadows of torchlight dancing on the chamber walls, then looked up at the dark sky. He knew Luna's moon was up there, looking down on the inside of the building, although without her power to illuminate it, it was dark and invisible.

He shivered slightly from the cold, then tilted his head back down again, gazing at Luna's crescent moon symbol. Silver light pulsed and glowed over it as it reflected the light of the torches like the light of a campfire reflecting off of trees in a forest. Even though the moon itself was dim, the Lunar Source was still strong. That meant Luna had to be alive. She had to be. Luna had come to him in his dreams at least twice in the past. If he called to her now, would she hear him? Would she come to him if she did hear him? Could she come to him? In all his life, James had never prayed to anyone or anything. But desperate situations called for desperate measures, he reasoned. He moved until he was standing directly in front of Luna's sacred lunar seal, then knelt and bowed. He spoke softly and quietly.

"Princess Luna … Goddess of the Night … If you can hear me, I implore you … please come to me."

He remained on his knees, his head bowed for a few more seconds, before laying down on his side on the cold, hard floor, the silver image of the crescent moon on the floor underneath him.

The silver crescent moon he lie on began to brighten, emitting light of its own now. The air around him tingled with mystical electricity. The chamber came alive with magic once more, the ethereal power streaking around him, through him, as Princess Luna weaved her magic spell around him. A feeling of sleep began to overcome him, as when Twilight had put a sleeping spell on him when he first arrived in Equestria. But this time, he did not resist it. This time, he opened himself completely to it, inviting Luna's magic to flow into him like water flowing into a lake from a rushing river. Tiredness overcame him, and he closed his eyes, surrendering himself completely to Luna's power.

It was still cold, and he found himself surrounded by a dark mist. Like dark gray smoke filled with soot. A faint silver glow appeared in the mist in front of him, growing stronger as it penetrated through the darkness. Then, the fog began to swirl up, parting to both sides, a shaft of silver light streaming through it. Walking towards him, bathed in the silver light, in all her lunar glory, was the Goddess of the Moon herself. The midnight blue alicorn approached him, the dark mist parting in front of her as if obeying some unspoken command she had given it. Her ethereal blue mane and tail reflected the silver light of the moon, shining brilliantly in the dark, illuminating the night and casting out the shadows. Behind her, the full moon shown brightly, close enough to almost touch. It followed her, framing her regally as if obediently escorting her. As she came closer, the lunar light fell on him too, bathing him in the Night Goddess's silver radiance. He felt Luna's power flow through him, comforting him, strengthening him, and banishing the chill, warming him from the inside. Then, she spoke to him in a soft, warm and caring voice.

"I have heard you call to me, James. And I have come to you."

39 - Princess Luna, Goddess of the Night

The God Particle

Chapter 39: Princess Luna, Goddess of the Night

"Your Majesty?" James asked in awe, bowing deeply to her. Deeper than he had ever bowed before. "You're alive." He breathed a sigh of relief.

"Yes. And so is my sister. Stand, James," she responded in a calming yet still regal voice.

"Where are you, Your Majesty?" he said as he stood up, still keeping his eyes lowered slightly in awe of her presence, as if he were meeting her for the first time, feeling that same sense of awe and wonder he'd felt the first time he'd seen Princess Celestia raise the sun.

The Alicorn Goddess shook her head once. "I don't know where I am. But I do know where my sister is. My captors have silenced most of my power, but I can still see the pattern. At least some of it. My sister's thread has joined with your friend, Eric's."

"Eric is here, Your Majesty? In Equestria?"

She shook her head again. "No. My sister is in your world."

James nearly jumped backwards in surprise. Celestia? On Earth? But that meant … "She's on Earth? Then Twilight can bring her back! The portal spell!"

Once again, she shook her head. "No, James. She can't. Twilight's portal spell is like a one way gate. She can send things to your world. But she can't pull anything out of your world. Any attempt to bring my sister back to Equestria will have to be initiated from your world. But Twilight's portal spell will not work from your world. So even if my sister remembers enough about what Twilight told her to be able to perform it, it won't help her in your world."

James felt despair try to overwhelm him again, attempting to fight against the calmness and inner strength that Princess Luna was filling him with, threatening to push it out like the tide pushing against a beach. Helpless. That's how he felt. Helpless. Now he knew where Celestia was, but there was no way to bring her back.

"James, you must listen to me. It is very important that you do not go through the portal to find my sister. The Beyond wants to separate you from Twilight Sparkle. If you go to Earth, that goal would be accomplished. And that may be disastrous for Equestria."

James nodded slightly. "But is Princess Celestia safe, Your Majesty?"

"She is with your friend, Eric. He has a good heart, James. She is safe with him."

He nodded once. If there was anyone he could trust on Earth, it was Eric. How they had found each other so quickly was something he couldn't even speculate on. But it didn't matter. They had found each other. And she was safe with Eric. But there was another question he had.

"Your Majesty … If they have you magically silenced, how is that you are able to appear to me right now?"

"The realm of dreams is completely my domain, James. They can do nothing to silence or diminish my powers in this realm. And they could not fully silence my powers in the physical world either, although they aren't aware of this. It's fortunate for us that I've come into your dreams before. It established a special connection between you and I that allows me to enter your dreams using very little of my power. And I retain enough of it even while silenced to enter your dreams. But I do not have enough power right now to enter your dreams without you inviting me and opening yourself up to me. So you must call to me." He thought he could detect a hint of regret and guilt in her voice when she mentioned having entered his dreams in the past.

"Can you come to me whenever I call, Your Majesty?"

She shook her head once. "No. Not if they are watching me. I cannot risk them knowing I retain some of my power. Although they have no ability to diminish my power in the dream realm, they can prevent me from entering the dream realm if they were to find out I'm able to do so."

He nodded once. "What do we do, Your Majesty? How do we find you? How do we bring Princess Celestia back?"

"I don't know, James. You must find a way. You, Twilight, and The Council. I have complete faith in you. I know you will find a way." She smiled at him slightly for a moment before her face took on a saddened expression, her ears dropping back on her head. "James … You have been very loyal to me. As loyal to me as even my most loyal Lunar Guards … And I have often treated you —"

"Your Majesty, there's no time for that right now," he said cutting her off. "There will be time for—"

She raised a forehoof, cutting him off in response. "No, James. I will not let this go unsaid … In case I don't get another chance … You've been as loyal to me as even my most loyal Lunar Guards. And I have often treated you horribly. I don't deserve your loyalty at all, but you have remained loyal to me anyway. I'm sorry, James. I'm sorry for the way I have treated you. And I thank you for everything. For remaining loyal to me and for believing in me."

"Your Majesty … Thank you. And I really appreciate it. But don't talk like you will never get another chance. We are going to find you and your sister. And we are going to restore both of you to the throne of Equestria. This I swear. As long as there is breath left in me."

She smiled gently at him. Suddenly, her smile changed to a look of concern, her ears perking up and swiveling to the left. She turned her head, looking in that direction towards something he couldn't see. Then she turned back and looked at him. "They are coming, James. I must go. Quickly, give me your hand."

He blinked but did as she told him, holding out his right arm towards her. She leaned down, placing her horn near the back of his hand.

"I'm sorry, James. This is going to hurt. But I need to make sure you know that this was not just a normal dream, that I really was here, and that you will be able to prove it to the others. The wound is magical and I promise you it will heal in less than a day and will not leave a scar."

Luna's horn started to glow with a searing silvery white light and he felt a sudden burning on the back of his hand, as if he had reached out and touched a hot stove. Instinctively, he pulled his hand away and looked at it. Burned into the top of his hand, was the image of a crescent moon. He winced slightly, but already the pain from the burn was quickly subsiding. Luna quickly looked to her left, then back at him again. She spoke in a more urgent voice now.

"I must go. You must wake up now, James. If you don't wake up, you will know I visited you, but you will have no memory of what we discussed. You must wake up." The Goddess of the Night took two steps backwards, and the fog that had parted for her begin to fill in again, obscuring her from his view like a ship sailing into the night fog on the dark waters of an ocean.

"Princess? Your Majesty?" he called out, but received no answer. The fog dissipated like smoke blowing away in the wind, and she was gone, leaving nothing but darkness once again.

He awoke suddenly, breathing heavily, disoriented and quickly looking around. He was lying on his side, in the middle of Princess Luna's sacred lunar seal on the floor of the chamber. Only the flickering torches on the wall illuminated the chamber now and the chill had returned. He pulled his robes tighter around himself against the biting cold. Gradually, he became aware of a dull burning sensation in his right hand, as well as a residual tingling energy throughout his entire body. Looking down at his hand, he saw the image of Luna's crescent moon burned into it, flickering dimly in the torchlight. The residual energy in his body, he realized, was from the spell Luna had put him under.

Like an open floodgate, the dream came rushing back to him, and he remembered everything clearly. "The princesses! They are both alive!" he said to himself, scrambling to his feet and starting towards the door at a run. "And I know where Celestia is!"

He threw open the door, rushing out into the courtyard and running towards the castle entrance, nearly tripping on his robe several times. He quickly entered the castle, making his way through the corridors and towards the Council meeting area, slipping on the floor and falling once, but quickly getting back to his feet. He threw open the door as soon as he arrived, startling those inside. Twilight Sparkle jumped slightly and looked at him.

"James, you are supposed to be—"

"Both princesses are alive! And I know where Celestia is!"

For several moments, there was silence, the only sound his own heavy breath from running, his heart beating heavily in his chest. He watched Twilight's eyes go wide, along with the rest of the Council. Catching his breath, he walked further into the room.

"I don't know where Princess Luna is … But Princess Celestia is in my world. She's safe, with my friend Eric."

Several jaws in the room dropped, and again, there were several long moments of tense silence. It was Storm Runner who finally spoke. "James, how do you know this?"

"Princess Luna came to me a dream. I … Well, I … prayed to her. And she came to me. She doesn't know where she is. But she can still see the pattern and she still has full control of the dream realm. She was able to see Princess Celestia's thread. It has merged with my friend Eric's. But not here in Equestria."

This time, it was Twilight that spoke. "Are you sure, James? I mean are you sure it wasn't just a normal dream? How do you know it was really her?"

He held up his arm now, showing her the back of his hand, and the image of the crescent moon that had been burned into it. "Because she left this. To ensure that I would know she was really there."

Twilight winced as she looked closely at the wound on the back of his hand.

"It doesn't hurt as much as it looks like it would," he assured her.

She nodded once, then Moon Song spoke.

"That's great, isn't it? Twilight can bring Her Majesty back using the portal spell that she developed to send you home!"

Twilight shook her head and frowned. "No, I can't. My portal spell can only send things to his world. It can't bring anything to Equestria from his world." She sighed, a strong hint of frustration in her voice. "Some other unicorn must have independently figured out the same spell I did. And used it to send the Princess to James' world."

James nodded, but inside he was frustrated. He shook his head. "I should have … I assumed Eric was coming to Equestria. It never occurred to me that he would play a role without ever coming here."

"It's not your fault, James," Storm Runner assured him. "All of us assumed the same thing. That he would be coming here somehow. Don't beat yourself up over it."

Was she right? He wasn't sure. But dwelling on whether they should or should not have considered the possibility that the signs in the pattern didn't necessarily mean Eric was coming here would do them no good now. He looked at Twilight and the Council, "Alright … alright, so I think we should try to send Princess Celestia a message through the portal. Of course, we have no way of knowing whether she will ever get it. And she can't send anything back to us. But if Eric and Her Majesty have found each other already, then it must mean the portal sent her to Chicago in a place where Eric would easily find her. Hopefully, it will do the same thing with any message we send."

"What if someone else on your planet finds the message before Eric does?" Storm Runner questioned. "Even if we write it in Equestrian, given it's just a phonetic alphabet for the same language you speak, it wouldn't be that hard for someone to decode it."

This time, it was Twilight that spoke. "Well, sometimes the best way to hide is in plain sight, right? What if James writes it in his language. Eric can read it to Princess Celestia. And if someone else finds it, it won't mean anything to them. They will think it's some children playing a game or something. I mean they'll never believe the contents of the message are real."

"I agree," James responded. "It would just be too far removed from anything that anyone would accept as reality. Any other thoughts?"

"It sounds like it could work to me. Or at least it's the best option we have right now," said Storm Runner. The rest of the Council nodded in agreement.

"Alright then," James said, nodding. "Can somepony find me quill and something to write on?"

Storm Runner trotted to the back of the room and returned shortly with a piece of paper, quill, and a bottle of ink.

"Thank you," James said as he took it from her and began to write. Once again, he found himself having a bit of trouble. It had been so long since he had used the Latin alphabet and written anything in his own script, that he occasionally had to stop to remember what the characters looked like. He mentally chided himself again for letting his writing skills in his old script become so rusty. But there simply was never any reason to write anything in his own script here.

He sighed in frustration, looking down at what he had written. While he had been criticizing himself, he had subconsciously switched to writing in Equestrian. Putting down the quill, he crinkled up the piece of paper and looked at Storm Runner apologetically. "Sorry … Can you get me a new piece of paper?" She nodded and did as he asked, this time bringing back several. He started to write again.

Several minutes later, he finished and handed the paper to Twilight. "We'll need a box to put it in. It might end up sitting outside for a while and it could rain," he said as Twilight took hold of the paper with her magic. She started to read it and nodded her approval. Then, she read it to the rest of the Council.

"Does this sound alright to everypony?" she asked. All of the Council members nodded in response.

"Consent is unanimous, milady," Moon Song responded.

Twilight nodded and took a deep breath, letting it out slowly. She had a slightly nervous expression her face now, and her tone held a note of trepidation when she spoke. "You should all probably leave the room. The portal creates a vortex. And I don't want anypony accidently getting pulled through it, especially knowing there's currently no way I can bring you back if you do get pulled through."

"Of course, milady," Storm Runner responded. "There should be some small boxes in the cupboard in the back that can be magically sealed to be waterproof."

The entire Council nodded their heads respectfully to Twilight, then begin to file out of the room. James followed, hesitating and stopping at the exit, turning around again.

"Milady … Twilight," he said, dropping the Council formalisms as concern raced through him. "Are you sure this is safe? Are you sure you won't get pulled through?"

She nodded slightly. "I'm sure, James. I've figured out how to shield myself from the vortex. But I can only shield myself. Attempting to shield anyone else would require too much magical power and not leave me enough to actually open the portal."

He nodded and turned towards the door again. "Just … be careful, Twilight," he said before stepping out and pulling it shut behind him.

Outside the meeting chamber, thoughts raced through his head as he waited with the other Council members. Desperately, he tried to think of anything that might be of use in bringing Celestia back. Anything he could remember from the event that had brought him to Equestria. but still, everything was a blur. He remembered the warning bell going off, the shaking, the falling sensation. And that was it. Whatever happened between then and the time he woke up in the forest, was completely gone from his memory. Now, he could only hope that Fermilab's detectors had recorded the event, and that they might give Eric something to work with. But had the accelerator even survived the quake?

The sound of hooves running down the hall towards him interrupted his thoughts. He looked up to see Captain Swordstorm running towards him at nearly a full gallop. Immediately, his heart sank. The Captain should be in bed, and the expression on his face appeared to be one of despair. The pegasus stopped a few feet from them and spoke in a stoic, tone of voice.

"Ponyville is under attack by griffins. One of my scouts reports extensive damage. The Pegasus Air Defense forces in the area are engaged in battle as we speak, but they are outnumbered. We need to send reinforcements."

James felt the chill of ice run through him and sighed slightly. He knew the expression on his face must be one of concern and fear, and the other Council members didn't look much better. He hesitated only a moment before speaking.

"Send … Send whatever you need, Captain." The rest of the Council nodded in agreement. "They must have gone there for the Elements of Harmony. What other reason could there be to attack Ponyville?" he said more to himself than anyone else, relieved that they had gotten Twilight and the others out of there in time. But that relief was tempered with a great deal of fear and worry. What about all the other ponies in Ponyville? He thought about the Cutie Mark Crusaders, about Applebloom's manipulative puppy dog look, about Nurse Redheart and Cherilee, But there was nothing he could do to help any of them right now. Nothing except hope they were alright.

Again, his thoughts were interrupted. This time by Storm Runner speaking. Her voice was stern and laced with anger.

"That's three griffin attacks in the last twelve hours. First against Her Majesty's convoy, then against us as we returned from Ponyville, and now against Ponyville itself. As soon as we can get back in the chamber, I suggest we recommend to Lady Twilight, that she declare an official state of war on the Griffin Kingdom."

"I agree," Moon Song responded.

James hesitated momentarily. Could they be sure the attacks were actually being authorized by the Griffin Kingdom? Or could it be rogue griffins at work? If it was rogue griffins, they were extremely well coordinated. And there were a lot of them. He made up his mind.

"I agree," he said in a stoic tone. The rest of the Council members followed suit, some taking a few seconds longer than others, until all of them had spoken. If the griffin ambassador doesn't like it, he can complain about it after the declaration is made. And besides, he should have contacted them by now, as should have Ambassador Firewing.

"We have unanimous agreement then." Storm Runner sighed, her ears drooping back on her head. She looked down at the floor uncomfortably for a moment, scraping her forehoof along it once before looking up again. "Pending Lady Twilight's approval, which is likely a given with unanimous Council consent, Equestria is now at an official state of war with the Griffin Kingdom." She turned her attention to Swordstorm, her eyes blank and troubled. "Captain … Inform your Guards. And inform the Captain of the Unicorn Guard to prepare for battle and to move against the Griffin Kingdom pending official word from Lady Twilight. Scheduled leave for all Royal Guards is indefinitely suspended. All Royal Guards that are currently on leave are to return to their assigned posts immediately and prepare for further orders."

Captain Swordstorm nodded, a stoic expression replacing his normally confident and firm demeanor. "And what of the dragons? There were dragons involved in the attacks as well."

"It doesn't make any sense," James spoke. "For any kind of sanctioned dragon involvement in this. I mean without the sun, the dragons are going to be the first ones to start dying. Their cold blooded reptilian bodies won't be able to handle the freezing conditions like we will, and the griffins will." He paused for a moment, thinking again, then shook his head. "Why would the dragons want to fight against Equestria? To help overthrow the princesses? It doesn't make any sense."

"I agree," Storm Runner said. "For now … let's assume the dragons are rogues that have rebelled against the Elder Dragon Council. But if Ambassador Firewing doesn't establish contact with us soon, I think we must assume that we are also at war with the dragons. And we must recommend to Lady Twilight that she strip Ambassador Firewing of his position, and dissolve the Elder Dragon Council."

Captain Swordstorm nodded once. "I'll go get ready. And I'll inform the Unicorn Guard of the situation," he said in a troubled, yet still firm and confident tone. Then, he turned on his hoof, and galloped back down the hallway again, his hoof steps echoing through the area like ominous distant thunder—The thunder of even worse things to come.

The air in the room seemed cold and hot at the same time, hanging heavy with oppression, as if the atmosphere was crushing in around him. None of the Council members spoke, each appearing to be lost in their own thoughts. Finally, a clang echoed through the hall as the door in front of them unlatched and opened, the frame glowing with a lavender aura as Twilight magically opened it and spoke.

"I've sent the—" she stopped, looking straight at James now, no doubt seeing his troubled expression. He watched her eyes wander over the rest of the Council members, their expressions mirroring his own he was sure. The unicorn frowned and her eyes fell back on James, the worry clear in them now. "James … what's wrong?" she asked in a frightened tone.

"Milady … Twilight … Ponyville is under attack by griffins." He watched her jaw drop, her eyes go wide with fear and despair. His heart broke for her, knowing what she must be experiencing. Her own home town was under attack.

"Is … are they—" she began in a timid voice, but James cut her off. He had to be strong for her now. He swallowed his own fear and trepidation, and spoke as confidently as possible,

"Milady … It is the unanimous recommendation of the Royal Council, that you decare an official state of war on the Griffin Kingdom."

Twilight's eyes widened and she stared back at him. She said nothing, and James could tell she was feeling overwhelmed again. That this responsibility should fall on someone so young seemed completely unfair to him. Yet, he still trusted in his heart that Princess Celestia knew what she was doing when she chose Twilight as regent. When she continued to say nothing, he spoke again, ignoring Council formalities and speaking to her in a compassionate, caring tone.

"Twilight, you have to give the order. Nopony else can do it. You have to give the order, Twilight."

She hesitated only for a moment more before composing herself and responding in a firm, yet still shaky tone. "Send … Send notice to the Griffin Ambassador: The Kingdom of Equestria, officially declares war against the Griffin Kingdom."

"Milady!" a voice called from down the hall. James turned to see another pegasus guard trotting towards them. He looked young and appeared to be a junior member. He stopped in front of Twilight and The Council, looking slightly nervous. "Milady. We captured one of the griffins while en route to Ponyville. She was alone and claims she wasn't with the force that attacked Ponyville. Says she was going there to warn them, but didn't get there in time. Gave us her name as Gilda."

Twilight raised an eyebrow and had a surprised look on her face. "Gilda? I know her. Where is she now?"

"In the dungeon, milady. We haven't interrogated her yet. But she did tell us, without being asked, that she knows the attack on Ponyville was ordered by the griffin king himself."

Twilight nodded and frowned. "I'll interrogate her myself. Take me to her."

"Yes, milady." The guard nodded, then turned on his hoof and started down the hall, Twilight following close behind.

...

Celestia awoke with a start and looked around. Had she overslept? She needed to raise the sun! Then, she noticed there was alright sunlight shining through the window. She frowned as the reality of her situation came back to her, remembering that she was not in Equestria, and not in her castle bedroom.

Stretching her legs, she climbed out of the bed she was in, shaking herself briefly before walking over to the door and magically opening it, stepping out into the hallway. Arriving in the living room, she saw no sign of Eric, who she knew had been sleeping on the couch. Scanning over the coffee table, a piece of paper with something written on it caught her eye. Walking towards it and looking down out it, she realized it was a note, written in Equestrian by a clearly unpracticed hand:

Your Majesty,

Gone back to lab to grab some additional things. Will bring back breakfast.

Eric

She smiled slightly at the note. Even though it had been a bit hard to read because the hand that had written in it had no experience writing the Equestrian alphabet, he had thought of her enough to write a note for her, in her own language. Despite what she knew was going on back home, it made her feel just a bit better that this human was thinking of her, and seemed to care about her. And she began to think he really would do everything he could to help her.

She walked over to the bookshelf near his wall, scanning over its contents and finally magically taking one down that appeared to be an atlas. She opened it and began to page through it. Even though she couldn't understand the words, the maps were still interesting to her. One thing that particularity fascinated her, was how much of the planet was covered in water, and how truly massive some of the bodies of water were. Surely, it must be impossible for beings without magic to be able to cross those vast distances, she thought. Did that mean most parts of this planet weren't inhabited? Or did it mean that they were simply very isolated from each other? Unable to travel easily between different parts of the planet. Eric's self-powered chariot could travel reasonably fast. But from what she had seen of it, she didn't think it would be able to travel on water. It looked like it would probably sink. Flying pegasi wouldn't be able to cross those vast bodies of water, she thought. There'd be no place for them to stop and rest. And she doubted the giant metal birds she had seen could cross distances that great either.

She paged through the atlas for a while longer, learning about the various land features of this world she was in, until she heard the door start to open. She floated the book back to the shelf, turning her head towards the door. Eric stepped back in, carrying a large box with a large brown bag on top of it. Some type of smell she couldn't identify was coming from the bag, although she could tell it was some type of food. In addition, there was a strange looking smaller box sitting on top of the large box.

"Good morning, Princess," he spoke as he set the large box down. "You were still sleeping when I left, and I didn't want to wake you. I hope my attempt at writing in your language was at least readable."

"Good morning, Eric. Yes, it was readable. Thank you for thinking about me like that." She smiled.

He nodded slightly, then picked up the small box. "It seems, someone sent you a package, Princess. At least I assume it's for you. I didn't try to open it, so I'm not sure what's inside."

"A package for me?" she raised an eyebrow.

"Well it has your seal on it. I think it must have come from your world."

He turned it slightly, and she saw the golden image of her sun emblazoned on the side. Instantly, her heart leapt with hope. They knew she was here! But at the same time, she felt fear and dread flow through her. What was inside? Would it be bad news or good news?

In a mixture of excitement and terror, she quickly took the box from him, surrounding it with a magical golden aura as she floated it out of his hand.

"Woah!" Eric said in surprise. "Give a guy a little warning before you do that, would you, Princess?"

She blinked and noticed his hand glowing along with the box. She quickly closed up the radius of the spell so it was only covering the box and not his hand. "Oh … sorry about that," she said sheepishly. "The uh … the tingling in your hand will go away in a second or two. And the spell I used is harmless to living things. It won't hurt you." she said as she examined the box now, setting it down on the coffee table.

"Well … that's good to know at least," Eric responded a bit nervously.

Celestia touched her horn to the box and it glowed slightly as she cast the spell to break the magic seal. Then she opened the box, pulling a rolled up scroll out of it. Unrolling it, she magically held it in front of her for a moment, staring at it in confusion before looking back at Eric.

"It's from James. But it's written in your language. Will you please read it to me?"

He nodded. "Of course I will," he answered, reaching out his hand. She floated the scroll over to him, stopping the telekensis spell as soon as his hand touched it so that he wouldn't experience the tingling sensation again. She watched as he looked at it for a moment and raised his eyebrow.

"Damn, has James' handwriting of our alphabet really gotten this bad?"

She winced slightly. Did that mean he couldn't read it?

"Oh don't worry, I can read it. Sorry. I didn't mean to scare you, Princess." He cleared his throat once before looking at the letter again and speaking:

"Your Majesty,

We know you are on Earth, and we know you are with Eric. Princess Luna is alive, but she has been captured and is being held at an unknown location. All of the Elements of Harmony are safe, and Twilight Sparkle has been sworn in as the Regent of Equestria, as per your orders.

James was able to establish contact with Princess Luna in the dream realm. Even though they are preventing her from using very much of her magic in the physical realm, she retains her full power in the dream realm.

Princess Luna's convoy was attacked by griffins, pegasi, and dragons. We currently don't know if the actions of the griffins and dragons were officially sanctioned or not.

We have figured out what the object is, or was supposed to be. An attempt to create an artificial sun. However, they were unsuccessful in their efforts to do so.

Twilight Sparkle's portal spell will not work from your world, so you will not be able to use it to return to Equestria. We are currently doing everything we can to find a solution, and we trust that Eric will do the same. We are also doing everything possible to find Princess Luna.

Eric hesitated for a moment before continuing, and Celestia noticed a troubled and worried expression his face. Her heart sank as she knew whatever came next in the letter was not going to be good news. She opened her mouth to ask him to continue, but he started speaking again before she said anything.

Our other most immediate problem, is that we cannot raise the sun. Efforts are underway to harvest all available food sources and store them before temperatures drop below freezing and destroy all of the farm crops.

In closing, we ask you to please try not to worry. We are doing everything possible to solve this crisis, and we will find away to restore both you and Princess Luna to the throne of Equestria.

Your faithful servants,

Royal Counselor James Peterson, the rest of Your Royal Council, Regent Twilight Sparkle

She only stared across the table, worry filling her heart, despite the admonishment of the letter not to worry. They couldn't raise the sun! How long could they actually survive without the sun? How long until they passed a point of no recovery? Two weeks? Maybe three? She noticed Eric looking back at her, concern and compassion on his face.

"Princess, I had no idea … I assure you. I will do everything in my power. Everything I possibly can, to return you to Equestria."

She nodded once and forced a smile. "Thank you, Eric," she said, although she knew her voice was full of sadness and worry. She knew Twilight and her Royal Council would do everything they could, but still, she felt despair trying to overwhelm her. She wanted to cry, but she tried desperately not to. Still, she could feel her eyes starting to water.

Eric frowned slightly, then stood up. Walking over to her. He reached out to put a comforting hand on her withers, but stopped, looking at her questioningly. She looked back at him, unsure as to why he had stopped. Then it occurred to her. He probably wasn't sure if it was appropriate to touch her without permission. She nodded gently at him, and he continued, placing his hand on her now.

"I swear it to you, Your Majesty. I will do everything I can to figure out how to send you home," he assured her.

She forced another small smile and nuzzled his chin slightly with her muzzle. "Thank you, Eric. I know you will."

"Try to look at the positive things, Your Majesty. James and your ponies know where you are. They've found you. And your … Elements of Harmony I think it said … They are safe. The situation is at least better than it was yesterday.

She smiled slightly at his comforting words. He was right. She did have that to be happy about. They knew where she was, and the Elements were safe And that was better than things had been yesterday.

For probably a minute, neither one of them said anything again. But somehow, the feeling of his hand on her withers felt warm and comforting. And she trusted him. If it were possible to send her home. He would find some way to make it happen. And now that Twilight and her Council knew where she was, perhaps they could help as well. At least, she could take a little comfort in that.

"Your Majesty, I was thinking earlier this morning … I should take you out of Chicago. I have a friend who owns a cabin and some land near the Pryor Mountains in Montana. He'd be more than willing to let me use it. I think you'd be happier there. It's very isolated country, and you'd be able to spend time outside without worry of being seen. If we stay here in Chicago, you'll have to spend all your time in this apartment."

"But what if they try to send me more letters?"

"I have a friend who I trust. I won't tell her anything about you. But I know she will check every day. If there is anything there, she will let me know."

She nodded once and smiled slightly, "Thank you … But I can't ask you to leave your life in Chicago for me. To leave your home and go somewhere isolated like that."

"It's okay. Really it is. I want you to be as happy as you can be while you're here. And I don't want you to have to spend all your time cooped up inside this small apartment. And besides, I could use some time away from this city myself. And it'll allow me to focus completely on trying to solve this problem without any distractions."

"Thank you Eric." She smiled again. "If that's what you think is best, and you are willing to do that for me. Then yes, we can go there."

He smiled awkwardly, still seeming slightly nervous around her. "Well, it's the least I can do, for the princess of an entire nation. I need to pack. But I'll be quick about it."

"Is there anything I can do to help?"

"Well, I guess if you want, you can take the empty box in the closet in my room, and load all of the physics journals into it. I might need them for reference material."

She nodded "I can do that. And thank you, again Eric," she said as she started towards his room.

"Like I said, it's the least I can do, for a princess," he said, turning and going to the closet in the main room and taking out his suitcase. Then, the two of them started to prepare for the long trip from Illinois, to the Southern border of Montana.

40 - Interrogation of a Griffin

The God Particle

Chapter 40: Interrogation of a Griffin

The unicorn guard unlocked the heavy reinforced door to the stairs leading down to the dungeon, the clang of the bolts holding it shut echoing off the high stone walls of the castle. Twilight Sparkle proceeded down the stairs, along with her guard escort. Arriving at the bottom, of the stairs, the guard pounded on another door with his forehoof.

"Lady Twilight Sparkle is here to interrogate the griffin, Gilda," he called out.

Another clang as the locking bolts slit backwards and the second door opened, the two of them entering the dimly torchlit corridor, passing through two more reinforced doors before entering the dungeon cell block proper.

Twilight looked around at the torchlight flickering off the iron bars of the dungeon cells. Most of the cells were empty; crime serious enough to warrant a dungeon sentence in Equestria simply wasn't that common. Most crimes were dealt with using less harsh means such as community service, or simple fines.

She made sure to stay close to her guard. It was easy to get lost or turned around down here; something she thought was probably an intentional design feature to prevent prisoners from being able to determine exactly where in the dungeon they were, or where they were in relation to the outside world. Twilight had only been down in the dungeon once before. And that was to interrogate James on the first day he had arrived, when he had actually been a prisoner down here.

She thought more about him now, and what he had said to her on the chariot when they'd argued. How she'd kissed him and told him that she would never push him away. She knew she couldn't deny the fact herself. Yes, she loved him. That was why she'd been jealous of the amount of time he'd been spending with Theory Point. It was why she'd become upset when he told her he was writing a paper with Theory Point and asked her for magical advice. He was supposed to be working with her! Writing those papers with her! No, he couldn't do those things with Theory Point! Because he was hers! Hers to hold onto forever! And she would never let him go! And yet, she knew in her mind, he never would be hers; that she could never have him. He was on the Royal Council. And as far as she knew, Council members could not have personal, romantic relationships like that. And even if they could, she knew it would never work anyway. What would her parents think? What would her friends think? What would all of Ponyville think? Granted, Equestria was very tolerant. But would most ponies accept a pony having a relationship with an alien being from a completely different dimension? Were they that tolerant?

She frowned and tried to push that out of her mind for now. There were more important things to worry about right now. Like Gilda, and how they were going to get the princesses back. After all, if they couldn't do that, nothing else would matter, because there would be nothing left of this world.

Turning the corner, she stopped and looked into the cell in front of her. Even behind iron bars and restrained with chains anchored to the wall, Gilda was an imposing and intimidating sight. When Twilight stood on her hind legs, she was taller than James. But when Gilda stood on her hind legs, she guessed she must be twice James' height. Her powerful, muscular body must weigh at least as much as two ponies together, and her eagle like beak could easily crush through bone.

She attempted to swallow the fear that was rising within her. She had to be strong. For Equestria, for her princesses … and for James. Raising her head and forcing a look of confidence onto her muzzle, she proceeded forward, using an assertive trot. The griffin glared back at her, saying nothing, but Twilight had no doubt that if Gilda could attack her right now, she probably would. The look in her eyes was one of hot iron; pure rage and anger. Finally, the griffin spoke in a loud, obnoxious tone.

"And what are you doing here, dweeb? I expected one of the Royal Guards or something. Or did you just come down here to gloat that I got captured?"

Twilight winced at the griffin's outburst, but quickly recovered, narrowing her eyes and stomping a forehoof once, her tail flicking in anger. She answered in a firm, confident tone. "I'm here because I'm the regent. The current ruler of all of Equestria. And I'll ask the questions here, Gilda. And you will answer."

Gilda raised an eyebrow and laughed briefly before responding. "You're the regent? The ruler of all of Equestria? Hah! Whatever. Ask all the questions you want. You won't get answers from me other than what you already know."

"Well, lets start there then. You say you went to Ponyville to warn us? If that's true, why such hostility now?"

The griffin scoffed and shook her head slightly. "I went to Ponyville to warn Rainbow Dash. I couldn't care less about the rest of you dweebs. But Rainbow Dash is still my flight school colleague, and we stick together. Even if we had a falling out last time."

"And so the griffin king was after the Elements of Harmony," Twilight stated, more as an observation than a question.

"Yes. He was," Gilda responded simply.

"But why? Didn't he know we had left Ponyville? Our flight back to Canterlot was attacked by multiple griffins, and several dragons."

She scoffed again. "They didn't know the Elements of Harmony were in that convoy. They just figured it was a Pegasus Guard convoy, and it was worth going after. Especially with the dragons to help them. They didn't even know it had come from Ponyville."

"Why was he after the Elements of Harmony? Why?" Twilight demanded.

The griffin hesitated for moment, but then responded. "He claims some creature called an aisling contacted him. Said the aisling promised to give the Griffin Kingdom rule over all of Equestria if the griffins would help it. But first, the Elements of Harmony had to be taken out of the picture."

Twilight raised an eyebrow. She didn't know very much about aislings or The Beyond from which they came. But she did remember what James had told her about them. "And he believed the aisling? Everything an aisling says is a lie. They are incapable of telling the truth. Everything they say is a lie intended to deceive and manipulate."

The griffin only scoffed, glaring back at her and saying nothing in response.

"There were griffins involved in the attack on Princess Luna's convoy. Where is she, Gilda?" Twilight demanded in a stern voice.

"I'm not telling you anything more than I've already told you, dweeb!" Gilda shouted back.

"Where is she Gilda? Where is Princess Luna!" Twilight shouted back just as loudly, feeling anger growing inside her, like molten lava building underneath a volcano, waiting to erupt to the surface. She narrowed her eyes and stomped her hoof hard on the floor, the sound echoing off the walls. Her ears laid back on her head aggressively.

"You think you can intimidate me, dweeb?" Gilda shouted, lunging for the bars on the cell, the chains attached to the wall quickly tightening and yanking her backwards with the sound of metal scraping roughly against metal. Her face was one of rage now, her eyes burning with anger.

Twilight jumped backwards a step, nearly losing her nerve. Could she actually intimidate the large, powerful griffin? She wasn't sure. But the griffin could intimidate her. No, she can't! she thought to herself with resolve. She can't intimidate me. I have to be strong. I'm the ruler of all of Equestria now.

With that, she took another step forward, glaring back at Gilda, anger and determination filling her. She spoke with a firm coldness in her voice now.

"This is how it is, Gilda. I am never letting you out of this dungeon. You are spending the rest of your life down here. At your age, that's an awfully long time of captivity to look forward to." The griffin tried to hide her fear, but her eyes started to widen and she seemed to shrink slightly. But Twilight wasn't about to let up now. She took another menacing step forward and spoke even more coldly, her words like ice water aimed directly at the griffin. "In fact, I suspect you will live longer in this dungeon than you would free. Because you won't be able to do any potentially dangerous things. Like say … flying." The griffin visibly winced now. But Twilight still didn't let up. "That's right, Gilda. You will never fly again. When you are allowed outside at all, it will be in a cage, with a roof so low you will barely be able to stand up much less fly. That's the life you have to look forward to from now on, Gilda. Because I am never letting you out of this dungeon. You are spending the rest of your life down here."

Twilight stomped her forehoof angrily, as a judge might pound a gavel when pronouncing sentence. Then she turned and started trotting away from the cell.

"You can't do that!" Gilda called out loudly. If it had been an attempt to sound angry, it ended up sounding more like desperation and fear. "She can't do that … can she?"

"Actually, yes she can," one of the guards answered. "She is the regent of Equestria. She has all the power that the princesses have."

"You can't do this to me!" she cried out again. This time the fear in her voice was clear.

Twilight stopped and turned her head back over her withers, glaring at the griffin again. "Maybe one of the princesses would have more mercy on you. Perhaps they would even be willing to overturn my harsh sentence and give you a lesser one … But I guess the only way we will ever find out, is if we can find one or both of the princesses and restore them to power." She turned her head forward again, and resumed trotting away.

For a moment, there was nothing. But then Gilda spoke again, this time in a quieter voice. "I wasn't involved in the attack on Princess Luna's convoy. I don't know where they took her … But the king does." Her voice sounded resigned and even a bit submissive now.

Twilight stopped and hesitated for a moment. It worked! She turned around and started trotting back towards the cell, glaring at the griffin again, speaking in a voice that clearly left no doubt she was serious.

"If I let you go, you will go to the griffin king. You will find out where Princess Luna is. And you will report back to me as soon as you know. Is that clear?"

"Yes," Gilda responded in dejected and resigned tone. Her eyes were lowered towards the floor slightly, as if she were actually intimidated by the unicorn now. And she was afraid. Twilight could sense it; smell the fear coming from the griffin. Yes, Gilda was afraid. And now, it was time to make sure she stayed that way.

"Good. And just to make sure you don't even think about going back on our agreement." Twilight's horn started to glow with a lavender aura. Gilda's eyes went wide again and she recoiled backwards as her chest and neck started to glow with the same lavender aura.

"What are you doing to me?" she said in a panicked voice. "It tingles! It feels … What are you doing to me?" she demanded again.

Twilight didn't answer. The glow continued for a few more seconds, before dissipating. She glared at Gilda again, a slightly sinister smirk on her muzzle now.

"What … what did you do to me?" Gilda said again in a voice as timid as if she had just been told she were about to be hung.

"I put a recall spell on you," Twilight responded in a cold, assertive tone. "That means I can magically force you to return to Canterlot any time I want. You will have no choice in the matter. When I call, you will come." She narrowed her eyes again. "You're mine now, Gilda. You're a dog on a leash. And I'm the one holding your leash. So don't even think about betraying me. And don't even think about trying to run away. No matter where you go, I can always recall you to Canterlot with a simple command, and you'll have no choice but to instantly return. Do you understand me?"

Gilda winced but kept her eyes slightly lowered, speaking in a broken and submissive tone. "Yes … I understand."

"Good," Twilight responded her voice still like cold iron. Then she turned to the guards. "Let her go. And make sure she finds her way to the border with the Griffin Kingdom."

"Yes, milady." The guards nodded respectfully.

Twilight turned and trotted away from the cell again, turning a corner in the corridor and making her way towards the door and the stairwell leading up from the dungeon.

As she walked, conflicting emotions ran through her, like two small armies fighting for control of an open field. She was proud of herself that she had stood up to Gilda; that she had done what she needed to do for both Equestria, and for her princesses. But at the same time, she felt a twinge of remorse and guilt run through her. She found herself almost feeling bad for Gilda. Had she gone to far? She had broken the poor griffin. And the sight of the once proud creature, now a broken shell, gave her a slightly sick feeling; like a taint of mud on top of what she had accomplished. She hadn't actually lied to Gilda. After all, she was prepared to keep her in the dungeon cell indefinitely until she agreed to cooperate. But had Gilda even committed any crime? She wasn't involved in either the attack on Luna's convoy, or the attack on Ponyville. Had she gone to far in her threats to the griffin? No. We're at war with the Griffin Kingdom. She's a griffin in touch with the king and she can get information that we desperately need. I did what I had to do as ruler of Equestria. I did what I had to do for my kingdom … and besides, she'll get over it. And I wouldn't have had to get so assertive if she'd just cooperated, she reassured herself as she continued, leaving the dungeon and returning to the main level of the castle.

. . .

Despite the cold and ever decreasing temperature outside, the air inside the Council meeting room felt hot and muggy, as if the meeting room were in the middle of a rain forest. A heavy feeling of tension hung in the air, pressing down on the room as James listened to Moon Song talk about the latest report he had just received from the unicorns patrolling the magical barriers. He stopped talking at the sound of the door opening as Twilight Sparkle returned.

Welcome back, milady," Moon Song said. "How did the interrogation of Gilda go?"

Twilight shook her head slightly. "She doesn't know very much. Only that one of the aislings promised the Griffin Kingdom rule over Equestria if they would help it. And it was an aisling that convinced the Griffin King to attack Ponyville looking for the Elements of Harmony. The Griffin King does know where Princess Luna is though."

"But if Gilda doesn't know, how does that help us?" Moon Song asked.

"I let Gilda go. I sent her back to the Griffin Kingdom to find out and told her to report back to me as soon as she knows anything."

Moon Song raised an eyebrow and gave her a dubious look. "And what makes you think she will comply?"

"I put a recall spell on her. To force her to come back to Canterlot by magic at my command. So she knows she can't run and can't escape."

James thought about that for a moment. He wasn't aware of any spells that could do that. He wasn't an expert on magic, of course, but if such a spell existed, wouldn't it make sense that Princess Celestia would have put one on him and the other Council members? So that if they were on leave, and a crisis demanded their immediate return to Canterlot, she could simply magically recall them instead of having to send an escort to go physically get them and bring them back? He looked at Twilight questioningly.

"Will the recall spell actually work?"

"Actually, it probably won't," she responded. "But I have Gilda very convinced that it will. And as long as she believes it will, I don't think she will betray me."

"Clever," Moon Song responded approvingly, but then frowned. "Unfortunately, milady. We have another problem. One that I was just informing the Council members of."

"Go on," Twilight responded.

"The magical barriers that keep The Beyond out of our world are weakening much faster than they were just a few days ago. At this rate, it's only a matter of time before they break completely and The Beyond is able to enter our world. And when that happens …"

He didn't finish. He didn't have to. Everypony in the room knew what would happen if The Beyond broke free. It would plunge to the core of the pattern and spread out from there, destroying their entire dimension.

Twilight frowned, but seemed to keep a calm composure. "And why has the rate of weakening increased?"

"Well, this has never happened before, so we aren't sure, milady. But we think, that without the magic of either of Their Majesties to sustain the barrier, that it is basically solidifying and cracking. See, the barrier is normally in a liquid like state. It can flow freely, but things from beyond cannot break the surface tension and escape. But like a hot candle where the flame has gone out, the wax begins to cool and solidify. We think that's what's going on with the barrier. Without the flame of Their Majesties' magic to sustain it, it is cooling, solidifying, and cracking. Eventually, it will completely shatter. The Beyond, and all its minions, will come rushing through as through a broken dam holding back a river. And at that point, all the magic in the world will not be able to stop them."

The air in the room which had felt hot and muggy just a few moments ago, suddenly felt cold as ice; like a dark winter night that would never end. For several long seconds, nopony said anything as the magnitude of the situation sank in, like mud spreading through a pond, staining the water to a sickly dark color."

"And how long do we have before this happens?" Twilight finally asked.

"We honestly don't know, milady," Moon Song responded. "Nothing like this has ever happened before."

Twilight shook her head once. "That's not good enough, Counselor. Get me a better answer. I need an estimate, even if it's only a best guess."

Moon Song nodded "I'll go through the data, and I'll try my best, milady."

Twilight nodded once. "Thank you, Counselor Moon … Moon Song was it?. Please excuse me. As I don't have all your names memorized yet."

"It's not a problem, milady. And yes, that is my name."

She nodded once. "Any other news?"

This time it was Storm Runner that spoke. "Food harvesting operations are proceeding as planned. The pegasus weather teams are making good progress on the dense cloud cover. And we are trying to control public panic. The sun was scheduled to rise about a half-hour ago. So I suspect we've only seen the beginning of the panic problems.

Twilight nodded once. "I'll make sure Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie stay on that." She frowned again and hesitated, opening her mouth and then closing it. Her ears drooped back on her head as if she were afraid to say what ever it was she wanted to say next. She opened her mouth again, the worry evident in her voice when she spoke. "What … what news from Ponyville?"

James shook his head once. "Nothing yet, milady. Maybe we can hope that once the griffins figured out the Elements of Harmony weren't there, that they stopped their attack and left the town alone." Inside though, he knew that probably wouldn't happen. Griffin war parties were known to be fierce and ruthless. Once they figured out the Elements weren't there, they probably would have pillaged the town for all of its valuables, destroying everything in their path as they went along. He could only hope that the Royal Guards stationed would at least be able to keep the griffins at bay until Captain Swordstorm's reinforcements could arrive.

Twilight winced, but composed herself quickly, her ears going back up as she tried to resume a look of confidence and control. "I've been thinking of something else. If the griffins have figured out the Elements aren't in Ponyville, Canterlot is the next most logical place they will assume we are. Even if we leave, they will still assume we are here. Although griffins aren't a serious threat to a city as well defended as Canterlot is, dragons most certainly are. And we know that at least some dragons have been working with the griffins … I fear, that we need to expect and be prepared for dragons to attack this very city."

"We'll make sure the warning bell towers are staffed at all times. And that Pegasus Guard patrols are on constant lookout around the city looking for any danger," James responded.

"Good," Twilight responded and looked at all of the Council members. "All of you have been up for a long time now. And I know you must all be very tired. The desire to find our princesses is strong in all of you, I know. But we mustn't neglect our own rest in the process. If we do, none of us will be able to think clearly and do what we need to do find a way to get them home. And with the threat of The Beyond breaking through the barrier, it is more important now than ever that we be able to work efficiently and accurately. So I want you all to get some rest. Report back here in six hours. I wish I could give you more time than just six hours, but time is of the essence. Thank you, and you are all dismissed for now."

All of the Council members nodded respectfully, then began to file out of the room All except for James. He remained where he was and spoke once the other Council members had left.

"I'm actually not tired, milady. Not at all. Even though I only slept an hour or two before, something Luna did to me in her spell refreshed me as much as if I had slept an entire night."

Twilight forced a small smile. "James, when the rest of the Council isn't around, I'd rather you just called me Twilight. We don't need to use those kind of formalities."

He nodded. "Alright, Twilight it is then."

The unicorn nodded back and forced another small smile. "If you're sure you're not tired James, I'll not force you to go try to get some sleep. I suppose, the best thing you can do for now, is to keep looking through those thousands of pages of notes, and see if you can find any clues as to exactly who is involved in all of this, where Princess Luna is, and if there are any clues about how to bring Princess Celestia back to Equestria."

He nodded and stood up. "They're in the armory. I'll go over and start going through them again. If you need anything, Twilight … anything at all. Please come get me."

"I will, James," she smiled briefly, but her smile quickly changed back into a frown given the enormity of the situation they were all facing. "I will," she repeated.

James nodded respectfully once again, then turned for the door, and started on his way back to the armory.

41 - The Road to Montana

The God Particle

Chapter 41: The Road to Montana

Eric placed the last shirt in his suitcase before closing the lid and dragging it over near the door of the apartment. Then, he went into the kitchen and opened the refrigerator, taking out anything that he could easily use to make box lunches and dinners for the long trip. Stopping at restaurants was completely out of the question. Even stopping for gas was going to be risky enough. He made meatless sandwiches, salads, and packed some fruit. As tempted as he was to make himself a ham sandwich instead of a vegetarian one, he decided against it. He had taken to not eating meat in front of her, since he didn't know if she would find it offensive, or if it would perhaps even ruin her appetite. Not that he had ever asked her if she would mind if he ate meat in front of her. It just seemed like avoiding it would be the respectful thing to do. He finished making the sandwiches and packed them into an empty cooler along with the other food items. Then, he filled several bottles with water, and packed those as well. He didn't want to stop for anything he didn't absolutely have to stop for.

He turned and walked over to the window now, opening the blinds just enough to see through. Scanning the outside view, he made sure there was no one around, then looked down at the parking lot. "Your Majesty?" he called behind him. "I need you to look down at the parking lot. Please do it as quick as possible. There's a large blue van … uh, chariot down there. The one right in front of the building. See if you think you can teleport into it from here. As long as you teleport into the back of it, you'll be fine. There's nothing in the back for you to hit or teleport into."

Celestia walked over to the window, looking down at the parking lot where Eric had indicated. After a moment, she stepped away and nodded her head once. "I should be able to do it, yes. It's not the same chariot you brought me here in?"

"I rented a full size cargo van. It's a long drive to Montana, and I figured you'd be much more comfortable in it. You still won't be able to stand up, but at least you will have room to stretch out. And the windows are tinted so that no one can see inside. You'll be able to look out of them once we are safely out of Chicago and onto the interstate. Those are the major roads that run across the country."

She nodded. "I saw those in the atlas I was looking at. Big roads like that."

"It's gonna take me a little while to load the van. I'll have to make several trips since there's a lot of—"

He blinked and stared in wonder as all of the boxes and his suitcase started to glow with a golden aura. A split second later, there was a quiet rushing sound, and they had simply disappeared, along with the aura that had been surrounding them. He turned his head and stared at the alicorn dumbfounded for a moment. "… You did that, didn't you?" Of course she did it. Who else could have done it?

She nodded and smiled slightly. "I thought it would save some time."

"Yes … well, it definitely did," he responded, scratching his head slightly his mind still reeling with questions about how she did things like that. After all, it didn't seem like it should be possible within the bounds of science he was familiar with. He put it out of his mind and shook his head slightly. "Well, I'll go down first and lock the apartment door behind me. Once I am there, you can teleport into the van. You'll hear a beep when I am ready for you. Make sure you don't put any part of yourself directly up against the window. Again, they will be able to see you if you do that."

Once again, she nodded slightly. "Thank you, Eric … for this. For everything," she said in a calm and compassionate tone.

"Well, like I said … It's the least I can do for the princess of an entire nation," he responded before turning for the apartment door, stepping outside, then closing it and locking it behind him.

Walking towards the elevator, he thought about everything that had happened over the last roughly thirty hours. Part of him still refused to believe it. None of this could be real. It simply couldn't be. It was as if he had been in some sort of dream, ever since he found the photograph and the book. Could he really be the first person on this planet ever to make contact with life from some other planet or dimension? Technically, you aren't the first. James was the first. Although he made contact in their world, he told himself.

And if only he had more confidence around her. But still he found himself feeling nervous and unable to get over it. After all, she was royalty. The ruler of another land. He really had no idea how he was supposed to behave around royalty. Should he be bowing to her? Or would she think him strange if he did that? After all, he wasn't one of her subjects. And she didn't have any ruling authority in the land she was in now. But still, he wanted to show proper respect and humility towards her. The fact that she was equine and not human made it even more important that he did so. After all, he was effectively an ambassador now. Not only for his country, but for his entire species. For all of humanity; for his entire world even. And he wanted to make sure she left this planet with a good impression. He knew he often fumbled over his words when speaking to her. How should he address her? So far, he thought he probably sounded like an idiot, alternating back and forth between Princess and Your Majesty. Surely, there must be a proper form of address? He knew her proper title was Her Majesty because that's what she was called in the book he had found. But should he call her that? Given he wasn't one of her subjects? How would one address the Queen of England if they were not a British citizen? Would they bow to her? Would they use the title Your Majesty? He honestly had no idea. Did it even matter? There was no reason at all to believe Equestrian customs would be anything like English customs. Did she consider it strange when he called her Your Majesty given that he was not one of her subjects? Or did she think it disrespectful when he didn't call her that? Or did it even matter to her one way or the other? Perhaps she simply understood that cultural differences would mean he had no idea at all what proper protocol would be around her. Perhaps she wouldn't expect him to follow proper protocol even if he did know what it was, given this was not her world and he was not one of her subjects. Should he ask her how she wanted him to behave around her and how she wanted him to address her? That just seemed like it would be awkward.

The elevator stopped at the ground level and he stepped out as the doors opened, exiting the building through the double glass doors and walking over to the van he had rented. Even though he had seen Celestia teleport the boxes and suitcase out of his apartment, he still had a feeling of surprise and disbelief when he opened the back door of the van to find them neatly stacked inside against one of the walls. He climbed in the back and pushed them all as far forward as he could, then stepped out and looked over the cargo area again.

The rest of the floor was covered by a plush mattress he had stopped and bought on the way back from the lab. Crimson satin sheets adorned it—he had paid a pretty penny for those—along with lush pillows covered in red silk pillowcases. Crimson velvet drapes covered the windows so that she could pull them closed if she wanted to sleep, or if they had to stop somewhere and needed to avoid anyone seeing her. For now, they were closed, to ensure exactly that; that no one would see them until they were safely out of Chicago. On one hand, he worried that she was going to think he was pampering her too much. But on the other hand, the back of a cargo van was no way for a princess to travel. And he wanted to make her stay on Earth as comfortable as possible.

He walked around to the front, looking around to make sure no one was near. Then he climbed in and pressed the horn, beeping it briefly. A few seconds later, he saw a subtle glow in the rear-view mirror, turning his head to see Celestia lying behind the seat. She blinked once, a look of surprise on her muzzle as she looked at the lush sheets surrounding her. Then she looked back at him.

"Eric … this looks expensive. You didn't need to do all this for me," she said in a soft voice.

"Well, the back of a cargo van is no way for a princess to travel, Your Majesty," he said, feeling a bit sheepish again. "I really wish I could give you a better ride, but this is the best I can do."

"It's more than enough," she said reassuringly and smiled slightly at him. "Thank you."

"You're welcome. Like I said, it's the least I can do. Well, I guess if you're ready then?"

She nodded once. "I'm ready."

He smiled slightly, then turned forward again, starting the van and turning out of the parking lot onto the street. Then, he began to navigate the streets of Chicago as they began the long trip to Montana.

In about an hour, they had left the city of Chicago, and all its bustling traffic behind. Traveling west towards Iowa, the traffic was light. Eric turned his head slightly and called to the back.

"You can open the curtains if you want now, Your Majesty. But be careful of any magical glows that might be seen through the windows."

"I hardly need any magic at all to open curtains. The glow won't even be visible," she responded.

Eric turned his attention back forward. Now that they were well outside of Chicago and onto the open interstate, he began to think about the problem at hand. He knew he couldn't simply tell the world about Princess Celestia. She would be quarantined for sure, despite her plight. The government would be more worried about what kind of alien bacteria or parasites she might harbor that could be dangerous to humans. Of course, he himself knew that was probably not a serious concern. If there were any bacteria or parasites from her world that were seriously dangerous to humans, James probably wouldn't have survived in Equestria until now. But that was something he'd never be able to convince the government of. And they'd probably never believe him that James was in Equestria anyway. Furthermore, they would probably be terrified of her enormous magical powers; especially if they connected her arrival with the sun rising thirty minutes too early on the first day she was here. If they knew she could control the sun … well, he didn't even want to think about that.

But despite the fact that he knew he couldn't tell the whole world about her, he also knew he couldn't keep her a secret forever. Sooner or later, he was going to have to enlist the help of at least a few people. One thing he had already figured out, was that there had been a power spike inside the Tevatron of more than two trillion electron volts when the event happened. Unfortunately, he also knew it wasn't simply a matter getting to more than two trillion electron volts to recreate the event. It might not even require that much energy. But then again, it might. And one thing was certain. The Tevatron would never accelerate another particle again. That left only one other option. There was only one other particle accelerator in the world capable of producing collisions that powerful, and that was the Large Hadron Collider in Switzerland. But how was he ever going to sneak a winged unicorn across the Atlantic Ocean and into Switzerland without being detected? And even if he could pull that off, there was no way he was going to get her into the LHC lab, commandeer the accelerator control room, and run some crazy experiment on it without anyone knowing. He would definitely at least have to tell some people at the lab.

But there was another problem. The ponies back in her world couldn't raise the sun without her. Or at least they didn't know how at this point. That meant time was not on their side. He needed to figure out how to get her back to her world as soon as possible. Several heads working on a solution to the problem would definitely be better than just two. But who could he trust? Maybe, just maybe, he could ask a colleague to send him some Ph.D students that he could swear to secrecy before he revealed anything to them. He could tell his colleague it was a classified government project, and that it was of the utmost importance and urgency. He needed people now. As soon as possible. And they would have to be the absolute best and brightest prospects in the field. They would have to travel to Montana and work very long hours in makeshift conditions, completely dedicated to the endeavor at hand. Would they even be willing to come out to the middle of nowhere like that? Without having any advance idea of what it was they were getting themselves into? And would they keep their promise of secrecy once they did know?

He watched out the front window as the Thank you for visiting Illinois sign went passed, followed shortly after by the Welcome to Iowa sign. The land opened up into vast farm fields as the time continued to pass. For as far as the eye could see, small green stalks of corn, not nearly fully grown yet, dotted the landscape. Silos and old farm houses were scattered here and there, breaking up the miles of endless agriculture in America's heartland.

"It reminds me of some parts of back home," Celestia commented from behind him. "Like the land outside of Ponyville where Sweet Apple Acres is." He couldn't see her—there was a curtain between them to make sure no one in any vehicles in front of them could see her through their rear-view mirror—but he could hear the sadness in her voice as the farm fields reminded her of her home.

"I'll figure out a way to get you back there, Your Majesty. I promise you I will," he said in the most reassuring voice he could muster. You shouldn't make promises you might not be able to keep, Eric, he chastised himself. After all, he knew full well that they were facing a very formidable problem, and that the odds were probably strongly against them finding a solution, given what little they had to go on.

Several more hours passed in relative quiet, and Eric continued to go over the problem and any possible ideas for solutions in his mind. His thoughts were eventually interrupted by Celestia speaking in what sounded like a slightly embarrassed voice.

"Eric?"

"Yes, Your Majesty?"

"I have to uh … you know …"

Of course … even magical pony princesses have to use the bathroom once in awhile. "Right … I'll take the next exit that looks like it's safe and try to find a secluded area where you won't be visible."

Of course, simply stopping at a public rest area was out of the question. Instead, he found himself taking an exit for a road that looked, for all practical purposes, like it was the road to nowhere. He followed that for a distance, but found only open farm field. It was simply too risky to stop where she could be seen for miles. Even though he had not seen a single other vehicle on this two lane road, he couldn't shake the feeling that about the time he decided it was safe and stopped, another vehicle would pass as soon as she got out of the van.

Finally, the farm field gave way to a wooded area, and he slowed down as they approached an old dirt road that lead into it. Turning on to it, he drove back a ways into the woods. There were no tire tracks visible on the dirt, and the road looked like it had not been used in years. He only hoped it wasn't a long driveway to someone's house. Whatever it was, it wasn't noteworthy enough to even show up on his GPS.

He stopped the van and got out, looking around to make sure no one was around and no other vehicles were approaching. Then he walked around to the back and opened the door. "I suggest you go a little ways back into the forest to make sure no one will be able to see you, Your Majesty."

She nodded and teleported herself out of the van, then stood up and quickly trotted off into the trees, until she was out of his sight.

As he waited for her to return, he found a tree, and relieved himself quickly. Might as well do it now or it wouldn't be long before they had to stop again. Finishing that, he went back to the van and pulled out his road atlas and his maps of Iowa and South Dakota. It occurred to him now, that he had never even considered that they would have to stop for things like this. Maybe that meant staying on the interstate was not the best plan? This stop had taken them a significant distance away from it, and would add at least a half hour onto their time. Furthermore, he knew they would have to stop eventually to sleep. He had originally figured on the trip taking about twenty-two hours. That alone would have required stopping somewhere for the night. And again, pulling off in a public rest area to sleep didn't seem like a good idea. Stopping at a hotel was obviously out of the question. They'd have to sleep in the van. And again, he would want a secluded area for that to lesson the chances of someone stopping to see if they had broken down and needed assistance. By the time he added in detours for bathroom breaks and the fact that they would have to travel a significant distance off the interstate before they could stop and sleep, he figured he could add another two to three hours to his initial estimate. The back roads might end up taking less time if it meant they didn't have to travel so far out of their way to stop.

He reprogrammed the route in his GPS, adding way-points so that it would use the back roads instead of the interstate, then waited impatiently as the unit recalculated the route. When it finished, he found that it would add two hours onto their time. "Well, at worst it won't take any longer than staying on the Interstate will. At best, it will be a little bit shorter," he said to himself as he folded the maps and tucked them back in the map pocket by the door. Then, he looked out into the forest, waiting for the alicorn to reappear.

A few minutes later, he saw her. He raised a hand, motioning for her to stop, then scanned both sides of the road for any approaching traffic, as well as looking around for any other humans in the area. Seeing nothing, he motioned for her to continue. She did so, trotting out of the forest quickly and teleporting herself back into the van. It was easier for her to get in and out that way, given that like his SUV, the van wasn't tall enough for her to stand up in.

"I think it will be faster if we stay off the interstates and take the back roads. It will also be more scenic," he informed her as he closed the doors, then walked back around to the front. He started the van and turned it around—something that took several back and forth motions on the narrow dirt road—then proceeded back to the two lane paved road they had been on before turning in the direction indicated by the GPS and getting back on course.

A few more hours passed, and the sun began to lower in the western sky. Now, he found himself driving into its bright rays. He pulled the visor above the windshield, but still, driving into the sun was never fun. For a brief moment, he actually found himself considering the possibility of asking Celestia to make it set faster. Don't be an idiot, Eric he quickly chastised himself. Besides, they would be at the western border of Iowa soon, where they would turn north for South Dakota.

The sun continued to set, flooding the sky with brilliant hues of orange and red, like paint spilling out onto a canvas, as they turned north for South Dakota.

"It feels so strange," he heard Celestia say from the back a bit quietly. "The sun setting without me making it do so. It feels so … unnatural."

She had said it quietly enough that he thought she was talking to herself and hadn't intended it for him. So he didn't respond. In his mind, however, he thought it strange, and marveled at how her world could be so different from his. So different, that she considered it strange and unnatural that the sun should set because of natural forces at work; because of the natural rotation of the planet; when he considered it strange and unnatural that an apparent goddess like being should have to control the sun.

Sunset gave way to twilight, and twilight to darkness. They continued on well into the night hours before he started looking for a place to stop for the night. On the GPS, he saw what looked like some small roads leading into forested areas a few miles up ahead. Shortly, one of them started to appear in the headlights. He slowed down and turned, driving a few miles down it before pulling off the side and turning off the engine, the quietness of the wilderness night sounding strange to his city ears. The only sounds now, were crickets chirping, and the occasional bullfrog.

He turned around and started to grab the curtain and open it, then stopped. It was probably best if he asked first. "Your Majesty? May I open the curtain?"

"Yes, please do." She responded in a kind voice.

He did so, and found her lying on the mattress, facing him. She seemed to have a slightly forlorn look on her face. Probably thinking about home, he assumed.

"We should probably eat dinner and then get some sleep. I think we should get an early start in the morning, probably before sunrise, to reduce the chance that any other vehicles will find us stopped on the side of the road and stop to check on us."

She only nodded once in response. He opened the door and climbed out, walking around to the side door and opening it, finding the cooler he had packed and taking out a couple of sandwiches, some salads, and a couple of apples. He also took out two water bottles, opening one of them for her and putting one of the straws he had brought in it. He knew she preferred to drink everything except hot tea with a straw. She smiled gently at him and thanked him. He sat down next to her and the two of them ate in quiet, finishing the cold dinners quickly. Then, he asked the question that had been on his mind early in the trip.

"Your Majesty … I think we have a much better chance at success if I bring on some additional people to help. After all, several minds trying to solve this problem is better than just the two of us. And I think I have a way to get people we can trust. People who won't tell the entire world about you."

She didn't respond right away, appearing to be thinking about it. "Do you really think that's best?"

He nodded. "I do. Given that time is of the essence, I think it's a risk we have to take."

She nodded. "Then I trust your judgment on it, Eric."

The overhead lights of the van didn't provide much in the way of illumination, but still, he noticed a look of sadness on her muzzle, as if something was troubling her deeply.

"What's troubling you, Your Majesty?" He winced as soon as he had said it. Stupid, Eric. You know what's troubling her.

She frowned, and in the dim light, he thought he could see tears forming in her magenta eyes. For several long moments, she said nothing. When she finally did speak, it was in a voice filled with sorrow.

"The last thing I said to my Council members … before I ended up getting pulled into your world … was that if they couldn't figure out who and what the threat was against my sister, that I would send them all to the dungeon for the rest of their lives … that was the last thing I said to them."

Now he could clearly see a glistening tear slide down her muzzle. He reached out, and put a comforting hand on her withers. She placed her head in his lap as he continued to sit next to her, and he heard her sniffle once.

"Your Majesty," he began slowly, in a caring and compassionate voice. "I don't know you that well yet. But you don't seem like the type of person … I mean pony that would actually do something like that. And I know James well enough to know that if he thought that's what you were really like, he never would have agreed to be one of your Council members … Sometimes people say things they don't mean when they are frustrated. And I think your Council members probably know you didn't mean it."

"But now, I may never get the chance to apologize to them. Never get the chance to tell them I'm sorry." Her voice cracked now and the tears began to flow freely, soaking through his pants, wetting the skin on his leg. "In a matter of just weeks, they may all be dead. Along with everything else in my world," she said in a voice that pierced him straight to his heart.

"Don't say that. I'm going to get you home. Somehow, I'm going to do it. And they know you are sorry, Your Majesty. They know you are," he said calmly as he continued to keep his hand on her withers, stroking her fur gently now as he tried to sooth and comfort her.

For a long time, they stayed that way, her head in his lap, his hand on her withers, stroking her fur gently, her warm tears continuing to soak through his pants and dampen his leg, reaching his skin. Finally, she closed her eyes, and a few minutes later, she seemed to be asleep.

Being careful not to wake her, he slid his leg out from under her head, sliding one of the pillows gently under it. Then, he crawled out of the van, and went back to the front, grabbing his laptop bag. Pulling out his laptop he inserted the 3G wireless USB card, and opened the lid. The glow of the screen lit the inside of the van as he began to compose an email.

From: Dr. Eric Thompson ethompson@fnal.gov

To: Dr. Brian Dalson bdalson@mit.edu

It's been a while since we have talked. I hope you are well.

I have a very important favor to ask of you. I have an extremely urgent need for four to six Ph.D students to work on a classified project of utmost importance. The problems we will be dealing with are extremely complex in nature, and I need the absolute best and brightest minds you can find. I need expertise in theoretical physics, astrophysics, high energy physics, and mathematics. These students must be able to think outside the box as we are dealing with problems that call into question some of the very laws of physics that we believe to be true. They must be able to travel to Montana, and must be available immediately to commit themselves full time to this project. They must be trustworthy, as again, the nature of this project is highly classified. I wish I could tell you more, but I cannot.

Thank you in advance for your help. Again, I cannot over-emphasize the urgent nature of this request.

Sincerely,

Dr. Eric Thompson

He paused a moment when he had finished writing before clicking the Send button. He watched the progress bar on the email program reach completion. Then he closed the lid, returning the van to darkness once again. He spoke to himself in a quiet voice.

"And so it begins. The most important scientific endeavor in all of human history … The endeavor to save an entire world …"

42 - A Town in Ruins

The God Particle

Chapter 42: A Town in Ruins

"James?"

James looked up from the documents he was going over in the armory upon hearing the voice of Twilight Sparkle. Her expression looked stoic as she stepped into the room and walked over to him.

"Twilight," he responded, forcing a small smile. "How are you doing?"

She stopped a few feet away from him, pausing for a moment before frowning and responding. "I received word from Ponyville. The Pegasus Guard was able to fend off the griffins and the attack appears to be over. But there is extensive damage. As soon as the Council members have finished their six hours of rest, I'm going to Ponyville. They need to see me and know they have the full support of Canterlot behind them. I want you to come with me."

He nodded once. "Of course, Twilight. Before you leave though, you should address the ponies of Canterlot. They need to see you too and know that you are in charge of things. That we are doing everything we can do to solve this crisis."

She nodded, but then looked at the floor and sighed slightly, her ears and tail drooping. Then she looked back up at him, a troubled expression on her muzzle. "I know I need to address them … But I don't know what to tell them."

"The only thing you can tell them, Twilight. The truth. If you lie to them, it will only cause them to stop trusting you. Be honest and tell them the truth. That will ensure they trust you as a leader and respect your rule. And it will inspire confidence that you're in charge if you look and sound confident."

She nodded once and forced a small smile again. But it quickly changed back into a stoic expression. "I'll need them to trust the rest of the Royal Council while you and I are in Ponyville. For them to know that the Royal Council will have matters firmly in hoof here until I get back."

"They will, Twilight. They will." Or at least, he hoped they would. The Royal Council had a reputation for being mysterious and there were several rumors floating around about it which were not true. Nevertheless, almost all ponies knew that the Council served the princesses directly, and that they were extremely loyal to them. They also knew that every Council member had been picked by Celestia and Luna themselves. And that should give them faith that the Council was well qualified and could handle matters. At least, that's what he hoped.

"So have you found anything else?" the unicorn asked, bringing him out of his thoughts.

He frowned and shook his head, sighing. "Nothing. Only more notes on what they were trying to do. Which no longer helps us, because we've already figured that out … figured it out too late." He pounded his fist on the table in frustration once, the sound echoing off the armory walls. "Just one day too late," he said, the frustration evident in his voice.

"James," she began, putting a forehoof on his shoulder in a comforting manner. "You can't blame yourself for this. You didn't have enough information until this whole box of notes was recovered. And then, you didn't have enough time. And besides, you did warn the Council and the Celestial and Lunar Guard of the interior diagrams of the castle. And that you were worried they might be after the princesses."

He nodded once. "For all the good it did. They still managed to get Princess Celestia out of the secure area. Even managed to disable the anti-teleportation warding. The best mages in the Unicorn Guard cast those wards … And no one except the Royal Council, the Captains of the Guard, and a few select members of the Lunar Guard knew that Princess Luna was leaving, or what route her convoy would be taking … Twilight, there's a traitor in the castle. There has to be. Somepony who knew that information must have told the griffins. It's gotta be either one of the Council members, one of the Guard Captains, or one of the few Lunar Guards who had enough advance notice to notify somepony else, or some griffin."

"I know," she said, frowning. "That's why I came here to talk to you alone. I don't know who I can trust, James. But I know I can trust you." She gave him a small but warm smile now.

He smiled back slightly. Twilight trusted him, yes. That was good to know. Luna had said she trusted him in the dream she had appeared in. But did she really?

Twilight stood up on her hind legs, reaching out with her forelegs and embracing him firmly. He blinked in surprise, not having expected the sudden embrace. But he quickly opened his arms and wrapped them around her, her warmth chasing out the chill of the cold armory like a cozy fire blazing in a hearth. And somehow, her embrace gave him confidence; made him feel like they were going to succeed in their quest to save Equestria, and everything would be alright. He only hoped his arms around her helped her feel the same way.

After awhile, he wasn't sure how much time had passed, they released each other, and he looked deep into her eyes. For a few seconds, neither one of them said anything. Finally, she spoke again.

"I don't think I should tell the ponies of Canterlot that we know where Princess Celestia is, or that we have a lead on Princess Luna. We don't know who might be listening. And if the wrong ears get wind that we might have a lead on where Princess Luna is, they might move her."

He nodded once. "I agree. And I don't think you should tell them that you and I are going to Ponyville either. We might end up with more dragons and griffins to contend to en route if the wrong ponies get wind of that."

She nodded and turned, starting to leave the armory. He put down the document he had been reading and followed.

Stepping outside the armory, the cold air bit into his robe instantly. The temperature was still dropping, but he didn't think it had reached freezing yet. That was the part he was worried about. Once the temperature dropped below freezing, any vegetables and fruits that had not yet been harvested would be in peril. But he knew the harvesting team lead by Applejack was hard at work trying to make sure they harvested and stored everything before that happened. Overhead, he could hear the pegasus weather teams at work, occasionally catching the dark silhouette of one passing by when the lights of Canterlot reflected off of them.

Outside the courtyard walls, he could hear a very large crowd of ponies beginning to gather, the dull roar of excited and nervous chatter penetrating through the walls like the roar of a distant waterfall. By now, everypony in Canterlot would be well aware that something was wrong. Looking up at the courtyard walls, he could see Royal Guards pacing back and forth, keeping a close watch on the crowd outside. So far, the crowd seemed to be maintaining relative order and calmness, at least if the lack of shouting and other riot like noises was any indication. But he knew it would only stay that way if Twilight Sparkle could give the impression of being firmly in control of the situation. Everything depended on her maintaining a confident air of authority, and keeping the respect of the citizens of Canterlot. If she lost that, anarchy would likely ensue.

Instead of going to the castle, Twilight turned towards one of the guard towers on the wall. He followed her, realizing that she intended to address the gathered crowd from the tower. That only made sense. The castle gate was closed, and the crowds couldn't get into the courtyard. The two of them stopped outside the entrance to the guard tower, the captain on duty trotting over to them and stopping in front of Twilight, saluting respectfully. James thought he could see a slightly nervous expression on her face at being saluted. Nevertheless, she maintained a confident presence, kept her ears up, and held her head high, maintaining an air of authority about her. When she spoke, she had a confident and firm tone.

"How have the crowds been behaving, captain?"

"For the most part, things have been smooth, milady. But they are clearly nervous and uncertain. There have been scattered reports of looting. But most of the citizens have maintained relative calm. They are anxious for news of what's going on though."

She nodded and frowned slightly. "Well, I'll give them news. Unfortunately, I don't have anything good to tell them right now. But I'll at least try to make sure they know we are doing what we can."

"Anything you can tell them will help, milady," the guard responded and saluted again as Twilight turned back towards the guard tower and trotted towards it. Once there, James opened the door for her, followed her in, and they began to climb the spiral stone stairs to the top. James could hear Twilight breathing slightly faster, and he knew it wasn't from the exertion of the climb. Gently, he placed a hand on her withers and spoke as reassuringly as possible.

"You'll do fine, Twilight. Talk to the crowd like you talked to the guard captain in the courtyard. Maintain a firm, confident, and assertive tone. Let them know you are firmly in charge of everything that is being done to solve this problem. Tell them the truth. But motivate and inspire them."

She nodded once, and seemed to calm down slightly as they reached the top of the stairs, where two unicorn guards were standing out on the tower platform, keeping watch on the crowd below. One of them turned and spotted Twilight, saluting to her as the captain in the courtyard had done. James saw her swallow once, then speak in the same confident tone she had below.

"I will speak to the gathered citizens now. And inform them of what is going on. Royal Counselor James Peterson will accompany me."

"As you wish, milady," the guard responded, the two of them stepping to the sides of the platform to make room for Twilight and James.

Stepping out onto the platform, James surveyed the gathered crowd and felt a surge of nervousness flow through him as well. Although it was difficult to tell in the dark, he estimated there had to be at least ten-thousand ponies gathered below, and probably far more. Now that they were above the walls, the noise of the crowd drowned out almost everything else, and he wondered how they would ever get the attention of the crowd. He, or one of the guards, could shout as loud as possible, and there's no way they would be heard over the crowd noise.

He jumped slightly as his answer came in the sound of a loud bell ringing on top of the tower roof. The crowd of ponies gathered below turned towards the tower, and the loud roar of chatter slowly dissipated as if the waterfall had suddenly been turned off. Now, all eyes were on him and Twilight. Once again, he felt a nervous chill go through him. But he quickly did everything he could to suppress it. He had to support Twilight. That was his role now. And if he could remain confident and sure of himself, he hoped it would inspire her to remain confident as well. Glancing over at her, he saw her shudder slightly. This time, he didn't put his hand on her, but he spoke in a quiet reassuring tone.

"You'll do fine, Twilight. Just remember what I said. Confident, assertive tone. Make sure they know you are in charge. Inspire and motivate them."

She seemed to gather herself together at his words, holding her head high again. When she spoke, it was in a loud, and confident tone.

"Citizens of Canterlot, by now you have all no doubt heard the rumors, and I'm not going to lie to you. Both of our princesses, are missing, and we are in a state of war with the Griffin Kingdom."

The crowd began to come alive again with worried conversation, and for a moment, James thought Twilight might lose control of it. But she raised a forehoof and spoke even louder, quickly regaining command of the situation.

"I have been appointed Regent of Equestria in our princesses absence. And I assure you that I am doing everything within my power to handle this crisis. I have the full assistance and backing of the Royal Council. The same Royal Council that has faithfully served Princess Celestia and Princess Luna, and has faithfully served all of you as stewards of Equestria.

"That said, I'm not going to lie to you. Our situation is desperate. As of right now, we cannot raise the sun. Operations are currently in place to gather and store all of the food crops that we can before temperatures reach freezing conditions. We face a crisis that threatens not only Equestria, but our entire world."

Another dull roar of concern began to rise from the crowd. But once again, Twilight spoke quickly and loudly, suppressing the conversation of the crowd before it could get out of hoof.

"You will be notified by Royal Guards if and when food ration distribution from these stores becomes necessary. In addition, Royal Guards will be making rounds through Canterlot to check on those ponies who may need extra assistance."

Her voice took on a stern, warning like sound now. Her tail flicked up and down once, rapidly and stiffly, an equine body language sign James had learned meant that whatever she was about to say next clearly meant business and left no room for argument or doubt about how serious she was.

"I have received scattered reports of looting. Let there be no confusion here. This behavior will not be tolerated, and I fully expect all of you to maintain civil behavior among yourselves. Any looting or rioting will be punished much more severely than normal given the crisis situation we are in. Any ponies caught engaging in such behavior will be imprisoned in the dungeon at least until this crisis is over, and perhaps longer. Let there be no doubt that any civil unrest will not be tolerated."

The warning tone left her voice now, but she still spoke with authority and confidence.

"I also know that those engaging in such behavior are a very small portion of you. Most of you, I know, will rise to the ideals of friendship that we have all been taught to follow. Those of you with the means to give, will give to your neighbors who are in need. Those of you with excess fuel for warmth, will give to those who are cold. Let us not forget who we are. We are Equestrians! And together, we will rise and meet this challenge. And we will overcome it!"

This time, a cheer arose from the gathered crowd. That's it, Twilight, James thought to himself. Motivate them, inspire them, use all the charisma you can find. Although he continued looking at the crowd, through the corner of his eye, he could see Twilight's head held just a little higher, her ears standing up just a little straighter. The cheer of the crowd was motivating and inspiring her as well! She continued speaking.

"There is the possibility of griffin and dragon attacks on this city. Warning bells will sound if griffins or dragons are sighted in the area. Stallions with families should be prepared to protect and defend those they love. In addition, I remind all able bodied stallions who do not have a family to protect, that you have a duty to come to the defense of this great city should these attacks occur. I have no doubt, that all of you, will faithfully carry out this duty. For your loved ones! For those who cannot defend themselves! For our princesses! For our world! And for our great kingdom of Equestria!"

Again, a cheer and a rallying cry arose from the crowd, this time mostly in a deep voice that suggested it was the stallions answering the rallying call. Forehooves pounded the ground in a rumble like thunder. Twilight let them cheer for a moment before speaking again, the crowd going quiet as soon as she started. James felt a sense of pride in her. Pride in the mare he loved. She had risen to the challenge, and she had conquered it. She had the crowd completely under her command now.

"Look at the top of this tower!" She called out loudly. "Look at the banners that fly on top of it! Look at the banners flying on the other towers on this wall! And the spires on top of the castle! The flags that fly on top of the Royal Equestrian Academy buildings! These banners of our princesses, of the sun and the moon, have united us for over a thousand years. And even though our princesses are missing right now, our banners still fly! And we remain united!"

Again, a loud cheer arose from the crowd. Twilight responded by speaking even louder, and even James felt a tingle like that of electricity run through him. If charisma could be given physical form, the lavender unicorn had become it.

"We will not let this crisis destroy more than a thousand years of unity! We will not let these banners fall! Together, we will make sure these banners fly for a thousand more years! And ten thousand more after that! Together, we will overcome this crisis! Together, we will protect each other! Together, we will protect our great Equestria! And together, we will restore our princesses to the thrones of Equestria! Because we are Equestrians! And our sun and moon will shine again!"

By now, Twilight had worked the crowd of gathered ponies into a virtual frenzy. Cheers and rallying cries sounded at near deafening levels, like jet aircraft taking off. Hooves pounded the ground in a cannon like rumble that could be felt. He himself, wanted to cheer, but he managed to maintain Council protocol. Inside, however, she had motivated and inspired him as much as she had the gathered crowd. No matter how desperate the situation seemed, they would overcome! They would not go down! And the sun and moon would rise again! Somehow, he would make sure of that. They would find a way!

The crowd continued to cheer as Twilight stepped back from the balcony and turned, starting down the staircase again, James falling in next to her and walking along side her.

"Did … did I do alright?" she asked, the nervousness returning to her voice now as she turned her head and looked at him.

"Alright?" he asked. "Twilight, I'm pretty sure they'd follow you to the pit of Tartarus and back. I know I would follow you there and back. You did more than alright." The truth was, he would have followed her there and back even before she had spoken to the citizens of Canterlot. But now, he knew they all would.

She seemed to blush slightly before turning her head back forward. "The rest of the Council should be gathering as we speak. I'll meet with them again briefly before you and I leave for Ponyville to make sure they have things well in hoof," she said as they approached the entrance to the castle, entering and proceeding down to the Council meeting area. As suspected, the Council members had already gathered. Stepping into the room, James thought he saw a slight hesitation in Twilight. She still seemed slightly nervous around the Council members; something no doubt made worse by the fact that she was in charge of all of them. But, she was definitely becoming more comfortable. And she was far more comfortable than she had been when she had first met them and taken the oath of the regent. She spoke once all of the Council members had taken their seats.

"Thank you all for being prompt in returning. And I hope you all had a good rest, short as it was. I have received word that the attack in Ponyville appears to be over. The Pegasus Guard were able to fend off the griffins. But there is extensive damage to the town. And multiple fires are still burning which they are still trying to put out. I'm going back to Ponyville to assure the residents that they have the full support of Canterlot, and to survey the damage. I'm taking Counselor James with me."

"Milady," it was Storm Runner that spoke up. "I suggest you travel with only a very small detachment of guards instead of the one-hundred plus that we came to Ponyville with when we got you. It will attract less attention. And make a less attractive target for griffins or dragons. You'll be much harder to spot in the dark."

She nodded once. "Thank you. I think that's probably best, yes. Also, I have spoken to the Royal Guard here in Canterlot as well as to the citizens of Canterlot. While Counselor James and I are gone, I need all of you to make sure Canterlot maintains order, and to be responsible for the defense of the city if dragons or griffins should attack."

The Council members nodded in unison and she continued.

"There have been scattered reports of looting. Inform the Royal Guard that looters are to be imprisoned in the dungeon and held until this crisis is over. There will be no tolerance for civil unrest during this desperate situation." She had said it in the same firm voice she had used when addressing the crowd. The Council members all nodded in unison.

"Also, if we have to start rationing heating fuel, make sure you have all the priorities figured out. Hospitals, nursing homes, daycare centers, and other places that have citizens more vulnerable to cold get precedence."

"We'll ensure it's all taken care of, milady," Moon Song responded.

She nodded once. "And in the meantime, keep trying to find any information at all about where Princess Luna might be. And brainstorm about whether there is any possible way we can help Eric on Earth to find a way to get Princess Celestia back."

"We'll work on it as diligently as we can, milady," Storm Runner responded.

"I know you will," Twilight said, smiling slightly, before resuming her stoic expression. Then, she turned and left the meeting room, James once again falling in beside her as they went back outside and boarded a flying chariot for Ponyville.

Once in the air, the lights of Canterlot suddenly disappeared, the view outside became as if he were staring at an impenetrable black wall. He could see nothing; not the ground, not the sky, not the horizon, despite the fact that the lights of Canterlot should still be visible below them. The pegasi must be flying inside the cloud layer created by the weather teams, he surmised. To prevent any dragons or griffins from being able to spot them.

Sometimes, when the chariot would bank or turn, vertigo would hit him, and he would start to feel like the chariot was rolling upside down, given he had no visual horizon reference to tell him otherwise. He found himself wondering how the pegasi pulling the chariot maintained their orientation with no visual cues. Several times, he had to remind himself that the Pegasus Guard were some of the most skilled fliers in Equestria, and that they knew what they were doing. Still, he found it difficult to put all of his trust in them during those times when his inner ear tricked him and he was virtually certain they were rolling inverted.

He turned his head away from the window, and his mind wandered onto the crisis at hand. He thought of his home world. The people there would go about their daily lives, completely oblivious to the fact that somewhere else, an entire world was on the brink of utter destruction and extinction of all life. How many times had the same scenario that was now playing out in Equestria, played out on some other planet with intelligent life? How many times had some cosmic catastrophe completely cleansed a planet of any evidence that life ever even existed there? And when would it be Earth's turn to face such a catastrophe? While life on some other planet continued to go on as normal, completely oblivious to the fact that some other planet in some distant galaxy, was facing a crisis that could result in the destruction of everything that evolution had spent billions of years producing? He tried to push that thought out of his mind now, and looked across at Twilight.

"We should probably try to get some sleep, Twilight. You admonished the Council members not to neglect their own rest, but it's been over twenty-four hours now since you've had any sleep yourself. We still have about four hours until we reach Ponyville."

Twilight nodded once, but frowned. "I don't think I'll be able to sleep until I know that everypony in Ponyville is safe. And until I've seen how bad the damage is."

She stood up and crossed the distance to the other side of the chariot in one step, then sat down next to him, leaning herself into him. The air inside the chariot was cold, and frost was starting to form on the windows from their breath. The feeling of her warm fur pressing against him helped fight off the chill. He wrapped one arm around her withers gently, resting his head on her side. Neither one of them said anything, only continuing to use each other for warmth and support, as the chariot continued to press on through the cold blackness.

. . .

James awoke with a start, hearing a thumping nose. He looked around, quickly orienting himself to where he was. He found himself lying on the floor of the chariot now. Twilight lie next to him, all four legs wrapped around him, holding him close. Looking at her muzzle, her eyes were closed, and she breathed softly. Good, she did manage to get some sleep.

Again, there was a thump, and he realized he had forgotten about the earlier one. Looking up and out the window, he could barely see one of the Pegasus Guards flying right next to the chariot. The guard made a circling motion with his hoof, indicating they were near Ponyville and were going to circle over it so he and Twilight could see the damage from the air. He gave a thumbs up sign to the pegasus, not sure if he would have any idea what that meant or not. But the guard nodded in response and pulled away from the chariot, disappearing into the night sky again. James turned back to look at Twilight. He frowned, at the thought of waking her up. He wasn't sure he wanted to see the damage from the air. And he knew he didn't want to expose her to it. But, she was the regent. She had to see it. She had to know what was going on in her kingdom.

With a frown, he gently untangled himself from her legs, then tapped her lightly on the withers with his hand, "Twilight? You need to wake up now."

She stirred slightly, her eyes fluttering open and her ears twitching a couple of times before her eyes shifted to him.

"We're almost there, Twilight. The chariot is going to circle over the town so we can … get a feel for the damage from the air."

She frowned slightly, but nodded, then pushed her front legs under her, pushing herself back to her feet, shaking her entire body once as an equine from his own world might do to shake the grass and straw off of her body after standing up from a nap.

He looked out the window, but could see nothing of Ponyville yet. Barely, he could see one of the Pegasus Guards flying next to the chariot. But they faded in and out of view like a ghostly specter, indicating the chariot was still running just inside the cloud layer, darting in and out of it.

Turning back to Twilight, he noticed her mane was a disheveled mess now, as it might look after she had just gotten out of bed. Not that he minded. In fact, he actually thought she looked rather cute like that. But it wouldn't do for public appearances where she was trying to ensure the citizens that she had things firmly under control. Of course, she had no mirror, and no brush.

He felt uncomfortable now. Criticizing a mare for her appearance was something he wouldn't normally do under any circumstances; especially not when it was the mare he loved. But, there was no mirror in the chariot, and she would have no way of knowing if he didn't say something. Besides, given she had no mirror and no brush, he was probably going to have to fix it for her. He swallowed his discomfort and spoke.

"Twilight … I should probably try to fix your mane a bit before we land. It's kind of … well, from sleeping on the floor of the chariot and all … I mean I think it's cute that way … but well, for public appearances and all …" Smooth, James. Rambling like a nervous idiot, he chastised himself as he simply shut up now.

If she was offended by his statement about her mane, however, she gave no indication. Instead, she simply smiled a bit, and he thought he could even detect a hint of a blush in the dim light of the chariot. She nodded once. "Thank you, James. I'd appreciate it if you would fix it."

He moved closer to her now. Not having a brush or a comb, he simply had to resort to running his fingers through her mane, gently trying to work out any tangles as well as comb it into place. She looked at him, giving him a warm smile once as he ran his fingers through the entire length of her mane, satisfying himself that there were no tangles or snarls left. Then, he took his hand away and looked at her for a few moments.

"That's much better," he said. It probably wasn't as good as she could have done herself. But for someone who had no experience with hair styling, or mane styling at all, it would pass.

She smiled at him again. "Thank you, James," she said warmly.

"You're welcome," he smiled back and then turned towards the window again, his smile quickly being replaced by a deep frown and look of concern.

In the near distance, he could see the orange flickering signs of fires burning on the ground. They would be over Ponyville soon, but already, he could tell the damage was bad. Reluctantly, he turned back to Twilight, motioning her over with his hand. She stood up and walked over to him. He immediately put his arm around the back of her neck to provide what comfort he could for her, and felt a small shudder go through her as she saw the signs of the burning fires.

As they flew closer to Ponyville, the orange glow gave way to blazing infernos below them. Dozens of fires roared and burned on the ground, black and gray smoke rising ominously, orange light reflecting off of it. The smell of burning wood began to permeate the inside of the chariot, occasionally tainted by the toxic smell of burning rubber or plastic. He felt another slight shudder go through Twilight and pulled her closer to him, letting her rest her muzzle on his shoulder as the two of them continued to take in the damage below. By the glowing light of the flames, they could see buildings in ruins. James felt his heart sink as he recognized one of the buildings that used to be Sugarcube Corner. Now, it was just a smoldering pile of black twisted ruin, embers still glowing where the fire had not gone completely out. Please, Celestia, Luna, please make it so that Mr. and Ms. Cake, and their foals were able to get out of that building, he found himself thinking … or was he praying to them again?

The chariot finished its circle, coming in low, the ground occasionally disappearing in clouds of soot and rising ash before the wheels touched down lightly and they came to a stop. Immediately, James opened the door and stepped out, holding it for Twilight. His ears were instantly assaulted with the sounds of confusion, weeping, and devastation. Twilight stepped out next to him and he closed the door, looking around and surveying the damage. The air was rank with the smell of burning. Royal Guards and other pony volunteers ran back and forth, frantically trying to put out fires and help any ponies who night be trapped or injured. James quickly stopped one of them as he passed.

"Guard. Where is everypony?" he asked in a concerned tone.

"Counselor," the guard acknowledged, not acknowledging Twilight. It occurred to him the guard probably wasn't aware yet that Twilight had been appointed regent. "Everypony we could find is gathered at the town square. What's left of it anyway. The town hall itself is badly damaged by fire and not safe to enter. Mayor Mare has been anxiously awaiting the arrival of a representative from Canterlot," the guard responded, trying to hurry James along.

"Lady Twilight is the representative," James said. "She is the acting ruler of Equestria. I am here to assist her."

The guard stopped, and his face took on a look of embarrassment. "Milady. Please forgive my disrespect. I wasn't aware."

Twilight raised a forehoof. "There's nothing to forgive. And there's no time for that now. Please, take me to see the mayor." She looked at James again. "Counselor, help any pony that needs it when and where you can. I'll find you after I am done speaking with the mayor and with the ponies at the square."

"Yes, milady," James responded, resuming the normal Council formalities now that they were in the presence of the Royal Guards and the citizens of Ponyville. He nodded respectfully. Then, Twilight turned and trotted off towards the square with the guard.

James turned around and quickly tried to get his bearings. It had been a long time since he had been in Ponyville, but the layout of the town came back to him quickly. Still, at night, and with all of the damaged buildings, it was hard to determine exactly where he was. Finally, he recognized a few landmarks. Another Royal Guard, a pegasus, approached, galloping past him quickly. James recognized from the rank on his armor that he was the captain in charge of the entire operation in Ponyville.

"Captain!" he called out, the guard stopping and turning towards him.

"Counselor," the guard acknowledged. "We stand ready to carry out any orders at your command."

Normally, the Royal Guard would have to obey a member of the Royal Council, unless countermanded by one of the Princesses. But this, time James shook his head once.

"I place myself under your command for now, sir. How can I help?"

The pegasus nodded once and pointed towards the west with a forehoof. "We haven't reached the far west quadrant of the town yet. Go there, and start knocking on doors. Look for survivors and those who may be injured or need assistance. Identify yourself as Royal Guard before you enter any houses."

James nodded once and quickly turned, jogging off in the direction the captain had indicated. As he ran, he passed several more burning buildings. Outside of some of them, ponies stood, sometimes weeping. But they appeared to be uninjured and safe, even if they had lost everything they owned. He was tempted to stop and offer what comfort he could. But instead, he kept going. There were plenty of guards covering this area. And he trusted that the captain had sent him to where he was most needed.

He continued passed several more burning buildings, wincing at the utter destruction. Few buildings were left that had not been set ablaze. Could griffins really have done all this? Or had there been dragons involved as well? And they just didn't make it into the initial report they got of the attack? The town looked as if it had been bombed. He coughed once as smoke burned his nose and his lungs, but he continued his rapid pace towards the western part of town. Now, he was grateful for Rainbow Dash and Applejack having pushed him when he was still in Ponyville. Having practically forced him to get up and run with them in the morning. And he was grateful he had maintained that discipline once he had moved to Canterlot. Now, he needed all of the physical stamina and endurance he could muster.

He slowed down once he reached the area where the captain had told him to go, panting slightly, but still not exhausted. Here, there seemed to be less destruction than there was in the center of town. Several buildings still blazed, but some were untouched. Other than one or two guards that occasionally galloped passed him, this part of town was mostly filled with distraught citizens. Many of them looked dazed, as if they still weren't sure what had happened, or the reality of the situation hadn't actually hit them yet. Some of them, he suspected were in a state of shock. Looking to his left, he saw a stallion, mare, and two young foals standing outside the remains of what had been there house. He almost stopped to check on them, but then heard the stallion speak to them.

"At least we all got out safely. That's what matters. That's the important thing. Houses can be rebuilt."

They had lost everything. But they were alive. He stopped and spoke to them. "I am sorry for your loss. I want you to know that you have the full support of Canterlot. You should go to the Town Hall. There's a gathering there where a representative from Canterlot will speak to all of you." He thought it was best not to say 'the regent of Equestria.' After all, they may not be aware yet that the princesses were missing. And he thought it would be best to let Twilight tell all of them that information at the same time, lest some ponies start spreading rumors.

The mare of the household turned and looked at him, blinking in surprise and looking slightly nervous for a moment, probably because of the Royal Council robe. But then she nodded. "Thank you, Counselor," she said before turning to the rest of her family. "Come. Let's go to the Town Square." She started walking in the direction he had come from, the rest of her family following after her. He watched them go for a second, then quickly proceeded to the next house, which was still standing, stepping up to it and pounding on the door loudly.

"Royal Guard!" he called out loudly. "Is there anypony inside? Anypony who needs assistance? If I hear no answer, I'm coming in to check!"

He waited several seconds for an answer. Upon receiving none, he tested the door. It was unlocked. Most ponies in Ponyville didn't bother locking their doors. He opened it and stepped inside, carefully stepping over broken shards of glass from a window.

"Royal Guard!" He called out again. "Is there anypony in here who needs assistance?"

Still, he received no answer. He quickly moved through the house, checking every room. Stepping into the bedroom, he found sheets and blankets carelessly thrown off the bed and onto the floor. A sign that the ponies who had been in the bed had left in a hurry. But he found no sign of anypony in the house. Hopefully, they had made there way to the town square along with the other ponies. Making his way back to the front door, he stepped outside again and proceeded to the next house, his heart heavy with the utter devastation around him. Part of him just wanted to sit down and cry. But he knew he couldn't do that. He had a duty to carry out, and he had to remain strong, and show that he was strong. That would inspire confidence in the citizens of Ponyville that their leaders were in control of this situation, and would do everything that needed to be done to make sure things were handled and set right.

Suddenly, he heard a scream to his left. The scream of a young filly. He quickly turned his head in the direction. Oh, Celestia no! Hovering in the air, maybe a hundred yards away, was a large griffin. On the ground, trapped up against some debris, he saw the Cutie Mark Crusaders. Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo all stood next to each other, bunched together, staring at the site above them in horror. They had no where to run, no way to escape.

"No!" James shouted loudly, and darted towards them in a run. Immediately, his right hand was on the hilt of the sword strapped to his robe. In one fluid motion, it was out of its scabbard, the razor sharp blade glistening in the fires burning around them. He ran as fast as he could, instinctively raising the sword to an attack position. But already, he knew he would never get there in time. The griffin opened its beak and roared in fury as it descended closer to the three trapped fillies. The fillies screamed again, pressing themselves backwards against the debris. But still, there was nowhere they could go.

"Get away from them!" James yelled at the griffin, trying to will his legs into moving faster. Already, they ached in protest, his lungs burned from the sprint as he ran as fast as he could. But he ignored the pain, refusing to let himself slow down. The griffin, if it had heard him at all, ignored him and raised its razor sharp talons to dive at the fillies.

Suddenly, Sweetie Belle stepped out in front of Apple Bloom and Scootaloo. Her young muzzle had a look of fear plastered on it, and her eyes were wide. But still, she stood protectively in front of her two friends.

"Sweetie Belle, no! Get back!" James yelled as he tried to run even faster, closing the gap quickly. He had covered more than half the distance. But still, he knew there was no way he would get there in time. Not before the griffin could be on them and kill at least one of them, if not all three of them, with its razor sharp talons. but Sweetie Belle stood her ground. Her eyes still wide with fear, he heard her cry out loudly.

"You! Will! Not! Touch! My! Friends!"

The young unicorn filly's horn lit up with a brilliant white light. A searing white bolt of lightning sparked from it, nearly blinding James with its brilliance. The air exploded with light, as if a giant flash bulb had just gone off, and he felt the hair on his skin stand up. The smell of ozone filled the air as the electrical discharge from the young filly's horn arced through the night. Then, the sound hit him; a deafening crack of thunder, like a rifle shot next to his ear. The shock wave of explosively expanding air slammed into him, stopping him in his tracks.

Then, the brilliant light was gone, and his vision slowly returned to him, the loud crack of thunder from whatever spell the young filly had unleashed still reverberating through the night sky, echoing off the buildings and trees. As his eyes regained focus, he saw the griffin lying in a crumpled heap on the ground, the three fillies staring at it with expressions of shock.

He quickly started running again, placing the sword back in its scabbard now so as not to frighten the fillies. But his right hand remained on the hilt, ready to draw it again in an instant should the griffin stir at all. He stopped when he was near the fillies, and all three of them stared at him, still looking shocked. He panted and caught his breath for just a moment before speaking.

"Are all of you okay?" It was Scootaloo that responded.

Y … yes." Then Sweetie Belle spoke in a frightened voice.

"Is … is it … did I … did I kill him?"

James turned around and looked at the griffin for a moment. It was breathing, and there were no visible burn marks on it. She must have missed, he thought. There's no way it could have survived a hit from an electrical discharge that powerful, given that even he had felt the hair on his skin stand up from the electrical charge in the air from probably forty yards away. The shock wave alone must have stunned it and knocked it out of the sky. He turned back towards Sweetie Belle, keeping one eye on the griffin.

"No. It's alive. But badly stunned." He turned his head again as a gruff male voice called out from behind.

"What in Celestia's name was that? Sounded like something exploded. And what was that bright—"

The approaching Royal Guards stopped speaking and James saw all of their eyes go to the griffin on the ground. For a moment, they simply looked at it before one of them turned his attention back to James.

"Is he dead?"

"No," James responded. "He's alive. But badly stunned. Get him in chains before he wakes up. And … get these three fillies to safety. Big Mac and Granny Smith are probably at the town square. Big reddish earth pony stallion and an elderly light green earth pony mare. They are relatives of Apple Bloom. That's the yellow one. See if you can get these three fillies to them."

"Right away, Counselor," one of the guards responded, motioning to two others who appeared to be under his command. The two of them stepped towards the three fillies, one of them looking down at them and speaking in a much gentler tone than James was used to hearing any Royal Guards use.

"Come on you three. I'll take care of you and get you to safety."

Apple Bloom and Scootaloo quickly ran to the guards, appearing anxious to get out there, away from the griffin, and to some adult ponies they knew. Sweetie Belle, however, didn't move, instead, looking up at James with a troubled and frightened expression. He looked back at her for a moment before looking back to the two Royal Guards.

"Just take those two. I'll take care of this one."

The two guards nodded and then turned, walking back towards the square with Apple Bloom and Scootaloo between them. Several other guards went to the downed griffin, and two of the unicorn guards began to lock iron restraints onto its feet, and talons. Sweetie Belle looked back at the large beast and James saw her shudder visibly.

"Come over here, Sweetie Belle," he said softly, and motioned away from the griffin. She nodded slightly and followed him. He walked until he was a good distance away from the griffin and the guards, than turned to face her again, sitting down on the ground to be more at her level, adjusting the scabbard of the sword so it was lying on the ground as well. Sweetie Belle stopped in front of him and spoke nervously again.

"I don't know what I … I didn't mean to hurt any … I—"

"Shhhh," he said, stopping her. "You didn't do anything wrong, Sweetie. You saved your friends." Now, he noticed something about her in the flickering light of the fires, his eyes going to her flank. "And Sweetie Belle? Turn your head back and look at your flank."

She turned her head, and her eyes went wide as she looked at the same thing James was looking at. On the young filly's flank, was a diamond similar to the one on Rarity's flank, but looking more like a prism reflecting all the colors of the rainbow. Surrounding it, were five other diamonds. Sweetie Belle, had gotten her cutie mark.

She looked at it for a bit longer, then turned her head back and looked at him again, frowning. "I don't feel very happy about getting it. Like … I'm not proud of how I got it." Her eyes lowered and her ears drooped on her head, and she sniffed once, trying to hold back a tear.

"Oh, Sweetie Belle," he said softy, his heart filling with compassion for the young filly as he opened his arms and held them out to her. "Come here."

She walked to him, jumping into his lap, and he wrapped his arms around her, holding her comfortingly, speaking again in a compassionate tone.

"I know it's hard to be happy right now with everything that is going on. But you earned your cutie mark under the most trying and difficult of conditions, Sweetie. And you saved the lives of your friends doing it. And that is the most noble action there is. You were very brave, and I am very proud of you, Sweetie Belle. I speak for the entire Royal Council in saying we are all very proud of you. Rarity will be very proud of you. And Their Majesties will be very proud of you. And you should be very proud of you too."

She sniffed once more, and he wiped her muzzle gently where a tear had fallen. Then she spoke again, quietly.

"But … I don't even know what my cutie mark means. What does it mean?"

"Well … I'm not sure either, Sweetie Belle, But I do know it will become clear. It will all become clear soon. I really believe that it will."

She sniffed once more, but then gave him a small smile. "So … So now what?"

"Well, I still have to check all these houses to see if anypony is inside. And if they need any help. Do you want to help me with that?"

She nodded once and smiled slightly again.

"Alright. Lets get started then." He smiled back at her as she stepped out of his lap. Then, he stood back up, and the two of them walked to the next house together, continuing to look for any ponies that might still be here, and might still need help.

43 - Project Oz

The God Particle

Chapter 43: Project Oz

Gilda stewed in her own thoughts as the chariot continued to bounce down the rough road leading to the border of Equestria. For eight hours she had endured the ponies guarding her and seated across from her; first on the flight to the edge of Equestria, and now on the ground chariot that covered the last few thousand strides to the border. Oh how she wished she could yell at her captors; insult them, berate them. But the steel band holding her razor sharp beak shut prevented her from doing that. So she settled for simply glaring at them, her eyes blazing with fire.

Eventually, the trees on either side of them gave way as they left the forest road, and she felt the chariot tilt forward slightly as their path started on a downward slope. The icy wind blowing in her face and the smell of saltwater told her they were very close to the Sea of Tears now; the sea she would have to fly across to get back to the Griffin Kingdom.

Gradually, the chariot came to a stop, the sound of the wheels being replaced by the thundering crashes of waves against the shore of the sea. Gilda could just barely make out the whitecaps breaking near the shore in the light of the pole mounted lanterns on the front of the chariot. Several unicorn guards stood up and helped her to the ground, her taloned feet sinking into the sand. Once there, a glow formed in front of her eyes as magical energy surrounded the steel band holding her sharp beak closed, the clasp unlatching and the band falling to the ground. She opened her mouth, stretching her beak wide, her jaw muscles tense after being held shut for so long. Then, she closed it again, glaring at her captors once more, opening her beak again as she prepared to unleash a tirade of words at them. But a strong glare from the unicorn captain in charge made her think better of it.

"I have two battle mages prepared to cast spells on you if you attempt to attack any of my guards, griffin. So be quiet and listen very carefully to my instructions," he said in a rough and commanding tone. "We're going to remove the restraints from your wings, feet, and talons now. And I expect you to head straight for the Griffin Kingdom. Remember what Lady Twilight said about being able to recall you at any time. Once you have the information she wants, you are to return to Canterlot immediately. As long as you come alone, you will not be attacked as you approach the city. Got it?"

Gilda continued to glare at the ponies across from her, but she knew the captain was right. Two battle mages prepared to cast spells, plus four Pegasus Guards. She had no chance of successfully attacking them. With effort, she held her tongue and simply nodded instead.

"Good. Now get out of here," the unicorn captain ordered, his horn glowing as the restraints on Gilda's wings, talons, and feet opened and fell to the ground. She stretched her wings a few times, working the stiffness out of them that had set in from being bound for so long. Then, she spread them, and took to the sky, giving the ponies below her one last glare before banking sharply and heading out over the sea.

Her mind continued to burn with rage as she flew towards the Griffin Kingdom. How dare that sassy purple unicorn do this to her? Who did she think she was? No griffin took orders from a pony! And besides, what does that stupid unicorn expect me to do anyway? Just walk right up to the griffin king and say "Yo, king! Why don't you tell me where you are holding Princess Luna." Yeah, right. She'd be using that recall spell to break me out of griffin prison if I did that!

As she flew across the dark sea, she continued to try to think of ways she might be able to get the information Twilight wanted from her, but her mind continued to come up with nothing. Even the guards who rotated in and out of the shifts guarding Luna's prison didn't actually know where it was located. King Aetos insisted that they be blindfolded for the trip to and from the prison. Other than the king himself, only the griffins that had pulled the chariot taking her out there, and transporting the guards back and forth, actually knew where she was housed. And it hardly seemed like she could ask them either. Did any of the high officers know where she was? Some of them had to know, she thought.

She continued to fly for about another two hours before the glow of Griffin City began to fade into view on the horizon, like a ghostly light in the distance, haloed by the ice crystals that were beginning to form above the sea due to the ever falling temperatures. She shivered slightly as the city came closer, although she wasn't sure whether the shivering was from the extremely cold temperatures over the sea, or dread of having to face King Aetos and attempt to explain to him why she had not completed her assigned mission. Gilda was a reconnaissance scout, not a warrior. She was supposed to have flown near Canterlot to watch for any Pegasus Guard deployments leaving there. But when she had learned that Ponyville was the intended target of the main griffin strike force, she had abandoned her assigned mission and attempted to reach Ponyville instead to warn Rainbow Dash. The fact that she had done so, is why the griffin force attacking Ponyville had not had any advance warning that Canterlot was aware of the attack, and was sending reinforcements. How was she going to explain that to King Aetos?

She folded her wings as she neared the city, beginning a gradual descent, feeling the stiffness in her feathers where ice crystals had formed on her wings. Maybe King Aetos really is insane? How long does he think we can survive these falling temperatures? She flared her wings and landed on the walkway leading up to the king's palace. To her dismay, he was already marching down the walkway towards her, flanked by two of his guards. He roared out loudly before he had even reached her.

"Gilda! You better have a good explanation for me as to why my Ponyville invasion force had no warning that Canterlot was aware of the attack! And no warning that reinforcements had been sent!"

She cringed slightly under King Aetos' verbal assault, her mind racing. Quickly, she said the first thing that came to her mind. "I got lost, my lord." She winced internally at how unbelievable that excuse sounded. Griffin recon scouts didn't get lost. It just didn't happen.

"You got lost," the king responded in a dubious tone of voice. "And tell me, Gilda … Of what use to me is a reconnaissance scout whose sense of navigation is so bad, she can't even find her way to Canterlot!" he said with narrowed eyes

Again, she winced and her mind raced. But she quickly came up with a plan. "I have failed, my lord … And I'm no longer worthy to be one of your scouts … I ask only that you not throw me in prison … I request that I be allowed to atone for my failure by acting as your servant, and the servant of your high officers. I can cook, bring your food, attend to your needs at meetings … I can do all of that." She had said it in a timid and frightened voice, but it was an act. She only hoped it was convincing.

King Aetos glared at her in silence for a few moments, and seemed to be pondering this. Finally, he gave a sinister chuckle and responded. "A suitably humiliating punishment I suppose. Very well, consider it done. From this moment on, you are no longer a scout in the Griffin Army. You are a lowly castle servant. You can start by going to the kitchen and heating up some mulled wine for me and my officers. Then you can serve it to us in shame while I inform them of your failure at your mission!" He glared at her once more, then gave her a sinister smirk before turning on his heel and storming back into the castle.

Gilda waited until he and his guards were back inside, then allowed herself to smirk as well. We'll see who has the last laugh, Aetos … Well, Gilda, time to see how good your espionage skills are. You're the proverbial fly on the wall now. She started towards the door herself, wiping the smirk off her beak before stepping inside and making her way down to the kitchen …

. . .

Celestia's ears perked up as the engine of the van turned off, the door in the front opened, and Eric stepped out. A few seconds later, the door in the back opened.

"Well, we're finally here, Your Majesty," the human said, stepping aside and holding the door for her.

She nodded once, then teleported herself out of the van before standing up and stretching herself, slightly sore from the long trip. She looked back at him and smiled slightly. It was difficult to smile, given how heavy her heart was for her homeland.

"Thank you, Eric … and Eric, you can just call me Celestia or Princess if Celestia is too informal for you and makes you uncomfortable. You don't have to use formal titles."

He nodded once, and seemed to have a relieved look on his face, as if some great tension had just been lifted from him. "Alright, if that's what you prefer, Princess. I'll uh … show you the inside of the cabin. It's much larger than my apartment back in Chicago.

She nodded and watched him turn and walk towards the cabin. It was a large, two story log building with four windows, two on the lower level, and two on the upper level. Then she turned her head and looked around at her surroundings. In the distance, tall mountains reached for blue sky, their tops hidden by wispy cotton-like clouds. Between her and the mountains, grassy plains and hills painted with wildflowers stretched as far as she could see, dotted occasionally by small groves of pine forest. The cabin appeared to be the only building within sight, the unpaved path leading up to it, the only road. Gone were the constant sounds of the city; the roaring aircraft and blaring car horns. The only sounds now, a gentle breeze flowing through the surrounding trees, and the sound of birds chirping in their nests. Of course, it wasn't home. But at least she would be able to spend time outside here and enjoy walks through the forests and meadows as she did in the castle gardens back in Canterlot.

She turned her head back towards the cabin as he finished unlocking the door and stepped aside, holding it open for her. Trotting towards the door, she smiled in thanks and stepped inside. The sweet smell of cedar wood came to her nose as she looked around. The inside of this building had a much more earthy and rustic appearance compared to the bland white walls and ultra-modern appearance of his apartment back in Chicago. On the far wall to the left, was a large stone fireplace with two chairs situated near it. The floor was hardwood, with two large brownish-red rugs covering it. To her right, a wooden staircase with a rustic looking banister led up to an open second story balcony, where there were two wooden doors leading to what she assumed must be bedrooms. The building reminded her a lot of Fluttershy's cottage back in Ponyville, and had a warm, country like charm to it. She turned her head back towards Eric as he spoke again.

"I'm going to get started unloading the van and get to—"

She grinned slightly at him as a golden magical aura formed in the large open floor space, all of the boxes and suitcases from the van appearing in the empty space. Eric scratched his head slightly and then chuckled a bit.

"Right … Probably never going to get used to that. Thank you again, Princess."

She shook her head once. "You don't need to thank me, Eric. It's the least I can do, given everything you are doing for me."

He nodded and smiled slightly, then went over to the boxes she had teleported in, finding his laptop and unzipping it. "Well, I suppose we better not waste any time. I'm gonna see if I have a response yet from the person I contacted about getting some other people to help us. In the meantime, if you want to look around outside, feel free. You can spend as much time as you like outside without worry. There won't be anyone else around here to see you."

She nodded once and thanked him, then turned and slowly walked outside. Despite her heavy heart, at least it would be good to stretch her legs and go for a walk in the meadows and wildflowers; a small piece of home, in an alien world.

. . .

Eric watched the alicorn walk down the path for a moment before turning his attention back to his laptop, removing it from the carrying case and opening the lid. The email program was still open from last night, and a new message came in once it established a wireless Internet connection. Quickly, he opened it and began to read.

From: Dr. Brian Dalson bdalson@mit.edu

To: Dr. Eric Thompson ethompson@fnal.gov

You're lucky I trust you as much as I do, Eric, sending you my best Ph.D students on such short notice with as little information as you gave me to work with. I've got four students who will be arriving at Billings Airport tomorrow at 10:00 am your time, and I can probably find two more for you in the next couple of days. Here's some brief information on the students:

Annette: Graduated high school at age 14, was accepted into MIT at age 15. B.S. in electrical engineering, M.S. in physics. Has published an article in the Journal of Experimental Physics on quantum spin theory.

Michael: B.S. in astronomy, M.S. in astrophysics. Did an internship at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider studying string theory. Has published two articles in the journal Science on string theory.

Thomas: B.S. in mathematics, M.S. in physics. Did his M.S. thesis on dimensional theory and has published articles in Science and Nature on the subject. Did an internship at CERN.

Wendy: B.S. in physics, M.S. in nuclear physics. Did an undergraduate internship at NASA working on the Mars exploration program, and an M.S. thesis on deep space cosmic energy. Published an article in Science on planetary formation.

All four of these students graduated with 4.0 GPA or better from their respective undergraduate programs.

I hope these students all work out for you, and let me know if you need me to find two more. I also hope someday, you will be able to tell me what it is you are working on. Obviously, my curiosity is rather high.

Eric closed the lid on the laptop and smiled slightly. His team of brilliant scientists was coming together nicely. Now, he just hoped they wouldn't run out of time.

Looking out the window again, he watched Celestia walking among the wildflowers, occasionally dipping her head to smell a few. Suddenly, she raised her head and looked in front of her towards the bottom of a hill. In a flash, she started to gallop towards it, disappearing below the hill where he could no longer see her.

"What the … Where's she going?" he said to himself, quickly standing up and making his way to the door, opening it and running in the same direction she had gone. As he approached the hill and could see the valley below, it became clear what had caught her attention. At the bottom, was a herd of wild horses, grazing lazily on the meadow grass.

"Your Majesty! Princess! I'm not sure that's such a good idea!" he called out to her as he kept running. As she approached, the wild horses suddenly raised their heads, all looking straight at her. Eric's heart raced, expecting that at best, they would run away. Or at worst, they would see her as a threat and try to attack her. But instead of doing either, the horses lowered themselves, bowing to the regal alicorn.

Eric stopped and stared in amazement. Celestia stopped as well, not far from them. Eric simply stood and watched in silent, hearing Celestia speak.

"Please, stand. All of you."

The horses, however, didn't obey, acting as if they hadn't even heard her. Eric winced slightly at that and then slowly and calmly started walking down the hill again. Celestia turned her head and looked at him as he approached.

"Why don't they listen to me? Why won't they talk to me?" she asked.

Well, this is awkward, he thought to himself, his mind racing for a moment before he answered her. "Well, Princess … They can't understand you. And they can't speak."

She blinked and gave him a confused expression, as if she didn't understand. "Is there something wrong with them?"

"Well … no. But, well … They aren't like you. We don't have any horses, or ponies for that matter, on this planet that are capable of talking. At least not in a language we understand. And well … They aren't sapient like you and your subjects are … Although it's very interesting that they're bowing to you, almost as if they instinctively recognize you as royalty."

She nodded slightly in response, but still had a slightly confused expression on her muzzle. One of the wild horses flicked its tail slightly, looking a bit nervous, a sign that Celestia apparently understood as she took a few steps backwards, then turned around, walking back towards the cabin. Eric quickly fell in next to her, walking beside her. She turned her head slightly to look at him. Her expression was one of trouble and sadness as she spoke again.

"It's very interesting … Almost all of the animals I have seen here, also exist in Equestria. But there are no non-sapient horses, and there are no humans … Well, except for James."

Eric pondered that for a moment. All of the animals she saw here, except for humans and talking horses, also existed in Equestria? His mind quickly came up with an idea.

"Princess, the box that the letter from Equestria came in … would you mind if I sent it to a colleague for analysis? I have an idea. One that might help us figure out how to get you home."

She nodded once in consent. "If you think it will help, you may send it."

He nodded and the two of them continued walking back towards the cabin. But Celestia's expression still seemed troubled.

"What's bothering you, Princess? I mean besides … well …"

"Those horses … Why they can't talk. Why they are so much like the ponies back in Equestria, and yet they aren't sapient," she said in a slightly emotional voice.

"Well … I'm hoping maybe my colleague might be able to shed some light on that once he gets the box. It's a long shot, and we're going to need luck on our side. But it might just help."

She only nodded once as the two of them went back inside the cabin. Eric rummaged through the boxes they had packed until he found the small box the letter had arrived in. Then he sent a quick email before heading towards the door.

"I'm going to take this box to the shipping place. I'll have it sent same day air since it's so important. I just have to run to the nearest town and will be back shortly."

Celestia nodded and smiled slightly as he left. Then he climbed in the van and started for town.

Returning to the cabin about forty minutes later, he found that Celestia wasn't around. She must be out exploring more, he thought to himself. He spent the rest of the day going through the data from the Fermilab accelerator detectors, looking for any clues at all that might give any indication of what had happened inside that accelerator tunnel that had sent James to Equestria. However, it was like looking for the proverbial needle in a haystack. And so far, all of the detectors showed the exact same thing: They all appeared to have stopped recording data right about the time the earthquake hit. He sighed in frustration and looked out the window above the desk as dusk rapidly approached. At the sound of the door opening, he turned his head to see Celestia coming back inside.

"Find anything else interesting, Princess?" He asked, closing the lid on the laptop again.

"I was observing those horses. From a distance," she said as she stepped further in. "Their behavior, in some ways, is similar to our own, even though they aren't sapient. They have a herd like structure, and it's female dominant. A mare leads the herd, and the stallions seem to keep watch around the edges, looking for any threats and protecting the mares."

"Interesting. And those are some good observations," he responded. He wasn't that familiar with equine behavior. After all, he was a physicist, not a biologist. But he did know enough about biology that what Celestia had observed was starting to make the idea in his head seem more plausible. He hoped his colleague would get the box tonight, that it would prove useful, and that he might have an answer tomorrow.

Coming out of his thoughts, he looked at her again. "I'm going outside to get some wood. The cabin only has a wood burning stove to cook on. There's no gas and no electric cooking appliances," he said as he stepped out.

After dinner, he heated up a kettle of water on the stove and made hot tea for the two of them. As they sat near the table, sipping it, he asked the question that had been on his mind for awhile now.

"Princess … You said earlier that you don't think James wants to leave Equestria. Do you know why? I mean if he had the chance to come home, why wouldn't he take it? It's not that I don't believe you … I'm just wondering …"

The alicorn looked slightly uncomfortable with the question, as if she wasn't sure whether she should answer it or not. Finally, she looked back at him and spoke a bit slowly, as if she were choosing her words very carefully.

"I'm not completely sure … But I think … well … I think he's developed … feelings for my student, Twilight Sparkle. And he doesn't want to leave her."

Eric raised an eyebrow, then chuckled slightly and shook his head. "James 'Kirk' Peterson … Boldly going where no man has gone before … In more ways than one," he quipped, chuckling again as he finished the last of his tea, then noticed Celestia had a confused expression on her muzzle.

"I don't understand what you said," she responded.

"It's uh … well, it's sort of complicated. I'll try to explain it to you another time, Princess," he said, wincing slightly. It was getting late in the evening, and he didn't relish having a discussion about Star Trek, or explaining Captain Kirk's "exploits" with alien females to a royal alicorn princess. Celestia nodded slightly, but still had a confused look on her muzzle. He changed the subject.

"I think we should probably get to bed a bit early. Considering how early we had to get up this morning. Tomorrow morning, I'm going to go to Billings … uh, that's a city not far from here, to pick up the other people who are going to help us work on sending you home. I'll sort of prepare them in advance … But I still think they are going to be rather shocked when they meet you. They'll probably think I'm playing a joke on them. So … Anything that happens when they first meet you, please try not to take it personally," he said as he stood up, taking his cup over to the sink.

"Thank you, Eric," she responded.

He nodded slightly, "You're welcome. I assume you can climb stairs, since several of the drawings in the book from Equestria showed stairs. You can have the larger bedroom. It's the second door upstairs.

"Yes, I can climb stairs," she said softly. "And thank you again."

He nodded once more, than started to climb the stairs himself. "Good night, Princess. I'll see you in the morning."

"Good night, Eric."

. . .

The next morning found Eric at the airport, waiting for the aircraft with his students on it. The flight they were on had landed, and he was waiting for their arrival by the baggage claim area. He held a sign with his name on it so they would be able to find him. As he waited, he thought about the events of yesterday, and Celestia's experience with the wild horses. At least they were wild horses, and not tame ones, he thought. Why humans "owned" horses, rode them, and trained them was not something he wanted to try to explain to her.

"Eric?" a female voice called, bringing him back out of his thoughts. He looked in the direction of the voice.

"You must be Annette, or Wendy?" he said, looking her over quickly.

The brown haired woman nodded in response. "I'm Wendy. And the four behind me are Annette, Michael, and Thomas. We've already introduced ourselves to each other on the flight."

He nodded and extended his hand, smiling at them and shaking each of their hands in turn. "A pleasure to meet all of you. And thank you for coming on such short notice. I know you are all anxious to learn why I called out to the middle of nowhere in Montana, but I'm afraid that's going to have to wait until we get to a more private area."

The five of them made small talk as they waited for their baggage, then loaded the van and began the trip back to the cabin. During most of the trip, Eric was silent. He could tell they were anxious to hear why they had been brought here, but he didn't want to try to explain it to them and drive at the same time. And he wanted their full attention, so he could stand face to face with them when he told them

Turning onto the unpaved road leading to the cabin, he stopped while they were still out of sight distance from the cabin.

"Alright, if everyone could please get out, I want to talk to you before we get where we are going," he said, opening the door and stepping out himself. His heart raced, and adrenaline flowed. They were never going to believe him, he knew. Not until they had seen her for themselves. But still, he wanted to at least tell them why they were here, and what they were doing. As the four of them lined up in front of him, he got his first really good look at them. There was Annette, the blond haired genius who had graduated high school at age fourteen. Michael, with his short brown hair and brown eyes, who had already published two articles in the prestigious journal, Science, on string theory. Thomas, who seemed to be the slightly eccentric type. He had hair to his shoulders and was dressed in blue jeans, a flannel shirt, and sandals. But he had worked at CERN and his credentials were not in doubt at all. And Wendy, with slightly longer than shoulder length brown hair, tied into a ponytail at the back, who had done an internship at NASA. They were all young. Very young. But all of them, were geniuses, still involved in academia, and therefore, still keeping up on the latest developments in physics research. They were Team Celestia; the team that would figure out how to send her home, and in the process, save her world. He put on the most serious expression he could, took a deep breath to calm himself, then started to speak.

"Ladies and gentlemen … Welcome to Project Oz. What I am about to tell you, is going to seem unbelievable to you. It's going to seem too fantastical to be true. And I will not blame any of you for not believing until you see. But I want to prepare you in advance.

"I've assigned this project the name Oz because like the Wizard of Oz, your job is to figure out how to send Dorothy home. However, Dorothy does not live in Kansas and sending her home is not going to be nearly as easy as clicking the ruby slippers together and saying there's no place like home. And furthermore … Dorothy is not human."

He watched as the four students across from him all raised their eyebrows. However, none of them spoke, and appeared to simply be waiting for him to continue. After a few moments, he did so.

"Dorothy's real name is Princess Celestia, and she's from another world. Yes, she is a real princess, and she is the ruler of her world. Whether you choose to believe she is something more than a princess is a deeply personal decision each of you will have to make for yourselves. I'll not try to push you either way. But whatever you decide, I expect you all to treat her with the same respect you would the Queen of England.

"This is, quite possibly, the most important scientific endeavor undertaken in the history of humanity. Because you see, Celestia's world cannot survive without her. And if we fail at figuring out a way to send her back there, then her entire world is doomed."

Again, he paused, waiting to see if any of them had any questions. All of them had looks of surprise and disbelief on their faces. Finally, Annette spoke.

"Do you even know yet if it's possible to send something from our world to hers?"

"Yes, it is. Because Doctor James Peterson is currently in her world, although he didn't go there intentionally."

"The Doctor James Peterson?" Thomas asked. "The world renowned high energy physicist? I thought he was killed in the Chicago earthquake?"

Eric nodded. "That's what we all thought. But it turns out not to be the case. He is alive and well, in her world. Exactly what happened inside that accelerator that sent him there, is a mystery though. One that we must solve."

"So this Princess Celestia … She's actually an alien?" Thomas asked, his voice sounding dubious.

Eric nodded once again. "In a manner of speaking, yes. Again, I know this is very hard to believe. And I don't blame you for not believing me. But soon enough, you will see with your own eyes. Presumably Brian already told you that you mustn't speak of this with anyone. Now, we're almost to Emerald City. So lets get back in the van, and finish the trip."

All of them hesitated for a moment, but then turned and climbed back into the van. They still had expressions of disbelief and surprise on their face, and Eric wondered if they thought he had lost his mind. Still, it seemed they trusted him. Or at least were curious enough to go along with him for now. Once they were all back in the van, he continued the short distance to the cabin, before stopping in front of it and getting out, the four students getting out with him.

He walked to the door, took a deep breath and let it out slowly, then opened it, holding it open for the four students to step through before closing it again.

"Princess?" he called out. "You can come out now."

As the regal alicorn stepped out of the kitchen, all four sets of eyes went wide. Wendy's and Thomas's jaws both dropped, before they closed them again. Michael opened his mouth to say something, but then closed it. For several long moments, they simply stared at the winged unicorn in front of them. Eric broke the quiet after a few more seconds.

"Princess? These are Annette, Michael, Thomas, and Wendy." Then he turned to the four students. "And this, is Princess Celestia."

All four of the students bowed, but said nothing. Celestia raised a forehoof slightly and spoke in a soft tone.

"Please, that's really not necessary. I'm very pleased to meet all of you, and I thank you for coming to help me."

"She speaks a language we can understand?" Michael asked in astonishment, the four students straightening up from their bows.

Eric nodded. "She does … And now, I'm going to let you all get acquainted for a few minutes. I have to check on something," he said as he picked up his laptop bag and went back into the kitchen, opening it and setting the laptop on the table. Once again, the email program was still open, and a new message came in.

From: Dr. Robert Benson rbenson@iastate.edu

To: Dr. Eric Thompson ethompson@fnal.gov

You're in luck, Eric. We were able to recover two DNA samples from the object you sent, belonging to two separate individuals … Although I'm not quite sure what to make of them. I'm just going to go ahead and give you the report:

DNA sample #1: Two skin cells

Analysis: Human, male, probably of western European descent.

DNA sample #2: Strand of lavender colored fur

Analysis: Equine, female, matches no known species. 98% identical to Equus ferus.

… Eric … Where on Earth did you get DNA sample #2?

Eric raised an eyebrow as he looked at the screen. "Where on Earth indeed," he said quietly to himself in a perplexed tone. "We don't need to send Celestia to another galaxy … We need to send her right to our own backyard … But where is the door to the backyard? And how do we open it …"

44 - The Coming Storm

**Author's note:* I apologize sincerely for the long hiatus. It won't happen again. Thank you all so much for your patience. I hope you enjoy the chapter!*

The God Particle

Chapter 44: The Coming Storm

Luna looked down at the dinner the griffin guard had set in front of her. Once again, they had given her meat. And once again, wine to drink with it. She frowned, returning her attention to the guard.

“Why dost thou continue to waste this meat and wine by bringing it to me? When thou knowest perfectly well that Equestrian dietary laws and customs forbid me from eating meat or drinking alcohol?” she asked.

“You’ll eat when you get hungry enough, Princess. And you’ll drink when you get thirsty enough,” the guard responded in a mocking tone of voice, practically spitting the word ‘princess’.

Luna shook her head once. “Take it away.”

“Suit yourself,” the guard responded gruffly, pulling the tray back out from under the cell using a rope attached to it.

“Thy king is a fool,” Luna said, looking the guard square in the eyes. “How long dost thou think the griffins can survive without the sun? What dost thou think will happen when all of the plants freeze and die?”

“Do not speak of Lord Aetos that way. And besides, griffins don’t eat plants,” the guard responded simply.

“Art thou truly that ignorant? What dost thou think will happen to the plant-eating animals that thou rely on for thy food?”

The griffin fidgeted nervously for a few moments before responding. “I suppose they will probably starve to death.”

“There is no ‘probably’ about it. They will starve to death. And then what will thou eat?”

The guard looked at the floor as if he were searching for an answer in the cold, hard stone. The stone had no answers to give. “The king knows what he is doing,” he finally responded, then turned and walked away, taking the meat and wine with him.

Luna had detected the fear and uncertainty in his voice. No, he’s not certain at all that his king knows what he is doing, she thought to herself before returning to her own thoughts; although she could feel the dull, empty ache of hunger pangs in her belly and her throat was badly parched and very sore. Ever since she’d been captured four days ago, the griffins had offered her nothing to eat except meat, nothing to drink except wine. Yesterday, it was pork. Today, beef. Two days ago, they had even brought her meat from a manticore, or so they had claimed. She doubted even the griffins were bold enough to tangle with manticores when there was much easier and safer prey to be had. Each time, they had brought her choice cuts of meat: fillets from the beef, ribs from the pork. She knew they were only doing it to mock her and she hadn’t touched any of it. Being immortal, it wasn’t actually possible for her to starve to death or die from dehydration. But she could feel hunger pangs and terrible thirst, and she would become weaker if she went too long without eating or drinking. Whether the griffins knew they couldn’t starve her to death or cause her to dehydrate, she wasn’t sure. Better if they didn’t, she thought. Even the griffin king Aetos would not be bold or foolish enough to risk the wrath of Celestia if they were to let her sister starve to death or die of thirst. If they didn’t know, perhaps eventually they would bring her some food and drink she could actually consume. Once again, she felt her stomach protest at being empty. She turned her thoughts elsewhere, trying to take her mind off her hunger and thirst.

Luna had always prided herself on being the more intellectually curious of the two Royal Sisters. Where as Celestia handled most of the public affairs of Equestria, Luna preferred to spend her time in the quiet of the Royal Library, researching virtually every subject she could get her hooves on. While Celestia surrounded herself with members of the Royal Court and with the public in general, Luna spent most of her time alone, many days interacting only with her Council members. And even then, often only for an hour or so when she had dinner with them. She didn’t have very many friends. Whether that was because she wanted it that way or not, even she wasn’t sure. One thing was undeniable though: Luna was not the most socially adept of ponies. Her thousand years of exile on the moon had only made that worse. But whether by circumstance or by choice, Luna tended to be a loner. Normally, that didn’t bother her.

But now, she realized she was very lonely. She found herself hoping that James would attempt to commune with her again tonight simply because she wanted someone to talk to. But she doubted that he would. It was just too risky to attempt a communion unless he had something important to tell her. The griffins could not stop her from using her magic in the dream world, but they could prevent her from entering it if they found out she was able to do so.

Her thoughts focused on James. He was one of her few true friends she realized now. She had often thought most ponies didn’t care about her that much, given they slept through the nights she worked so hard to create. But James, she realized now, must truly care about her. Her sister had been right. Given her sometimes harsh treatment of him, nopony would have blamed him if he had run as far away from her as he could. But instead, he stuck with her, and she knew she didn’t deserve it. The more she thought about it, the more it pained her heart. Like a dull knife pushing deeper into it, twisting, turning.

The light clicking of talons against the cold stone floor outside of her cell brought her out of her thoughts. It was the same griffin that had brought her meal earlier. He stopped in front of her cell, his eyes diverted to the floor, hesitating for a moment before carefully pushing a dinner tray under the bars again. Then he spoke quietly, a hint of fear in his voice, his eyes never leaving the floor.

“I … I brought you some fruit and some water. It’s all we have that isn’t meat. We griffins don’t eat much that isn’t meat … Please don’t tell the guard captain … I’d be flogged if King Aetos were to find out I brought you anything other than meat.”

Without waiting for a response, he turned and left quickly, his talons once again making light tapping noises on the floor until the sounds disappeared into the distance.

Luna looked at the dinner tray for a moment, half expecting it to disappear in front of her very eyes only to have the griffin start laughing about how he had tricked her and mocked her again. When it didn’t, she lowered her head and sniffed at it carefully. It smelled like real fruit and there was no hint of any trickery. The water smelled like pure water. Slowly, she started to eat, then increased her pace, cleaning the plate quickly. The hunger pangs were gone now, and she quickly consumed the water. Her hunger satisfied and her thirst satiated, she allowed her spirit to feel just a bit lighter now. Maybe, she had gotten through to the guard. Maybe … just maybe … she had found a friend here.

o.O.o

James watched Twilight as the flying chariot continued to press on through the night sky towards Canterlot. Once again, she had risen to the occasion and rallied the ponies of Ponyville, just as she had done with the ponies in Canterlot. But lack of sleep and stress were catching up to her. He watched her chest rise and fall slowly as she got her first real rest since he had roused her out of bed in Ponyville four days ago. He himself was not tired and still seemed to be rejuvenated from whatever Luna had done to him when he had communed with her the previous night.

He turned his head to look out the window, but the continually falling temperatures had covered it in frost. The cold night air was smooth as glass and it made him uncomfortable. It was as if they were not moving at all. Like death itself had touched everything that once moved and stilled it and he were flying through an endless black void. He would have preferred if the air were turbulent. At least that would give him some reassurance that something outside was still moving. But at least the smooth air should give Twilight around four hours of uninterrupted rest.

He thought back to the speeches and rallying cries she had given now. How she had risen to the occasion and motivated the ponies of Canterlot and then done the same thing again with the ponies of Ponyville. How proud he was of her, and how proud he was to belong to her.

But then his heart sank, as if an anchor tied around it had been tossed overboard to drown it in the sea. He wasn’t really hers, and he never could be. He was a Royal Council member. His bride was Equestria. Anything that would distract him from his sworn service to Equestria and to his Princesses was something he had to shun. The anchor tugged at his heart painfully, a firm reminder that those distractions included romantic relationships. He silently cursed himself now. If only he had kept his mouth shut and never confessed his love for Twilight. Or better yet, if only he had been willing to admit to himself earlier on that he loved her. Perhaps he never would have joined the Council in the first place. But now, he was trapped. Duty and honor bound him to the service of his Princesses and to Equestria. There was no decision for him now, he realized in despair. He had made his decision the moment he swore the oath of fealty.

Briefly, his mind toyed with the idea of running away with Twilight, even if it meant he had to spend the rest of his life in hiding and on the run from the Royal Guards and the Princesses. He knew the punishment for oath-breaking and desertion. If he were caught, he would spend the rest of his life in the castle dungeon with no possibility of ever being released. And then he would never be allowed to see Twilight again. Would he accept all of those risks even for a chance that he could be with her forever?

His heart ached as he thought better of it. The life of a fugitive was no life for Twilight. She deserved better than that. And what chance did he really have anyway? Luna could enter his dreams at night. That meant she could probably track him down easily. And if Twilight were to run off with an oathbreaker, it would bring disgrace to her and her family. Even if he could beg the Princesses’ mercy for her and she were able to stay out of the dungeon, her future as Celestia’s personal student would be over. And even if Twilight were willing to accept those risks, he was no oathbreaker. The Princesses had put their complete trust in him and appointed him to one of the highest positions in all of Equestria. And he had accepted the appointment, knowing full well the consequences of doing so. And he knew he would never betray that trust. The fact that the punishment for a Council member who violated their oath was so severe underscored just how important it was for the Princesses to have Council members they could have complete trust in.

The anchor tugged his heart deeper under the crushing waves as he realized what he must do. He had to be honest with the Princesses as soon as they returned. He had to tell them about his relationship with Twilight. They would order him to end it, and he would be honor bound to obey. Telling Twilight was the part he dreaded the most. He knew it was better if he told her sooner rather than later before the two of them became even more attached to each other than they already were. But at the same time, she needed him to support her more than ever right now. No, he couldn’t tell her. At least not right now. She had enough to worry about.

He tried to put that out of his mind for now and focus on other things. There was nothing he could think of right now to help Luna, so mostly he thought about Celestia. His mind poured over formulas, equations, and everything else he knew about high-energy particle physics. He tried to recall the exact parameters of the experiment he had run the night he was transported to this world. The moment of the earthquake flashed through his mind. Figures, flashing warnings on the screen. Anything at all he could remember that might help explain how he had been brought here. Anything that might help Eric piece together the puzzle.

He wasn’t sure how long he thought about it, but he must have lost track of time. A slight pressure change in his ears told him that the pegasus guards had begun their descent towards Canterlot. He said a silent prayer to Luna that they hadn’t encountered any dragons or griffins on the flight back, then looked at the window. For the first time since leaving Ponyville, he could see light dancing on the frost, the first sign that there was life outside of the chariot he rode in. The light comforted him, as if it were welcoming him home to Canterlot.

The ride became choppy as the descent continued, updrafts from the city’s tall buildings buffeting them like a ship riding the waves at sea. He used the warmth of his hand to melt some of the frost on the window and looked out, frowning as he saw large white snowflakes swirling like stars in the city lights. The weather pegasi were supposed to be keeping it cloudy. But they were not supposed to be making it snow. He turned his head back to see Twilight standing up, shaking out her mane and tail.

“Are we close to Canterlot yet?” she asked.

“We’re landing now,” he answered, forcing a small smile.

“We’re landing already?”

He nodded. “You’ve been asleep for almost four hours, Twilight.”

“Why didn’t you wake me up?”

“You should take the rest when you can get it, Twilight. You won’t be getting much more of it anytime soon. Between the Beyond, the war with the griffins, the looming freeze, and trying to figure out how to get Their Majesties back, a lot of ponies are going to be needing to talk to you when we land.”

She frowned, but nodded once, her eyes widening as she looked out the window. “Why is it snowing?” she asked.

“That’s the first thing I intend to ask Rainbow Dash when I see her. If it’s alright, I’d like to go to the armory and pick up some equipment to run some atmosphere tests.”

She nodded. “I’ll go brief the Council and find out if they’ve learned anything new. Meet me there as soon as you’re able.”

“I will,” he assured her as the chariot touched down and came to a stop. Even in the inclement weather, the skilled pegasus guards made a landing that any airline pilot would envy.

An icy blast hit him as soon as the chariot door opened. Snowflakes battered his face like a thousand tiny frozen arrows had been launched at him. The temperature had definitely fallen even since they had left Ponyville. He stepped out and held the door for Twilight, tucking his hands into the sleeves of his robe once she had exited.

“I’ll join you in the Council meeting room shortly,” he said as she started towards the castle and he turned towards the armory, the cold wind continuing to howl fiercely. He bent his head, using the hood of his robe to shield his face from the biting snow. Hearing a sudden thump beside him, he turned his head to see Rainbow Dash folding her wings to her side and taking up a walk next to him.

“Why is it snowing, Dash?” he asked with more annoyance and displeasure in his voice than he had intended.

“I’m sorry, James … We’re doing the best we can. But we just can’t keep up. We’re … starting to lose control of the weather,” she answered with a sincere note of apology in her voice. Normally, she would have shot back at him over the tone he had used with just as much annoyance and displeasure as he had given her. But now, even the normally feisty pegasus seemed exhausted and resigned, as if she had given up the fight. She stretched her wings once with difficulty and James could hear ice crystals popping and shattering as they broke free and fell to the ground. He frowned and immediately felt bad for snapping at her.

“I’m sorry I got short with you, Dash. I know you’re doing the best you can. Go inside and warm up. And take the rest of your team with you. You could all use a break. I’m gonna try to get an atmosphere sample to find out exactly what’s going on up there. Then we can reevaluate our plan of attack.”

Dash simply nodded in response before turning and walking towards the castle. It wasn’t like the feisty pegasus to walk when she could fly. She must be exhausted, he thought as he neared the armory, pulling the door open and stepping inside. He had to fight to pull the door closed again, the wind trying to yank it away from him as if the cold were some malevolent spirit attempting to gain entry so it could cover everything.

The warm air inside the armory was inviting and tempting. He considered staying there to warm up for a bit, but there was no time for that. He quickly gathered the instruments he needed and then went back outside into the cold, walking towards the courtyard,. At least the snow was at his back now, the wind not hitting him in the face. Upon nearing the courtyard, he heard another light thump to his right and turned his head, expecting to see Rainbow Dash again. Instead, he saw a yellow pegasus in a blue flight suit that he recognized well from the airfield.

“Captain Spitfire,” he acknowledged. “It’s an honor. Under better circumstances, I’d be asking you for your autograph.”

“The pleasure is mine. I’m really sorry to hear about what happened to you. That the Princess won’t let you go home and all.” she responded sympathetically.

“You know about that?” he said, surprised.

“All of Equestria knows about that, James. I believe the tabloid headlines were ‘Princess Celestia says NO! Refuses to allow Equestria’s human to leave.’”

Equestria’s human? Is that how the tabloids were referring to him? Somepony from the castle must have overheard Twilight’s argument with Celestia.

“Well, whoever sold it to the tabloids, I hope they got paid well. What can I do for you, Captain?”

“Actually, I was wondering if there was anything I could do for you. There’s uh … not much call for airshows these days.”

He thought for several moments. He did need a pegasus to carry the weather instrument package to high altitude and get the atmosphere sample. Rainbow Dash and her team were all too exhausted to do it right now, and all of the pegasus guards were either taking their rest or patrolling the skies for griffins and dragons. He stopped and turned towards her.

“Actually, yes, there is something you can do for me. I need a high altitude weather sample,” he said, showing her the instrument package and explaining to her how to collect the sample.

“I’m on it,” she responded, turning and spreading her wings as she prepared to leap into the sky again.

“And Captain?”

“Yes?” She paused in mid-leap and turned back to look at him.

“No heroics, okay? It’s gonna be rough up there. There’ll be severe turbulence and wind shear, and it’ll be very cold. Your wings will ice up quickly … If you don’t think you can get it, don’t kill yourself trying.”

“I got it. Don’t worry,” she responded, spreading her wings again and leaping into the sky. He turned his head skyward to watch her, the snowflakes battering his face. But within a few seconds, she had disappeared into the cloud layer.

With a wince, he tucked his hands back into the sleeves of his robe to keep them warm. He wondered now if he had made a mistake sending Spitfire up on this assignment. After all, she was the Captain of the Wonderbolts; a daredevil aerobatics team. Asking her not to do any heroics was like asking most ponies not to breathe. He hoped he hadn’t sent her to her death.

The minutes passed and he scanned the sky for any sign of her, becoming more worried every passing moment when all he saw was dense gray cloud and falling snow. She should have been back by now. He didn’t even notice the cold now, or the snowflakes stinging his face as he worried for Spitfire’s safety.

Finally, he spotted her. A dark silhouette reflecting the lights of the city. With a panic, he realized she was coming in too fast. He rushed towards her just as she hit the ground, her legs collapsing underneath her as she impacted with an audible thud.

“Spitfire!” he called out as he continued to race towards her.

For a moment, she didn’t move, and he feared the worst. Then, he saw her rise slowly and shake herself, her wings stretching out with several loud popping noises as the ice that had formed on them began to break off and fall to the ground. She took a step forward, her left foreleg nearly giving out.

“You’re hurt,” he said with a frown, stopping when he had reached her. She still had the instrument package in her mouth and he reached out his hand to take it from her.

“It’s not broken. Just a sprain. I’ll be alright,” she said with some effort, after dropping the package in his hand. “It took me a long time to get up to altitude. Buffeted by lots of downdrafts. And I picked up a lot of ice weight. But I got the sample,” she said, smiling slightly.

He nodded once. “Good work, Captain.” Then he touched her wings, wincing at how cold and brittle they felt. “Your wings are completely frozen. Lets hurry up and get you inside.”

He led her into the castle and into one of the dining areas, finding a spot near the hearth. By now, he was shivering himself from cold. The warm, blazing fire was welcome relief. He went to the kitchen and poured a mug of hot apple cider for the frozen pegasus, returning shortly and receiving a nod of thanks from her as she spread her frozen wings in front of the glowing fire. As tempting as the fire and hot cider was, he knew Twilight would be waiting for him at the Council meeting. Once again, he made sure Spitfire was going to be okay, and upon her assurance that she would be, he started for the Council meeting room, rubbing his frozen hands together to warm them as he went, the snowflakes slowly melting off his robe.

As he walked, he examined the readings on the weather instrument Spitfire had carried with her. He frowned at the results. The temperature aloft was well below freezing, the pressure low, and he presumed falling even lower. The atmosphere, highly unstable. But why were the pegasi losing control of the weather? He thought about that problem as he walked, finally reaching the Council meeting room. The Royal Guards posted outside nodded to him, but said nothing, opening the door for him. The sound of raised voices immediately assaulted his ears.

Stepping inside, he found Captain Swordstorm facing off with Captain Stardust, the Captain of the Lunar Guard, the fur on the back of the necks of both of them raised slightly and their ears swiveled backwards; both equine body language signs that James learned long ago meant aggression and anger. Twilight herself, had an exasperated look on her muzzle. Captain Swordstorm was speaking in an assertive and aggressive tone.

“As it is, I don’t have enough forces on the eastern seaboard to stop a full scale invasion of the griffin army if they were to cross the Sea of Tears!”

“Even before the attack on Ponyville, the griffins committed an act of war the moment they kidnapped Her Majesty, Princess Luna!” Captain Stardust responded angrily. “You talk of repelling an invasion when we should be the ones launching a full scale invasion of the griffin homeland!”

Captain Swordstorm responded in an equally aggressive tone. “Do you have any idea the sheer size of the force I would need to take over the Sea of Tears to invade the griffin homeland? And how unfit for battle my forces would be by the time we got there? Not to mention the inherent danger of attempting to cross the Sea of Tears in this kind of weather. And furthermore, I have precious few enough guards protecting the northern barrier as it is. If, as Counselor Moon Song says, the barrier is nearly weak enough for aislings to start entering Equestria, would you have me leave Equestria defenseless against their attack because my forces are across the Sea fighting the griffins?”

“Lets not forget, we have our great unknown,” Counselor Storm Runner added before Captain Stardust could answer “The dragons. We still don’t know if the dragons that attacked Her Majesty’s convoy were rogue, or if the Elder Dragon Council is behind the attack. Ambassador Firewing still hasn’t made contact with us.”

“So what are you suggesting, Captain Swordstorm? That we should just ignore the fact that the griffins are holding Her Majesty?” the Lunar Guard Captain responded angrily.

“That’s not what I’m suggesting at all! But even if we were to invade the griffin homeland, that’s not going to rescue Princess Luna. We don’t even know where they are holding her! You need to cool your hooves a bit, Captain Stardust!” Swordstorm responded, stomping his hoof once in anger.

“I need to cool my hooves? Let’s not forget the griffins killed more than ten of my Lunar Guards! So don’t tell me to cool my hooves!”

Captain Swordstorm was about to respond, but Twilight raised a hoof. Stopping him and looking to James. “You haven’t offered your opinion yet. What do you think?”

James didn’t have to think long to give his answer. “Well, I haven’t heard most of the conversation. But I agree with Captain Swordstorm. An invasion of the griffin homeland would be folly. The pegasi are losing control of the weather and attempting to cross the Sea of Tears in this kind of weather is simply too dangerous. We can’t afford to leave the barrier unprotected and we don’t know what the Elder Dragon Council’s intentions are. And furthermore, any invasion that does cross the sea would be cut off as the weather continues to worsen.”

Twilight nodded once. “And why are the pegasi losing control of the weather?” James could detect the frustration in her voice, as well as a hint of annoyance. But he didn’t have an answer for her.

“I don’t know, milady,” he responded simply.

“You don’t know …” she responded, the annoyance in her voice evident now.

“No, milady, I don’t,” he responded, allowing a hint of annoyance to creep into his own voice now. “Nopony, and no human for that matter has ever seen anything like this. I have nothing to compare it to either in Equestria or Earth.”

Twilight shook her head. “That’s not good enough, Counselor,” she said, rebuking him harshly. He felt the sting of her words cutting into him, but he didn’t show it. He thought for a moment before responding, checking his own tone of voice now.

“The atmosphere is growing more unstable. If I had to give you my best guess, milady … I’d say that the magic of the Princesses sustains order and stability in this world. And with both Princesses missing, and that magic gone, that order and stability is breaking down. The atmosphere will only continue to grow more unstable, and we will see wilder and wilder weather swings … At least until it gets too cold for even the weather to change anymore.”

She frowned but nodded once. “And if the pegasi are losing control, is there any point in continuing to send them up?”

“Probably not, milady. They will only become less and less effective in the face of increasing danger to themselves as the weather gets worse.”

For several moments, she said nothing, appearing to be deep in thought. Finally, she responded in a resigned tone. “Very well … Send out the order to the weather teams to suspend all weather operations. Any weather pegasi that is able should be reassigned to help Applejack with harvesting operations. We are going to have to work faster at that now that we can’t control the weather anymore and temperatures will be dropping faster.”

“As you say, milady,” James responded.

“And what of the griffin threat?” Captain Swordstorm asked. James took it upon himself to respond.

“If the griffin army is going to cross the Sea of Tears for an invasion of Equestria, they would have to do it soon. Otherwise they will be crossing by boat. Even now, I doubt they would risk flying across that much open water in this kind of weather. Even a boat crossing would be very dangerous in the dark with no moonlight to guide them.”

“King Aetos is hardly one to be concerned with the safety of his soldiers,” Captain Stardust remarked. “And the griffins historically have been willing to accept extremely high casualty rates to obtain victory.”

“It may be as you say, Captain. But with conditions the way they are now, his army might not have enough battle ready soldiers by the time they get across the sea to mount an effective invasion, And if we were able to defeat his invasion force, that would leave King Aetos in a pretty big bind.” James responded.

For at least the next two hours, the arguments continued between the various guard captains about how best to deploy their forces, respond to the threat from the griffins, what the Elder Dragon Council might be up to, and what to make of the weakening barrier and the threat from the Beyond. James listened intently. He wasn’t a military strategist by any stretch of the imagination, but one thing became painfully obvious to him. The Guard was simply spread too thin. They didn’t have the forces necessary to deal with multiple threats from multiple different parts of the world. He glanced at Twilight and could tell from the look in her eyes that she was thinking the same thing.

Finally, she raised her hooves and called a stop to the arguing, speaking loudly in a frustrated and assertive voice.

“I simply don’t have enough information to make a good decision!”

The room was quiet now, and nopony spoke. Twilight took a few moments and appeared to calm down slightly before speaking again.

“Send out the call to activate the reserve guard units. And put out the call for volunteers willing to serve. For now … I want the Royal Council to take some rest. I know you’ve all been working hard and have been up for a long time. Be back here in six hours.”

James, turned to leave, along with the other members of the Council. Twilight spoke again, once again, raising her voice.

“And find Ambassador Firewing! I want that dragon captured and brought here for questioning!” she said assertively, stomping her hoof for emphasis.

“As you say, milady,” Captain Swordstorm responded before turning to take his leave. James briefly considered staying to talk to Twilight. But, she had told him to get some rest. So instead, he filed out with the other counselors and made his way back to the Council living quarters.

As he walked, he thought about how Twilight had gotten short with him during the Council meeting. He was still a little upset about it and he wondered if she had come to the same conclusion he had on the flight: That their relationship simply wasn’t feasible given he was a Council member. It might be better if she had. That would save him from having to tell her himself. But on the other hand, he doubted that even if she had come to that conclusion, it would cause her to take that sort of stern attitude with him. Probably, it was just the amount of stress she was under, combined with not having enough information to make good decisions, he decided. He followed Storm Runner into the Council living quarters, then went down the hall towards his room.

Opening the door, he raised an eyebrow to find a small package waiting on his desk. He walked over and picked it up, It was unremarkable, wrapped in plain brown paper with no indication of the sender. Carefully, he unwrapped the paper. Inside, was a picture of the Wonderbolts in tight formation, performing a straight vertical climb into a clear, blue sky. On the bottom right, was hoof-writing:

James,

Reach for the sky, aim for the stars. And remember, things don’t always work out the way we planned. But they do always work out.

Spitfire

He looked at the photo for a bit longer, thinking back to the interview he had read so many months ago in Ponyville. How she had wanted to be a Pegasus Guard, but was rejected for not meeting the size requirements, and how it was because of that rejection that she had gone on to found the Wonderbolts. Smiling a bit now, he took off his robe, and climbed into bed.

**Author's note:* Thank you all again for your patience. I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Here's some TGP Art I did if you are interested. Some of it is from scenes that have already happened. Others are teasers from future chapters. Hope you enjoy it!*

45 - Captain Swordstorm

Author's Note: I know it's been a very long time since I have dealt with anything on Earth due to the long hiatus. If the beginning of this chapter leaves you confused, please skim chapter 43 to refresh your memory. Thanks.

The God Particle

Chapter 45: Captain Swordstorm

After coming up from their bow, the four young doctoral students simply stared at Celestia, their faces awash with awe and wonder. She stared back at them, all of the eyes on her making her uncomfortable. It was Thomas who finally spoke first.

"Please don't take this the wrong way, Your Majesty, but I can't help but still wonder if this isn't some kind of elaborate prank that Eric is pulling on us."

"Would that it was a prank," Celestia responded solemnly. "Unfortunately, it's all too serious."

Thomas nodded slightly, appearing to be lost in thought for a moment, as if fighting some internal battle over whether he should say what was on his mind or not. Finally, he spoke again.

"So … you're a winged unicorn … Can you do magic?"

Celestia nodded once in response, feeling a slight bit of annoyance rise within her that this human seemed to think she was some kind of joke, or that this whole thing was a prank. "I can," she answered simply.

"Can you show me some, Your Majesty? Just to prove this isn't a prank of Eric's?"

Show him some, Celestia thought to herself. Never in her life had she had her magical ability questioned before. Not even by humans. Even James and Eric had not questioned her abilities. But if he didn't believe her and wanted to see some magic? Well, she would show him some.

She concentrated slightly and her horn began to glow with a soft, golden aura. Another soft, golden sphere appeared in front of Thomas. It expanded, enveloping him until it had surrounded his whole body, as if he were inside a bubble. Then, she watched his eyes go wide as she lifted him off the ground, floating him towards the ceiling of the cabin. He let out a brief cry of surprise, his arms and legs flailing for a moment as his feet left the ground. But then he stopped and simply stared at her, his eyes wide with awe. It required virtually no effort and no energy at all for Celestia to keep him suspended near the ceiling like that. The other students simply stared in amazement at Thomas' suspended form.

"That's cute, Thomas," Annette finally said with a short, nervous laugh. "Are you in on this with Eric?"

"I know nothing about any prank … I swear," Thomas responded with wonder and a bit of apprehension.

"This shouldn't be possible," Wendy said with awe in her voice. "Telekinesis violates several laws of physics … The inverse square law … The law of conservation of momentum … The—"

"Technically, it's not telekinesis," Celestia responded, still keeping Thomas floating near the ceiling of the room. "It's an anti-gravity spell."

"That should be even less possible. This shouldn't be able to happen," Wendy responded, her eyes getting even wider.

"Well, it is happening!" Thomas responded with impatience before turning his eyes back to Celestia. "Your Majesty … Could you please put me down now?"

She nodded once and slowly lowered him to the ground, setting him down gently, the golden sphere around him melting away into nothing. Once on the ground, Thomas took a few cautious steps, staring at the floor as if he expected it to fall out from under him and to find himself back in the air again. The other three students just continued to stare at her in amazement. Finally, he looked back up at her.

"I'm sorry … I didn't believe you, Your Majesty," he stammered.

"It's nothing. And please, you can all just call me Celestia, or Princess if you aren't comfortable being so informal," Celestia responded, shaking her head slightly and feeling a twinge of guilt over her chosen display of magic now. She had forgotten that both James and Eric already knew of her magical abilities before they had met her. James had already seen Twilight perform magic. And Eric had read the book from Equestria and knew first hand that she could control the sun.

"So you really are stranded here," Thomas said with a frown, to which she only nodded sadly.

For a few long moments, no one said anything more, Wendy finally breaking the quiet.

"Princess … While we wait for Eric to come back and fill us in … Is there any chance you could demonstrate that anti-gravity spell again? On me?"

Celestia blinked, but nodded once. "If you wish," she responded, her horn starting to glow slightly again.

"I'd be interested in trying it too, Princess," Annette responded.

Despite the grim situation, Celestia laughed slightly and smiled. "How about I just demonstrate it on all of you," she said, as she increased the power of her spell, her horn glowing a bit brighter as the sphere expanded to enclose all of the students. Once again, even with four students, it required almost no energy from her at all to lift them and keep them suspended.

Hearing a noise to her left, she turned her head slightly, not losing concentration on her spell, to see Eric entering the room. He looked at her for a brief moment, blinked, and then looked at the four suspended students before shaking his head slightly.

"I'm sure you are all having loads of fun playing 'Let's pretend I'm an astronaut' with Celestia, but we have a lot of work to do, and it's time to get started."

Celestia nodded once and then gently lowered all of the students to the floor, the golden aura around them dissipating like a morning fog in the sun. Then she turned her attention back to Eric.

"To start with, I discovered something very interesting that changes things entirely," he said, holding up a printout of the email with the DNA testing results. "The Princess isn't from another planet. At least not as we would traditionally think of it. These are the results of DNA testing I had done on a piece of fur from one of her subjects that happened to arrive with a package we received from her world before I left Chicago."

The students stared at the printout, Michael finally speaking.

"Then her kind is related to equines on our own planet? That's the only possible explanation for a DNA match that close." Celestia found herself confused, and somewhat shocked at the revelation. But she didn't interrupt, choosing instead to just listen and let Eric and his students continue to discuss the meaning of what they had discovered.

"That would seem to be the only explanation, yes," Eric responded.

"And I trust you've developed a hypothesis on how this is possible that you are going to share with us?" Annette prodded.

Eric nodded once. "I have a working hypothesis, yes. One that is supported by some additional information I know about her world. Most of the animals we are familiar with, also exist her world, which is called Equestria. However, there are no humans there. So my current thinking is that at some point in the past, our two worlds or dimensions were connected in a way that allowed genetic material to flow freely between them. But sometime after the evolution of most animals but before the evolution of modern humans. Some kind of cataclysmic event caused the two dimensions to become separated, thus severing the flow of genetic material between the two, and causing evolution to continue on two completely separate paths. So the first question, is what kind of event could be powerful enough to rip two entire dimensions apart?"

"That's an awfully big leap of faith to take right now, Eric. The idea that there are other dimensions out there that can support entire worlds and yet until now, we've never seen any evidence of their existence is pretty far-fetched," Annette stated

Eric nodded once. "I know it's far-fetched. But unless you have any better ideas, it's the best one I can come up with right now. So again, the question is what kind of event could have occurred that is so powerful, it could split apart two entire dimensions?"

"A gamma ray burst from a nearby star that went hypernova. It's the only thing that could even be remotely powerful enough short of the big bang itself. And we know this obviously occurred long after that," Wendy suggested.

"Good thinking," Eric nodded. "Thoughts on how we can find evidence to support it?" It was Thomas that responded.

"After the evolution of modern animals but before the evolution of humans puts us somewhere around two to three million years ago. A gamma ray burst that powerful should have caused a mass extinction event. If we find one in that time frame, I think it corroborates the hypothesis fairly well."

Eric nodded once. "Start researching and let me know what you find."

"Even if this hypothesis turns out to be correct and we can determine when the gamma ray burst that likely caused this happened, it's hard to see what good it does us. After all, we can't observe something that happened two to three millions years ago," Annette added.

"No, we can't," Michael responded. "But we can pull the data on more recent gamma ray bursts and look for any kind of unexpected anomalies. That might help us piece together what happened and how it happened. And by learning that, we might be able to figure out how to open a temporary dimensional corridor on a much smaller scale."

"I can contact my colleagues from when I did my internship at NASA," Wendy suggested. "They can send me the data from the Vela and Swift satellites."

Eric nodded. "Good. Make it happen as quickly as possible." Wendy nodded in response.

"What exactly is it we will be looking for though?" she asked.

"This is one of those cases where we don't know what we're looking for, but we'll know it when we see it," Eric responded. "Alright, to summarize, we need to research whether there were any mass extinction events between two and three million years ago that could be contributed to a gamma ray burst. And we need to get the data from the Vela and Swift satellites. In addition, there is still data from the Tevatron's collision detectors that we can analyze. There's not a lot because the detectors failed shortly after the earthquake began. But we might find something. So let's get busy, And remember, we don't know how much time we have, so let's work as fast and efficiently as possible."

o.O.o

A sound invaded James' mind as he slept in his Council room, something akin to a bee buzzing in his ear, or horn of some type. As he awoke and the fog cleared from his mind, he recognized it as the Canterlot defense sirens sounding. Quickly, he scrambled out of bed, grabbing his Council robe and throwing it on over his head as he made for the door. Stepping out into the hall, he found his fellow Council members vacating their rooms to join him. None of them said anything as they raced down the hall and out of the Council living area. None of them had to say anything.

Making his way through the castle hallways, James stepped outside, the sound of the defense sirens assaulting his ears much louder now. He glanced around, seeing the Royal Guard rushing from their barracks and lining up. Pegasus Guard squadrons formed up in the courtyard, awaiting their orders to fly. To his left and right, Unicorn Guards cast their light spells, their beams shooting into the sky, reflecting off the dancing and swirling snowflakes and illuminating various parts of the night like searchlights as they scanned for incoming threats. Other units of Unicorn Guards formed up and stood ready to defend the city with their deadly range spells of flame orbs, ice blades, and lightning bolts. In front of the Unicorn Guards, Earth pony archers stood ready to protect them, their deadly, razor sharp arrows ready to cut through the night sky and through any griffin that got in their way. With a precision that could only come from thousands of hours of drill practice, every guard knew where they were supposed to be, and what their role was in the defense of the city.

In addition, he also noticed stallions rushing from their homes to come to the defense of the city. These stallions, who were not Guard members, looked more confused, and quickly ran to the nearest Royal Guard member for further guidance as to what they should do, and where they were most needed.

James looked around more, finally spotting Captain Swordstorm rushing to give orders to his guards. He raced over to him, the pegasus turning and answering his question before he asked.

"Scouts spotted a griffin army squadron about eighty thousand strides to the east, inbound for Canterlot." He had shouted it in order to be heard over the wailing of the defense sirens.

James took in the information while looking around once more, then turned back to the Captain.

"Where's Twilight?" he asked. But before the Captain could answer, he saw her racing down the castle stairs to the courtyard, where she stopped next to him.

"Scouts spotted a squadron of griffin army soldiers about eighty thousand strides to the east, inbound for the city," he repeated for Twilight.

"How many?" she asked.

"They counted thirty-five."

"Thirty-five?" James asked in surprise. "It would be suicide for them to attack a city like Canterlot with a force of only thirty-five. Even without the Pegasus Guard to intercept them, the Unicorn and Earth pony ground defenses would slaughter them in just a minute or two."

"I agree," Swordstorm nodded. "But we can't be sure that there aren't other squadrons inbound that the scouts haven't spotted yet."

"Sir!" James heard from behind, seeing another Pegasus Guard rush up to them, stop, and give a quick salute to Captain Swordstorm. "Another scout has come back, sir. The inbound griffin squadron has raised the green flag."

"The green flag?" Twilight asked.

"The flag of surrender," Captain Swordstorm responded. "It would seem their squadron commander wants to talk instead of do battle."

"How can we be certain it isn't a trick?" Twilight asked.

"It's recognized as a war crime throughout the world to fly the green flag with false intentions," Captain Swordstorm responded. "And I have no doubt their squadron leader will honor that. After all, if he were to fly the green flag in deceit and trick us, it would only ensure that next time we did battle with griffin forces, we would be forced to ignore the green flag, even if they really were trying to surrender."

Twilight nodded once and thought for a few moments before responding. When she did, it was with a confidence suggesting she had found her stride as a leader.

"Force them to land well outside of Canterlot. Find out what they want. Do not allow them to get any closer than thirty thousand strides from the city border. You are authorized to use whatever force necessary to prevent them from coming closer than that. And take transport chariots with you in case you need to take prisoners."

"It will be done, Milady," Captain Swordstorm responded, snapping a quick salute to Twilight before turning and galloping to give one of his Pegasus Guard squadrons the order. Then, the guards spread their wings and took to the sky, Captain Swordstorm taking off with them and taking his place at the head of the squadron. A few seconds later, they made a sharp left bank, turning east and flying to intercept the griffins.

o.O.o

It took Captain Swordstorm and his squadron about twenty minutes to close the distance from Canterlot to the incoming griffins. Squinting through the darkness and the snow, he was just able to make out a glow from a torch reflecting off the surface of the green flag carried by the griffin squadron leader. Motioning behind him for his squadron to be ready, he cautiously moved in, igniting a magical signal flare to get the griffin leader's attention. The leader acknowledged the signal by igniting a flare of his own, the red glow flickering like a ghostly specter through the driving night snow. Once Captain Swordstorm was certain he had the other's attention, he moved his flare in a circle and in a downward motion, pointing it towards the ground, the intended signal being that the griffin squadron should turn around to avoid coming any closer to Canterlot, and then descend for a landing. The griffin leader acknowledged with a wave of his own flare. Then, the griffin squadron banked sharply towards the right making a half-circle turn as they began to descend towards the ground at a relatively steep angle. Captain Swordstorm motioned for his own squadron to do the same, and they began to shadow the griffins to the ground. Once they were on the ground, Captain Swordstorm addressed his squadron.

"Form up in defensive formation! Skydart, Icestrider, with me!" he called out, the squadron forming up as the two pegasi he had called out by name stepped forward and flanked him on both sides. He watched as the griffin squadron leader mirrored his own actions, their main force forming up defensively, two of his lieutenants stepping forward to flank him on either side. Then, the six of them began walking towards each other, stopping mid-field between two defensive lines just a few paces apart, the tension between the two opposing armies heavier than even the falling snow. The griffin captain spoke first.

"Captain Swordstorm. I must say it is an honor to finally meet you. Your strategic and tactical battle skills are nothing short of legendary. I have spent many hours studying you and your mastery of the art of warfare in the hopes that someday, I may be half the tactician that you are." Whether the griffin captain was being sincere or not, was impossible to tell.

"Let's cut the bullshit and get right to the point, Commander," Captain Swordstorm responded, aggression and anger in his voice, the memory of the unprovoked and surprise attack on Ponyville still fresh in his mind. "You've come an awfully long way just to surrender before even reaching your target. What are you doing here?"

"What does it look like we're doing, Captain? We're defecting," the opposing captain stated with more than a hint of hostility in his voice. Captain Swordstorm raised an eyebrow at that.

"Defecting? Why? Your king —"

"Our king is a fool who would see us all die in a vain attempt to satisfy his lust for power!" the griffin captain responded in an impatient tone of voice, although all hint of hostility was gone now.

"And what am I supposed to do with you and your soldiers then? Take you as prisoners of war?"

"That is one option available to you, Captain. But it would be a terrible waste of thirty-five skilled warriors. We would pledge our services to your Regent, Lady Twilight Sparkle, and fight for her as we would fight for our king were he not intent on destroying his own kingdom."

Captain Swordstorm raised an eyebrow again. Even the two guards flanking him couldn't resist doing the same. He hesitated for several moments before answering. When he spoke, it was with a tone of disbelief.

"And after the surprise and unprovoked attack on Ponyville, why should I trust you to remain loyal to us in battle? Why should I trust you to fight for Equestria?"

The griffin captain shook his head slightly in response. "We aren't fighting for Equestria, Captain. We are fighting for the survival of the griffins. Whatever disagreements we may have with Equestria are secondary at this point. We need your Princesses restored to power just as much as you do. Without Celestia's sun, we will soon freeze to death. Without Luna's moon, the tide of the Sea of Tears no longer rises. The lack of moon tides on the sea has devastated our fishing industry. Already, our people suffer from food shortages. Instead of making prisoners of us, let us fight for you. If you do that, Captain, more of us will come to your aid as the king's folly becomes more apparent. This, I promise you."

"If you want to help us, tell us where they are holding Princess Luna", Captain Swordstorm responded, getting a frown from the griffin captain in response, or at least the closest imitation it was possible for a griffin to make of a frown.

"Would that I could, Captain. But we don't know where they are holding her. I do know, however, that she has found a friend on the inside. He will help her escape when the time comes, assuming we can get word to him of any impending rescue attempt."

"Help her escape? Or ensure the griffins have ample warning that we are coming so they can move her or be ready for our attack," he responded dubiously, but didn't wait for an answer. "With regards to letting you fight for us, that is a decision I cannot make without conferring with Lady Twilight and the Royal Council first."

"I understand, Captain. And as a token of good faith, I and my soldiers will accompany you to Canterlot as your prisoners."

"Both you and your soldiers will have to be placed in restraints and wing bindings. And I can make no promises that you will be allowed to fight. And the decision could end up being to hold you as prisoners of war until this whole thing is over. The only thing I can promise is that if Lady Twilight does decide to hold you as prisoners, you will not be mistreated."

"I understand the necessity for that, Captain. And we are willing to accept that possibility."

"Very well," Captain Swordstorm responded. "Inform your soldiers then, Commander," he said. The griffin commander nodded, then turned on his heel, along with his lieutenants and began to walk back towards his squadron, Captain Swordstorm and his own escort doing the same.

Upon returning to his squadron, Captain Swordstorm addressed them once again.

"They're defectors who want to fight for us."

For a moment, nopony in his squadron said anything. Then, he heard a couple small bouts of laughter from within their ranks.

"No, I'm serious. They really are," he said, causing the laughter to stop. Now all of them were quiet and just looked to him for what they should do next.

"Take them as prisoners. Get them in restraints and wing bindings and loaded into the transport chariots. They will offer no resistance. Lady Twilight and the Council will decide whether to trust them and allow them to fight, or whether they will simply remain prisoners of war."

"Yes sir!" his squadron guards responded in unison before falling out of formation and attending to the task of getting the griffins restrained and loaded into the chariots. As the griffin commander had promised, they offered no resistance, allowing the restraints to be put on willingly, and making no protest as they were loaded into the transport chariots. It didn't take long to do so, and soon they were in the air and on their way back to Canterlot, the driving snow and frigid night air biting into their wings and faces once more.

As they flew back towards Canterlot, Captain Swordstorm would have given anything to have the weather pegasi blazing sky trail for them. They had been fortunate on the flight away from Canterlot to intercept the griffins in that they had a strong tail wind helping them to get here quickly. But now, on the way back, they were paying the price and bucking a strong headwind. Whereas it had taken them only twenty minutes to reach the intercept point, he estimated it was going to take them an hour to get back to Canterlot, especially with the heavily loaded chariots slowing them down. He adjusted his wings slightly, yawing towards one of his squadron members. The wind and weather proof lanterns mounted on the transport chariots provided just enough illumination for him to see the other members of his squadron in the pitch black. Beyond the small sphere of light cast by the lanterns, it was as if their world ended and met the vastness of space. He had to shout to be heard over the wind noise.

"Go up to higher altitude and see if you can find more favorable wind conditions! Report back to me when you return!"

"Yes, sir!" the guard responded before pitching up and rising above the rest of the squadron. Captain Swordstorm tilted his head up to watch him go. With the only available light coming from the lanterns on the chariots and the driving snow reducing visibility to less than fifty strides, it was only a few seconds before he had lost sight of him completely.

He turned his attention back forward, waiting for the high altitude scout to return. Briefly, he had considered that lighting the lanterns on the chariots was a risk as it might allow other griffin flights to spot them. But with the snow driving as hard as it was, and visibilities reduced as far as they were, he had concluded that any risk was minimal, and most probably, nonexistent. The griffins would practically have to be right in their formation before they would be able to see them. The scout returned a few minutes later.

"The winds are more favorable at higher altitude, sir. But there's also severe turbulence. The guards could handle it, but the chariots would have to slow down or risk structural failure."

Captain Swordstorm frowned at that. If the chariots had to slow down, they probably wouldn't save any time flying at a higher altitude, even if the winds were more favorable. It would mean his guards wouldn't have to work as hard bucking the headwind, but if there was any risk of structural failure to the chariots at all, it was a risk he couldn't take. If the chariots came apart, the griffin prisoners inside them would not be able to fly due to their wings being bound, and they would fall to their deaths. Killing his prisoners was not a risk he was willing to take. With resignation, he shouted back to the scout.

"We'll stay at this altitude then. But send two messengers on ahead at the higher altitude. Tell them to brief Lady Twilight and the Council on what's happened here. Also, tell them that at least for now, they can sound the all clear on the defense condition."

"Yes, sir," the scout responded before falling back and relaying the information to two of the guards. Then, those guards pitched up and quickly disappeared above them into the driving snow as they hurried their way back to Canterlot.

o.O.o

When the pegasus messenger arrived back in Canterlot, Twilight and the Royal Council took his report of the surrendering griffins who wished to fight for Equestria.

"Thank you," Twilight responded after he had finished. "Go to the kitchen and warm up. Get some hot tea."

"Thank you, My Lady," he responded, giving a quick salute before turning and leaving. Twilight turned and faced the Council members now.

"Sound the all clear siren. Tell the Royal Guard they may return to their quarters, but remain on alert. The civilian volunteers may stand down and return to their homes. We will wait until Captain Swordstorm has returned to convene the Council and decide the fate of the griffin prisoners. He needs to hear that discussion and be involved in it." Then she turned slightly to address James specifically. "In the meantime, Counselor Peterson, with me. I need to talk about a few research points with you regarding the portal."

"My Lady," James acknowledged formally, then followed her as she led him to a private meeting room, her horn glowing briefly as she closed the door. She immediately dropped the Regent demeanor and took on the demeanor of a concerned friend.

"James … Do you trust me?"

"Of course I do … Twilight, what's this about?" he said, feeling a slight sense of foreboding arise in the pit of his stomach at the question. He also couldn't miss Twilight's own discomfort. She hesitated a few moments before speaking again.

"I … need to probe your mind again … To look at the dimensional energy between our two worlds again and see how much it has changed since the last time I looked at it. I promise you that's all I will look at. Please believe me. If there were any other way …"

He hesitated as her voice trailed off. He hated the idea of letting her dig around inside his mind again, but he knew that the information held deep in his subconscious, or super conscious, or wherever it was, might be vital to getting Princess Celestia back home. And, he realized, he trusted Twilight completely, and was willing to put his very life in her hooves. He nooded once before responding.

"I understand," he said, feeling a twinge of fear over the procedure to come. After all, last time he had been asleep and unaware that anything was happening, and had had no memory of it when he woke up.

"I'll have to put you to sleep again. It could be rather traumatizing if I did it while you are awake. I'll wake you up as soon as the procedure is over."

He nodded once in understanding, unworried about the sleeping spell. After all, she had put him to sleep once already when he first arrived in Equestria and he had suffered no ill effects. Also, he found himself slightly less nervous about the mind probing procedure, knowing that he would be asleep again, feel nothing, and remember nothing when he woke up. Of course, there was no bed or couch in the private meeting room, so without further hesitation, he simply lie down on the floor. He took one deep breath and then let it out.

"Ready when you are, Twilight."

She stepped over to him, leaned her head down towards his, and her horn started to glow slightly. Unlike last time she used the sleeping spell on him, he didn't try to fight. He felt his eyelids grow heavy, the conscious world drifting away from him. After that, he remembered nothing.

o.O.o

"James, wake up," was the next thing he was aware of. He opened his eyes to see Twilight standing over him. "How are you feeling?" she asked.

He sat up, feeling no effects at all from the spell or the mind probe, and no residual drowsiness. If anything, he felt refreshed from the short nap.

"I'm fine," he answered, standing up and taking a seat at the table, noticing some diagrams, along with a what seemed to be a mathematical formula that Twilight had started working on. "What did you find?"

"A couple of things. The first, I already knew. And that's that the two dimensions orbit around each other and are only in alignment at certain times. Only when they are in alignment, is it possible for someone, or somepony, to travel between them. But what I wasn't able to compute until now, is the speed at which they orbit."

She paused for a moment, as if to make sure he was getting all of it so far.

"That's simple enough. What else?"

"Well, I also found that the dimensional energy flow is polarized, and that it changes sometimes. It's like the current of a river. The first time I probed the dimensional thread in your mind, the current was flowing in the direction of Earth to Equestria. That's why it was so easy for you to travel here. But now …" She frowned before continuing. "Now, it's flowing from Equestria towards Earth. That's why it was so easy for me to open the portal, and why it was so easy for them to send Celestia there. But it's much harder now for anything to travel from there to here than it was when you traveled here. It's like trying to swim upstream instead of downstream."

"How much harder?" he asked, concern rising in the pit of his stomach.

"I'm not sure yet. I still need to figure that out. But there's another issue too. Right now, because the current is flowing from here to Earth, we can send to Earth anytime we want. But because it's far more difficult to send from Earth to here right now and it's like swimming upstream, even when the dimensions are in alignment, the gateways, for lack of a better term, of the two dimensions also need to be aligned for anything from Earth to come here. That means there are only certain windows where it will be possible for her to come back."

Like windows for a space launch, he thought to himself. You have to launch during certain times if you want to ever be able to catch the space station, or reach the moon. He nodded once, indicating his understanding. She continued.

"While I work on trying to figure out just how hard it will be for her to come back, can you take this other formula I've written and figure out when the next windows will be?"

He nodded, taking the piece of paper she had written the formula down on, then looking at the orbital diagrams she had drawn. Then he went to work, once again, wishing he had a scientific calculator so he didn't have to do all the complex calculations by hand.

For the next several minutes, the two of them worked in silence. But as James worked on the calculations, fear suddenly flooded through him like a bursting dam.

"Twilight?" he began, the nervousness apparent in his voice. "What are the chances that your formula is wrong?"

"Not very high. I'm almost certain it's correct." The nervousness was evident in her own voice now. No doubt, she knew he had bad news.

"Then we have a serious problem. The next window is in twenty-eight hours. Obviously, they will never be able to make that one. In thirty-six days, there's an imperfect window that lasts for about forty minutes. There's a high probability they won't be able to use that one because it won't be a perfect gateway alignment. After that … the dimensions go out of alignment, and there won't be another window for … one thousand eight hundred years … Give or take a century. I rounded to make the math easier once I realized it was going to be far too long to do us any good."

He watched Twilight's face pale at the revelation. For a while, neither of them said anything. Twilight seemed to be lost in her own private misery. He finally spoke again.

"The window in thirty-six days is the only shot they're going to get."

"But if the alignment's not perfect …" Twilight began, but then trailed off, the fear evident in her voice.

James thought for a few more moments, his mind scrambling for any ideas. Eventually, one came to him.

"Maybe we can throw her a tow rope … What if we can influence the direction of energy flow just enough to compensate for the lack of a perfect alignment? With magic or something?" Twilight seemed to brighten slightly at the suggestion.

"It might be possible. But it would require an extremely powerful spell to do it, and it would require maintaining that spell for a significant period of time. Not even Star Swirl could have cast a spell that powerful, much less hold it that long."

"You're more powerful than Star Swirl was, Twilight."

Twilight blushed slightly. "Thank you, James, but don't flatter me. I'm not that powerful"

"Yes, you are, Twilight. I know you are. You are destined to become the most powerful unicorn that has ever lived … I don't know how I know that. I just do." And he truly did know it. Somehow, he knew that was her destiny, even though he had never been told that. Not by Celestia, not by Luna. Not by anypony.

"Do you really think so?" she asked, her ears perking just a bit.

"I know so, Twilight. Besides, perhaps the Elements of Harmony can help. I'm sure with all of that combined, we can do this."

Twilight opened her mouth to respond, but then there was a knock on the door. She turned her head to look at the door instead.

"Come," she said simply. The door opened, a junior Royal Guard standing outside of it.

"My Lady. Captain Swordstorm and his squadron have landed with the griffin prisoners."

Twilight nodded. "Thank you. Please ask him to go to the Council meeting room and inform the Council members to convene. Tell them it's urgent. James and I will join them momentarily."

"Yes, My Lady," he responded, saluting before turning to leave, Twilight and James following him out.

Arriving in the meeting room a few minutes later, James took his place with the other members of the Royal Council. Captain Swordstorm, he saw, had also arrived and found a space. Once the doors were closed, Twilight began to speak.

"We were going to discuss what was to be done with the defecting griffins. But a more urgent matter has come up. I'm afraid the griffins will have to wait a bit longer in the dungeon for a decision on their fate."

James glanced around the room, taking in the expressions of confusion and aprehension on the faces of the other Council members, as well on Captain Swordstorm's face. Twilight continued.

"James and I have just discovered that the only chance for Eric to send Celestia back here happens in thirty-six days during a specific window that lasts for only forty minutes. And even that's not a perfect window. We are going to have to use some very powerful magic to shift the dimensional energy flow slightly, otherwise they will miss. After this imperfect window, another chance won't come along for one thousand eight hundred years."

A murmur of concern arose from those in the Council, but Twilight raised a hoof for silence and continued.

"It is vital that we get this information to Eric and Princess Celestia on Earth as soon as possible. Of course, this raises several problems. The first, is guaranteeing that the information gets to them. The last package we sent to Earth was not vital information for them. But this one most certainly is. The second, is that due to some random uncertainty in the dimensional energy, I can't guarantee that time doesn't shift inside the portal during the trip between dimensions, nor can I tell how much it will shift. But it could be as much as ninety minutes in either direction; long enough for them to completely miss the window. So even if we send them a clock through the portal, there's no guarantee that they would be able to use it to accurately compute the time difference between their dimension and ours to know when the window starts. That means, somepony is going to have to go through the portal to Earth and ensure this information gets to them, as well as compute the time difference."

"Isn't Councilor Peterson the obvious choice?" Moon Song asked. "After all, he would have the easiest time finding them since he knows where Eric lives and is familiar with the city."

James shook his head once before responding. "I can't go. Princess Luna was very clear about the fact that I can't leave Equestria."

Twilight nodded in confirmation. "Councilor Peterson is right. He can't go. One of you must take it to Earth, find Princess Celestia and Eric, and deliver the information to them without being detected. Of course, I don't have to tell you that whichever pony goes risks being permanently stranded there if … if they cannot figure out how to send Celestia home in time to make the window." James saw Twilight swallow a burst of emotion. He could practically feel her heart aching for her teacher, mentor, and Princess.

"It should be a pegasus," he added. "We don't know exactly where on Earth they will arrive. So we need a pony who can fly and get a bird's eye view to find their way to Eric's. Also, the safest way into Eric's condo without being detected will be to go through a fourteenth floor window that leads directly into his unit."

"I will go, My Lady," Captain Swordstorm volunteered.

"No," Twilight stated immediately. "I need you here to command the Royal Guard and give military advice."

"One of my understudies can do that, My Lady. I've taught them virtually everything I know. Before I became Supreme Commander of Her Majesty's Royal Guard, I was a special agent highly trained in deep penetration. I'm the most likely to avoid detection. And besides … it is my duty as Her Majesty's sworn servant."

"All of the Council Members, Lunar Guards, and Celestial Guards are also directly sworn servants of Her Majesty," Twilight countered. "The Lunar Guards are also highly trained in being able to avoid detection."

"If I may, My Lady," James interrupted.

"Yes?" Twilight answered, turning her attention to him.

"I believe Captain Swordstorm is right, My Lady. I think he is the best choice for this mission." He gave her a pleading look that he hoped the others in the room didn't catch. A look that he hoped said please, Twilight. You have to trust me. He watched her hesitate for a few moments, locking eye contact with him, hoping his own eyes communicated the message he was trying to give her. She nodded once, and answered.

"Very well. Captain Swordstorm, you will travel to Earth and deliver the information to Eric and Princess Celestia. Please go inform whomever you choose to take over your duties as Supreme Commander while you are gone. Councilor Peterson and I need about an hour to prepare the information to send with you. Meet us in the armory."

"My Lady," he responded, giving her a salute before turning and quickly making his way towards the door, pushing it open and stepping outside. Once the door had securely closed, Storm Runner spoke.

"We still have a problem. Our world is not going to survive thirty-six days with no sun. By the time Her Majesty gets back, all that will be left is an icy, barren wasteland with no life left on it."

"That's true," James responded. "And that means our survival now depends entirely on Princess Luna being able to raise the sun, and on finding and rescuing her in time."

Twilight nodded once. "Councilor Peterson is right. So for now, I want all of you to go and make that your main focus. Councilor Peterson will remain here with me to brief Captain Swordstorm on his mission to Earth and what he needs to be aware of there. The rest of you are dismissed."

"My Lady," all of the members acknowledged, getting up and filing out of the room quickly, leaving James alone with Twilight. Once they had all left, the door had closed, and the room was quiet, Twilight turned to him again, a concerned expression on her muzzle as she spoke.

"James … I'd never question your judgment in front of the rest of the Council. I respect and trust you too much … but are you sure Captain Swordstorm is the best choice for this mission? Wouldn't we be better off with him here commanding the military operations?"

"He's not the best choice, Twilight. But he's the only choice we have. We still have a traitor somewhere in the castle. It could be any one of the Council members, or any one of the Lunar or Celestial Guards. But I know it's not Captain Swordstorm. I trust him completely. He and I have just been through too much together. From the time he captured me when I first arrived in Equestria, to the dragon attack on our expedition up north, to the attacks we faced on the way here from Ponyville. He's the one pony here who I know is not the traitor. And we simply can't risk sending anypony to Earth who might sabotage the mission."

Twilight nodded once. "Okay. That makes sense, and I trust your judgment on this."

For the next several minutes, James occupied himself with drawing maps and diagrams of Chicago; as much as he could remember anyway. He also tried to produce a drawing of the condo building that Eric lived in, trying to write down and draw everything he could think of that might help Captain Swordstorm find Celestia and Eric. When he had finished that, he helped Twilight prepare the notes, formulas, and other information that they hoped would help Eric figure out how to get Celestia home. As a final step, he translated them into the Roman alphabet. Then, they placed the information in a box, and Twilight magically sealed it to ensure that only Celestia would be able to open it.

"I think we're ready," he said when he had finished the translation. "We should go now. Captain Swordstorm will be arriving at the armory any minute now."

Twilight only nodded somberly in response, and then led him out of the room. Walking quickly, the two of them took the underground tunnel over to the armory, climbing the stairs at the end and opening the door to the main room. Captain Swordstorm was already there waiting for them.

"My Lady," he acknowledged, giving a quick salute. "Councilor Peterson."

"Captain," Twilight acknowledged back. "I'm going to go ahead and let Councilor Peterson brief you on the mission, since he's the most familiar with Earth. Feel free to ask if you have any specific questions for me."

"Thank you, My Lady," James acknowledged, then turned his attention to Captain Swordstorm. "First of all, we're going to swap out your normal armor for Lunar Guard armor. The matte black finish on the Lunar Guard armor should help make sure you don't get detected." Then, he drew the Captain's attention to the maps and figures he had been drawing, pointing out the most important landmarks that he could use to find his bearings once arriving in Chicago.

"This is where we think you'll come out," he said, pointing to the area where the particle accelerator was. "Although we can't guarantee it." He moved his finger to a different location on the map. "This is the Sears Tower. It's the tallest building in the area, so it's very hard to miss. Over here by this small airport with the one runway on the peninsula near the large lake, is the John Hancock building. This domed building next to it is the Adler Planetarium." Oddly, he found himself thinking about Luna now. She would like planetariums, he thought. They would make her feel appreciated and loved. Monuments where people gathered to appreciate the night, and the stars. He brought his mind back to the task at hand.

"This large airport here, with multiple runways, is O'Hare International. And this smaller one over here is Midway. You'll need to be very careful of these. There are hundreds of large aircraft going into and out of these airports at any given time, and some of them carry hundreds of passengers. So that's tens of thousands of people at any given time who could potentially see you if you are in the air. Also, both of these airports have tall towers with people in them that will be watching the skies with binoculars. They could see you too if you're close enough. Furthermore, you won't have any way of knowing if they are currently looking in your direction. If they see you, you are going to end up with some unwanted escort trying to force you to land."

He paused for a moment to see if the Captain had any questions. When he indicated that he didn't, he continued.

"They also have radar installations at these sites. Those are sort of like electronic maps that show them the position of things in the air. It's unlikely the radars will detect you. If they do, you'll probably be mistaken for a flock of birds. But that's bad enough because the people running the radars will warn the aircraft in the area of your location and tell them to be on the lookout for you. The closer you stay to the ground, the less likely their radars will detect you. Also, Twilight is going to enchant your armor so that it scatters and neutralizes radio frequency radiation instead of reflecting it back to the source. That will also greatly reduce the chances they will detect you on radar.

"All that said, the fact that they probably won't be able to see you is also a liability. As I said, there will be hundreds of large aircraft around this area at any given time. Collide with any of them, and it will be the end of you, the end of the aircraft, and the end of the hundreds of passengers on board. So make sure you're always aware of what's around you."

Captain Swordstorm nodded once to indicate his understanding. James continued, moving his finger to point at a highway now.

"This is the major north/south highway that runs through the city. It's eight lanes and will always have a lot of traffic on it. You won't be able to miss it. From the ramp here that goes to the airport, it's eight exit ramps south until you get to the one that leads to Eric's condo building. Even at night, you'll be able to follow the highway and exit ramps easily because of the traffic, as well as the street lighting.

"After the exit, the condo building that Eric lives in is the third building to your left, and it's on the left side of the road. It's twenty stories and has a large green roofed veranda at the front entrance. The safest way for you to get in without being seen will be to go through a window. Approaching from the south side of the building, Eric's condo is the eighth window in from the left on the fourteenth floor. They didn't design those windows with the idea that anyone would ever try to break in fourteen stories up, so you'll be able to pop the lock easily with the small pry bar we are putting in your saddle bag.

"I strongly suggest you lie low until well after nightfall before you make your first flight. That will make it much harder for any of the people in the aircraft or the towers at the airports to spot you, as well as make it less likely anyone will see you approach the condo building. The streets and highways are lighted well enough so that you will be able to navigate at night. Also, the aircraft will have lights on them so you'll be able to see and avoid them."

Once again, he paused waiting to see if Captain Swordstorm had any questions. When he indicated he didn't, he continued.

"Now remember, there could be a time shift during your travel through the portal, even though the trip will seem instantaneous to you. Because of that, it's extremely important that you check the clock just before you leave here, and check it again as soon as you get to Earth so you can adjust for any time shift that did occur. Also, it's extremely important that you write down the time you arrived on Earth so you can compute the time difference once you find a clock there."

"Understood, Councilor," Captain Swordstorm acknowledged.

James thought for a moment before speaking again. "That's it I think. Unless you have any questions."

When the Captain indicated he didn't, James helped him put on the enchanted Lunar Guard armor, then loaded the pry bar along with the clock, notes, diagrams, and other information into his saddle bag. As they prepared him for his trip to Earth, James could feel emotion building inside of him once more at the prospect of possibly never seeing Captain Swordstorm again. Once again, all of the memories flooded back. The time Captain Swordstorm had arrested him on his arrival in Equestria. The time he had saved his life when he attempted to jump from the flying chariot. The encounter with the dragon on the mission to recover the strange object up north. The sparring lessons and sword training. He looked at Captain Swordstorm again, trying to hold back tears now.

"Are you ready?" he asked in an emotional voice.

"As ready as I can be," Captain Swordstorm responded.

Spontaneously, emotion threatening to overwhelm him, James reached out, wrapped his arms around the pegasus, and pulled him into a hug. Captain Swordstorm hesitated for a moment, surprised by the sudden action, but then wrapped his forelegs around James as well. Again, James spoke with emotion in his voice.

"Good luck, Sir. And may the light of their Majesties' sun and moon guide you on your mission," he said before releasing the hug.

"Thank you, Councilor. I'll see you in thirty-six days."

James nodded once, then turned for the door to go back down in the tunnel, knowing from last time that he couldn't be in the room when Twilight opened the portal, lest he be pulled through it too. Closing the door behind him, he felt his heart become heavy again with all the memories and experiences he and Captain Swordstorm had had together, and the knowledge that he might never see him or Celestia again if they weren't able to make use of the imperfect window in thirty-six days. The fate of Equestria seemed more in doubt than ever now.

Underneath the door, and around the gap at the edges, he saw a lavender glow begin to form, build in intensity, and then disappear. And so began Captain Swordstorm's mission to Earth. A mission from which he might never return.

46 - The Griffins

The God Particle

Chapter 46: The Griffins

Gilda rolled over in her bunk, stewing over the events of the last few days. It wasn't enough that she had gotten herself captured while attempting to reach Ponyville to warn Rainbow Dash of the impending griffin attack. No, of course not. Then she had to let that annoying Twilight Sparkle intimidate her and psyche her out. But oh no, her troubles couldn't end there. Now she had to face the three times daily humiliation of listening to the King and his officers degrade and insult her as she served them breakfast, lunch, and dinner. And to make matters worse, the King was not as stupid as she had thought. Although they had talked about Princess Luna several times while dining, neither he or his officers had made any mention of where they were holding her. She had accepted the fact that they probably were never going to mention the location by name.

The King had, however, made one mistake. He had mentioned when the next guard rotation would happen in four days from now. The King, she reflected with anger igniting inside of her, thought her completely incompetent as a scout. But that could work to her advantage now. The King might think her a blundering buffoon, but she had much more confidence in her own abilities. Those damn Pegasus Guards had only spotted her by having one of their unicorns cast a life detect spell, which had made her light up like a torch in a dark room. But the griffins had no such spells with which to blow her cover. She could remain unseen when she wanted to. Following the next guard rotation to Princess Luna's prison was beginning to look like her best option.

But that plan also had a problem, she realized with a frown. She couldn't simply disappear suddenly from her kitchen and serving duties when the next guard rotation left Griffin City. That would arouse way too much suspicion. She'd have to leave tonight, and then lie low until the guards left for Luna's prison.

Again, the fact that the King thought her incompetent, would work to her advantage. There was an old griffin custom that allowed disgraced griffins to commit suicide rather than bear the shame of their own failure. It was rarely invoked anymore, but it wasn't unheard of for military griffins to take that route rather than bear the shame of disgrace. Of course, that meant leaving a letter so that word would get back to the King of what she had supposedly done. No doubt, it would be her bunk mate that found the letter. She didn't relish the thought of leading one of her best friends to believe she had ended her own life, but she certainly couldn't tell them the truth about her plans. In the griffin military, duty always came before friendship, and she knew that even her closest friend would probably tell the King of her plan if they knew. Like the King then, her friends would have to believe she really had gone through with the suicide. With a twinge of remorse in her heart at what she knew this would do her friends, she sat up in her bed, opening the chest at the foot of it, which was the only personal storage space she was allowed to have. She took out a piece of paper and a pen, and began to write, deciding to keep it short and to the point:

To whomever finds this letter:

I am no longer able to bear the shame of my failure to reach Canterlot and complete the objective of my last scouting mission. Furthermore, I am unable to bear the humiliation of my abject servitude in the castle kitchen.

Therefore, I have decided to invoke the ancient right which is the right of all griffin military to invoke, and end my own life. By the time you find this letter, I will have completed this final task. Do not search for my body as it will be at the bottom of the Sea of Tears.

Gilda

She hesitated only a moment, pushing second thoughts out of her mind, before placing it at the top of her bunk and pulling the blanket up over it. Then, she opened her trunk again, digging through her clothes. It was customary for the right of suicide to be carried out in full military uniform, so she couldn't leave her uniform here. She grabbed it and shoved it into her flight bag before hastily dressing in the warmest personal clothes she had.

Leaving her shared room in the barracks, she quickly made her way outside of the castle, shivering slightly when the bitter cold hit her, the driving snowflakes burying themselves in her feathers like a thousand frozen needles. Then, she made her way to the outer limits of Griffin City, her feet sinking into the deepening snow and impeding her progress. Finally, she stopped at the last inn before the city ended and the wilderness began. A faded wooden sign swayed in the wind on creaking hinges, giving the name of the place as The Last Claw. The claw however, was partially missing, owing to a portion of the sign being broken off. The inn itself was a dilapidated two story building constructed from wood. The two windows on the main level had a ghostly glow to them, the light from inside reflecting off the snowflakes. They were completely covered with frost, however, and she could not see through them. No one had bothered to clear the snow had started to pile up in their ledges.

She pushed open the door, stepping inside and stomping the snow off her feet, the warm air of the blazing stone hearth on the far wall a welcome feeling against her chilled feathers. This early in the evening, the inn's common room was almost empty; not that it would have mattered even if it wasn't. The few griffins that were occupying the common room paid no attention to her, not even bothering to look up from their drinks of warmed hard cider or mulled wine.

Walking to the counter, the bartender, an aging griffin with a long, unkempt beard hanging from his face addressed her with a uninterested nod of his head.

"A drink?" he asked.

She nodded once. "Mulled wine. And I need a room for the next two nights. I'd like the drink brought there, please."

"Eighty coppers," the bartender responded gruffly.

She retrieved four twenty-value coppers from her bag, placing them on the counter.

"Third room at the top of the stairs," he said as he took the coppers and handed her an iron key in exchange.

"Thank you," she acknowledged before turning and making her way up the stairs and into the room. It was nothing special, containing a simple wooden bed with a straw filled mattress. A single window on the far wall was too frosted over to see through. A clock on the left wall told her it was still mid-afternoon.

Once again, she shivered slightly, her breath visible in front of her beak as she went to the small pot-bellied stove in the corner. There was a pile of wood next to it, and kindling, but currently there was no fire in it. She opened the flue and began to prepare a fire, having a welcome, warming blaze a few minutes later that started to chase the chill from the room. She closed the door on the stove at the sound of a knock on her door.

"Your mulled wine," came the voice from the other side.

She walked over to the door, opening it and taking the hot wine from the bartender, nodding her thanks before closing it again. Then she went over to the bed and sat down, the sweet, warm drink warming her throat and stomach as she sipped and swallowed.

She could safely hole up here for the next two days until the guard rotation left for Luna's prison. Neither the King or the military would come looking for her, or bother to put out any word of her disappearance. There was nothing unbelievable about her suicide letter and no reason for anyone to believe it wasn't a legitimate course of action for her to take, even if griffin soldiers rarely used it anymore.

She took off her warm clothes as the stove continued to force the chill from the room the room quickly, then sat back down on the bed and continued sipping her mulled wine. She wasn't sure how much time had passed before she looked at the clock again. Late afternoon had given way to late evening. By now, her bunk mate would have found her suicide letter. The King would have gone to dinner and her failure to attend to him would be obvious. By now, he would be aware of the contents of her letter.

"Well, there's no going back anymore, Gilda," she said to herself as she took the last sip of her wine. "You're officially a turncoat now."

Then, she blew out the candle, and lie down in the bed. Sleep however, did not come easy for her. Even the wine had failed to calm her nerves and her fear.

o.O.o

James sipped on a mug of hot tea as Twilight called the Council meeting to order early the next morning. Even though the castle was well heated, a cold chill wind seemed to flow through the Council meeting room. Whether it was an actual draft, or just a chill from the bleakness of their situation, he couldn't say for certain.

"Thoughts on the griffin prisoners?" Twilight asked.

"I'm leery of trusting them," Captain Skydart, who Captain Swordstorm had appointed to take over leadership of the Royal Guard in his absence began. "We can't be sure this isn't some kind of espionage trick. An attempt to find out where our military formations are the strongest, where they are the weakest, and so on. After all, we have to keep in mind that with the darkness and the poor visibility, it would be extremely difficult for any griffin scouts to spot us using normal reconnaissance methods."

James could definitely detect some nervousness and uncertainty in the young captain's voice. It reminded him of the nervousness Twilight had shown when he had first told her that she was now the ruler of all of Equestria. But Twilight had come into her own and found her stride, and he had no doubt the young Captain Skydart would as well. Captain Swordstorm would not have chosen him if he weren't the best one for the job of leading Equestria's military forces.

"Other thoughts?" Twilight asked.

"I'm no military strategist by any stretch of the words, Captain," James began. "But it's clear even to me that your forces are stretched way too thin. You simply don't have enough Guards to cover the Sea of Tears against a griffin invasion, protect the northern border against an invasion from The Beyond, guard all of the cities and towns against attack from griffins or dragons, and assist the residents of those cities and towns to ensure that they survive this crisis."

"Counselor Peterson is right," Storm Runner added. "We need all the help we can get. And if we have griffins who seem willing to help, I think we should take advantage of it." Twilight spoke next.

"Even if we can rouse a volunteer force of stallions who don't have families to worry about, we won't be able to do it in time. We must remember that with the weather continuing to get worse, if the griffins are going to cross the Sea of Tears for an invasion, they're going to have to do it very soon."

Captain Skydart remained silent for several long moments before nodding in acceptance. "Alright. I'll allow them to fight for us. I think it would be prudent to place most of them on the northern defenses against The Beyond, though. Then I can take some of the Royal Guards from up there and reassign them to the Sea of Tears. I don't trust the captured griffins to remain loyal to us if they were to encounter their own invasion force."

"A good plan," Twilight responded.

"One more thing though. I want their commander out on the Sea of Tears. If the griffins are planning an invasion, any knowledge he has of their plans and their intended tactics could prove invaluable to our forces out there."

"Do you really think that's wise? To separate the rest of the griffins from their commander like that? Do you think they'll be willing to take orders from an officer in the Royal Guard?" Twilight asked, raising an eyebrow.

Captain Skydart nodded once. "If their commander tells them to, they will, My Lady. They'll obey the orders of whoever their commander tells them to follow."

"Very well," Twilight nodded. "Then make it so after this meeting is over. Inform the dungeon to release the griffin prisoners and place them under your command."

"It will be done, My Lady," Captain Skydart responded.

"Thirty-five more soldiers isn't going to make a whole lot of difference to our situation," Moon Song added with a frown. "We still need a lot more soldiers to cover all of the areas we need to cover."

"You're right. It's not," Twilight responded with a frown, then seemed to look at the table with a nervous and uncertain expression on her face. James was about to ask her what was wrong, but then she looked up and continued. "I've … been thinking of a way for us to get a lot more soldiers."

"My Lady?" Captain Skydart asked, raising an eyebrow.

"There are … those in the south … We could try to form an alliance …" Twilight trailed off nervously.

"The changelings?" Storm Runner responded in a shocked tone of voice. "Surely, you must be joking, My Lady. You can't possibly—"

"Chrysalis might not like us very much, but she's not suicidal. She doesn't want her entire hive destroyed any more than we want all of Equestria destroyed," Twilight responded nervously. Then, she found her resolve and spoke resolutely. "I really think she can be persuaded to help us."

"For all we know, they could already have an alliance with the griffins and be planning to attack us from the south," Storm Runner protested.

"Which is all the more reason to reach out to Chrysalis and convince her she needs to ally with us instead. To convince her of the folly of King Aetos' plan, and how it will surely result in the extinction of her entire hive. We need to convince her that her only chance at survival is to ally with us." She spoke with assertiveness and confidence in her voice now. Even James found himself shocked by her suggestion, but at the same time, he believed in her and her ability as a leader. If she believed this plan could work, then he would back her on it.

"Someone's going to have to travel south to the changeling lands to make contact with Chrysalis, then," James added. He immediately wished he'd kept his mouth shut as all eyes turned to him.

"What? What are you all looking at me for?" he asked nervously, feeling a surge of fear send a chill through him.

"It has to be you, James," Storm Runner said, dropping the normal Council formalities by using his first name.

"Me? Why do I have to do it?" he responded defensively.

"She's right," Twilight added with apprehension. "The changeling drones wouldn't let a pony get within five thousand strides of the hive, much less honor their request for an audience with Chrysalis herself. You have to do this, James."

"What's to stop her from simply taking me prisoner? Holding me for ransom or something?" he protested. Already though, he was resigned to the fact he wasn't getting out of this. He was going to be the one who had to travel to the changeling hive and attempt to negotiate an alliance with the changeling Queen.

"You're critical to saving Equestria," Storm Runner responded. "Make her understand that. Make her understand that if she holds you prisoner and doesn't allow you to return to Equestria, she and her entire hive will be destroyed."

James looked at the table and said nothing. He knew Storm Runner and Twilight were right, but he was also terrified. He hadn't felt this much fear since the griffin had tried to attack the three fillies back in Ponyville. And worst of all, he knew he would have to go alone.

"James," Twilight said gently, pulling him back out of his thoughts and returning his attention to her. "You know I wouldn't ask you to do this if there were any other way."

James looked back down at the table for another moment before resigning himself. He nodded once, then twice. "Alright … I'll do it."

Twilight give him a small smile of gratitude. "I have complete confidence in you, James. I know you can pull this off."

I'm glad you have complete confidence in me, because I sure don't, he thought to himself before Moon Song spoke.

"You should get to the Royal Archives. All of our intelligence concerning Chrysalis and the changelings in general will be there." James only nodded in response. Then, Twilight spoke again.

"Alright. We all know what we have to do then. Captain Skydart, inform the dungeon to release the griffin prisoners to your command. James, go to the Royal Archives and start learning as much as you can about Chrysalis and the changelings. We don't have a lot of time, so research as quickly as you can. I'll be down there to join you in a little bit. The two of you are dismissed. The rest of the Council, remain here. We need to discuss the situation with The Beyond."

"My Lady," James and Skydart responded in unison, both rising from their seats and heading for the exit. Just before they reached it, there was a knock on the door.

"Come," Twilight called out. The door opened to reveal a young Pegasus Guard messenger. He gave a quick salute before addressing her.

"My Lady. We've captured Ambassador Firewing of the Elder Dragon Council. He surrendered without incident and is being brought to Canterlot as we speak."

"Good work," Twilight responded. "Let me know when he arrives. I will interrogate him myself."

"Yes, My Lady," the young guard responded, saluting again before turning and leaving.

"Well, at least now we can hopefully find out what the dragons' plans are," Twilight said, addressing them with a slight note of relief in her voice. "Counselor Peterson, Captain Skydart, continue with your assigned missions. The rest of the Council, remain here."

"My Lady," James and Skydart responded again in unison before exiting the room.

"I still don't like this plan," Captain Skydart confided to him once the door was closed. "My soldiers have more than enough to worry about without having to constantly look over their shoulder to see if some changeling is trying to feed on them."

"Why didn't you say something to her in the meeting?" James asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I thought it would be disrespectful. She's the Regent of all of Equestria after all."

"Captain, you are present in those meetings because you are her military advisor. You are there specifically to give her advice on military matters. If you think something's a bad idea, it is not disrespectful for you to say something. Rather, it's your duty to say something. That's why you are there."

Captain Skydart nodded once, then sighed slightly his ears drooping a little at the rebuke.

"You're right, Councilor. I'm just not used to being in a position like this. I'll make sure it doesn't happen again."

James nodded once. "It's alright, Captain. You'll learn. And there's no harm done. I'll bring up your concern about the changelings feeding on your soldiers when Twilight meets me in the archives."

"Thank you, Councilor. I appreciate it," he responded, his ears perking back up. Then, the two of them went their separate directions, and James began to prepare for his trip to the changeling lands, fear, uncertainty, and doubt in his heart and mind. But the fear he felt most right now was not for himself. It was for Twilight interrogating a fully grown dragon who might be hostile, and knowing he could not be there for her when she did it.

o.O.o

Commander High Tide winced and braced himself as the icy waves breached the side of the Royal Guard reconnaissance boat, The Sea Flyer, washing over him yet again. Even his waterproof clothing had long since reached its saturation point, and now, the icy water soaked his fur, mane, and tail. Shaking the water off of himself once more, he turned to the Pegasus Guard next to him.

"I must have half my body weight in ice built up in my fur by now, Whitecap" he complained, bracing himself again as another wave rocked the boat. The surface of the deck was slick with ice, each pitch and roll of the boat threatening to yank his hooves out from under him."

"It's only fifteen more minutes until the end of our watch, sir," the pegasus responded. "Three more life detect spells and then we can both head below deck and warm up with hot baths and cider."

The truth was, as commander of The Sea Flyer, High Tide could have gone below deck right now and warmed up with a hot bath and cider. But he believed in leading by example, and not asking his guards to do anything that he wasn't willing to do himself. And so, he took his turn on the watch just like all the guards who served under him; enduring the wet and severe cold just like they had to do.

"My horn is the only part of me that's not frozen cause it never has time to cool down from casting these life detect spells every five minutes," he commented to his Pegasus Guard companion. Then he braced himself as he turned towards the southeast. His horn began to light up with an orange glow, briefly illuminating the deck and swirling snowflakes with a ghostly aura. A single bolt shot from it, darting off into the night sky like a flaming arrow penetrating into the darkness. Within a few seconds, the driving snow had obscured it, and it was dark again.

He and his companion scanned the sky in front of them, seeing nothing. But then, a faint orange glow appeared in the distance.

"We've got company," he stated, not taking his eyes from the glow, although it flickered like a candle and occasionally became completely lost in the snow.

"I see it, sir," Whitecap responded. "Although I only see one. What do you think it is? A scout?"

"I don't know. But he's definitely not flying the green flag" he said, continuing to watch the glow. Then, the glow became two, and then three. He felt a chill go through him, more icy than any of the waves that had crashed over him as more and more orange dots began to appear in the sky, like stars igniting in the night. Suddenly, as if they were swarm of fireflies, they made a sharp turn, diving towards The Sea Flyer.

"Battle stations! Battle stations!" he cried out, slamming his hoof into a bell hanging next to them, its shrill gong piercing the night. "We're under attack!"

Quickly, doors flew open from below deck, unicorns and pegasi rushing out and lining up on deck. And all the while, the orange dots became more numerous, more ominous, like so many glowing eyes of monsters diving from the sky. Every moment, the number of them seemed to double, until it was like looking at a starlit sky on a clear night. High Tide turned and quickly ran to some pegasi that were just emerging from below deck, shouting as he went.

"Messengers! To Equestria! Inform the shore defenses, griffin invasion imminent! First attack wave inbound. At least ten thousand strong!"

One of the messengers blinked in shock. "Ten thou—"

"Go!"

The four Pegasus Guard messengers quickly spread their wings and took to the sky, darting off towards Equestria as quickly as they could fly. High Tide turned around, not waiting to see them disappear, watching the sky full of thousands of magically illuminated dots continue to approach, the points of light growing brighter like an approaching forest fire preparing to consume them.

"There's no way we can beat them," he heard Whitecap say in a resigned tone of voice next to him. And he knew it was true. Thoughts of home began to flood his mind … a home he knew he would never see again. Quickly, he pushed those thoughts out of his head.

"No, we can't," he responded. "But we will fight them anyway and buy our messengers as much time as we can to reach Equestria and warn the defenses." Then, he turned quickly and scanned his eyes over his crew. Some of them were veterans. Others, rookies on their first sea voyage who were far too young to die. In their eyes, he saw fear; the fear of those who knew death had come for them and there was nothing they could do to stop it. But he also saw a determination to perform their duty for their Princesses until the very end. He opened his mouth and spoke loudly.

"Soldiers of Her Majesty's Royal Guard! To be your commander has been the greatest honor of my life next to serving Our Royal Majesties themselves! Today, the battle for Equestria begins! Today, we strike the first blow against those who come to destroy our homes! Kill our mares! And kill our colts and fillies! Today, we die for the honor of our Princesses! And though we will be gone, our Sun and Moon will rise tomorrow!"

Despite their obvious fear, roars of approval went up from the crew as he rallied them to their cause. He continued, speaking loudly and assertively.

"Today we die for our families! For Equestria! For our Princesses! And though we will be gone, we will make the griffin invasion bleed heavily for every one of us they take! And they will forever know that the soldiers of The Sea Flyer are the finest and fiercest warriors that have ever trotted on the face of the ground, or sailed the sea! Honor awaits us in the Isles of the Blessed! Take it!"

Again, the crew of The Sea Flyer roared in approval. Then, Captain High Tide turned around, standing at their head. His horn lit brightly with a blinding white light. Ozone filled the air as a loud crack of thunder split the night and a searing bolt of lightning shot from his horn into the dark sky. A shrill scream pierced the night as the bolt found its target, one of the griffins falling from the heavens and plunging to an icy grave in the Sea of Tears. The Pegasus Guards on deck spread their wings and took to the air, their battle cry ringing out across the sea. And all the while, the griffins dived closer to The Sea Flyer, their own shrill cries of war piercing the night as the battle for Equestria began.

47 - Two Missions Begin

The God Particle

Chapter 47: Two Missions Begin

A brief flash, and the ground spun and tumbled beneath Captain Swordstorm as severe vertigo hit him. A few seconds later, he gained his bearings and found himself outside in an open field with what appeared to be debris from destroyed buildings. Above him, the sun shined in the sky, and it took his eyes several moments to adjust, given he had not seen the sun in Equestria for several days.

Noises reached his ears, a dull roar at first as if he were under water. Then, his hearing cleared, and the roar became the sound of construction equipment. Turning his head to the left, he saw men in yellow hats and orange vests gathered around a giant machine that was lifting a large steel beam from the ground. Fortunately, all of the men were focused on the beam rather than looking in his direction.

He lowered himself to the ground, careful to avoid any sudden movements. The piles of debris between him and the men were tall enough that they would not be able to see him if he stayed low. He scanned around him now, but saw no other activity.

Confident he had not been seen, and keeping a wary ear tuned to the sounds of the construction to his left, he reached into his saddle bag, pulling out the clock, a notepad, and a writing instrument. Writing down the current time in Equestria, he compared it to the time he had written down moments before he left. Fourteen minutes in the future? he thought to himself in astonishment. Even though the trip to Earth had seemed instantaneous to him, he had actually traveled fourteen minutes into the past! At least relative to Equestria time he had.

Suddenly, the sounds to his left changed. He perked his ears, pulling his mind away from the marvel of time travel. The sounds were coming closer! The men were walking towards him!

Quickly, he replaced the items he had taken out of his saddle bag and looked behind him at the entrance to a ruined building. It looked unstable, the roof half collapsed and the walls sagging inward. He was worried it might come down on top of him if he went inside.

To his right, was a grove of trees. But it was at least a hundred strides away through open field. There was no way he'd make it there without being spotted. He'd have to take his chances on the ruined building behind him and hope for the best.

He stood up, once again, being careful to move slowly so he wasn't seen. Then, as silently as possible, he moved towards the entrance to the building, disappearing inside.

Once his eyes adjusted to the darkness, they were met with piles of rubble, collapsed walls, and wires and light fixtures hanging down from areas where the ceiling had collapsed. In front of him, he saw a desk that was, remarkably, still intact. Behind the desk, a dark hallway led deeper into the building. Quickly, he darted towards the desk, hiding himself behind it and dropping low to the ground again, prepared to move into the hallway should the men enter the building and appear interested in the desk. Then, he waited, the sounds of the men coming closer. Shadows appeared on the wall behind him as the men passed in front of the entrance, stopping in front of it, where he heard them talk.

"This one's scheduled for demolition tomorrow."

"Good thing too," another voice replied. "Several teens and college students have been caught exploring the site. They're using this building to get down inside the tunnel. Dangerous, it is. Those tunnels could collapse at any moment."

"Just make sure you do an inspection of the building and the tunnel before you start in the morning. We don't want to bury anyone down there."

"It's taken care of. The cops and the fire department are already scheduled to come out first thing in the morning and do a through walk through before we start. We won't knock down any walls until we get the all clear from them."

"Good. Lets get out of here then. Happy hour's well underway, and the Bears are playing Green Bay tonight."

"Wouldn't want to miss that rivalry."

Then, he heard the sound of footsteps walking away, the back and forth conversation, along with the occasional sound of laughter growing fainter. Quiet descended on him shortly after as the machine that had been lifting the beam also turned off.

For now, he stayed were he was, continuing to watch the shaft of dusty light streaming through the entrance, the only sound now, the sound of his own breathing. A few seconds later, he heard noises that sounded like some kind of machines starting up. The sounds got briefly louder, increasing in pitch, and then faded into the distance. After that, all was quiet once again.

Once he was sure all the activity was gone, he allowed himself a small sigh of relief, feeling his adrenaline levels return to normal as he realized how close he had come to disaster before his mission had barely even started. Had he arrived just a minute later, he likely would have appeared right in front of the two workers who had gathered in front of the building. Had Twilight decided to simply send the package through by itself without him as a caretaker, the two men outside surely would have found it before Eric did. And even if they hadn't found it? Tomorrow, it would have been buried underneath the demolition, and no one would have ever found it.

That one was way too close, he thought to himself as he stood up, coming out from behind the desk. He walked to the entrance, carefully looking outside to make sure no one else was around before stepping out. Now, all he could do was wait until nightfall. He'd be less likely to be seen waiting inside the building, he realized. But he didn't relish the thought of spending however long it would take for the sun to go down inside of a building that could collapse at any moment. Furthermore, the men outside had mentioned that people sometimes went exploring down inside the tunnels. He definitely didn't want to be inside of the building should one of those people happen to emerge from the hallway.

His best chance for remaining hidden until dark would be the grove of trees he had spotted earlier. From there, he could keep a close watch on the Fermi Lab ruins for any activity, and the trees would shield him from being spotted by anyone in the flying machines James had told him existed in the area.

Looking around once again to make sure there was no activity, he quickly galloped towards the grove, not slowing down until he was safely hidden among the trees. Once there, he turned around and lie down on the ground, making sure he had a clear view of the ruins he had come from.

His ears perked again as he heard a distant roaring sound approaching from above, similar to a large flight of Pegasus Guards approaching at high speed. Turning his head in the direction of the sound, he looked up. As the sound became louder, he saw a large metallic bird-like object fly over him. One of the large aircraft, James had told him about, he thought as he watched it pass over, then returned his attention to the ruined buildings he had come from. No one from the aircraft would be able to see him. Not with the trees covering him and his matte black Lunar Guard armor. All he had to do now, was wait for nightfall.

For the next hour he continued to observe the ruins in front of him, but saw no further activity. The air around him was warm and inviting, in sharp contrast to the nearly frozen environment that Equestria had become. The sounds of the aircraft flying over his head had become such a constant background drone that he didn't even bother to look up at them anymore. To his west, the blue sky began to turn a firey orange and pink as the sun dropped towards the horizon.

Suddenly, he heard a noise from his front left, like one of the machines he had heard before. Turning his head slightly, he watched as one of the self-powered chariots James had mentioned pulled up into the lot near the ruined building he had come out near. The sound stopped, and the door opened, a human stepping out of it and beginning to walk towards the ruined building. The human stopped in front of it, then scanned the ground, as if it had lost something and were looking for it.

He continued to observe the human from his hidden location in the bushes. One thing was certain: It definitely wasn't Eric. It had long, yellow-blond hair, tied into a ponytail at the back of its head and hanging down nearly to the top of its pants. It, he now decided, must be a she, given what James had told him about the difference in appearances between male and female humans. She wore bluejeans, and a rust colored t-shirt. On top of the t-shirt, she sported a brown, sleeveless vest.

After about a minute of searching outside, she went inside the building, disappearing from his view. He watched the entrance intently, praying to Celestia that the building wouldn't collapse on her. He thought it should be obvious to anyone that the building was structurally unsound, but then again, the only human he had any experience with was James. Perhaps the rest of humanity was not nearly so intelligent? For a moment, he even considered going back to the ruined building to warn her and get her out, even though it meant he would have to reveal himself to her. But then, she emerged from the doorway again.

He continued to watch as she shook her head slightly, apparently not finding whatever it was she was looking for. Then, he followed her movements as she walked back to the self-propelled chariot she had arrived in. Once she was inside, he heard the strange noise these chariots made again as it started to leave the area it was parked in. He continued to follow its movement as it left the area. Then, it turned a corner, and was lost from his sight.

That was curious, he thought to himself, wondering who she was. She wasn't one the construction workers. That much was obvious. She had been dressed nothing like they were.

The minutes passed, the sun continued to dip below the horizon, and it became harder to see the buildings in front of him. Looking at the sky again, he could just begin to see the first stars becoming visible. He waited for what he guessed was another thirty minutes before standing and stretching his wings. It was dark enough now that he doubted anyone would be able to see him unless they were to shine a light directly on him. It was time to try and find Eric's apartment.

He checked to make sure no one was around, then stepped out of the grove of trees. Spreading his wings, he took flight, rising above the level of the trees slowly, mindful of James' instructions that even with the stealth armor he was wearing that was supposed to scatter radar waves, it was still best for him to stay as low as he could to avoid possible detection.

Scanning the sky quickly, he looked for any of the large aircraft that might be near him. He could hear some in the distance, but the only thing he could see were red and green flashing lights. They were moving, but appeared to be some distance off.

Satisfied there were no aircraft close to him, he began to look for landmarks. To the front and right of him, he could see a brightly lit area that the aircraft seemed to be flying towards. The shape of the light patterns on the ground matched the place called O'Hare International Airport that James had told him about. To his left, he spotted a very wide, lighted ribbon. Dark silhouettes of the self-powered chariots moved along it, getting off of it various branches which curved, looped, and sometimes looked like the shape of a cloverleaf. That must be the main north-south highway James had told him about.

He turned and flew towards it, banking to the north once he was near it and following it, still maintaining his vigilant watch for any of the aircraft that might get too close to him. Once he was abreast of O'Hare airport, he turned south, and then began counting the highway exits as he passed them, following the eighth ramp as James had instructed.

He looked to the left, spotting the condo building James had indicated and circling to approach it from the south, making sure to stay above the roof line so no one would see him through the windows. There, he observed it for awhile, waiting until all of the windows either went dark, or he was certain no one was near them that could spot his arrival.

He approached quickly, covering the distance between himself and the side of the building as fast as possible to reduce the chance of being spotted. Once outside the window of Eric's condo, he stayed as close as he could to the side of the building, lowering the chance that anyone who did look out the windows on either side would be able to see him. There were no lights on inside, and no activity he could see. Celestia and Eric must have already gone to bed, he assumed.

Turning his head and reaching into his saddle bag, he took out the small pry bar he had brought from Equestria, inserting the tip between the window and its frame. He didn't have to apply very much force before he heard a slight wooden cracking sound, followed by the sound of something metal falling to the floor inside. Pushing up on the pry bar now, the window slid open with ease. Then, he used the pry bar to remove the screen before flying inside, landing gently on the floor and folding his wings.

His eyes had already adjusted to the darkness, and it was apparent that the main room of the condo was empty. To his front left, he could see a kitchen, but his sensitive nose told him no food had been cooked in it for at least a few days.

To his front right, he saw a hallway, which he walked towards, placing his hooves carefully and stepping lightly on the carpet to avoid any noise. Quietly, he pushed open the first door on his left, which turned out to be an unoccupied bathroom.

Continuing down the hall, still being careful not to make any noise, he carefully pushed open the door on his right, finding a bedroom. The bed itself, was unoccupied. It was clear now, the condo was empty. He walked over to the bed, pushing the covers back with a hoof and smelling the sheets. Immediately, his heart sank. Yes, Celestia had definitely slept in this bed. But it was several days ago, and she had not been back since …

o.O.o

James reached the bottom of the spiral staircase and proceeded down the long, torchlit corridor towards the Royal Canterlot Archives, which lay in a protected vault deep beneath the castle. He had never been down here before, and the significance of the hall through which he now walked was not lost on him. Very few ponies were allowed where he was now standing. For at the end of this hall, were the most closely guarded secrets in all of Equestria, including all of the intelligence Equestria had ever gathered on every conceivable subject.

But that wasn't the only thing lurking down here. The Archives also contained knowledge of what Twilight had told him was known as Deep Magic. Of all the secrets guarded down here, Deep Magic was the most closely guarded secret of all, indeed, the most closely guarded secret in all of Equestria. And for good reason. Deep Magic was so unfathomably powerful, that it could, in theory, alter the fundamental nature of quark particles themselves, potentially causing dangerous and uncontrolled chain reactions. Thus, it was also capable of causing unfathomable destruction; destruction not only of the local realm, but potentially of the entire universe itself. Of course, that was all theory. For obvious reasons, no unicorn had ever attempted to experiment with Deep Magic. Not even the Princesses themselves dared touch it, and Star Swirl's fear of going anywhere near it was the stuff of legends. Research into Deep Magic was highly regulated, and there was only one lab in all of Equestria that was even authorized to perform it. That lab, was a secret Royal Guard installation located in a basement of the Royal Equestrian Academy's physics building. Outside of the Royal Council, very few ponies even knew of the lab's existence. James hadn't even been aware of its existence when he was working in the same building, not learning of it until after he had joined the Council. Those ponies who worked in the lab were forbidden from talking about it.

There were multiple doomsday scenarios bounced around among unicorn scholars about what might happen if a spell were to alter a quark. They ranged from the creation of antimatter, resulting in a localized but extremely devastating explosion capable of destroying an entire city; to the creation of a stable strange quark that would cause a chain reaction converting all matter in the universe to strange matter; to a chain reaction that would travel outward from its source, annihilating all matter in a release of pure energy; to causing the universe to move to a different energy state, which would fundamentally change the nature of all chemical reactions, thus making it impossible for life to continue anywhere in the universe.

Fortunately, even the theory on how Deep Magic might be accessed was so esoteric and complex, it was unlikely any unicorn would be able to figure it out without access to the knowledge contained in the Archives. James shuddered to think of the potential for disaster if the knowledge were to fall into the hooves of rogue unicorns such as those who were trying to topple The Crown.

As he reached the end of the hall, he was greeted by the imposing sight of a large, reinforced double door, and four armored unicorn guards, all of whom were carrying razor sharp spears to supplement their deadly combat spells.

To someone casually approaching the Archive entrance, four unicorns would seem a small force to be guarding the most dangerous knowledge in the world; perhaps, the most dangerous knowledge in the entire universe. But James knew better. In addition to the guards, the Archives were warded with trap spells. If anyone tried to enter who was not one of the Princesses, a Royal Council member, or one of the few librarians who were trusted enough to work in the Archives, they would find themselves immediately restrained with magical spells so powerful that only Princess Celestia or Princess Luna themselves could free them. Anyone else who wanted to enter needed a protection spell cast on them so that they wouldn't trigger the trap spells. And the protection spell had been designed so that only all four guards could cast it, ensuring that no single, rogue guard could allow an unauthorized individual into the Archives.

"Counselor Peterson," one of the guards acknowledged before two of them turned and placed their horns into the magic keyholes on the large doors. The other two guards remained facing him, keeping their eyes focused behind him in case anyone else were to come down the hall.

A loud boom echoed off the corridor walls as the massive locks on the archive doors disengaged. A silver light surrounded the doors as they began to open, revealing the true nature of their construction. He estimated the doors must be at least ten feet thick and weigh a hundred tons or more. Once the gap was large enough for him to walk through, they ground to a halt.

"Thank you," he said to the guards, nodding respectfully before entering the archive room. The doors immediately began closing behind him, their grinding echoing off the corridor walls again.

As he entered the Royal Archives themselves, he felt the magic from the trap spells probing him, sending a chill through his body. It wasn't painful, but it wasn't a particularly pleasant sensation either, like being inside a field of static electricity. Every once in awhile, a small spark would arc on his skin, a shock hitting him like that of touching a metal doorknob after walking across a shag carpet on a dry day. But the psychological impact was far worse than the physical impact. He shuddered, feeling like he was walking on a mine field. If the trap spells were to trigger, he would be stuck here, unable to move a muscle until one of the Princesses could free him. And, of course, neither Princess was around to do that right now. A musty smell reached his nose, impressing upon him that some of the documents he was standing among were thousands of years old, and some were probably badly in need of restoration.

The trap spells did not trigger, but they seemed to be watching his every step, probing his every movement, as if they were a living thing having some type of intelligence. Eventually, he no longer noticed their probing. Whether it was because he'd simply gotten used to it, or because they had decided he belonged here and had stopped probing him, he wasn't sure. He hoped it was the former. The idea that the trap spells had some kind of intelligence was something he didn't want to ponder for too long.

Pushing the trap spells out of his mind, he tried to focus on the research he needed to do. There were no signs indicating what the different parts of the Archives contained, so he walked along the shelves, glancing down each aisle until he saw a librarian pony taking notes about their contents. She had gray fur, a white mane and tail, and looked to be rather elderly. He surmised it took decades of experience as a librarian before a pony would be trusted enough to work in the Royal Archives. She looked up from her notes, turning her head and regarding him through a pair of thick rimmed glasses.

"Counselor Peterson," she acknowledged with a nod. "How may I assist you?"

"Ma'am," he acknowledged back with a return nod. "I'm looking for the foreign intelligence section. Specifically, the section on changelings."

"The changelings? There's not going to be a changeling invasion to add to our existing problems is there?" she said with a note of concern in her voice, her eyes widening slightly.

"No, ma'am. No invasion," he responded with a slight shake of his head. He didn't volunteer any other information to her though, remembering Princess Celestia's admonishment that nothing discussed in Royal Council meetings was allowed to leave the meeting chamber without permission from one of the Princesses, or in this case, the Regent.

"That's good to know," she said with a sigh of relief. "The changeling intelligence is in aisle twenty-eight. I'll lead you over there."

She turned around, walking to the end of the aisle before turning left. He followed her closely, looking around and marveling at the size of the Archives. There must be hundreds of shelves in just this wing alone. And at the end of the room, he could see more reinforced doors leading to other sections of the Archives. The doors were unlabeled, but each one was guarded by two spear wielding Royal Guards, apparently as a last line of defense should some intruder manage to get through the outer doors and find a way to disarm the trap spells.

She stopped in front of one of the aisles, pointing down it with her hoof. "Everything we know about changelings can be found here," she said.

"Thank you, ma'am."

"You're very welcome, Counselor. Just call me if you need any help," she answered before turning and going back to her duties.

James walked down the aisle, scanning the shelves on both sides. Each shelf was labeled with a category indicating the type of information filed there. Changeling society, changeling military capabilities and tactics, changeling history, changeling culture, and Queen Chrysalis were among the labels he saw. Chrysalis herself, had an entire shelf dedicated just to her. He wondered what it must be like to be the leader of a nation, knowing that other countries had entire teams of intelligence agents dedicated solely to uncovering every single piece of information they could about you.

He decided to start with some folders on Chrysalis herself. After all, she was the one he had to strike some kind of agreement with if he was going to get the changeling army to ally with Equestria in this war. And given the history between Chrysalis and Equestria, he knew he had his work cut out for him. It would behoove him to know everything he possibly could about her that he might be able to use to his advantage when negotiating with her. He loaded his left arm up with as many folders as he could carry, then took them to a nearby table, sitting down and opening the first one.

The first thing he found were pictures of Chrysalis, both current, and from various dates in the past, going all the way back to when she was a young filly. She actually looked cute when she was younger, but then again, so did all fillies and colts. He moved the photos out of the way and continued reading about her history, and everything else that Royal Intelligence Command knew about her.

"James?", he heard the voice of Twilight as he looked up from his reading. She had an annoyed and uncomfortable expression on her muzzle.

"Twilight … Is something wrong?"

"I had to let the Royal Guards outside cast a spell on me so I wouldn't trigger the trap spells. I'm not used to having spells cast on me. Usually, I'm the one casting them," she said with a frown.

He nodded once. "Feels rather strange, doesn't it? The probing?"

"Very strange."

"Captain Skydart is concerned … He's worried that the changelings will try to feed on his soldiers. They've got enough to worry about without having to constantly look over their shoulders to see if some changeling is trying to prey on them."

"I appreciate his concern," Twilight nodded, "but I have some reason to believe that changelings can feed on love that is voluntarily given, rather than having to forcefully take it." James raised an eyebrow at that.

"Do you really think any ponies will voluntarily give love to a changeling?"

"I hope they will … once they realize that the changelings are fighting with them and for them, and helping to protect Equestria."

She looked down for a moment, frowning before looking back up at him and continuing.

"That said, I'm starting to wonder if this is a bad idea. What do I actually expect you to do when you get there? Appeal to Chrysalis's good nature or something?" She said the words good nature with a strong note of sarcasm.

"That actually might not be as crazy as it sounds. I've been reading about her in the intelligence reports. According to these, when Chrysalis was a filly, Equestria was very optimistic that she would be a good ruler. She wasn't always like this. But expectations, pressure, and harsh treatment from her mother and changeling military commanders corrupted her and turned her the way she is now. Reading about her life is like reading a Shakespearean tragedy or something."

"Shakespeare?"

"He was a classical poet and playwright from my world. Lived several hundred years ago."

She nodded once. "So you think you might be able to convince Chrysalis this is a chance for redemption? A chance to become the queen she really wanted to be instead of the one she was forced to be?"

He hesitated for a moment before responding. "It's worth a try I think. And if I combine that with the fact that she really doesn't have any other choice … basically, she can either be the queen that helped saved the changelings and the entire world, or she can be the queen whose stubbornness caused the extinction of her entire species."

"Doesn't sound like much of a choice when you put it to her that way. So what else did you learn?"

"Well, I learned that changeling queens emit a pheromone that has a controlling effect on the drones and prevents defections from the hive." He looked at her with a mischievous expression on his face now. "I certainly hope it doesn't work on humans and I find myself irresistibly drawn back to the changeling hive so I can be near Chrysalis." He chuckled slightly, but then got a light jab in the ribs from Twilight's forehoof for his joke.

"And you say my jokes aren't funny? I think we both better leave the humor to Pinkie Pie."

"Yeah, you're probably right."

"Your flight leaves in an hour. In addition to your chariot, we're sending twenty Pegasus Guards with you in case you should come under attack en route. They'll land well before you get near the hive. Use your best judgment as to whether they should accompany you any further than that, or whether you should go in alone."

"Alright. I guess we better get busy reading then."

He spent the next fifty minutes or so poring over the intelligence documents. For the most part, he focused on Chrysalis herself, and on changeling society and culture so he would know what to expect when he got to the hive. Finally, he closed the folder and looked up at Twilight apprehensively.

"Well … I guess I better get going," he said.

"I'll walk to you to your flight," she responded, the two of them standing up, leaving the folders for the librarian to reshelve.

They left the Archives, walking back down the long corridor and up the spiral staircase to the basement of the castle again. Then they walked down another hallway, proceeding up two more staircases until they were back at the main level of the castle. From there, they went to the door leading to the back courtyard. Two earth pony Royal Guards saluted before opening the door. Immediately, the arctic air blasted its way inside, and the two of them hurried out into the cold.

Despite the darkness, the courtyard itself was still relatively well lit. The snow had stopped, but the icy wind still bit into him. He was glad he had the warm clothes Rarity had made for him on underneath his Council robe.

In front of him, looming at the bottom of the stairs, was the armored Royal Guard chariot with four Pegasus Guards attached to it. The rest of his Guard escort stood in front of and behind the chariot. All of them saluted when Twilight and he approached.

As he looked at the chariot, the armored guards from Air Transport Command pulling it, and the escort from Air Combat Command, he felt his anxiety begin to increase. He felt as if the chariot and ponies before him were a military transport convoy, waiting to carry a frightened soldier behind enemy lines and into battle for the first time … Waiting to carry him behind enemy lines. He attempted to swallow his rising fear as they reached the chariot and stopped in front of the door. Then, he turned to Twilight, breaking protocol and reaching out to her, wrapping his arms around her withers in a hug.

"Please be careful interrogating Ambassador Firewing … I'm still not comfortable with you alone down there interrogating a fully grown dragon who might be hostile."

"I'll be careful. And I won't be alone. I'll have a lot of Unicorn Guards with me ready to magically subdue him the moment he tries anything," she said, embracing him tightly. "Be … Be careful, James," she added with a note of fear in her voice, and he knew she was afraid for him; afraid she may be sending him to his doom.

"I'll be back before you know it, with an army of changelings to help us win this war," he said forcing a smile. But the smile couldn't last long. Not given the situation they were both in, and the situation Equestria as a whole was in. Quietly, very quietly so only she could hear, he spoke again. "I love you," he said emotionally.

"And I love you," she responded, and he could hear her voice straining as she tried to control her emotions.

He broke the embrace now, knowing he wouldn't be able to keep it together if he held her any longer. Then he opened the door to the chariot, climbing in and looking at her.

"I'll be back in less than a day." He looked into her eyes, and could see the moisture glistening in them as the lights of the courtyard reflected off of them.

"May Their Majesties guide you and keep you safe on your journey," she responded.

He looked at her for another moment, feeling his own eyes moistening now. Then, he pulled the door shut, knowing if he looked at her for another second, he would surely break down. A jolt and the noise of wheels turning, a steep pitch up, and the chariot took to the sky. He looked out the window, seeing her watch the chariot climb into the night. Then, they banked, turning south towards the changeling lands, and she was lost to his sight.

He leaned back in the seat now, anxiety and depression threatening to overwhelm him as he suddenly felt more alone than had ever felt in his life. A feeling of utter despair came over him as he settled in for the long flight to the changeling lands. And both he and Twilight were completely unaware of the massive griffin invasion rapidly approaching the southeast shore of Equestria.

48 - Chrysalis

Author's note: This chapter plays very fast and loose with canon when it comes to Equestria's history with changelings. Please bear with me in keeping in mind that I started writing and publishing this story long before season 2 was announced, and long before either the changelings or Princess Cadance and Shining Armor were mentioned. Because of that, I borrowed some canon from the Canterlot Wedding episode, but at the same time, neither Princess Cadance or Shining Armor exist in this story.

The God Particle

Chapter 48: Chrysalis

James tried to take advantage of the flight to the changeling hive by catching up on sleep, but found it impossible. The adrenaline flowing through his system was simply too much, the nervousness in the knowledge of what he was about to do simply too overwhelming.

The thought of meeting Queen Chrysalis nearly paralyzed him with fear. This was, after all, an individual so powerful that she had once defeated Princess Celestia herself in single combat. One had to have a certain amount of respect for someone capable of that, even if it was a very begrudging respect. Granted, she probably wasn't nearly as powerful now as she had been back then, given she no longer had the enormous reserves of love to draw from that she did then. But even if she only had a fraction of the power she had before, she was still a very dangerous adversary that he didn't dare underestimate.

A growing pressure in his ears told him they had started their descent. The air was ghostly smooth, chillingly so. Once again, he found himself wishing for a little bit of turbulence to offset the calm before the storm feeling that threatened to overwhelm him. A chill traveled through his body as the adrenaline spiked once more with the knowledge that they were now either very close to, or already behind enemy lines. He made a conscious effort to control his breathing and remind himself that despite Chrysalis's enormous power, he was ultimately the one with the advantage here, given he would be presenting her with a choice between survival and extinction. He only hoped the Changeling Queen was not so proud that she would choose extinction just to spite Equestria.

A few seconds later, there was a small jolt as the chariot touched down and gradually game to a stop. A series of severe bumps and rattles told him the ground beneath them was extremely rugged terrain. That the changelings preferred to construct their hives in very rough and inhospitable environments in order to make ground invasions of their territory extremely difficult was something else he had learned about them in the intelligence reports.

As the chariot rolled to a stop, he opened the door and climbed out, tugging his robe tighter around himself against the cold. Ghostly halos hung in the air where his breath froze and reflected the light of the chariot's lanterns. The ground crunched beneath his feet due to a combination of frozen and dead scrub and vegetation. He scanned the area around him as far as the pole mounted lanterns would allow him to see, but found little of interest. The land was barren, covered mostly with thorny bushes and dry grasses. Only the hardiest of trees could survive the environment of the changeling lands, and those were far and few between. Why anyone would want to live in such inhospitable territory was beyond him, and he had to remind himself that the changelings lived here by choice. Their hard, chitin covered bodies and partial insect like anatomy made them extremely adaptable to harsh climates. Changelings were capable of thriving in environments that would kill any pony, or any human for that matter. That was a point of concern for him. The changelings would be tolerating the cold and dark much better than the ponies would. If they were unable to bring back the sun, the changelings would be one of the last species to go extinct. That meant they may not see the urgency of the situation. Or perhaps Chrysalis would choose to gamble, riding out the crisis until Equestria was weakened to the point where she could easily conquer them? Only once she had Equestria under her control, would she act to stop the crisis. He felt the advantage he initially thought he had slipping away from him as he pondered that scenario.

“We're ready, Counselor.”

He turned to see one of the Pegasus Guard escorts walking up to him. He shook his head once.

“I'm going in alone, Lieutenant.”

The pegasus raised an eyebrow and frowned. “Technically, Equestria is still at war with the changelings. We're not letting you walk into a potentially hostile situation with the enemy alone, Counselor.”

The guard seemed resolute in his statement, but James wasn't to be deterred. He hadn't forgotten that ultimately, the guards had to follow his orders. He felt a tinge of annoyance at the Lieutenant's defiance. That, combined with his nervousness caused him to respond a bit more harshly than he intended.

“And what are your plans if we do run into trouble, Lieutenant? Do you think the twenty-four of you can take on the entire changeling army?”

The pegasus frowned again, his ears giving a barely noticeable droop. “No … Of course not.”

“Then I'm going in alone,” he said as he unstrapped his sword belt, holding out the sword towards the guard who took it between his jaws. “And unarmed. I'm far less likely to provoke a hostile response that way. If they see an armed royal counselor approaching the hive with twenty-four pegasus guards, they will probably think we are here to arrest Chrysalis.”

The guard nodded once, then turned and placed the sword belt gently inside the chariot, exchanging it for a lantern before turning back to James and holding it out to him, looking at him with concern. “At least take a signal flare with you then, Counselor. So that if the changelings should attack you anyway you have a way to summon us for help.”

James shook his head as he took the lantern, adjusting the baffles until it only directed light forward and at an angle to the ground directly in front of him, assuring that he would be less visible from the sides, from the air, or from a distance in front. “I appreciate your concern, Lieutenant, but they will no doubt search me and confiscate anything I'm carrying before they allow me near Chrysalis. If they find the signal flare, they might think my intention all along was to alert you once I found them. I don't want to give them any reason to think I'm coming to them with deceptive intent.”

The guard nodded once, but still looked uncertain. Nevertheless, he gave up the argument. “Be careful then, Counselor.”

“I will, Lieutenant. Make sure you keep guards posted on all sides. For all we know, changeling sentries are watching us right now. We'd never see their black carapaces in this darkness.”

“I will,” the guard said as James turned and started walking away from the chariot, deeper into enemy territory.

As he walked, he felt a tinge of regret at the harsh way he had responded to the Lieutenant. After all, the pegasus had only been concerned for his safety. He made a mental note to apologize when he saw the guard again … If he saw the guard again. Don't think that way, he chastised himself. Of course I'll see him again.

He continued deeper and deeper into changeling territory, although he really had no idea where he was going. Equestrian intelligence didn't know where the actual hive was. It was thought to be deep underground, with entrances that were well camouflaged against the terrain to make them nearly impossible to spot on aerial reconnaissance missions. The fact that the hive itself was underground also gave the changelings a survival advantage in the current crisis. They would no doubt be well below the frost-line, and the temperature would remain above freezing in their hive for much longer than it would on the surface.

A tangled vine caught his foot, and he fell forward, hitting the ground with a wince as the impact jolted him. “Damn!” he cursed to himself as he stood back up, brushing himself off and walking again, being more careful. But even then, more roots and vines threatened to tangle around his legs and trip him, while holes and ridges threatened to break an ankle if he accidentally stepped in one. Even with the lantern, it was clear why a ground assault on the changeling hive would be a very dangerous and costly operation, even during the day. He had briefly considered not taking a lantern at all, knowing that carrying it would make him far more visible. It wasn't that he was worried about the changelings finding him. After all, it might even be that the sooner they found him, the better. Rather, he was worried about the potential of griffin attacks from the air. But attempting to traverse the natural trap-laden terrain would have been suicidal without any form of light at all.

He continued walking, nearly tripping several more times, knowing only that he was heading in the right general direction, but still seeing no sign of activity. Nevertheless, he had an uneasy feeling, as if he were a deer being hunted and surrounded by a pack of wolves that he couldn't see, but still knew were out there. Surely, the changelings were watching him, remaining hidden for now to observe him, find out what his intentions were, or wait for exactly the right time to strike.

A sudden screech from above pierced the night sky. Quickly, James looked up to see a large, dark silhouette diving straight towards him, razor sharp talons extended to grab him. Griffin! He realized with a panic, quickly diving to the ground and flattening himself, feeling a rush of air as the griffin's body passed just over the top of him. He quickly stood back up, instinctively reaching for his sword, panic flooding over him as he remembered he'd left it back at the chariot.

The griffin gave a scream of rage again, furious that it had missed its target. James quickly spun around, fear flooding through him as he realized there was no shelter for him to take in the barren, open land. He could dive into the thorny bushes, but he doubted even that would deter the griffin. He watched as the griffin banked sharply, coming around for a second pass and diving towards him again, giving another screech of rage. Knowing that running was futile, he raised his arms, shielding his vulnerable head and neck, and waited for the attack.

Feathers flew as the griffin was suddenly thrown sharply off course by something that had slammed roughly into its side. The griffin let lose another shriek that sounded to be a combination of rage, surprise, and pain. Before the griffin was able to wheel on its attacker, something slammed into it hard from above, sending it plummeting several feet before it recovered.

The Pegasus Guards must have seen the griffin inbound and come to my rescue, he thought. But then, one of them flew through the lantern light, and he saw the dark shine of coal black chitin, and the insect like wings. Another shriek as the changeling he had just seen slammed into the griffin's side, once again, sending it tumbling.

A mixture of relief and fear went through him now. At first, he had been sure the griffin would kill him. Now, there was no doubt it had been changelings that had saved his life. But even though he had been preparing for it, now that the changelings had actually found him, he feared what would happen next.

He continued to watch the battle unfold above him. At least ten changelings surrounded the griffin now, attacking from all sides. As soon as the griffin would lash out at one of them, another would attack its unprotected side. Once again, the griffin screamed in frustration, its motions quickly slowing down, as if it were rapidly growing tired. In fact, now it was obvious that the griffin was more focused on trying to escape than on attacking the changelings. But it was just as obvious that the changelings had no intention of letting it do so. They kept it boxed in from all sides. Every time it turned and tried to flee, it found itself confronted by a changeling, while the changelings in the direction it had just turned from would dive in and attack.

James found it odd that the griffin had tired so rapidly, and given up the fight so quickly. It was unlike any griffin attack he had ever seen against the Pegasus Guard. Only then did he notice that each time the changelings attacked, they deposited a slimy green resin-like substance on its wings. The griffin shook its wings, trying desperately to throw off the slimy substance, but it adhered firmly. James realized it was the resin-like substance that had slowed the griffin down so quickly, and now had it desperately looking for an escape route.

The changelings dived in again, once, twice, and the griffin let out a shriek of fear as it tumbled to the ground, its wings no longer able to move faster than a snail's pace, and the weight of the sticky green resin being too much for it. Immediately, the changelings were on it, and he lost sight of it as they surrounded it. The griffin gave one more cry, but then went silent. For the next few seconds, he saw nothing except the changelings moving back and forth. Then, they slowly started to move off of the griffin and step backwards, still keeping it surrounded and seeming ready to pounce on it again. James fully expected to see the griffin dead, and was surprised when he saw it was still very much alive and struggling violently. However, now its talons were bound behind its back in the slimy green resin, its wings bound tightly to its sides, and its legs folded and bound tightly together. A layer of the green substance also surrounded its beak, holding it tightly shut.

Once again, the griffin tried to stand, and for a moment, James thought it would break free of the bonds. It struggled with effort, the changelings remaining ready to pounce. The sticky green restraints held firm, and the griffin collapsed to the ground again, exhausted and breathing heavily. Now, it simply looked up at its captors, an expression of fear clearly visible in its eyes, which reflected the light of the lantern.

“Get him loaded onto one of the carts,” he heard a female voice say. “Take him back to the hive and put him in a dungeon cell. Leave the restraints on. When I make my report, I'll inform Queen Chrysalis we made an unexpected capture and find out what she wants done with him.”

“Yes, Commander,” he heard several changelings respond. Then, the changeling that had given the order, turned and walked towards him. She said nothing for now, but her eyes told him not to try anything. Given how easily they had subdued the griffin, he had no intention of doing so. Instead, he simply said the first thing that came to his mind.

“You saved my life.”

“Of course we did. I'm quite certain The Queen wouldn't appreciate a griffin killing you before you've been interrogated to find out exactly why one of Celestia's Council members would risk coming here. Although I think I can safely say it has something to do with this crisis. My name's Antenna, by the way. Commander Antenna, of Queen Chrysalis's Imperial Army.”

“James … Counselor James Peterson. How'd you know I was in trouble?” he asked, immediately realizing it was a stupid question.

“We've been following you for at least the last twenty minutes. We wanted to make sure you truly were alone before we confronted you. When the griffin attacked and none of your guards came to your rescue, it became obvious you were.”

He nodded, then turned his head to look at the griffin, who was now being loaded onto a wooden cart. The griffin had long since given up trying to break free of the strong green resin that bound him, but he still had the same expression of fear in his eyes. “What's gonna happen to him?” he asked, turning back to the changeling commander.

“Whatever Queen Chrysalis wants to happen to him. He'll either stay in the dungeon, or more likely, be placed in a cocoon as a food source for hatchlings,” she responded without any hint of emotion in her voice, causing him to grimace. Yes, the griffin had tried to kill him. Still, he wouldn't wish that fate on anyone.

“Can't … can't you at least use non-sapient animals to feed the hatchlings?” he asked nervously, feeling his stomach turn slightly as unwanted thoughts of the griffin's fate invaded his mind. She looked at him as if he had just asked the dumbest question in the world before responding.

“Non-sapient animals are useless when it comes to extracting love.” She paused for a moment as he continued to look at the griffin, the feeling of illness still prevalent as he tried to divert his mind from the griffin's likely fate. She spoke again, bringing his attention back to her.

“You should be more worried about your own fate than the fate of the griffin. After all, your fate might be the same as his. If that's what The Queen decides.”

Again, he felt fear try to overwhelm him, but he did his best to hide it. “You'll take me to see Queen Chrysalis then?”

She gave him an amused smirk before responding. “You ask me as if you still have a choice in the matter. Yes, you will see The Queen, but you're a prisoner now. Turn around, hooves behind your back. I suggest you comply fully, unless you wanna end up like him,” she said, nodding to the griffin who was bound so tightly that it looked to be painfully uncomfortable.

He winced and quickly did as she had ordered, turning and placing his hands behind his back. Given how easily the changelings had subdued and restrained the mighty griffin, he knew he didn't stand a chance against even one of them. The thought of resisting never even crossed his mind.

He felt a weird sensation as something warm and slimy began to flow over his wrists and forearms, quickly hardening into a very firm resin that didn't allow him to move at all. In a brief moment of panic, he realized it was the same substance that the griffin was bound in. It felt very strange, but he relaxed a little when he realized she had stopped at his forearms and didn't seem to have any intentions of binding him as tightly as the griffin was bound.

Once she had restrained him, he felt her forehooves move over his robe as she searched him for any objects he might be carrying. He was glad now he'd insisted on not taking the signal flare.

“Turn around,” she ordered, and he quickly complied. “You'll be riding the rest of the way in a cart. So at least you won't have to worry about tripping anymore.”

“I don't have to share a cart with him, do I?” he nodded at the griffin. “Nothing personal against him, other than the fact that he tried to kill me.”

She smirked slightly at his off attempt at humor. “You'll have your own cart. But you will have to be blindfolded. You're lucky you didn't find the entrance to the hive before we captured you. If you had, Queen Chrysalis would have never allowed you leave again, given you'd be obligated as a royal counselor to report the location of the hive to your princesses. Of course, I make no guarantees that she will ever allow you to leave anyway.”

Once again, he felt a surge of fear at the thought of being a prisoner here forever, especially given the Royal Guard didn't actually know where the hive was, and would be unable to rescue him. “Even if I had found the entrance, I doubt I could have found my way back to it or told anypony how to get here. Not in this kind of darkness.”

“She still wouldn't have taken the risk,” she said, turning and motioning him to follow. He did so, and stopped when he was outside a black wooden cart that was a utilitarian military transport. She motioned for him to climb inside, and he did so, sitting down on the floor—there were no seats. Then, she climbed in with him.

Opening a lid on a chest next to her, she removed a blindfold, holding the ends with the holes in her forelegs. He made no attempt to resist her as she placed it over his eyes and tied it behind his head. He heard several more changeling soldiers climb into the cart, feeling a couple brush against him. Then, there was a small jolt as the cart began to bounce over the rough terrain.

“So,” the changeling commander he now knew as Antenna began, “Celestia is on another planet, Luna is being held captive by the griffins, and you've got unknown traitors in your ranks. A dire situation indeed.”

James blinked behind his blindfold. “How'd you know all that?” he asked in astonishment.

“We have changeling spies in Canterlot. It's no secret. We even have spies in the castle. Some of them might even be ponies you think are your friends.” She had said it with an air of accomplishment, obviously very proud of the fact that the changelings had managed to infiltrate deep into Canterlot's inner circle, even the castle itself.

“I guess I shouldn't be surprised to hear that,” he responded.

“Don't worry though. None of the Council members are changelings. Believe me, we've tried. The Queen has tried for decades to get a changeling on the Royal Council. But your princesses are far too careful about choosing Council members for that.”

“I suspect the Council binding spell would reveal a changeling for who they really were anyway,” he added.

“We've thought the same thing. We'll probably never know for sure since it's unlikely any changeling spy will ever be able to fool enough ponies so thoroughly that they're in a position to be asked to join the Council. So how'd you be the one unlucky enough to get stuck with this assignment? Coming here to meet us that is?”

“I was the only one that wasn't a pony,” he responded simply. She gave a slight chuckle in response.

“Yes, I suppose that was a wise decision to send you then.”

For the next minute or so, neither of them said anything, the only sounds the bumps and jolts of the wheels traveling over the rough terrain. The changeling commander seemed friendly enough, even making conversation with him. At the same time, he knew she was a trained military professional and was probably trying to engage him in conversation so that he might accidentally slip and tell her something that could be valuable intelligence information. But so far, the conversation had seemed harmless and innocent enough. He even found himself taking a liking to her, despite the fact that he was her prisoner. Perhaps changelings weren't quite as bad as he had thought up to this point? He frowned again, that idea being pushed out of his mind as his thoughts returned to the impending fate of the bound griffin in the other cart.

“Aren't you worried the griffin will escape once he recovers his energy? After all, I saw the bonds stretching when he tried to escape the first time,” he remarked.

She gave a dark snicker before responding. “You try to escape.”

“What?” he said, unsure if he'd heard her right.

“Go ahead. Try it.”

He hesitated for a moment before nodding. “Alright.”

With that, he strained his muscles, trying as hard as he could to pull his arms apart. To his surprise, he found that he was able to pull them apart slightly. However, it took all of his effort, and he couldn't manage to stretch the resin more than about an inch. His muscles burned with the effort as he tried to pull further, quickly growing tired. When he relaxed, the resin binding his arms together snapped back to its original shape, resuming its tight, form-fitting bond around his arms and hands.

“It's somewhat elastic,” he remarked. “Like a strong bungee cord or something.”

“Yes, it is,” Antenna responded. “As you now know firsthoof, the stretching is normal. The elasticity absorbs any attempts at escape and prevents the substance from cracking.”

He nodded slightly, but still had his doubts. “Nevertheless, I'm not nearly as strong as a griffin,” he countered.

“We've held creatures much stronger than griffins with that resin. Including dragons and feral beasts such as manticores. We even successfully held down a hydra with it once. Stone for stone, changeling resin is ten times stronger than steel. And the elasticity makes it even stronger. Our bodies naturally produce it. The ponies have tried for decades to synthetically or magically produce it, but so far, they've been unable to do so,” she said with a note of pride in her voice.

James raised an eyebrow behind his blindfold. On one hand, the knowledge that his hands and arms were covered in the bodily secretions of an insectoid like creature was not a pleasant thought. But on the other hand, the scientist in him couldn't help but marvel at the potential applications for such a substance. A malleable, form-fitting, elastic substance ten times stronger than steel. Everything from emergency splinting and casting of broken bones, to sealing of serious wounds, to emergency patching of cracks in dams and levees seemed like potentially revolutionary uses for such a substance.

“We're here,” Antenna said, bringing him out of his thoughts as the cart came to a bumpy halt. “Step down carefully. I'll guide you. Once we're inside the hive, I'll remove your blindfold.”

He followed her instructions, stepping down and walking with her guidance. Then, he heard the sounds of something being unbolted, followed by the squeaking sound of a door opening.

“Careful. You're about to step on a ramp that slopes downward at a pretty steep angle,” his captor instructed. He said nothing in response, but heeded her warning, watching his step carefully as he felt the ground slope beneath him. Another squeaking noise, and the door slammed shut behind them, echoing off what he could tell from the sound was a long corridor. A second later, the locking bolts slammed back into place with a second boom that reverberated through the hall.

“Stop here,” she ordered. He did so, and he felt her chitin covered hooves at the back of his head as she untied the blindfold, pulling it away.

As his eyes adjusted, he saw the corridor was dimly lit with a green hued light. Glowing, green, twisted stalactites hung from the ceiling, as if they were skeletal fingers pointing and illuminating the passage. As they descended deeper underground, the air gradually warmed, also taking on an earthen musty smell to it. The walls of the hive appeared to be natural dirt, the ceiling held up by timbers glued together with natural changeling resin. That was another potential use for the substance, he realized now. An industrial bonding agent far stronger than any currently known to humanity.

They continued deeper into the hive, navigating multiple turns like a maze. He quickly lost track of where he was, where he had been, how many turns they had taken and what direction they had been in. Even if he had remembered how to get to the hive itself, he never would have remembered how to navigate through the hive once he was inside. Even worse, at least in this situation, he'd never remember how to find the exit should he have to make a run for it and try to escape.

To his left, an oval-shaped opening led into a small room. Several changelings were gathered in it. They glared at him and made hissing noises, but made no effort to do anything else given he seemed to be a prisoner of one of their military commanders. He did his best to ignore them, keeping his eyes facing forward, and only looking at them through his side vision.

Several more twists and turns later, they approached a heavily reinforced door that appeared to be made from iron. Four changeling guards stood to either side of it.

“Stop here,” his captor ordered. He quickly complied. “I'm afraid you'll have to wait in the dungeon until Queen Chrysalis is ready to see you,” she informed him, one of the guards turning to unlock the heavy iron door. As they opened it, straining with the effort, a light breeze flowed out from behind it, smelling even more musty than the air in the corridors they had been walking through. It was obvious now that the area he was being lead to was the hive's dungeon, and that it was not particularly well ventilated.

“Let's go,” she ordered once the door had been opened.

His heart began to beat faster now as fear rose in him once again. Had he been tricked? Were they simply planning to leave him in the dungeon? Or worse yet, place him in a feeding cocoon? For a brief moment, he contemplated making a break for it. But with his arms heavily bound, Antenna standing to his right, and eight changeling guards near the dungeon entrance, he knew he would only get a few feet before he was brought down and subdued. His thoughts returned to the heavily bound griffin and he quickly abandoned any thoughts of running.

A light but firm jab from Antenna's horn reminded him that he was still standing still. “I said move,” she ordered, slightly more assertively this time. He started walking again, proceeding into the dimly lit dungeon corridor. To his left and right, were more iron doors that he assumed lead to individual cells. Whether any were occupied or not, he couldn't tell. There were no windows or bars on any of the doors. He assumed the captured griffin was probably down here somewhere though, or soon would be.

“Stop here,” she ordered, and he did as instructed. She stuck her horn into a lock on the door they were in front of and he heard a clang as it unlocked. Unlike locks in the Canterlot dungeon, this one appeared to be purely mechanical, as he hadn't seen any magical discharge from Antenna's horn. When the door opened, he saw a small room that appeared to be made mostly from natural earth. Hardened green resin covered the walls and floors, presumably to prevent prisoners from attempting to escape by digging their way out. There were no windows in the small cell, no chairs, and no bed.

“Only non-changeling prisoners are held in this wing of the dungeon,” Antenna informed him. “A changeling's body also produces an enzyme that can dissolve the resin they produce, so obviously holding changelings in these resin reinforced cells would not be feasible. But no other species has the capability to dissolve the resin.” Why she thought he would want to know that, he wasn't sure.

Reluctantly, knowing he had no other choice, he stepped into the cell. His arms were starting to get sore from having been tightly bound behind him for so long, and he hoped she might remove the bonds now that he was secure in a cell. Unfortunately, she made no move to do so.

“I'll come get you when The Queen is ready to see you,” she said before stepping back and closing the door. Darkness overwhelmed him as all light was shut out from the room, and he heard a loud clang as the lock slid back into place, trapping him inside the dark cell.

Unable to see anything, he walked carefully until he gently bumped into the wall. Then, he turned around and slid down slowly until he was sitting on the floor, panic starting to take over again. Thoughts of never seeing the outside world again started to force their way into his mind. And even worse yet, thoughts of never seeing Twilight Sparkle again. What had he gotten himself into? He'd walked right into a trap. Now that they had him in this cell, they were never going to let him out. At least not until they were ready to place him in a feeder cocoon. He had felt alone in the chariot on the flight here. But now, he felt completely lost, as if he were alone in a universe where nothing else existed. Nothing except the darkness that surrounded him. Despair began to set in, and he felt that he was about to cry.

Don't think that way, he chastised himself, trying to stop his mind from going to such dark places. Chrysalis is just messing with me. She's just trying to make a point that the meeting will happen on her time, when she wants it to rather than when I want it to. She's just trying to wear me down and show me that no one will intimidate her or control her schedule. Not even a representative of the most powerful ruler in the world.

That thought calmed him down somewhat. After all, they went to the trouble of saving his life from the griffin attack. Surely Chrysalis would at least want to find out why he wanted to see her so badly that he was willing to risk traveling through such hostile territory unarmed. He smirked slightly at that thought. The waiting must be as uncomfortable for her as it was for him. The suspense of waiting to know what it was he wanted was probably killing her, and it was probably all she could do to maintain her little game of establishing that things would happen on her time rather than his.

As he continued to sit in the dark, he lost track of time. But the dull ache in his immobile arms was getting worse to the point that it was becoming difficult to ignore. He suspected Chrysalis was using this as a minor form of torture to try to soften him up so he would be more timid and easy to manipulate when he finally did get his audience with her.

His thoughts drifted to Twilight now. Oh how he wished he were with her. His mind thought of Hearth's Warming Eve and a warm, blazing fire. Of gently falling snow outside the window and the aroma of peppermint tea, steam rising from the teacups as they discussed science, magic, and culture. He thought of a warm bed, her lying next to him, her legs wrapped around him and his arms around her. He smiled at that, almost able to completely distract himself from the situation he was in.

A loud clang jerked him roughly back to attention. He looked up to see the door opening, squinting his eyes slightly as the green light flowed into his cell after what he thought must have been several hours in total darkness.

“The Queen will see you now,” the familiar voice of Antenna said as she motioned him towards her. He nodded slightly and stood up, walking towards the door and stepping out of the cell. He walked beside her as she started to lead him down several more corridors, again, following a maze like pattern of twists and turns. He was alone with Antenna now, no other guards having been assigned to him.

“Could you please stop thinking about her?” she suddenly asked, startling him from his thoughts which had started to drift again.

“Excuse me?” he asked.

“Her. Whoever she is. Could you please stop thinking about her? Changelings are attracted to love like a shark to blood. You're making it rather difficult for me to resist the urge to tackle you and start feeding.”

“Right … Uh … sorry about that,” he said sheepishly, flushing with embarrassment and nervousness, trying to push any thoughts of Twilight out of his mind for the time being.

She lead him through several more turns before ordering him to halt. In front of him, stood a set of unremarkable steel doors, no more fancy than the doors leading into the dungeon. Two changeling guards stood on either side, both armed with wicked-looking spears to augment their natural weapons.

“This is Queen Chrysalis's lair. I've been instructed to remove your restraints before we enter,” she said as she walked around behind him. Once again, he felt a slimy substance flow over him as the resin seemed to melt away. Actually, melt wasn't the right word. It seemed to sublimate, going directly from a nearly solid substance to an invisible gas.

He brought his arms back around in front of him. Given they had been bound behind him for so long, the temptation to stretch the muscles was strong. But he resisted it, not wanting to give Antenna or the guards at the door any sign that the tight restraints had affected him. It was better not to show any weakness, he thought.

The simplicity of the doors leading to Chrysalis's lair, as Antenna had called it, was not lost on him. It seemed utilitarianism was an ingrained part of changeling culture. Even the changeling queen herself seemed to eschew appearances and fancy design in favor of raw functionality.

Antenna spoke something to the guards that he didn't hear. One of them turned around and pounded his chitin-covered hoof on the door once. A clang followed as the locks disengaged from the inside and the doors begin to open inward.

She motioned for him to move, and he entered the lair. Immediately, his eyes were drawn to the front, where Chrysalis herself sat on an onyx colored throne. Her green eyes seemed to bore into him, her fangs slightly visible around her muzzle. He kept his eyes diverted slightly downward, knowing from his brief study of changeling protocol that you were not allowed to look directly at the queen. A sense of raw power emanated from Chrysalis, similar but different to the power he had felt emanating from Celestia the first time he had met her. But whereas Celestia's power had felt warm and awe-inspiring in a pleasant sort of way, Chrysalis's felt cold and inspired a sense of awe that brought only fear. He did his best not to show it as he took four more steps forward, then stopped and gave the traditional diplomatic bow at the waist.

“Thank you for granting me this audience, Your Highness,” he said before coming up from the bow. Although in Equestria, protocol was that you didn't speak until Princess Celestia or Princess Luna spoke to you first, he knew from his short study of changeling culture that their protocol dictated that you immediately thank the queen for granting you an audience before anything else was said. He was glad he'd remembered to do so, and hoped it would get things off to a smooth start. Chrysalis said nothing, but flicked one of her dark forehooves towards her, motioning him to approach. He did so, moving closer to the platform her throne sat on.

“Halt,” she ordered suddenly, her voice laced with contempt that caused a feeling of uneasiness to rise in his chest. He quickly complied, standing as still as possible, remembering to keep his eyes diverted downward slightly.

“Kneel,” she said coldly.

“Your Highness?” he questioned. He'd already given the diplomatic bow that international protocol required and knew he wasn't supposed to be expected to do anything more. Chrysalis spoke again, her voice laced with malice.

“If you want this audience you will kneel in the same way you would to one of your precious princesses.”

He winced, uneasiness flooding through him at what he was being asked to do. The thought of kneeling to the Changeling Queen felt like a severe betrayal of his loyalty to his own Princesses. It caused him to hesitate. Chrysalis didn't wait long before speaking again.

“I am not known for my patience, Counselor. I suggest you make your decision quickly, or this meeting is over and I will have you escorted back to the border of my land.”

He winced again, feeling shame overcome him as he did what she had instructed, lowering himself to one knee and bowing his head. Despite the fact that he knew she was just trying to humiliate him and break him down, he couldn't avoid feeling that he had just seriously betrayed Princess Celestia and Princess Luna. Nevertheless, he resisted the urge to stand. Several seconds passed before the Changeling Queen gave a dark snicker, and spoke again.

“That's much better, Counselor. You may rise.”

He did so, trying desperately to get himself back into a frame of mind where he had some control over this meeting. But he found he was having a hard time pushing the shame out of his mind now. Having been forced to kneel before Chrysalis was unnerving him badly, leaving no doubt in his mind that he held very few cards in this game. He'd have to play them very carefully if he was to get what he wanted from her.

“So, Counselor … What is it that brings you to me?” she asked, standing up from her throne and slowly walking down the stairs, approaching him slowly, making a point of showing him her sharp fangs.

“As you already know, Your Highness, Princess Celestia is trapped in another world, Princess Luna is being held captive by the griffins, and this entire world faces a crisis without the sun. Furthermore, Equestria has come under attack by griffins, possibly dragons, and the forces from The Beyond threaten to breach the magical barriers.”

“As you said, you aren't telling me anything I didn't already know,” she scowled. “Except for the part about The Beyond. But that doesn't explain why you have come to me.”

He hesitated for a moment, gathering his confidence before responding. “I've come to ask for the assistance of the changeling army, Your Highness. Equestria's military forces do not have the strength to fight the griffins as well as protect the borders from breach by forces of The Beyond.”

She hesitated for a moment, making him think she had been taken off guard by his request. But then she responded in a resolute tone of voice. “Impossible. The changelings do not form alliances with any other nations. Especially not Equestria.”

“You may not care about Equestria, Your Highness. But even the changeling race will eventually perish without the sun.”

“We would perish anyway if we were to form alliances with other nations. The only reason we survive at all is because of our isolation and self-reliance. It is that which makes us strong, and which makes other nations fear us,” she countered, walking in a circle around him once. It unnerved him and he had to resist the urge to turn and follow her movements, half expecting her to attack him from behind. She stopped in front of him again. “We have no allies. No friends. You come to me for help, but you despise me. Changelings can sense love. And all you have for me is contempt. That is all anyone has for our race. And that is why we must remain isolated and self-reliant.”

He hesitated for several moments, choosing his words very carefully before responding. “You're right, Your Highness. I have no love for you. Nor do I have any respect for you. I address you as Your Highness because diplomatic protocol requires me to. I knelt before you and bowed to you because you refused to grant me this audience if I didn't. But I was just going through the motions.” She glared at him and opened her mouth to speak, but he took a risk and cut her off before she could. “But you could change all that, Your Highness. You could earn my respect if you helped save Equestria. You could earn my admiration. And the changelings could even earn the love of ponies if they did so.”

She was quiet for a moment, but then gave a brief, dark laugh before responding.

“Nice try, Counselor. But save your pitiful attempts at persuasive sweet-talking for some pony. It might actually work on one of their soft hearts. You know nothing of the changelings!” she spat.

“I know that you weren't always like this, Your Highness. In fact, I know that two centuries ago, Equestrian Intelligence believed you held great promise.”

She seemed to recoil slightly at that, as if he had struck some kind of nerve. He felt hope start to rise in him. Maybe, just maybe, he had turned the tables back to his advantage. There were several long moments of silence before Chrysalis turned her attention to her guards.

“Leave us,” she commanded in no uncertain terms. The guards hesitated only a moment before quickly obeying, turning and opening the large double doors with a loud sliding sound. After they had exited, they closed the doors again, and a clang echoed off the walls of Chrysalis's lair, gradually growing fainter until quiet prevailed once more.

Chrysalis hesitated for a few more moments. James could hear his own heartbeat as he continued to keep his eyes diverted towards the floor slightly, remembering the admonishment that changeling protocol dictated no one was allowed to look directly at The Queen. To do so was considered a challenge to her rule and was to invite combat. He almost recoiled when she raised a foreleg, placing her chitin covered hoof under his chin and pulling his head up gently but firmly, forcing him to look directly at her now whether he wanted to or not.

“Do you know how the Changeling Empire came to be?” she finally asked, her forehoof still under his chin and keeping his attention focused on her.

“Unfortunately, Your Highness, I only had a couple of hours to study changelings before I left for this meeting. The history of The Empire was not something I was able to get to.”

She took her forehoof off his chin, but he didn't look back down, assuming she wanted him to keep his attention on her now. “Just as well,” she said, turning around to face away from him as she started walking. “I'd rather you hear the story directly from me anyway rather than from Equestria's anti-changeling biased history books. Walk with me.”

He made no attempt to argue with her about whether Equestria's history books were, in fact, biased against changelings or not, instead, following her as she had instructed. She lead him to the doors, pounding her forehoof against them once, then taking a few steps backwards as they opened. She stepped out, beckoning him to follow and leading him down a series of corridors in another maze like pattern before stopping in front of another nondescript steel door. Then, she inserted her horn into a hole in the door, disengaging the lock. The frame of the door began to glow with a translucent green as it slid open slowly She entered the room, motioning him to follow.

He found himself in a relatively small room. Dominating the room, and built against the opposite wall, was a large statue of a changeling that he estimated to be fifteen feet tall. She wore a crown, similar to the one Chrysalis herself wore. At her hooves, was a griffin, sprawled on its side, the changeling standing over it with her forehoof stepping on the side of its head in triumph. On the base of the statue were several lines of writing in a script that he couldn't read. He watched in surprise as Chrysalis bowed before the giant statue for a couple of seconds, making him assume the statue was some sort of shrine. Not wanting to seem disrespectful, he bowed as well, limiting his bow to the diplomatic form he had used when first entering her lair. When Chrysalis came up from her bow, she turned and addressed him again.

“Do you know who this is?” she asked.

“I'm afraid I don't, Your Highness.”

“This, is Queen Dorylini the Great. Founder of the Changeling Empire and the first Queen of the Changelings.”

She turned sideways now, taking a few paces to the left, and beginning what James assumed was going to be a long story on the history of the changelings.

“The changelings were originally a prey species. Long before I was born, of course. In those days, changeling groups were made up of small, nomadic hives that were more like mobile tribal societies. Our numbers were small, predation keeping our population very low. Everything from griffins, to dragons, to feral beasts like timberwolves and manticores preyed on us. Originally, we used our resin only for defensive purposes. When attacked by predators, we'd run. As we ran, we'd leave a trail of resin behind us. The resin would bind to the paws of predators, slowing them down as if they were running through quicksand, and allowing us to escape, assuming, of course, that we had a large enough head start on the predator, and enough warning of their approach.

“Approximately fifteen hundred years ago, a young changeling girl by the name of Dorylini, only twelve years old, decided she was tired of being prey; tired of running all the time; tired of seeing her friends killed; and tired of having hives destroyed and constantly having to move, pick up the pieces, and rebuild. She proposed the radical idea that we should fight back when attacked, and that we could use our natural defensive resin as an offensive weapon to attack and subdue our enemies. Of course, the tribal elders at the time laughed at her. Thought her insane. But the young girl was not to be deterred. She proposed her radical idea to younger members of her hive, boys and girls her own age, and slightly older, who were not so set in their traditional ways as the elders. Among the youth, her idea took root, and her young followers slowly but steadily grew as she promised a life free from predators and free from being on the run to those who would follow her. Needless to say, this didn't go over well with the elders and other adults of her hive, who were firmly set in their traditional, nomadic ways of life, and tensions began to rise between the old and the youth. The adults considered the youth to be rebellious and disrespectful, whereas the youth insisted the adults were outdated, and their ways would only lead to the extinction of the changeling race.

“Tensions came to a boiling point when the young Dorylini, along with some of her followers, were ambushed by a lone timberwolf. But instead of running, they stood their ground and went on the attack. Needless to say, this surprised and confused the beastly wolf, who had never seen changelings fight back before, especially not ones so young. Dorylini and her followers swarmed around the wolf, depositing their sticky resin on it and biting whenever they got the chance. The battle was long, and hard fought, but gradually, the wolf tired, becoming more and more weighed down. Eventually, it fell, and the girl and her followers bound it tightly in resin. Try as it might, the timberwolf was unable to break free. Unfortunately, Dorylini had lost two of her followers in the battle. But still, they had done something no changeling had ever done before. They had fought back, instead of run. And they had emerged victorious.”

Chrysalis paced around him in a circle once more, as she continued her story.

“The young changelings fashioned a skid out of wood, and rolled the timberwolf onto it. Then, they dragged the subdued beast back to their hive, expecting to be welcomed as heroes for their accomplishment. Instead, Dorylini was the subject of hate and scorn. The elders held her responsible for the death of her two companions, and labeled her a troublemaker who was a serious danger to the hive. Because of that, she was banished from the hive forever, driven out into the wilderness. Of course, the elders were certain she would die out there, either from exposure, or from predation. At least, that's what they had hoped would happen to her. But they had failed to account for the impact the tale of her bravery had had on the youth, and how quickly her story would spread to other hives.

“Dorylini became an idol among young changelings. A symbol of youthful power and of a new future where changelings would not have to live in fear of predators, and would forge their own destiny instead of being constantly driven from place to place by other races. Young changelings from dozens of hives who dared to dream ventured out into the wilderness in search of her. Many fell to predation. But that also meant the ones who survived and found her were strong and determined. Before the age of thirteen, Dorylini had founded her own hive, and her followers had declared her their queen, abandoning the traditional tribal elder system of leadership in favor of a powerful monarch they believed in and could all get behind. As the legend of Dorylini grew, her hive grew with it as she attracted more and more young changelings to her radical new ideas, and they abandoned their own hives to join her and her promise of a new way of life. This in itself, was a radically new idea. Changelings migrating away from one hive to join another was unheard of at the time. As Dorylini's strength in numbers grew, her hive became more and more successful at defeating those who tried to prey on them, and at protecting their hive from destruction. Dorylini and her followers honed their battle techniques and became skilled warriors, and fear of her and her hive of young, radical changelings grew among the beasts, as well as among the griffins. The hunters had now become the hunted.”

Chrysalis continued pacing back and forth in front of him as she told her story, like a history teacher addressing a room full of students, even though he was the only 'student' in the room.

“Dorylini had not forgotten the elders who had driven her from her old hive, and at the age of fourteen, she returned with her followers. Of course, as she expected, the hive was no longer there, the foolish old elders and their hive having been forced to move once again due to predation, leaving nothing but the ruins of the old hive as evidence. Dorylini and her followers spent the next two days searching the area, until one of her scouts reported that he had found the hive.

“That night, Dorylini ordered the attack. The battle didn't last long. The stodgy tribal elders and the untrained peasants of their hive were no match for her and her skilled warriors. Within four days, the hive had fallen to her and her followers, and the elders had been captured. Rather than kill them for having banished her, she forced all of them to kneel before her, acknowledge her as their queen, and swear their loyalty to her. The elders were then stripped of all of their power and made into servants, while the able-bodied changelings of the hive were drafted into Dorylini's army and trained in the combat tactics she and her warriors had developed and perfected while defending themselves against attacks from predators.

“Their quick victory over her old hive inspired her and her warriors. And soon, they raided another hive, conquering it and once again, forcing its elders to kneel before Dorylini and swear their loyalty to her. They continued raiding and conquering hives as quickly as possible, intent on conquering every changeling hive before any of them had a chance to develop defenses. Within six months, the young Queen Dorylini had become known as Queen Dorylini the Great. On the very day of her fifteenth birthday, the final changeling hive fell to her and her warriors, and the last of the changeling elders were stripped of their power and forced to swear loyalty to her. At the age of fifteen, Dorylini had conquered and united the entire changeling race, turning them from a small, disorganized race of prey, into a powerful, united empire that was a true force to be reckoned with. By the age of sixteen, she had expanded her empire, conquering the Diamond Dogs. With the fall of the Diamond Dogs, even the mighty griffins came to fear the name of Queen Dorylini the Great.”

She stopped now, turning to face him once again. “And now, perhaps, you see why our independence, self-reliance, and the fear we instill in others are the things that have not only allowed us to survive, but to prosper.”

“And Equestria did nothing to stop her from conquering the Diamond Dogs, Your Highness?” James asked.

“Nothing. Their official reason was that she had acted in justified self-defense, since there had been several small raids by diamond dogs into the Changeling Empire where her subjects had been attacked, and sometimes killed.”

“But you don't believe the official reason, I take it?”

“Oh, that may have been part of it, but I strongly suspect it wasn't the only reason. Even Celestia will admit that she and her advisers had been caught completely off guard by how fast the imperial revolution in the changeling tribes had taken place. If Queen Dorylini's conquest of the tribes was going to succeed at all, they had expected it to take at least a decade. In all honesty, I don't think they ever expected that one so young could pull off such a conquest. I don't think they took her seriously. And they definitely were not prepared when it took her only a year to complete her conquest. By the time she invaded the Diamond Dog lands, I think Celestia was not entirely convinced Equestria could win a war against Queen Dorylini's massive army. And even if they could win, Celestia herself had estimated that repelling the changeling invasion from the Diamond Dog lands would cost the lives of at least sixty thousand Royal Guards. I don't think she was prepared to sacrifice that many lives of her own soldiers to help the diamond dogs, especially given Equestria had had their own troubles with the dogs.”

He nodded once before responding. “So that's where it came from … And yet, Your Highness, Equestrian Intelligence believed you might be the one to find some kind of middle ground. To abandon the militaristic empire style of ruling that was founded by this Queen Dorylini the Great in favor of a more diplomatic approach to international relations.”

She resumed her teacher-like pacing again.

“Yes, well … I was young and foolish in those days. A naive optimist. Did you know there were two griffin kingdoms once? The one you are familiar with across the Sea of Tears, currently ruled by King Aetos, and the Southern Griffin Kingdom, ruled by a queen whose name is not to be spoken in my presence. What happened to the Southern Griffin Kingdom you wonder? You're standing on it. Well, technically underneath it.”

“Your Highness?” he questioned, raising an eyebrow.

“While I was attempting to adopt a more diplomatic approach to ruling and abandon the militaristic ways that had been championed by Dorylini the Great, as well as followed by her successors, individual griffins began to become more bold. Griffin incursions into populated changeling areas were common, as were griffins preying on changelings. One hundred and sixty-four years ago, I invaded and conquered the Southern Griffin Kingdom, annexing it into the Changeling Empire.”

“And Princess Celestia made no moves to stop you from doing so?”

“On the contrary. At the time, she supported my effort to take land from the griffins.”

“Why?” he asked.

“Because she agreed with our position that we needed to expand our territory so we would have a buffer zone against griffin attacks into heavily populated changeling hive areas.”

“But annexing their entire kingdom?”

“She didn't approve of that. But she was busy dealing with her own griffin problems from across the sea.”

He said nothing in response as she continued her story.

“Once we had invaded to the center of the Southern Griffin Kingdom, we captured their queen. I forced her to kneel before me and acknowledge me as her new ruler. I even made her into my personal slave. Oh, she was useless of course when it came to doing any real work, since up until then, she'd never had to do any work. She didn't even know how to cook. Making her my personal slave was largely symbolic. A constant reminder to the griffins of just how far they'd fallen. That now, even their mighty queen was nothing more than a slave to Queen Chrysalis of the Changelings.

“After that, we never had problems with griffin attacks again. And that was how I learned the fallacy of diplomacy for the changelings. That was how I learned that the militaristic empire of Queen Dorylini was the only way forward for the changeling race.”

“But you have no griffin slaves today, do you, Your Highness?”

“I abolished slavery eighty years ago,” she responded flatly.

“Then Equestrian Intelligence was right. You do have poten–“

She chuckled darkly before looking at him again. “I'm sorry to disappoint you, Counselor. But my decision to abolish slavery was not made out of the goodness of my heart or any such nonsense. It was a purely practical decision. Slaves can revolt. Feeders locked in cocoons cannot.”

“I see …” he said with a frown.

“After we had conquered the Southern Griffin Kingdom, I figured why not Equestria? If we could take Equestria, the whole world would fear us. And no nation would dare threaten the changelings. I would complete the work that Dorylini the Great had begun, and bring her vision of a world where changelings could live and thrive, completely free from fear of attack from other nations and species to fruition.”

“With all due respect … You lost in Equestria, Your Highness,” he noted.

She snickered again, resuming her teacher-like pacing in front of him. “The battle for Canterlot wasn't a total loss.”

“It wasn't?”

“Not at all. Celestia defeated Discord, Sombra, and even Nightmare Moon. But I was the one adversary she could not defeat. And Celestia will remember for all of eternity that it was I, Queen Chrysalis of the Changelings, who bested her in single combat. That it was I who had her sprawled on the ground at my hooves. That it was I who had her completely at my mercy. And she will spend all of eternity wondering whether I could do it again. And meanwhile, the whole world fears me. Oh, other world leaders may laugh in public about our defeat in Equestria. But there's not one of them who would have dared invade Canterlot the way I did. And behind closed doors, they whisper amongst themselves in fear about Queen Chrysalis, the one who brought the mighty Princess Celestia herself to her knees.”

She stopped her pacing again and looked directly into his eyes now, smirking and revealing her fangs before continuing.

“And one day, I will force Celestia to kneel before me and acknowledge me as her queen … Perhaps I will even turn your precious Celestia into my personal slave, just as I did the queen of the Southern Griffin Kingdom. I hope you enjoyed kneeling and bowing to me in my lair, Counselor. Because you'll be doing a lot more of it when you and the rest of the Council renounces their allegiance to Celestia, and swear loyalty to me, Queen Chrysalis.” She continued to look directly at him as she stopped talking.

He had to bite his tongue, feeling anger rise up inside of him. He wanted to blow up at her. He wanted to tell her that it would never happen. Despite the fact that he knew she was just trying to bait him, it was all he could do not to fall for her trap and play her game. Instead, he thought of a way to turn it to his own advantage, to use her own game against her. He showed no emotion, looking directly back into her eyes as he responded.

“Well, Your Highness. If Equestria falls and Celestia remains stranded on Earth, then you'll never get the chance to force her to kneel before you and acknowledge you as queen, now will you.”

For several long moments, she continued to simply look at him. He looked back at her, feeling as if they were in a staring contest in which he refused to blink. Then, unexpectedly, she threw her head back and gave a malice laced laugh for a moment before looking back at him. “Touche, Counselor. I admire your wit. I'll give you that much. And you have some courage to stand up to me like that.”

She turned towards the door which was still open, stepping out of it and motioning him to follow. He did so, and she closed the door to the shrine, then lead him back to her lair where she returned to her throne, leaving him standing in front of her once again.

“Commander Antenna?” she called out.

“Yes, My Queen,” Antenna responded, appearing from somewhere James hadn't even realized she had been.

“Take the Counselor to a guest cell please. I will send for him when I am ready to give my decision.”

“Yes, My Queen,” Antenna responded, bowing before motioning James to follow. He made the traditional diplomatic bow to Chrysalis again—relieved that she didn't ask him to kneel again—before turning to follow Antenna. Once they were outside of Chrysalis's lair and the doors had been closed, she turned her head to look at him.

“She must like you. Or at least you earned a modicum of respect from her. She's having you sent to a guest cell instead of the dungeon.”

“A guest cell doesn't sound much better,” he protested.

She chuckled lightly. “All living quarters in a changeling hive are called cells. Guest cells are some of the most well furnished. Better than the cells that even most changeling military officers have.”

He said nothing in response, simply following her through the maze that he had since decided was standard changeling hive structure. How the changelings themselves managed to navigate it without getting lost was beyond him. Eventually, she stopped in front of yet another nondescript door, which she pushed open with her forehoof.

“I'll come for you as soon as The Queen has made her decision,” she said as he walked into the room. She closed the door, and he was surprised to hear no locks engaging. Not that locking him in the room would have served much purpose. The changelings obviously knew he hadn't come this far for a meeting with The Queen only to sneak away from the hive before he had gotten an answer from her. And besides that, the hive was crawling with soldiers, and he'd never be able to navigate his way through the maze and back to the entrance.

Looking around the cell he was in, he found it to be typical changeling utilitarian in nature, but still somewhat cozy. There was a reasonably sized bed up against one wall, and a desk against the opposite wall. There were no windows, of course, given the hive was underground. But the room was well lighted with the glowing green stalactites hanging from the ceiling. He sat down on the bed, which turned out to be surprisingly comfortable, then laid down on it. For now, he simply stared at the ceiling and the glowing stalactites. Briefly, he wondered if it were possible to turn them off when one wanted to sleep, but he saw no obvious way to do so. He allowed himself to relax a little for the first time since beginning this trip, some of his nervousness having abated now that the meeting with Chrysalis was over. For the next thirty minutes or so, he let his mind wander. A knock at the door brought his attention back and he stood up again.

“It's open,” he said, feeling like a foal for doing so. There was no obvious way to lock the door from the inside. The door opened and he saw Antenna on the other side.

“The Queen is ready to see you again.”

“Thank you,” he nodded, following her through the maze and back to Chrysalis's lair. Once inside, he went through the traditional bow again, before approaching her throne, stopping at the same distance she had ordered him to stop at last time. He kept his eyes averted again as she looked at him, and he noticed her expression seemed to have softened somewhat. When she spoke again, it was in a slightly gentler tone than she had used before.

“If I give you military assistance, what will happen if the Changeling Empire comes under threat?”

“If The Empire comes under threat, You have my word, backed by the full authority of The Regent, and the Princesses, that all changeling soldiers will be allowed to return here to defend the hive, Your Highness.”

For nearly a minute, nothing was said as Chrysalis appeared to be lost in thought. Then she nodded once.

“Very well. I shall provide you with fourteen thousand changeling soldiers now. If more are needed, we can discuss that later. It will take an hour for them to be ready to leave.”

Fourteen thousand? James thought to himself in astonishment. At best he'd been hoping she might give him a few thousand. But fourteen thousand? In his surprise, he almost forgot himself, suddenly realizing he hadn't given her any response yet.

“Thank you, Your Highness. Your generous assistance is greatly appreciated.”

She nodded once in response. “You may go. Commander, please show the Counselor his way out of the hive.”

“My Queen,” Antenna acknowledged, bowing. James followed suit, bowing at the waist again before turning and leaving with her.

James waited until they were well away from Chrysalis's lair and the doors were closed before speaking.

“I have to say, she gave far more than I expected.”

“The Queen is no fool,” Antenna responded. “She might follow Dorylini The Great's militaristic style of leadership, but she knows that even changelings can't survive forever without the sun.”

As she lead him through the maze, she stopped him just before the ramp leading upwards, where she put his blindfold back on. Then, they started to ascend the ramp, and he felt it become colder again as they approached the surface. A blast of cold air hit him as the main hive doors opened again, and they stepped outside. Antenna helped him over to his cart, and helped him climb in. Then, they started on their way back towards where he had left his guards. Once they were a significant distance away from the hive, she removed his blindfold. Eventually, they came to a stop.

“I'm afraid this is where we part ways, Counselor,” she said as she picked up his lantern in her mouth, handing it back to him. “Your guard convey is straight ahead, about one hundred strides. The changeling soldiers will be joining you shortly.”

“Thank you, Commander,” he said, stepping down from the cart. She nodded once.

“Say hello to whoever she is you were teasing me with back there,” she said with a grin before the cart turned and she and her escort started making their way back to the hive. He watched her leave with another flush of embarrassment over the incident, before turning and walking in the direction she had indicated his convoy was, reaching it shortly after.

“We were beginning to get worried about you, Counselor,” The Lieutenant he had gotten short with earlier stated. “How'd things go?”

“Lieutenant,” he acknowledged. “Mission accomplished. Better than we could have hoped for. She's giving us fourteen thousand soldiers.”

“Fourteen thousand?” the pegasus responded, raising an eyebrow. “How'd you get her to be so generous?”

“I think it was a combination of several things, including the fact that she knows even the changelings can't survive forever without the sun; the fact that she's not about to let anyone else steal her thunder when it comes to being the one who eventually defeats Princess Celestia, especially not the griffins; and the fact that she has such a bad history with the griffins that she wasn't about to pass up any opportunity to punish them, especially if that opportunity was blessed by Equestria.”

“Ambitious, isn't she?” The pegasus responded.

He nodded. “They'll be here shortly. We'll leave for Canterlot as soon as they arrive. But we'll stop just outside of Las Pegasus for a brief rest and to send a couple of scouts into the city for news.”

“As you say, Counselor.”

“And Lieutenant … I want to apologize for snapping at you earlier … I was under a lot of stress with the upcoming meeting with Chrysalis, and it caused me to respond harshly.”

“I understand Counselor. And I assure you, it's nothing to worry about.”

“Thank you, Lieutenant.”

A few minutes later, they heard a loud swarming noise approaching from the south, but they could see nothing in the total darkness.

“I think that's our cue,” James said, climbing into the chariot and closing the door. Immediately, the chariot and his guard escorts took to the air, turning to the north towards Las Pegasus. James allowed himself to relax now, feeling at ease for the first time since he'd left Canterlot. Before, he knew it, he was asleep, and he didn't wake up again until he felt a slight jolt as the chariot touched down and came to a stop. Stretching a bit, he opened the door and stepped out, finding they were in a slightly wooded area, the lights of Las Pegasus visible in the distance.

“Scouts have continued on to the city and should report back within an hour,” the Lieutenant informed him, seeming a bit nervous.

“Thank you, Lieutenant,” James acknowledged, before looking past him, now seeing what had him nervous. As far as he could see, were rows and rows of jet black changelings. They were very difficult to see in the dark, but occasionally, the lantern light would reflect off one of their fangs, or their green eyes, or glint off their carapaces. He had to admit, it was a somewhat unnerving sight.

He sat down on the ground next to the chariot now, letting his thoughts drift back to Twilight, thinking he was probably far enough away from any of the changelings where he wouldn't tempt their feeding reflexes. In just ten hours, they would be back in Canterlot where he would be able to see her again. To hold her again. He thought about her interrogating the dragon, which caused him a moment of anxiety. At the same time, he knew his fear was probably irrational. She would be with multiple unicorn guards to protect her. Of course, she was also fully capable of protecting herself. Furthermore, he had to believe that Ambassador Firewing was still loyal to Celestia, and that it was rogue dragons acting outside the Elder Dragon Council's orders that were responsible for the attacks. Nevertheless, he would feel much better once he was back in Canterlot and hugging her in his arms again. Just ten more hours, which would pass quickly if he were able to get back to sleep once they were en-route again.

“Counselor?” the Lieutenant interrupted his thoughts. The pegasus had a serious note of concern in his voice now.

“Yes?” James answered.

“The scouts are back. They've brought news from Las Pegasus. Massive griffin invasion in progress on the east coast. The invasion force numbers over ten thousand.”

“Ten thousand?” James asked in astonishment, feeling that his heart was both trying to leap into his throat and sink into his stomach at the same time.

“Affirmative, Counselor. That news came directly from the Royal Guard station in Las Pegasus, so it's probably accurate.”

“Shhhhit,” James said to himself quietly, although he was sure the Lieutenant had heard.

“Counselor, we need a decision,” the pegasus prodded.

James desperately wanted to go back to Canterlot and see Twilight Sparkle. To make sure she was okay. But he also knew he couldn't do that. Equestria needed him more right now. With a pain in his heart, he made his decision, calling out loudly to all the gathered guards and changelings.”

“Prepare to move out! We fly east-northeast!”

“Counselor? Canterlot is due northeast. Not east-northeast” one of his Pegasus Guard escorts pointed out. James shook his head.

“We're not going to Canterlot. We're going to the Sea of Tears to join the battle against the Griffin Kingdom.”

Author's note: Hope you enjoyed the chapter, and sorry for the delay in getting it out. Hopefully the length made up for the delay.

For those of you intrigued by the story of Queen Dorylini the Great and the rise of the Changeling Empire, I've decided I have enough headcanon material regarding it that I'm going to write a spinoff story about it for my NaNoWriMo project this year. I never thought I'd do it, but yes, I'm actually going to write a changeling focused story. Look for it to start publishing in the first week of November, and it should wrap up by December 1st. Hope you enjoy it!

Thanks again for reading!

49 - Megan

Chapter 49: Megan

A sinking feeling began to overcome Captain Swordstorm as he sat back on his haunches, staring at the empty bed where he knew Celestia had been at one point. Where she was now, was anypony's guess. In the back of his mind, he couldn't shake the feeling that his mission was already lost before it had even begun. But all of his years as a Royal Guard had taught him not to let those thoughts get the better of him.

His thoughts returned to the woman he had seen when he first arrived at the burned out accelerator. She had been looking for something. That much had been obvious. Perhaps she was connected to Eric? Maybe she had been checking to see if Equestria had sent any more packages? After all, someone had collected the original package they had sent to Earth. Or at least, he assumed they had, given he hadn't found it lying among the debris. Maybe she would check again tomorrow? It was a long shot, he knew. But right now, he was short on options.

The thought of returning to the ruined accelerator was not one he relished. He remembered that the construction workers had said it was due to be torn down the next day. With that much activity around the site, the risk of being spotted would increase dramatically. But it was a risk he might have to take. He'd have to get back to the lab before sunrise, or he would be seen flying back there. He also dismissed the idea of waiting until dark the next day. If he waited that long, he would miss the woman he had seen if, in fact, she did return to the ruined lab.

It had only been dark for a couple of hours, and he estimated he probably had eight hours or so until first light in the morning when it would become too bright for him to fly. He could use the next few hours to look around Eric's apartment for any clues as to where he and Celestia might have gone.

He reached into his saddlebag, taking out a lantern and lighting it, then adjusting the baffles so they only cast a small amount of light in the direction he pointed it. Even though the shades were drawn and the curtains closed, he didn't want to risk someone in the building across the street seeing any evidence of activity. After all, he didn't know who Eric might have told that he was leaving, and activity in an apartment that the neighbors thought was supposed to be empty might raise suspicion. When he moved, he stepped lightly on his hooves so as to avoid waking the neighbors on the floor below him.

Looking at the wall next to the bed, he saw a bookshelf. A few magazines were still sitting on it, but others had been rather carelessly scattered onto the floor. The bed had not been made, the sheets and blanket thrown on top of it in a wrinkled mess. Both observations gave him some cause for worry. Had something forced them to leave in a hurry? He felt a slight twinge of fear go through him at the thought that they might have been forced into hiding. Had Celestia already attracted unwanted attention?

Stepping out of the bedroom, he pointed the lantern down the hallway towards the kitchen, scanning the counters for anything that might be of some value in attempting to locate where Celestia might be. They were clean. Of course they were, he realized. Given the magnitude of the secret that Eric was hiding, he probably told few, if any, where he was going, and would have been very careful to leave no trace of evidence that might suggest where they were. He pointed the lantern toward the small living room now, but as expected, found nothing there either. Drooping his ears slightly, he carefully walked back toward the window he had entered from, opened it, and flew back out into the night, following the freeway lights back to the burned out accelerator. He'd be safer outside in the wooded area he had been in before as he'd have more warning of anything approaching him than he would in the apartment.

It wasn't long before he was coming back up on the burned out lab site. Even at night, it was impossible to miss. Flood lamps placed around the area by the construction crews lit the ground at the site as bright as if it were an overcast day. He circled carefully, looking for any signs of activity before flaring his wings and landing gently. Then, he returned to his hiding spot in the forest, and waited.

What am I doing here? James thought to himself as the armored Pegasus Guard chariot he rode in carried him ever closer to the Sea of Tears; ever closer to the battle against the griffins. A jumble of conflicting emotions ripped through him, like rapidly changing channels on a television, not stopping on any channel long enough to make sense of what is being shown. Adrenaline kept him on edge, and he wasn't sure how much longer he could take it. A dark feeling of being in way over his head threatened to consume him like an approaching storm. He had never even seen a true battle before. Only the aftermath of one when he had visited Ponyville after the griffin attack. He was no military commander, no defense tactician or strategist. And yet, here he was, about to lead an army of thousands of changelings into battle against a force of at least ten thousand griffins. One thing he knew for sure: He had absolutely no business being in the position he was in right now. He only hoped that once they actually joined the battle, one of the Royal Guard commanders would be able to relieve him and take over command of the changeling forces. But would they even be able to find the existing Royal Guard forces when they got there? After all, the coast of the Sea of Tears stretched on for over three hundred thousand strides. He suspected that with a force of more than ten thousand, the griffin commanders would probably split up their forces and attack at multiple points, thus splitting the Royal Guard defenses and forcing them to defend multiple entry points at the same time. But was that really what the griffins would do? Again, he knew virtually nothing about military strategy. What am I doing here? he asked himself again.

His thoughts returned to Twilight Sparkle now, and his desire to be with her. He thought of her interrogating a fully grown dragon and a twinge of worry jolted through him again. At the same time, he found it difficult to believe that Ambassador Firewing had betrayed Equestria. He had been a very loyal friend to Princess Celestia for almost four thousand years. It made no sense that he would betray her now. Something else must have happened that prevented him from reaching Canterlot sooner.

The feeling of the chariot slowing down and pitching forward slightly brought him out of his thoughts. He had no idea how long they had been flying, only that it had been a long time. Looking out the window, he could see nothing in the darkness. The chariot slowed further, then pitched back up, and he felt the wheels make contact with the ground, bouncing over the rough terrain as they came to a stop.

He opened the door and climbed out, only now noticing the driving snow and blizzard like conditions in the light of the lanterns. Scanning around, he spotted Lieutenant Swift Wing walking towards him, fading into view like some kind of ghostly specter in the driving snow.

"Where are we?" James asked.

"Approximately six thousand strides outside of Trottingham, Councilor," Swift Wing responded, pointing with a hoof. "It's just over that ridge. We can't fly any further in this snow. We're picking up too much ice. We'll stop in town and rest."

James raised an eyebrow. "Rest? Can't we travel by ground the rest of the way if we can't fly? The griffins are--"

"The changeling soldiers have been flying for fourteen hours straight, and so have my guards. And it's been hard flying because of the snow and wind. There's no way any of us can go into battle that exhausted. We'd be worse than useless. We'd be a liability to the forces that are already there."

James nodded, reluctantly conceding the point. The thought of stopping to rest when he knew there were ten thousand griffins inbound and the existing Royal Guard forces were badly outnumbered gnawed at him with guilt. But the Lieutenant was right, he knew. Going directly into battle after fourteen hours of unbroken flying would be disastrous.

"You're right, Lieutenant. Although I don't think the ponies of Trottingham are going to appreciate us bringing thousands of changelings into their town."

"They'd appreciate the griffins overrunning their town even less. I'll send messengers ahead to notify the town that we'll be coming so they don't panic."

"The'll likely panic anyway."

"Probably. But at least not as badly."

"Alright. Make it so."

"We'll travel by ground the rest of the way to make sure the scouts have at least a few minutes to notify some key ponies in town. Even by ground, it will only take us about fifteen minutes to reach Trottingham if we move at a fast pace."

James briefly considered walking the rest of the way into town, but decided against it. If the Royal Guards were going to be moving at a trot or canter, it would be difficult for him to keep up without being winded when they arrived. Given he was probably going to have a lot of talking to do when they got there, it would be best if he wasn't out of breath.

"Sounds good, Lieutenant. But stop at the town limits so I can get out and walk the rest of the way. Hopefully, seeing a Council member among the changelings will help ease the fears of the ponies in town a little bit."

"We'll do so, Councilor," Swift Wing responded before turning and walking back towards his guards. James climbed back in the chariot, pulled the door shut, and they started moving over the bumpy terrain.

It wasn't long before they came to a stop again. He opened the door and stepped out, immediately being assailed by snow and the biting cold wind that flowed in off the Sea of Tears, which was very close now. Even in just the last fifteen minutes, the snow had gotten worse. Now, he could barely see anything other than a glowing aura caused by the town's street lights.

He had never been to Trottingham before, and as they walked on the snow covered cobblestone street towards town, the silhouettes of buildings began to become visible. Unlike the spectacular Greco-Roman style architecture of Canterlot, or the charming vintage small-town style of Ponyville, Trottingham had a much more stereotypical medieval style to it. Like the port cities of old Europe.

The streets were deserted, no doubt a combination of the weather and the knowledge that the changelings were coming. Looking up at the windows of the houses, he saw that most of them were dark. The ponies probably wanted it to look like they weren't home, he surmised. After all, historically, changelings were not interested in stealing physical possessions. Only in stealing love. For all appearances, it almost looked as if the town had been abandoned. James pulled his robe tighter around himself, fighting off a shiver from the cold. Already, his ears were starting to ache from the assault of the icy wind. Lieutenant Swift Wing turned to him again and spoke.

"Trottingham has a large armory--it's the main base for Equestria's coastal defenses, a school with a gymnasium, and several warehouses that serve the port. Most of the guards from the armory will have deployed to the coast by now, so we should have the run of the base. But even that won't be enough space to house all of the changelings. We're going to have to commandeer all of the inns in town."

"We're at an official state of war with the griffins," James responded. "Emergency war authority applies and we can lay claim to any resource we need."

"That's true," Swift Wing responded as he scanned the area around them, looking for any activity, especially on the decks of second and third floors; his Royal Guard training had taught him to constantly be on the alert for threats that might not be obvious. "But I don't know that the inn owners will be particularly eager to allow changelings to stay in their inns, despite the fact that the law doesn't give them a choice."

"I'll deal with that if it becomes a problem," James answered, trying to sound more confident than he actually felt. "And besides, they'll be paid by The Crown for every resource we use, including the rooms. I doubt they have a lot of business right now given that not many ponies will be traveling and their are no ships running."

"No doubt, some travelers got stranded in Trottingham, though, and have been staying at the inns ever since this crisis started."

James frowned. "Yes, that's probably true. We might have to ask them to leave the inns and ask resident home owners to take them in ... the changelings did bring their own food, I hope? We can't possibly ask the town to provide food for fourteen thousand soldiers. They'd run out very quickly and wouldn't have enough food to feed their own ponies."

Lieutenant Swift Wing nodded once. "They did. As much as they could gather quickly, anyway. It should be enough to last for several days. After that, we're going to have to get more resourceful in finding ways to feed them."

"Hopefully by then we'll have hooked up with the rest of the Royal Guard defenses and can figure it out with them."

As they neared the center of town, more signs of life began to become visible. Snowflakes danced off the faint yellow glows from the windows of restaurants, inns, and tea houses. The smell of wood smoke from fireplaces called to him, the aroma as inviting as that of freshly baked bread or brewed coffee. He stopped in front of one of the inns, a three story rustic building with a wooden sign hanging near the door, dimly illuminated by a frost covered lantern. The sign creaked like an old rocking chair as it swung back and forth in the blowing wind. It was too covered with snow to make out the name of the establishment. The light from the lantern flickered and writhed, as if locked in a struggle against the constant efforts of the wind to snuff it out. James tried to look through the windows, but they were completely covered with frost. All he could see was the occasional silhouette of a pony walking across the room. Taking a deep breath, he gathered his courage, trying to brush the snow off his feet before entering, although that proved difficult given that the mats in front of the door were already buried in snow.

"Lieutenant, take two of your guards and come with me. The rest of you, wait out here with the changelings."

"Councilor," Swift Wing acknowledged before motioning two of his Pegasus Guards towards him. All three of them fell in next to James. Then, he opened the door and the four of them stepped inside. The warm air instantly started to remove the chill from him, and the inviting glow of the fire combined with the smell of hot cider was very welcoming indeed. But the cold expression on the face of the gray furred unicorn innkeeper was anything but. He narrowed his green eyes, glaring at James and his guard escort, speaking before James even had a chance to make a proper greeting or request.

"I'll not have any changelings staying in my inn!" he said loudly, the hostility clear in his voice. The sounds of chatter from the ponies gathered at the tables quickly hushed. All eyes turned towards James and the innkeeper, and the confrontation that was sure to follow. James did his best to respond in a confident, polite, yet firm tone of voice.

"Sir, Their Majesties' Royal Guard has need of your facilities. Under the emergency war authority given to me by Their Majesties, you are required to comply. You will be duly compensated by The Crown for--"

"I said no!" the innkeeper shouted harshly, has tail flicking angrily and with an air of finality.

"... You will be duly compensated by The Crown for all resources that we use."

"Didn't you hear me? I said that I will not have changelings staying in my inn!" the unicorn shouted again.

"Sir, the law requires that you--"

"I don't care what the law says! the innkeeper shouted back, stomping his hoof in defiance.

James felt anger rising inside of him at the innkeeper's stubbornness. But he worked hard to keep it in check and maintain his calm demeanor.

"Sir ... If you don't comply, I will have no choice but to charge you with obstructing a Royal Guard operation, and interfering with national defense."

"I will not stand for those insects overrunning my town or inn!" the unicorn shouted, stomping his hoof again. This time, James responded more assertively, raising his own voice.

"Those insects, as you call them, are serving under Their Majesties' Royal Guard! And they may be the only thing that's going to stop ten thousand griffins from overrunning your inn and your town!"

"Then take your Royal Guard and get out! And let the griffins overrun the town! I'd rather have griffins than changelings. Even if they are part of the Royal Guard!"

"Your words are treason, sir!" James said back, loudly and assertively.

The innkeeper said nothing in response, only standing defiantly and engaging James in a staring contest. The room was completely quiet now, the only sound the hissing and crackling of the fire. James kept his eyes locked with the eyes of the innkeeper, but he could feel the eyes of the rest of the room boring into him. After a minute, he spoke again, this time in a calmer, but still assertive voice.

"Sir, I'm giving you one more chance to comply with Their Majesties' law, I don't want to have to take this to the next level."

The innkeeper looked away for a moment, as if giving it some thought, but then returned his gaze back to James and shouted again.

"I will not allow those blood-sucking termites to sleep in my inn!"

James looked at the ground for a few seconds, then returned his attention to the innkeeper. "Very well. Lieutenant, Sergeant, to me," he called out, the two Pegasus Guards coming to attention and falling in on either side of him.

"Councilor," they both said in unison.

"Take the innkeeper into custody. He is charged with obstructing an operation of Their Majesties' Royal Guard, interfering with national defense, and violating the emergency war authority provisions. Confine him to one of his rooms until we no longer have need of his facilities. At that point, he will be released. Make sure you keep track of what we use, as despite the problems he has caused us, The Crown will still reimburse him the normal rate for his rooms, food, and anything else we use."

"Councilor," the two Pegasus Guards acknowledged again before approaching the innkeeper. Then, they placed iron restraints around all four of his legs, the innkeeper glaring at James the whole time. James simply watched, maintaining an emotionless expression. Once the innkeeper's legs had been restrained, one of the Pegasus Guards slid a magic blocking ring over the innkeeper's horn, locking it in place. Then, they started leading him towards one of his rooms, walking passed James, the innkeeper shuffling slightly since the restraints on his legs prevented him from taking full-length steps. James stood for several moments once they had passed, then spun around and addressed the innkeeper, letting his anger out now.

"While you are confined to your room, ask yourself, sir ... If you had given the griffins the type of trouble you have given us, would they have been as lenient with you as Their Majesties allow me to be? Or would they have thrown you off the roof of your own inn with a rope tied around your neck!"

The innkeeper said nothing in response, but James thought he noticed a slight wince and a hesitation in his step. Then, he simply continued walking, the two Pegasus Guards leading him to one of the rooms in his inn and closing the door.

Changelings don't even suck blood. They suck love, James muttered under his breath as he returned his attention to the rest of the room, noticing that all eyes were on him, some looking at him with bewilderment. Others, with fear. He addressed the entire room now, trying to keep his voice sounding confident and authoritative.

"We need to claim all of the rooms in this inn for housing Their Majesties' Royal Guards. Those of you who have houses in Trottingham, I'm going to have to ask you to provide room and board for any ponies who are currently staying in this inn, as we will need to commandeer their rooms. I know I can trust all of you to do this, as this is our way of life in Equestria. To help those who need it, and to come together as one in support of this great nation and of our Princesses. I thank you for your cooperation on behalf of the Royal Guard, the Royal Council, the Regent of Equestria, and Their Royal Majesties."

When he finished speaking, the muted sound of chatter returned to the room as the ponies started to talk among themselves, making arrangements for those who had homes to take in those who were guests staying at the inn. James turned his attention back to Lieutenant Swift Wing again.

"What of the inn staff?" Swift Wing asked him.

"Send them home," James responded. "I don't want any changeling soldiers mysteriously dying in their sleep, or having their food poisoned, or any other such thing." Then, he sighed and shook his head once. "It's gonna be a long time before we get any sleep if all the inns give us as much trouble as this one did."

Swift Wing nodded once. "I suggest we split up the Royal Guards and have a few of them lead the majority of the changelings to the armory, the school gymnasium, and the warehouses. None of those will give us any trouble. Then, we can take the remaining changelings to the rest of the inns."

"Make it so. And rotate your guards through guard duty at the inns. Once again, I don't want any changelings mysteriously dying in their sleep."

"It will be done, Councilor. When my guards reach the armory, I'll also have them draft some of the guards from the Trottingham city defenses to rotate guard duty at the inns."

"Good idea, Lieutenant," James responded as he started walking toward the door, forcing it open against the wind and stepping back outside along with Lieutenant Swift Wing.

Immediately, the cold started biting into him again. The walk to the next inn seemed longer than it probably was, but soon, he was standing in front of another door, looking through another frosted window at the warm, inviting glow inside. He only hoped that unlike the last inn, the innkeeper at this one would also be inviting ...

Several hours later, James finally sat down at a table in one of the inns with a mug of hot cider. He felt exhausted, his feet aching from walking so much. His ears felt numb, and he was certain they had been frostbitten. Some of the other innkeepers had been hesitant, but none had been quite as stubborn as the first, and he hadn't had to make any more arrests. He took another sip of the hot cider, the cinnamon and nutmeg infused drink warming his throat as he swallowed. Once again, he let his thoughts start to drift.

"Thinking about Lady Twilight Sparkle?"

He blinked and looked up from the table, seeing Lieutenant Swift Wing standing next to it. He nodded once, and then motioned him to sit. He did so.

"She'll be fine, Councilor. The Royal Guards accompanying her will make sure of that. Besides, given Ambassador Firewing surrendered without incident, I strongly suspect he didn't betray Equestria. Something else is going on."

James nodded once. "You're probably right, Lieutenant ... How far are we from the coast of the Sea of Tears?"

"An hour if the weather clears up enough for us to fly. About four hours if it doesn't. You should have the medic look at that ear, Councilor. It looks pretty frostbitten."

"I'll have him look at it before we leave," James said, taking another sip of his hot cider as he thought for a moment, then looked at Swift Wing again.

"When we go into battle tomorrow, I want every effort made to capture griffin officers alive so they can be interrogated. I know it's probably a long shot, but maybe one of them will know where Princess Luna is."

"We'll try our best, Councilor."

"I know you will, Lieutenant," James said, trying to force a small smile. He tipped the mug of cider, finishing the last swallow before standing up. "We should both try to get some sleep, Lieutenant."

"As you say, Councilor," Swift Wing responded before turning and walking toward one of the rooms in the inn. James followed him--the two of them were sharing a room to make the best use of space possible. Fortunately, the stove in the room had already been lit, so it wasn't freezing cold. James climbed into one of the two beds and closed his eyes, trying to will himself to sleep. But the horrors of battle that he knew would come before the next time he slept made it impossible. Some part of him wondered if he would ever be able to sleep again. Thoughts flooded his mind. Thoughts of battle, Twilight Sparkle, dragons, griffins, and bloodbaths.

Captain Swordstorm watched as the last support girder of what had been Lab 49 creaked, swayed, and then fell like a giant tree, a cloud of dust flying up from the ground as it hit. The sky color had become a deep orange as the sun neared the horizon. The workers would be going home soon.

The machines that had been destroying the lab turned off now, the ceasing of the constant drone that had pounded his ears all day a very welcome relief. The men stood around the destroyed lab now, looking at what was left, one of them occasionally kicking at a piece of random debris. He swiveled his ears forward to try to make out what they were saying, but they were too far away for even his sensitive ears to make out any words. The men patted each other on the back, apparently congratulating each other on a job well done. Then, they dispersed and went to their motorized chariots in the parking lot. One by one, he heard them start up and drive off. The silence left behind was almost surreal after the constant drone of construction equipment all day. All he could hear now was the sounds of crickets chirping, and the occasional roar of an aircraft flying over. He waited for a few more minutes, making sure the men were gone for good and none would return. Then, he stood up, and began to make his way down to the debris pile, constantly scanning for any signs of activity. Once there, he took up position behind it, making sure no one approaching from the parking lot would be able to see him. The sun continued to dip lower on the horizon, the orange hues giving way to shades of pink and gray.

Nervousness flooded him as he waited. If the woman did show up, would she panic and run as soon as he revealed himself to her? And if she did, what would he do?

He didn't have much more time to think about it as a sound in the distance caught his ears. He swiveled them towards the parking lot as he heard one of the motorized chariots pull in to it and stop. Carefully, he peered around the debris pile. It was the same chariot he had seen yesterday. Conflicting emotions wrestled for dominance as the same woman he had seen yesterday stepped out of the chariot and began walking towards the debris. He felt a surge of hope just from the fact that she had returned. But at the same time, a sense of fear over the fact that he was going to have to reveal himself to her.

As she continued to approach the debris, he noticed her expression change to one of concern, and then to one he thought looked like dismay. Reaching the pile, she kicked at a few spots with her boot, looking down at the ground. Occasionally, she squatted down to examine something more closely, but always came up empty-handed. After several minutes of this, she frowned, and turned, starting to walk back to her chariot. It was now or never. He took a breath, feeling his heart rate increase, then called out to her, trying to sound as calm and non-threatening as possible.

"Ma'am?"

The woman jumped slightly, then turned around and scanned the debris. "Who said that? Where are you?"

"I'm a friend of Doctor James Peterson, ma'am. I'm looking for a man named Eric Thompson. It's very important that I find him. Do you know him?"

"I ... I might know him ... Show yourself," she said, scanning the debris nervously and backing up slightly.

She's gonna bolt, he thought to himself, then responded quickly. "Please don't be afraid ma'am, I'm not here to harm you. I'm going to come out now. But I must warn you, what you are about to see is going to be very hard for you to believe. But please believe me when I say that I mean you no harm."

"O ... Okay," she said nervously. The wind shifted slightly and brought her scent to him, and it was abundantly clear she was afraid.

Carefully, he stepped out from his hiding place, revealing himself to her. Her eyes went wide, her jaw dropped, her mouth moved a few times as if she were looking for something to say. She took a step back, almost tripping over herself. Then, she spun around, and started running.

"Shit," Captain Swordstorm said to himself as he gave chase. It didn't take him long to catch her. He reared up on his hind legs, wrapped his forelegs around the fleeing woman and as carefully as possible, pulled her to the ground, doing his best to break the fall and protect her. His forehoof was over her mouth before she had a chance to scream. She struggled violently, looking at him with an expression of pure fear, but he kept her pinned easily.

"Ma'am, please, you have to believe me. I have no intention of harming you. I just need to know where Eric is. I have something very important I need to deliver to him."

The woman struggled for a bit longer, making muffled screaming sounds through Swordstorm's hoof. He continued to keep her pinned, pleading with her to stop struggling and repeating that he meant no harm. Eventually, she seemed to realize the futility of the struggle and stopped, now just looking up at him, breathing heavily, panic in her eyes.

"Ma'am, I'm going to take my hoof off your mouth now, and I'm going to let you up. But please, don't scream. And don't run. I just need to talk to you. That's all."

She whimpered slightly through his hoof and nodded as best she could. He slowly took his hoof away from her mouth, then stepped off of her, offering his hoof to help her stand back up. She declined however, pushing it away, and stood on her own, staring at him and breathing heavily. But this time, she didn't try to run. Her mouth opened and closed a few times, as if she were looking for something to say. But no words came out. He took the initiative.

"My name is Captain Swordstorm. I'm the Supreme Commander of Princess Celestia and Princess Luna's Royal Guard. I'm from another world. A world that Doctor James Peterson has traveled to. My Princess, Princess Celestia is stranded in your world. She is with a man named Eric Thompson. It's critical that I find them and deliver information to them. It's a matter of life and death for my entire world."

The woman continued to say nothing, simply staring at him and shaking slightly. Occasionally, it appeared as if she were thinking of running again, but apparently she thought better of it each time. No doubt, she was aware that he could easily catch her again. When several seconds had passed with no response, he frowned and looked at the ground for a moment, before returning his attention to her, this time speaking in an almost pleading tone.

"Please, ma'am ... I desperately need your help, if you are able to offer it."

"What you say is impossible. James is dead. He was killed in the earthquake three years ago," she finally responded in a timid voice.

"I know it's very difficult to believe, ma'am. But James is alive. The accident at the particle accelerator when the earthquake happened sent him to my world. He's been living there, alive and well, for the last three years. But please, if you know who Eric is, I need your help."

"I ... I know Eric Thompson ... yes ... He asked me to visit this site every day and look for anything ... strange ... But this is definitely not what I thought he meant by 'strange.' He did tell me he was working on something that was highly secret ... but this ..."

"I'm very sorry I frightened you, ma'am. Please tell me where I can find Eric, if you know. I wish I had more time to explain to you, but I don't. Time is the thing I have the least of right now."

"He's ... he's at a cabin in a remote area of Montana ... It's a long way away. West of here," she responded, some of the nervousness seeming to have left her voice now.

"I'd be greatly in your debt, ma'am, if you could tell me how to get there."

"Fol ... Follow me," she said, turning and starting to walk back towards her motorized chariot. "My name's Megan, by the way."

"I'm honored and pleased to meet you," he responded as he followed, and she opened the door when she got there. Then, she opened a small compartment inside the chariot and pulled out several pieces of folded up paper. Searching through them for a minute, she unfolded one, which turned out to be a map. She motioned him closer, then pointed at it, more of the nervousness seeming to have left her voice when she spoke.

"You ... You're currently here. Eric and this ... Princess Celestia I think you said her name is, are over here."

She spent the next several minutes explaining more to him about where they were before stopping and looking at him, speaking more with a sense of awe then of fear this time.

"This ... This isn't a dream this time, is it ... It's real."

"Ma'am?" he questioned, raising an eyebrow.

"When I was a little girl, I used to have a dream about a talking, flying pony. She didn't look like you though. She had pink fur and her name was Firefly."

"I'm ... afraid I don't know anypony named Firefly, ma'am."

She only nodded briefly, hesitating for a moment before speaking again. "So ... So am I your prisoner now?"

"Excuse me, ma'am?" he said surprised, wondering if he had heard her correctly.

"Am I? Am I your prisoner now?"

"Of course not, ma'am ... You are free to go whenever you like. I'm very grateful for your help and I'm sorry I had to tackle you like that. I wish I had more time to talk with you, but I must find Eric and Her Majesty as quickly as possible."

Her expression changed now to something that he almost thought looked like ... disappointment?

"Did I say something wrong, ma'am?" he asked, confused.

Her expression changed again, this time to one of firm resoluteness. "I'm going with you, Captain."

He blinked once. "Ma'am, I really don't want to drag you into this. This could end up getting ugly if I'm spotted. Or if Her Majesty is spotted."

But it seemed she was not to be deterred. "I'm going with you. I'm not about to miss out on this. And besides, it would be very difficult for you to find the cabin on your own, and a very long flight for you to make. It's more than twenty hours away."

He allowed himself an internal sigh, making sure she wouldn't see, but then responded in a slightly resigned tone of voice. "If you insist, ma'am. But we need to leave immediately. As I said, time is of the essence."

She nodded. "I'll have to take the back seats out of my SUV. I think you should fit if I do that, as long as you lie down. You won't be able to stand up."

"That's fine ma'am. I just want to get there as fast as possible."

"If there's a specific message you need to get to Eric, I can call his cell phone."

"Is it possible for anyone to intercept that communication?"

"Unlikely, but not impossible."

Captain Swordstorm thought for a moment. Any risk that the communication could be intercepted is not a risk he really wanted to take. But perhaps they could at least let Eric know they were coming without saying anything suspicious. He nodded once.

"Please let him know we are coming, and tell him they only have thirty-six days. He'll know what I mean. But don't tell him anything else. I don't want to risk saying anything that might attract unwanted attention."

She nodded once, still seeming slightly nervous, but she had definitely calmed down in the last several minutes. "I need to run back to my house so I can take out the back seats. I'll call him on the way. You should stay here and hide yourself."

"I will. And thank you, ma'am" he responded as she got in her motorized chariot, started the engine, and began to drive off. He watched her leave for a few moments before turning and walking back to his hiding spot in the woods, lying down once again and making sure he was concealed. He knew it was a risk letting her go off alone like that. After all, once she was 'safely' away from him in her chariot, she might decide this was all just too weird and not return. But trust had to be mutual. If he wanted her to trust him, he had to trust her.

It wasn't long before his fears proved unfounded as he turned his head back towards the road, swiveling his ears towards an approaching sound and seeing her motorized chariot approach again. Just to be on the safe side, he waited until she came to a stop and got out. When he was certain she was alone, he stood up and walked back towards her. She opened the back door of the chariot and motioned for him to get in. He found it a bit awkward since there wasn't enough room for him to stand up. He had to put his front legs in, lower his front, and then pull the rest of his body in. But his constant physical training as a Royal Guard gave him a great amount of forward body strength, and it wasn't difficult for him to pull himself inside. Once he was in, she closed the door and walked around to the front, climbing in herself. Then, they started on the long drive to the Pryor Mountains in Montana.

"I tried to call Eric several times, but I couldn't get a hold of him. His phone reception is probably spotty up in the mountains," she called back to him.

If only I had a dragon here and could deliver a magic scroll to Her Majesty, he mumbled to himself before responding.

"Thank you, ma'am ... And ma'am, despite the fact that time is of the essence, I don't expect you to drive all the way through. I know you've probably been up all day, and it wouldn't be safe for you to drive all through the night. I understand the need to stop and rest at some point."

"I'll try to make it at least half of the way tonight. Then we can stop for a few hours. I packed some food for us to eat. I ... assumed you probably don't eat meat, so it's all vegetarian."

"Thank you ma'am. And it's much appreciated."

The sun continued to set as they reached the limits of Chicago, and before long, night had set in. Occasionally, he made small talk with Megan, but for the most part, he let her focus on driving, and he concentrated on what he might be able to do to help Princess Celestia get home once he had actually delivered the information to her. One thing he was almost certain of and not looking forward to at all. Before this was over, there was sure to be a much larger confrontation with humans. It seemed inevitable, since they would probably need access to a large, advanced, and likely well guarded, science lab in order to get back to Equestria.

After about five hours, they stopped to refuel. Captain Swordstorm covered himself with a large quilt when they did and kept as still as possible. He didn't really know what gasoline was, but he understood that the mechanical chariot needed it to run in the same way that trains in Equestria needed coal and water to run. A few minutes later, they were back on the freeway.

Several hours later, they exited from the interstate again, and Megan turned on to a back road. She drove down it a little ways before pulling off into a wooded area, explaining to him that they'd be safer than they would pulling off at a rest area where someone might see him if they looked in the windows. After eating, Captain Swordstorm covered himself with the quilt again. A multitude of thoughts rushed through his mind, and he found it difficult to relax. But eventually, he was able to drift off to sleep ...

Suddenly, he awoke with a start. He'd heard something. He was certain of it. Instinct took over as his Royal Guard training kicked in and he went into alert mode. Looking forward, he saw that Megan was still asleep. Swiveling his ears, he listened carefully.

Crack. There it was again! There was definitely someone, or something moving outside of the motorized chariot, to the front, and to the left. He ducked down as low as he could, carefully making sure the quilt obscured his entire form. His heart beat faster and he felt adrenaline start to flow.

Suddenly, the front left window exploded inward, shattering into thousands of pieces. Megan screamed loudly as a gloved hand through the broken window and opened the door.

"It's dangerous for a pretty young lady like you to be out here alone in the middle of the night," a male voice growled, accompanied by mocking laughter from a second male. A flash of cold steel glinted from a knife blade as two gloved hands grabbed Megan around the chest, yanking her through the door onto the ground.

50 - Reunion

Chapter 50: Reunion

Captain Swordstorm quickly jumped to his feet as he heard Megan scream, forgetting that the roof of the chariot was too low for him to stand up in and banging his head. His armored helm took the brunt of the blow, although he still felt it.

He quickly spun around crouching and facing the rear door. But he had no idea how to open it! There was no time to try to figure it out. He turned around again, facing away from the door, then shot out with both of his hind legs. The glass window shattered from the impact, shards falling to the floor like rain; the metal door groaning, twisting, and popping as the latch yielded to the force of his kick. The rear door swung open, hitting its limits and bouncing back.

He was out of the door in a flash, his armor covered hooves crunching on the glass shards that had hit the ground. Megan screamed again, and he quickly rounded the side of the chariot to see the two attackers holding her on the ground. Both of them were facing away from him, and it appeared as if they were trying to remove her clothes. Between Megan's screams, and their struggling to keep her on the ground, it seemed they had not heard him break out of the back of the chariot. Moonlight caught the flash of the knife blade again. He covered the distance nearly instantly, stopping behind one of the men and speaking in a loud, commanding voice.

"I believe the lady has made it quite clear she wishes to be left alone!"

The two men stopped instantly, one of them visibly jumping at the sudden sound. Clearly, they had thought Megan had been alone in the chariot. The man he was behind began to turn around, speaking as he did so. Captain Swordstorm kept a constant eye on the hand that he knew wielded the knife.

"You should have stayed-"

The man stopped in mid-sentence, his eyes going wide in the light of the moon. He recovered from his surprise quickly, however. Much more quickly than he should have given what he had just seen. He spoke again.

"Whatever you are, you should have stayed out of it," he said, brandishing the knife and taking a step towards him. Captain Swordstorm raised an eyebrow.

"Do you really want to do this? Do you really want to pick a fight with the commander of Their Majesties' elite Royal Guard?"

The man only laughed at that, swinging the knife at him in an arc. Captain Swordstorm feigned backward, easily avoiding the slash, careful to keep one eye on the second man, who had forgotten about Megan and was facing him as well. The second man was also brandishing a knife now.

The man in front of him slashed again with the knife. This time, Captain Swordstorm swung his foreleg up, blocking the strike and hooking the man's arm with his fetlock. He wrenched the arm tightly, twisting the man around and securing the trapped limb firmly, causing the man to cry out in a mixture of pain and surprise.

Casting another glance at the second man, while keeping the first man trapped in the armlock, he frowned to himself. He wasn't one for brutality, and all of his training and morals told him to use the least amount of force necessary to subdue an opponent. But, given that both men were armed with knives, he also knew he needed to get one of them out of commission as quickly as possible to avoid being attacked from both sides.

He wrenched the trapped arm tighter, getting a sickening crack! in response as bone snapped, the man falling to the ground as he released his broken limb. He kicked the knife away, then concentrated on the second man. The first man, was now too busy cradling his broken arm to pose much of a threat. Even if he did manage to get back into the fight, he would be doing so without his knife, and with his dominant hand out of action.

The second man hesitated for a moment, glancing down at his companion writhing on the ground in pain. For a moment, he raised the knife, and Captain Swordstorm braced himself. But then, the man apparently thought better of it, dropping his knife and turning to run.

Briefly, Captain Swordstorm thought of letting him go. After all, this wasn't his mission. But if and when the local human guards or police captured him, he would tell the same story as the first man. That he had seen a talking, armor wearing pony. That wouldn't be a problem if only one man told the story. Clearly, no one would believe him. But if both of them told the same story, despite the fact that they had not had a chance before the arrest to talk with each other and agree on the crazy tale, it would make it more believable.

More importantly, the man had just tried to rape a woman. Rape was an extremely rare crime in Equestria, but he knew that those ponies who did commit such acts, or attempt to commit such acts, often did so more than once, and to multiple different ponies. But at the same time, he didn't really want to leave Megan alone with the first man, despite the man's injury.

He glanced down at the man, who was still cradling his mangled limb and wincing. He seemed to be in too much pain to pose a serious threat to Megan. He looked up at her next. She was standing now, holding on to the knife that he had taken away from the first attacker. She seemed to read his thoughts, or at least surmise his conundrum.

"Go after the second man! I'll watch this one. Don't worry. I'll be fine."

He turned on his hoof, galloping off after the second man, who hadn't gotten far in the space of the few seconds he had spent pondering whether he should chase him or not. It only took a few more seconds for him to catch the man and pull him down from behind. Quickly, he stepped over the man, sitting on the small of his back and pinning him firmly. He hooked the man's right arm with one of his forelegs, getting a yelp of panic from the man before he had even applied any pressure.

"Yield," Captain Swordstorm commanded. "Unless you want to end up like your friend back there."

The man instantly ceased struggling. "I give up! Just don't-"

"I won't as long as you cooperate," Swordstorm responded, quickly using his free forehoof to pat the man down, looking for any other weapons he might have on him. Finding nothing, he released the trapped arm and stepped off of him. "On your feet, and walk. Back the way you came. And no talking." he ordered. The man stood back up, shaking slightly as he turned, walking back towards Megan's chariot and his whimpering companion, who didn't dare move now that Megan was standing over him with his own knife.

"On the ground. Face down. Head on the ground, hands stretched over your head and on the ground." Captain Swordstorm ordered the man he had just herded back. The man complied quickly, a look of shock and fear in his face. But he said nothing.

Captain Swordstorm quickly searched the first prisoner now. Thankfully, because of the warm weather, they were only wearing t-shirts and light pants, so there weren't many places for them to hide any, and not a lot of padding to interfere with his ability to feel anything.

His hoof stopped on a bulge in one pocket. He used his teeth to tear the fabric covering the pocket, revealing a hinged container of some sort. Whatever it was, he decided it wasn't dangerous. Better to leave it right where it was and not tamper with possible evidence that the local guards or police might need. He turned his attention to Megan now, although he kept one eye on both of the prisoners.

"What would you have me do with them, ma'am?" he asked.

Megan blinked, looking at him as if she were confused. For a few moments, she said nothing.

"Excuse me?" she finally said.

"What would you have me do with them, ma'am?" he repeated.

Still, she seemed confused. But after a few moments, she looked down at one of the captured men and recoiled slightly, looking back up at him and responding.

"I ... I recognize one of these men. There's a nationwide manhunt on for him. He's wanted in connection with several ... rapes." She shuddered as she said the last word, and he knew she was probably thinking about just how close she had come to being the man's next victim. "We ... we should call the local police. I have a tow rope in the back we can use to tie them up. After we get them bound, you should hide yourself until the police have left. I'll have to talk to them for a while and ... come up with some kind of lie about what happened here."

"As you wish, ma'am," he responded, returning his full attention to the prisoners as Megan walked to the back of the chariot to get the rope.

"What the-" one of the men began. Captain Swordstorm cut him off abruptly.

"I said no talking!" he commanded. "Unless you want a broken jaw to go with your friend's broken arm."

He wouldn't have made good on the threat, but the man had no way of knowing that, and he quickly closed his mouth, not daring to open it again.

Megan returned a few seconds later, and he ordered the men to sit up facing away from each other, back to back. Then, Megan wound the rope around the two of them several times before tying it, leaving no room for them to attempt to squirm free. Not that it would have done them any good even if they had gotten free. Megan's eyes returned to him.

"You should go hide now. I'll call the police."

"I'll be close by in case you need me, ma'am. Don't worry. No one will be able to see me. Not even you. But I'll be within easy hearing distance. If you need me, just call out."

"Thank you," she said as he turned and trotted off a short ways before stepping into the forest, making sure he was well hidden. It was still dark out. Given his deep penetration background, and his Lunar Guard armor, no one would have any inkling he was there. A shadow in the night would have more chance of being spotted than he would.

Once he was safely hidden away behind some bushes, he lowered himself to the ground and tuned his ears forward, keeping both eyes on the bound men. They clearly weren't going anywhere. Megan got back into her chariot and turned on a light inside. Then she took out her communication device and made a phone call.

A little while later, maybe ten minutes or so, he swiveled one ear to the left, hearing a whining noise, like that of some bird alternating between a high and low pitch. Sirens, he realized after a moment. More than one of them. Moving red and blue reflections danced off tree limbs and bushes. The sirens stopped as four chariots, smaller than Megan's but with official looking symbols and flashing red and blue lights on them pulled up near Megan's chariot and stopped. In addition, two much larger chariots pulled up and stopped, both with flashing red lights. Ambulances, he surmised, based on the symbols on the side of the vehicles.

As soon as they had stopped, he watched several uniformed men get out of the smaller chariots. Megan also stepped out of hers. Two of the uniformed men kept watch over the bound prisoners, while two others went over to talk with Megan. Despite the noise of the of the engines on the chariots, he could hear the conversation with Megan clearly.

She explained to the police that a man had just happened to drive by while the two others were dragging her out of her chariot. He had stopped and fought with the two men who were now tied together. A skilled martial artist, she told them, explaining how the one man had ended up with a broken arm. The man was a hero, she said. But he had not wanted any such recognition or publicity, and that was why he had left before the police arrived. She hadn't gotten his name, or a good look at him in the dark.

A woman who had stepped out of one of the ambulances, also wearing a uniform but of a different type than the police officers, asked her if she needed medical attention. She declined and told them she was in a hurry. An important business meeting the next morning, she said. And she still had a long way to drive.

Once the police had finished talking with Megan, all of them turned their attention to the two bound men, arresting them quickly. He heard one of the men mumble something, slightly incoherently, but enough for him to make out the gist of it.

"It was a talking pony with wings ... wearing dark colored armor."

"I'm sure it was," one of the police officers responded in a tone that said he clearly didn't believe the man.

The uninjured man was loaded directly into the back of one of the small police chariots, while the one whose arm he had broken was loaded into one of the ambulances. That one would get a few hours reprieve from a jail cell, spending them in a hospital emergency room instead. Two of the police officers climbed into the ambulance after the injured man had been loaded in. Then the ambulance left, but this time without the siren blaring.

The remaining officers walked back over to Megan, talking with her for a few more minutes, asking once again if she was certain she didn't want medical attention. Once again, she declined, insisting she was fine and in a hurry. Then, they returned to their chariots as well, disappearing inside of them. One by one, they also left the scene, driving off into the night with no sirens and no flashing lights this time. All was quiet once again, except for the sound of crickets chirping, and a light breeze blowing through the trees. Once he was sure they were gone, he stood up, stepping out of the grove of bushes and walking back towards Megan.

"Are you certain, you're alright, ma'am?" he asked, feeling genuine concern for her.

"I'm ... fine ... You ... You saved me ..." she said, looking to be at a complete loss for words, and still somewhat overcome by the situation.

"I'm the one that got you into this situation, ma'am. After all, you wouldn't be out here in the middle of nowhere if it weren't for me. I'm truly sorry, ma'am," he said, lowering his head almost as if making a slight bow. She was probably having a much harder time dealing with it and processing it than he was. For one, they hadn't been after him. For another, as a Royal Guard, he had dealt with situations far worse than what had just happened, and subdued much more dangerous opponents.

"But you didn't get me into it. I was the one that insisted on coming with you, remember?" she responded looking at him.

He started walking towards the back of the chariot again. "All the same, it's because of me and Her Majesty that you got involved in this situation."

He stopped when he reached the back of the chariot. In the heat of the moment when he was trying to get out to come to Megan's aid, he hadn't realized just how much damage his kick had done. The window from the back door lay shattered on the ground and on the floor of the chariot in thousands of pieces, resembling ground salt or sugar. The inside panel of the door had two large holes in it where his hooves had punched through the plastic. A large piece of the plastic had broken off and was lying on the ground outside. Near the latch, the door frame was twisted and bent into a contorted shape, as was the back of the chariot itself where the door's latch engaged. Also, the door hung at an awkward angle now, one of its hinges having broken free from the side of the chariot from the force of his kick. He turned back to Megan, and lowered his head slightly again.

"I'm sorry I destroyed the back door of your chariot, ma'am."

"You have nothing to be sorry about," she said, sounding surprised that he had even apologized for it. "I'm not worried about the door at all. It can be easily replaced. As long as we can make it stay closed, we'll be okay."

Megan spent the next few minutes covering the rear window with a blanket from the emergency kit she had in the chariot, ensuring that no one would able to see inside. The front window that the two men had broken, she left as is. It was warm out, so driving with no window there would not be a problem.

The moon was beginning to set, and the night sky was beginning to give way to gray by the time they got back on the road. For a while, they rode in silence. A faint blue began to push out the gray sky in front of them. The sun would be rising behind them soon. It felt very strange to him, knowing it would happen without Princess Celestia doing it, and the moon would set without Princess Luna's aid. How could anything be so unnatural?

"How did you ... You seemed to know how to subdue those two men easily," Megan finally said, breaking the quiet.

"Sparring with James has been useful, ma'am," he responded. "I've been able to learn a lot about human anatomy and how best to subdue human opponents."

"You could have just abandoned me ..." she said, in a quieter voice. "You could have gone the rest of the way yourself instead of risk being seen and compromising your quest to find your Princess."

"Had I done that ma'am, the first thing I would have had to do when I found Her Majesty is bow before her in shame and tell her I am no longer worthy to be called one of her Royal Guards. Neither my sense of duty, my code of chivalry, or my sense of morals, would allow me to abandon you to that fate, ma'am."

"But what about your duty to your Princesses? You serve them and only them, don't you?"

"Right now, I serve you, ma'am."

"And your Princesses?"

"In serving you, I serve them, ma'am."

"I don't understand," Megan responded, sounding just as confused as her words indicated she was.

"To serve Their Majesties is to serve Equestria. And to serve Equestria is to serve Their Majesties," he responded, repeating part of the initiation ceremony that every Royal Guard initiate and every Royal Council Member had heard for more than a thousand years.

"I'm not from Equestria, though."

"To protect and defend, especially those who cannot defend themselves. This is the duty of every Royal Guard," he responded, reciting another part of the oath. "Wouldn't a soldier from your military have done the same thing?" he added.

"If it meant they might compromise their mission objective? ... I suppose some would still do it anyway, yes. But they'd probably get in trouble for it later. It's not something their commanders would condone if it compromised the mission."

He thought about that for several moments. The idea of someone being punished for doing the right thing; for helping someone whose life was in danger. It wasn't something he could understand. He responded after several more seconds.

"Being a Royal Guard is more than just being a soldier, ma'am. It's an oath-bound way of life. It's believing in and practicing a moral code, and a code of behavior. A code that requires you to come to the aid of those who need it, for no other reason than because it is the right thing to do."

"... Thank you ..." was all she said in response. But she had said it very emotionally.

"It is my honor to serve, ma'am."

His thoughts returned to the two men he had subdued. Their reactions to him had been ... strange was the best word he could think of. Most men would have likely run in fear at seeing a talking, armor-wearing pony. It's certainly what Megan did. And James had even been afraid of Fluttershy when he had first arrived in Equestria. But these two had only seemed momentary surprised, then confronted him as if it were routine. He might as well ask Megan about it.

"Those two assailants ... They seemed less frightened of me than I thought they would be. Certainly less frightened than James was of us when he first arrived in Equestria."

"The police said that container you found on one of them contained methamphetamine," she responded, glancing back at him in the rear-view mirror. "It's a type of mind altering, illegal drug. Meth can make men behave that way. Confront things they should run away from. Feel no fear at all of extremely dangerous situations, and so on."

He said nothing in response, accepting what she had said. He had half-expected they were under the influence of some substance himself, given their seeming initial lack of fear and surprise at seeing him.

They drove on in silence now, the flat country giving way to snow-capped mountains. They were close now, Megan said. But still, she had not been able to get a hold of Eric ...

"The Pliocene extinction event. Two million years ago," Michael was telling Eric and the others as they all sat in a circle on the floor in the cabin's main room. "It fits our time frame perfectly. And it may have been caused by a gamma ray burst."

Eric nodded once. "Good work. Any progress on -"

"Someone's coming up the road," Wendy interrupted. "In a black SUV with tinted windows."

"Your Majesty, hide yourself!" Eric called out, jumping to his feet. For a moment, he let his fear run wild. Government officials of the type he definitely did not want around often drove black SUV's with tinted windows. There was a brief flash as Celestia teleported herself away.

"None of you know anything, do you hear me? Nothing!" Eric said loudly, getting glances of uncertainty and nervous fidgeting from his students as he felt his own heart threatening to beat out of his chest. He composed himself as best he could, then opened the door and stepped outside, prepared to meet whoever got out of the SUV.

The vehicle stopped, but Eric could see nothing through the tinted windows. The driver's side door opened, and a woman wearing bluejeans and cowboy boots stepped out.

"I brought one of your friends ... Or one of Princess Celestia's friends, I should say," she said.

"Megan?" he asked in astonishment. Despite his relief that it had not been a government official, his heart didn't slow at all. If anything, it beat faster. One of Princess Celestia's friends?

"When you said you were working on something secret, I never quite imagined it would be anything like this," she said, walking around to the back of the SUV and grabbing the door. She had to give it several yanks before it finally opened, thanks to the damage from Captain Swordstorm's kick.

Captain Swordstorm stepped out, coming around to the front of the SUV and looking around. Eric just stared, still astounded to see one of Celestia's kind here. Celestia! he thought to himself now, realizing he hadn't yet told her she could come out from wherever it was she was hiding.

"You can come out now, Your Majesty!" he called out, looking behind himself as he did so.

"Captain?" Celestia said, surprise evident in her voice as she stepped out from wherever she had been hiding. The armored pegasus bowed deeply as Eric looked on in confusion.

"It is good to see you again, Your Majesty," the pegasus said.

Celestia trotted toward him, a smile on her muzzle. Her horn glowed, and the pegasus' eyes went wide as he was literally lifted from his bow and pulled toward her. She raised a foreleg, wrapping it around him, apparently forgetting any form of royal protocol. Tears shown in her eyes and she seemed overcome with emotion. The armor-wearing pegasus seemed surprised for a moment, not quite sure how to respond, but then wrapping one of his own forelegs around his Princess.

"It is good to see you again, Your Majesty," he repeated.

"And very good to see you," she responded.

For several long moments, the two ponies-or Equus sapiens as Eric had dubbed them in scientific terms-embraced each other, while he simply stood watching, confused as ever. Finally, they stopped hugging and Celestia turned to Eric, a slightly sheepish look on her muzzle.

"Please forgive my lack of manners. This is Captain Swordstorm, Supreme Commander of my Royal Guard. Captain, this is Doctor Eric Thompson, the man who has done so much to help me since I arrived here."

The pegasus inclined his head in a slight bow. "It is an honor to meet you, Doctor Thompson. And thank you, for ensuring Her Majesty's safety while I was unable to do so."

"The honor is mine, Captain," Eric responded, matching the pegasus' bow with his own head, not that he knew whether he had been expected to or not.

Celestia's look of joy over seeing her Captain was quickly replaced with one of worry now as she addressed him again.

"Captain, what you doing here, though? Something must have gone terribly wrong if they sent you here to find me," she said, the worry as evident in her voice as it was in her eyes.

"I have a very important message for you and Doctor Thompson, Your Majesty. One we determined must be delivered to you personally to ensure you received it."

He reached into his saddlebag now, removing the package containing James' notes, and magically sealed by Twilight Sparkle to ensure only Celestia would be able to open it. Celestia's horn glowed again as she magically took it from him. She didn't bother to inspect the seal before magically breaking it and pulling out a thick stack of papers. She looked at them only briefly, turning to Eric.

"I think they are intended for you. They are written in your script, and contain several diagrams and a lot of mathematical formulas."

"Thank you, Your Majesty," he responded, taking them from her and thumbing through them quickly, trying to get a birds-eye view of what they contained.

"This is good," he said, feeling his heart lighten some as he came across some formulas that he knew would be very useful for helping them solve the mystery of how to open the dimensional portal from their side of it. He flipped the page again, his lightened heart instantly felt like a ton of ballast had been added to it, causing it to sink into an ocean.

He turned around, opening the door to the cabin again, all eyes of his students inside turning to him, no doubt catching his alarmed and dismayed expression.

"We're on a time schedule now. A short one," he said as he placed the stack of papers on the coffee table in the middle of the floor where all his students could see them. The students looked at the diagram he had left on the top of the stack. Within seconds, all of their expressions were mirror images of his own ...

52 - The Battle Begins

Chapter 52: The Battle Begins

James felt a slight jolt as the wheels of the chariot touched down, followed by a bumpy ride for a few seconds as it slowed and came to a halt. As soon as it had stopped, he opened the door, stepping out into the biting cold wind. At least the snow had stopped.

Behind him, he could hear a constant rumbling sound, like that of a very strong and not-too-distant thunderstorm. Turning around, he saw the sky lit by constant lightning flashes, as if lightning were striking dozens of times a second. But he knew it was no ordinary lightning he was seeing and hearing. It was the combat spells of the Unicorn Guard, shooting magical lightning bolts into the sky that were aimed squarely at advancing griffins. The battle has already begun, then. So much for finding their flank attack forces.

“We're about fifteen kilometers from the front,” he heard from behind him, turning around to see Lieutenant Swift Wing approaching him. Thanks to James' influence, the Royal Guard had adopted SI units, deciding they were a much more convenient form of measurement than the older system of strides they had been using, although their standard meter was based on James' best estimate, given he had no measuring devices from Earth to give them an exact measurement.

“Scouts I sent on ahead have returned with a report,” the Lieutenant continued. “So far, the battle has not been going very well. Our forces are greatly outnumbered and griffin forces have been making rapid progress inland. I suggest we send the majority of our forces forward to join the battle, leaving a few here to set up a base camp.”

James looked around for a moment before responding. The fact that the battle had not been going well so far could actually work to Equestria's advantage for what he had planned. He turned back to Swift Wing.

“Find me some Aviation Weather Command ponies. I want a squall line set up behind us to prevent the griffins from making any further progress towards Trottingham by air.”

“I'll get a messenger on it, Councilor.”

James nodded and turned around again, pointing in the direction they had come from. “The bridge over Aurora Gorge is the only way into Trottingham by ground, right?”

“It is without detouring several hours to the north,” Swift Wing confirmed.

“Good. Find me some unicorn guards to destroy it.”

“Councilor?” Swift Wing questioned, raising an eyebrow.

“It's our last line of defense to ensure that griffin forces can't push into Trottingham. It will also let us stop them and keep the battle here. If they get into town, we'll end up fighting an urban war against an enemy that will have no problem using town ponies as living shields. We'll never get them out of Trottingham again without an enormous number of civilian casualties. Also, if you lead them in this direction, we can trap them against the gorge, giving them no room to maneuver. That should be fairly easy to do. All you have to do is lead them right where they already want to go. We can hide about four thousand changelings in the darkness to the left and right who can spring a surprise attack on them once they are trapped between the gorge and the squall line.”

“Clever, Councilor. Three or four unicorns should be enough to destroy the bridge. I'll have the messenger bring some back from the front.”

James nodded and started to climb back into the chariot. “We better get going, then.”

“You won't be going any further, Councilor,” Swift Wing stated, causing him to stop with his foot on the chariot step, turning his head back.

“Lieutenant?” he asked with confusion.

“We can't have you on the front getting yourself killed, Councilor. Not with Princess Luna's prophecy telling us that you need to play some important role in stopping The Beyond.”

James looked down slightly, taking his foot off the step, a mixture of emotions filling him. Relief about not having to be on the front line of the battle. Guilt about the fact that he felt relief, as well as guilt over the fact that he would stay back at base camp while the changelings and royal guards with him went into battle.

But he knew that Swift Wing was right. As much as he didn't want to admit it, the front line of a battlefield was no place for him. He was no soldier, no field commander. Just a scientist who had been forced into service as a war strategist.

“Besides,” Swift Wing continued, “that bridge is very large and made of reinforced concrete and steel construction. It was designed to support the weight of the trade caravans coming in from the port. Without any Engineering Command ponies around, the Unicorn Guard is going to need your physics expertise to help them bring it down.”

James nodded slightly. “So instead of risking my life on the front line, I get to risk my life climbing around the superstructure of a bridge four hundred feet above a canyon,” he responded sarcastically.

“If you fall, one of the unicorn guards will be able to catch you in a levitation spell,” Swift Wing answered.

“I suppose you're right, Lieutenant … Just make sure you keep me informed about what is going on in the battle.”

“I'll send messengers back on a regular basis.”

“Alright. Lets get on it, then … Perhaps since you will be the one actually leading the changelings into battle, you should be the one to give them the pep talk or whatever.”

“I will, Councilor.”

“The strength and protection of Their Majesties go with you, Lieutenant,” James said, giving the traditional blessing of a council member to a royal guard that was just about to go into battle. An uneasy feeling of dread started to fill him as he wondered if he would ever see Swift Wing again.

“And with you, Councilor,” Swift Wing responded before turning and trotting back to the gathered changelings and the rest of the Pegasus Guard forces they had with them. A few minutes later, they took to the air again and turned towards the constant flashes, heading for the front line.

Except for the changelings medics, the rest of the roughly four thousand changelings who had remained behind began to split to the left and right and move back towards the bridge. Within moments, they blended in fully with the darkness, their black carapaces concealing them completely from view. He smiled slightly at that. It would prove a very distinct advantage for the changelings, both in the surprise attack at the gorge and on the front line. There, the Pegasus Guard would hold back as the changelings dove in for a surprise attack from above. The griffins would never see them coming until they were right on top of them. That initial element of surprise should confuse the griffins long enough for the changelings to do a serious amount of damage in a very short period of time. Once the changelings had begun the attack from above, the ponies would attack from the flank. Although they wouldn't be as invisible in the night sky as the changelings, hopefully, the griffins would still be recovering from the surprise of the changeling attack and be too busy with the changelings to notice the incoming ponies from the flank.

With the changelings and the pegasi out of sight, James turned and walked towards the few remaining guards who were beginning to set up the base camp and started to help them. It was better than sitting around feeling useless until the Unicorn Guard arrived to destroy the bridge over Aurora Gorge.

The guards worked fast and efficiently, and it wasn't long before the landscape around them had been transformed into a tent city. Two large tents stood at the center. One of them was to serve as an armory, and several guards began carrying racks of plate armor, spears, and other weapons into the tent. The other tent was being set up as a field hospital to serve the wounded changelings and ponies who would no doubt be coming in from the battlefield within the next few hours. Not far from the center, they set up his tent, which was, of course, much smaller than the hospital or armory, but still of sufficient size for a sleeping cot, a small table, a map table, and a fire pit in the center.

He took a lantern from one of the chariots and went inside, pulling the flap shut and taking advantage of the respite from the cold, biting wind. It wouldn't do him any good to build a fire yet, though. He had work to do and the Unicorn Guard would be here soon. Instead, he placed the lantern on the table, studying the maps and trying to get a better feel for the battlefield around them. He wasn't sure how long he had been doing that when he felt the wind hit him again as the tent flap opened from outside.

“Councilor? The unicorn guards have arrived,” one of the pegasi who had stayed behind with him stated.

“Thank you … What will you do now?” he asked as he turned around.

“Most of the medics will stay here and wait for the injured to start coming in. The rest of us will fly towards the front and join the rest of our forces in battle.'

He nodded once. “The strength and protection of Their Majesties go with you.”

“And with you, Councilor,” the guard responded before stepping out, letting the tent flap fall shut again.

James turned around again and opened the trunk the guards had carried in, pulling out the warmest clothes he could find, as well as a set of heavy gloves that had been made specially for him. He would need those for climbing around on the freezing steel structure of the bridge. He stepped outside, nodding to the unicorn guards in greeting. They nodded back to him.

“Councilor,” the highest ranking one acknowledged. “I'm Sergeant Mystica. I hope the Princesses aren't going to send you the bill for fixing what we are about to break,” he quipped.

James tried to give a small chuckle at the attempted joke, but it was hard to find any humor given the dire situation they faced. “I'll gladly pay it if it keeps the griffins out of Trottingham, Sergeant,” was all he said in response.

“We should get going as soon as possible,” Sergeant Mystica said. “At the rate the griffins have been gaining ground, it won't take them more than ten to fourteen hours or so to get to the bridge. Of course, hopefully, the changeling reinforcements will be able to greatly slow down or stop that progress.”

James nodded and slipped the heavy gloves on before stepping back out into the cold and climbing into the chariot again.

About fifteen minutes later, he stepped out and looked at the massive bridge spanning the gorge. Only a small portion of it was visible, the rest of the massive structure fading into darkness at the limits of the pole-mounted lanterns. The thick cables of the superstructure whistled and groaned in the wind, which only added to his mounting anxiety of actually climbing up there so he could figure out the best way to bring down the huge bridge. His mind went back to when he had first arrived in Equestria and how he had thought riding on Rainbow Dash was probably the stupidest thing he had ever done in his life. This, he thought, was probably even dumber. This is a necessary risk. Riding Rainbow Dash was not.

“This helmet has a magically charged spotlight on it,” he heard from behind him, turning to see Sergeant Mystica walking towards him, a faint glow surrounding the hard-hat like helmet he was magically carrying. “It will give you about forty-five minutes of light before you'll have to replace it. We can levitate a new one up to you if you run out up there. One of us will warn you when you are getting close to the time limit so you don't end up crawling around in the dark.”

James nodded as he took the helmet and placed it on his head, strapping it under his chin. “Just make sure one of you is ready to catch me if I fall.”

“Don't worry. We will be.”

With that, he took a deep breath, let it out slowly, and waited as the unicorn cast a quick spell, activating the spotlight on the helmet. Then, he looked up, taking his first step onto the edge of the bridge and starting to climb towards the massive support cable that spanned the length of the bridge.

He made a conscious effort not to look down, either at the endless darkness that would be the fall to the bottom of the gorge, or at the surface of the bridge below him. Looking up wasn't much better as the towering supports of the bridge ascended further than the spotlight would cast, giving the illusion that he would be climbing forever to reach the top.

Ever so carefully, he placed one hand, then the other on one of the massive support cables which was as thick around as his closed fist. Then, very carefully, he wrapped his legs around it, straddling it and shinnying along as he slowly made his way up the wire towards the first of the towering supports. His heart pounded in his chest, the cable vibrating in his hand as the wind whipped around it, the whistling and singing of the wind around the wire sounding ghostly up here, as if it were the voice of a wendigo. Mocking him, laughing at him, taunting him, and waiting for him to fall so it could begin feasting on him. He tried to push those thoughts out of his mind as he placed hand over hand, climbing ever higher into the night sky. The unicorns will catch you in a levitation spell if you fall, he tried to reassure himself. Once again, he was thankful to Rainbow Dash for pushing him so hard back in Ponyville with all the physical exercise. Without all the running and pushups she had made him do, he was certain his arms and legs would have given out after only a couple of minutes of pulling himself upward along the cable. Even so, it wasn't long before he could feel his muscles starting to burn.

After what seemed like forever, he finally saw the first support tower fading into view through the darkness. To his relief, he saw a work platform on it that he could sit or stand on. That would definitely be welcome as the burning in his arms and legs became harder to ignore.

Finally, he carefully climbed onto the work platform, letting go of the cable and grabbing on to the railing surrounding the platform as a drowning man might grab on to a life preserver. He took several deep breaths, feeling at least a little safer now that he was on the platform. Still, he knew he was probably a hundred feet above the surface of the bridge by now, and at least four hundred feet above the bottom of the gorge. That knowledge made the small work platform seem very precarious indeed. The sooner you get to work, the sooner you can be back on nice, solid ground.

Looking above his head, he examined how the cable was connected to the support tower and the bridge itself, taking as many mental notes as he could and running through physics calculations in his head about where the highest load points would be, which support points were the most critical to the bridge, and other such calculations.

“Ten minutes until your light runs out!” he heard faintly from below him through the blowing wind. The voice sounded distant and echoed off the gorge, which only added to his anxiety and to the feel that he was suspended precariously in space and the slightest misstep would send him plunging to his death.

“Cast a light spell up here and find me!” he yelled back. “I'm sitting on a work platform!”

A second later, a beam of light pierced the darkness, sweeping towards him until stopping on him.

“Got you!” he heard from below. “We're sending up a new light! Send the old one back down when you get the new one so that we can recharge it!”

A few seconds later, a glow approached him and the new helmet became visible. He took it, replaced the one he was wearing, and called back down to the unicorn guards to take the old one. Taking a few more seconds to recover, he took a deep breath and left the safety of the platform, venturing out onto the cable once again as he painstakingly made his way to the next junction point on the superstructure.

For the next four hours or so, he continued this slow, methodical process of finding a work platform, mapping the structure of the bridge, replacing the helmet with a new one, and then climbing back out on the cable and performing his dangerous high-wire act. Twice, he nearly slipped and fell, but was able to catch himself, his heart pounding as adrenaline shot through his system. Finally, his survey of the bridge complete, he carefully made his way back towards the ground and the waiting unicorn guards. Desire to be safely back on the ground again provided a strong temptation to speed things up and hurry his way back down the cables, but he checked himself and move slowly and carefully. Falling so close to the end would do him no good at all.

Finally, he stepped off the support structure and onto solid ground again, breathing a sigh of relief. Never in his life had the ground felt so good beneath his feet. He only allowed himself a few seconds to enjoy the feeling, though, before turning his attention back to the unicorn guards.

“Well, I'm not a bridge engineer, but I think about twenty well placed hits starting at the center and moving outward should do it. Can one of you cast a light spell up there again so we can mark the spots where the hits need to happen? Try to commit them to memory since we won't be able to shine any light on the bridge once the griffins arrive. It would tip them off to the ambush.”

Sergeant Mystica nodded and his horn glowed as he cast a light spell at the bridge.

“A little to the left,” James guided, the unicorn moving his spell slightly in that direction. “There. Mark this point,” he instructed. They continued this for awhile longer until all twenty of the points he had decided on had been located.

“How much time do we have?” James asked.

“Assuming the griffins are still making inland progress at the same rate, they could be here in four hours,” Mystica responded.

James nodded slightly. “Are you confident you can bring the bridge down?”

Mystica nodded. “As long as your targets are good, we can bring it down.”

He thought for awhile. What he really wanted to do, was wait until griffins were on the bridge, then blow it up underneath them. That would ensure the griffins would have no indication the bridge was out until it was too late for them to avoid the trap that four thousand changelings had waiting for them. But that also ran the risk of at least part of the griffin invasion force making it to the other side if his calculations turned out to be wrong and the bridge didn't fall on the first attempt. If that happened, they would have to resort to brute force, simply hammering the bridge with magical blasts until it fell. And that would take awhile. Then again, any griffins that weren't already on the bridge would be unlikely to venture out onto it once it became clear the unicorns were intent on destroying it.

He ran through some more calculations in his head, estimating how many griffins the bridge could hold at any given time and thus, the maximum number of griffins that could likely make it across if his plan didn't go exactly the way he wanted it to. About five hundred changelings on the other side of the bridge should be able to deal with any griffins that did make it across. That would still leave him with thirty-five hundred to spring the ambush trap he had waiting for them on this side of the bridge.

“Send five hundred changelings to the other side of the bridge,” he said, turning back to Sergeant Mystica. “Tell them to hide themselves and be ready to deal with any griffins that make it across. If our plan goes the way I hope it does, none of them will, but we need to be ready. And post hidden guards on both sides to stop any ponies who get too close.”

“Yes, Councilor,” Mystica acknowledged, then turned and walked towards the places where the changelings had concealed themselves.

Well, the trap is set. All we can do now is wait for the griffins to arrive …

o.O.o

“Tell me everything, Captain,” Princess Celestia said as she switched into Princess mode again after their brief and emotional reunion, the two of them walking along a secluded forest path a short distance away from the mountain house where Eric and his team were working.

“The Griffin Kingdom launched a surprise attack on Ponyville, Your Majesty. The town is mostly destroyed, but actual loss of life was minimal. We are officially at war with the Griffin Kingdom now.”

Celestia frowned at the news regarding Ponyville. But there had been little loss of life. That was the most important thing. “They must have been after the element bearers to bother attacking a small town like Ponyville. King Aetos must be a fool. Doesn't he realize the entire world is at risk?”

“Fortunately, Your Majesty, we were able to capture a griffin scout. Lady Twilight interrogated her and found that apparently an aisling has been in contact with Aetos. He believed the promises of power the aisling made him if he helps defeat Equestria.”

“Perhaps he will come to his senses. Hopefully, he will do it before it's too late.”

“War with the griffins might not be all bad news, Your Majesty. At least it gives us an excuse to capture and interrogate the bastards. Maybe one of them will know where Princess Luna is. In fact, Twilight has the captured griffin scout on a mission. She … persuaded her to find out where Princess Luna is and report back to her as soon as she knows.”

Celestia smiled slightly at that. She didn't ask for details on what Swordstorm meant by 'persuaded'. She trusted Twilight enough to know that she would use tactics intended to scare the prisoner into compliance, but that she would not resort to actual torture.

“Unfortunately, there is more bad news, Your Majesty,” Swordstorm continued with a frown. “The Royal Council has determined that the magical barriers protecting Equestria from The Beyond are breaking down. It won't be long before they crack and aislings will be able to enter Equestria in physical form. It's … unlikely we have the Royal Guard strength to fight them off once they enter.”

Celestia felt her heart sink at that, but she forced herself to think more positively. “Twilight and the Council will find a solution. They'll find a way to convince other nations to form an alliance and help us fight the aislings.” She was far more worried about whether they would find Luna in time than she was about the aislings. The aislings could be held off and fought back. But if they didn't find Luna, their entire world would freeze to death. And, of course, even if they did find Luna, their survival depended entirely on whether or not she could raise the sun, and do it without incinerating the planet. She can. I know she can.

She looked at Captain Swordstorm again. He was looking at the ground, his eyes shifting slightly now, the way the eyes of someone who wants to say something but is nervous about the reaction they will get tend to do. Finally, he looked at her again and spoke with a slightly uncertain tone.

“I … won't be of much use to Eric and the others at helping figure out how to get us home, Your Majesty. After all, I'm not a scientist or anything … And I am an officer of the Royal Guard, and we know very little about –”

“I know where you are going with this, Captain,” she stated flatly.

“It … would be useful to do some threat assessment and learn what we can about their military capabilities, Your Majesty. Just because James, Eric, and the other humans we have dealt with so far have been friendly and helpful doesn't mean all of them will be and that this world might not pose a threat to Equestria … I think I should probably –”

“Relax, Captain, you've convinced me. Find out what you can. But passive intelligence gathering only. We can't afford to have you getting caught snooping around a military base or something.”

“Of course, Your Majesty. Passive intelligence gathering only.”

She nodded in confirmation. “One of Eric's male students. Michael, his name is. The one with the long, brown hair. He seems to be rather critical of his own nation's foreign policy and government … He might be a useful resource.”

“I'll talk to him, Your Majesty.”

She nodded again and said no more as the two of them continued on their walk through the mountain forest …

o.O.o

Eric listened intently as Michael spoke to the rest of the team.

“As expected, we weren't able to recover anything of value from the Tevatron's detectors. The data links failed almost instantly when the earthquake hit.

“However, the analysis of the Vela satellite data was a different story.” He placed a diagram on the clipboard they were looking at, pointing to a sharp dip in energy during one the gamma ray bursts it had recorded.

“This is a very interesting anomaly. There's strong energy signatures on both sides of this dip. But for this brief millisecond, it's like there was no energy at all. Which raises the obvious question: Where did it go?

“When we compare it with this second graph of the energy profile, we can see a large distortion. And here's the most interesting part: The time stamp on this energy dip is exactly four hundred fifteen milliseconds before the satellite first detected the GRB.”

“You're suggesting a time distortion, then,” Eric said.

Michael nodded. “According to the notes James and Twilight sent us, time distortion is theoretically possible inside the portal between two dimensions. And according to Captain Swordstorm's clock, he arrived on Earth fourteen minutes before he left Equestria, which validates the theory.” Michael looked at Wendy now, who was standing next to him and picked up where he had left off.

“Since we obviously know that energy can neither be created or destroyed, the missing energy from the GRB didn't just disappear. It had to go somewhere. Based on our analysis, we think the GRB opened a portal to another dimension and the energy traveled through it, thus becoming lost to our detectors, even though it actually still exists.”

“Equestria?” Eric asked.

Wendy shook her head. “Probably not. Probably some other dimension that isn't important for our purposes.”

Eric nodded once, “How come no one found the time distortion in this data before now?”

“The Vela satellites were originally intended to detect Soviet nuclear tests in space. The fact that they could detect gamma ray bursts was an unexpected side-benefit. Probably no one found the time distortion because no one was looking.”

He nodded again and smiled. “Good work, you two. That's the starting point we need. Our next step should be to gather all the data we can on that particular gamma ray burst. Find out exactly what makes it different from all the other GRBs that didn't produce the portal signature. And then find out if we can artificially reproduce those conditions.”

“Wait a minute,” Thomas interjected. “Aren't we moving a bit too fast here?”

“We have to move fast. We don't have very much time to figure this out,” Eric responded, turning his attention towards Thomas.

“Yeah … but suppose we can pull this off. How do you know we aren't going to open a portal to hell or something?”

“You believe in hell, Thomas?” Eric asked with a slight grin.

“It's a figure of speech,” Thomas protested.

“Thomas does raise a valid concern, Eric,” Annette interjected. “I mean how do you know we won't open a portal directly into a black hole, or into an alternate dimension made up entirely of antimatter or something like that? Either one could completely destroy Earth in just a few milliseconds.”

Eric sighed and frowned slightly. It was the question he knew would come up eventually. The one he had thought a great deal about, and the one he dreaded. But he had to give them an answer. After a few more moments, he started slowly.

“I've thought a great deal about that possibility … And there is a very remote, but not entirely nonexistent possibility, that what we are going to attempt could completely destroy Earth, either by collapsing it into a singularity, or by instantly causing all matter on Earth to annihilate itself.”

“And that's a risk you're willing take, Eric?” Thomas questioned with more than a hint of accusation in his voice. “A risk you are willing to subject the rest of our entire planet to without their consent? To save a race of alien … ponies?”

Eric responded quickly, with more anger in his voice than he intended. “Five million to one odds that we will destroy Earth if we do this against the almost one hundred percent certain odds that her world will be destroyed if we don't? Yes, it's a risk I'm willing to take, Thomas.”

“And Celestia … Does she know about this?” Thomas asked, an even more accusing tone in his voice now.

This time, Eric felt a slight jolt of fear go through him and he shot back quickly, almost shouting now.

“No! And you're not going to tell her! I won't have her going back to her world and spending the rest of eternity wondering whether sending her home destroyed our entire world!”

The room was silent now and every eye was focused on him and Thomas, as if waiting for the sudden hostility between the two of them to erupt like an exploding volcano. Thomas had a valid point about subjecting the rest of the planet to such a risk without their knowledge or consent. That much, he had to concede. Furthermore, he knew he should have brought up the risk to the rest of the team earlier. He had been avoiding it because he was afraid they would all abandon the project if they knew. But none of them were stupid. The question was bound to come up sooner or later. Getting angry at Thomas for being the one to bring it up wasn't fair. He took a deep breath and began speaking slowly, deliberately, choosing his words carefully.

“Look … I'm sorry. I should have brought up the risk earlier. I was afraid all of you would back out if you were aware of it. I wanted you all to get some time to know Celestia and understand just how serious this situation is before you made a decision about whether the risk was acceptable or not.

“I've thought about the risk very carefully and determined that it's extremely remote. No more than five million to one at worst. If what we are doing has any potential to destroy Earth, than it should have already happened two million years ago when the event that split the two dimensions apart to begin with happened. After all, that event had to involve energy millions of orders of magnitude greater than what we will be using to open a temporary and very localized portal between two dimensions.”

He paused before continuing and looked around the room. Thankfully, everyone appeared to be listening and considering everything he was saying.

“That said, I agree it's not an ideal situation that we are subjecting the entire planet to the risk without their knowledge or consent, no matter how small the risk may be. But it's not as if we can simply go on national television and announce that there's an alien on Earth who is so powerful she can control the sun or the rotational speed of the planet itself, we need to send her home because her world will likely be doomed if we don't, and oh, by the way, there's a very small chance we might destroy our own planet in the process. Even if the U.S. government didn't decide that keeping her here and trying to weaponize her power was more important than getting her home, and that's a very big if, by the time we got through all the bureaucracy and red tape, we'd miss the window and it'd be too late to send her home.”

He paused again to see if anyone had anything to say, but was met with nothing but silence. He continued now, but in a softer, less lecturing tone.

“Now … If any of you want to back out of the project at this point, I'll understand and I won't hold it against you.”

He waited anxiously, butterflies fluttering in his stomach and his heart pounding. What was he going to do if one or more of them did decide to back out? He couldn't simply let them leave. Not now. They knew too much and might tell someone of what they are planning and the risk involved. The only thing he could do now if one of them backed out was to venture into the deeply criminal world of kidnapping and not allowing them to leave until it was all over. It didn't take long to make up his mind that's what he'd do, though. He'd deal with the criminal consequences of it later.

But that wasn't the only problem he had. How would he explain it to Celestia? Obviously, he couldn't keep the fact that he was holding one of the students here against their will a secret from her. And she'd definitely want to know why they had changed their mind about helping her.

Michael was the first to speak, indicating he would stay, followed quickly by Wendy, and shortly after that by Annette. Thomas was the last to respond, but eventually nodded his head in assent.

“Alright … I agree it's important enough to take the risk,” he said slowly. “You realize we're probably all going to end up in prison for this, right?”

“I thought about that," Eric said. “Whatever happens, I'll take the fall for all of it. I'll tell them none of you knew exactly what you were working on because I was dishonest about it … So we're all in agreement, then?”

The sense of relief he felt when all four of them nodded their heads in affirmation was indescribable. Like a first breath of air after coming up from near drowning. Now that he thought about it, he wasn't sure if he hadn't been holding his breath while waiting for them to respond. He nodded his own head and gave a brief smile.

“Alright … We've got a lot of work to do, then. And not much time to do it. So we better get back to it … “

o.O.o

James sat with his back against a tree trunk, pulling his cloak tighter around himself against the biting cold. The light whistle of wind through the wires of the bridge had started turning into a gusty howl. Light snowflakes fell on him, increasing in intensity until they whipped painfully at his face as the Aviation Weather Command ponies began to conjure up their blizzard. The constant rumble of battle had become routine, the flashes of the Unicorn Guard battle spells lighting up the night sky like a strong thunderstorm.

He tucked his head down in defense against the attacking snowflakes. The griffins had gotten closer, as indicated by the increasingly loud explosions and the flashes that were now sometimes bright enough to see the bridge even without a light spell illuminating it. But time seemed to be moving very slowly. Minutes seemed like hours as anticipation and anxiety grew within him. On one hand, every time a flash illuminated the dark, he hoped to see the silhouettes of griffins moving closer so that they could simply get this over with. On the other hand, he hoped they would never arrive. A particularly loud boom caused him to jump slightly and quickly reinforced the fact that the griffins never arriving was not an option. The bridge was becoming less visible now, the driving snow of the increasingly powerful blizzard reducing visibility to just a few dozen feet in front of him.

His thoughts turned to Twilight Sparkle again, as they often did when he had nothing to do but wait. But the thoughts were not comforting. Sooner or later, he was going to have to break things off with her. To tell her that even if it were socially acceptable for them to have a relationship, it would still never work because he was on the Council. The longer he put it off, the more it would hurt when he told her. Right now, he was merely stringing her along because he was too afraid to tell her. And that was completely unfair to her.

Yet, he suspected she had probably already come to the same conclusion. No doubt, she knew the Council law that bound councilors strictly to their duty to Equestria and forbade them from 'distractions' such as romantic relationships. Nevertheless, since he was the reason the relationship would never work, it was his responsibility to initiate the conversation.

“They're coming.”

The statement snapped him out of his thoughts and instantly brought him back to the situation at hand. He stood up, making sure to keep himself hidden in the brush, scanning as far as he could see each time a Unicorn Guard spell flashed. His heart pounded as the silhouettes of advancing griffins faded into view through the snow, like giant, ghostly trees in some kind of living forest. A lightning bolt shot from the ground into the air. A loud screech and the flashes of a falling griffin told that the unicorn had found his target. He could hear the noises of battle very clearly now. The clang of steel against steel, the shouting of battle cries, and, he winced, the occasional cry of agony as a griffin was hit by a spell, steel found its target, or a changeling or pony became the victim of griffin talons and beaks. Focus. You have to stay focused.

He turned to Sergeant Mystica.

“Get your guards ready. No light on the bridge, though. The griffins are oblivious to the ambush we have for them. Let's keep it that way.”

“Councilor,” Mystica acknowledged before turning to the three unicorn guards with him and giving them instructions. “Wait for my command. Don't blow the bridge until the first griffins are well out onto it. When I give the command, we'll work outward from the center, hitting four targets at a time. Speed and accuracy are both important.”

The griffins were landing now as the blizzard intensified, as were the pegasus guards and changelings who had been on the front line. A few unfortunate griffins waited a bit too long, getting caught in the severe blizzard turbulence, screeching in fear as the wind buffeted and tossed them around like rag dolls before slamming them to the ground. The blizzard had slowed their advance, but still, they pressed onward, moving ever closer to the bridge.

The Royal Guard and Changeling Army line was faltering now, leaving large gaps where the griffins could break through, something the large avians eagerly took advantage of. What they didn't know was that Equestria's forces were intentionally breaking their line so they could get out of the way of the impending ambush. At the same time, they were luring the griffins ever closer to the doomed bridge and the trap that awaited them. By the time the griffins realized what was going on, it would be too late. The faltering Equestrian line would have reformed behind them, along with nearly four thousand changelings waiting in ambush from both sides, cutting off any retreat for the griffins and trapping them between the four hundred foot plunge into the gorge and nearly fifteen thousand Equestrian and Changeling soldiers. The griffins would have no choice but to surrender. At least, that's how the plan was supposed to go.

The griffins began shouting cries of victory as the Equestrian line broke completely, leaving their progress unimpeded as they broke into a run.

“Make ready,” Sergeant Mystica said to his guards.

All warfare is deception, James thought to himself, recalling the words of the great Changeling general, Queen Dorylini the Great, founder of the Changeling Empire, as he watched the first griffins arrive, shouting war cries as they flooded out onto the bridge, completely oblivious of what was about to happen to them …

53 - Two Questions of Loyalty

Chapter 53: Two Questions of Loyalty

Adrenaline pounded through James as the griffins flooded out onto the bridge, their shrill, premature cries of victory piercing his ears.

“Make ready,” Sergeant Mystica said to the guards standing next to him, loud enough to make sure they could hear, but not so loud that the griffins would be able to hear. “Cast on my mark.” The four unicorn guards pointed their horns at the bridge as the griffins leading the charge reached the center of the span, charging across it like a herd of stampeding cattle, certain of of their impending victory.

“On my mark. Five … four … three … two … one … mark!” He shouted the last word to ensure that all of the guards would hear it. The griffins probably heard it too, but it was too late for them now.

The horns on all four unicorns lit with a brilliant white light, like a flash of lightning in the dark. At nearly the same time, four blindingly bright flashes lit up the sky near the center of the bridge. Even through the driving snow of the blizzard, their intensity was so strong that the entire bridge became visible. A half a second later, four more flashes erupted outward from the center as the unicorns worked in perfect unison. A series of ear-shattering booms reached them, the shock wave from the powerful magical blasts reverberating around them and echoing off the walls of the gorge. James could feel each blast hit him as the blinding white pulses continued to work out from the center of the bridge, each one accompanied a second or two later by a deafening boom.

Cries of victory quickly turned to cries of terror and confusion. Some of the unfortunate griffins who had been too near the blast points didn't have time to cry out. They were already gone, probably before they even knew what happened. Another griffin cried out in pain as a piece of flying shrapnel from the blast pierced his center, emerging from the other side as if he had been hit by a powerfully thrown spear.

The pulses ceased, the synchronized booms replaced with a loud roaring sound, the groan of twisting metal, and the twang of snapping cables. One of the unicorns cast another light spell, illuminating the bridge. Another high tension cable snapped, flying backwards and slicing three griffins in half as if they were nothing more than a stick of butter being cut by a knife. The support towers tumbled, crushing some unfortunate griffins underneath them as they fell. The center of the bridge heaved upward, imploded inward, then fell with a deafening roar like a tornado, drowning out the sounds of the screaming griffins who now realized, way too late, the folly of trying to cross the bridge.

The griffins were running now, some scrambling for the far side of the bridge, some turning and running back in the direction they had come from. But there was nowhere for them to go as they ran into a wall of other griffins waiting to cross the bridge. Confusion reigned supreme as they trampled their own in their attempt to scramble for safety. Some of them took to the sky and tried to fly to one side or the other, but the wind from the pegasi-produced storm quickly grabbed them, buffeting them like a rowboat in a hurricane before slamming them hard into the ground or sending them plunging to the canyon floor.

The whole thing seemed to be happening in slow motion as he watched, but in reality, he knew it had only been a few seconds. Suddenly, the entire bridge yielded, collapsing with a loud roar, clouds of dust from shattering concrete obscuring the view as large pieces fell into the gorge below. Griffins tumbled and fell to their death like rain falling from the sky as the loud roar reverberated off the gorge. His heart continued to pound, the excitement of battle, and the thrill of impending victory rushing through him. There was an enormous crashing sound as the bridge and its structural supports slammed into the bottom of the gorge, the roaring continuing to echo for several long seconds before finally going silent, only to be replaced once more by the sounds of terrified and confused griffins frantically trying to regroup and re-form their line. Where the bridge once stood, there was now nothing but a large chasm dropping into the gorge below. Only the twisted steel of the support structures on both ends of the gorge remained standing as evidence that the bridge had ever been there.

The griffins had quickly gone from conquest mode to retreat mode, fleeing back towards the Sea of Tears. But the changelings sprung their trap now. A volley of green magic bolts flashed towards the fleeing griffins, combined with the amber bolts of magic from Royal Guard unicorns. Changelings flooded in from both sides, cutting off the only route of escape the griffins had. Once more, shouts of confusion and terror rose from the griffins as their plans fell apart before their very eyes. A second volley of changeling and unicorn magic bolts pierced the night sky, cutting through griffins like lasers.

Unable to retreat, and sitting ducks for magical attacks if they simply stayed where they were, the griffins charged towards the changeling and Royal Guard line, determined to turn the battle into melee combat. James frowned. He'd hoped the ranged magical attacks would be enough to force a griffin surrender, or at least a call for parley, but he'd half-expected they wouldn't be, so they had been prepared for the griffins to force a melee battle.

The magic blasts ceased now. Magical attacks were largely useless in close quarters combat. The scene quickly became an entangled mass as intense fighting erupted, changelings and royal guards colliding with griffins. Unicorn and changeling horns went from instruments of magic casting, to instruments of thrusting and goring, spearing through griffin armor and into flesh.

The few griffins who had made it to the other side of the bridge before it collapsed quickly found themselves surrounded by the changelings who had been hidden there. That battle was over before it started, the griffins frantically shouting out cries of surrender in their mass confusion.

The battle on this side of the bridge wasn't going much better for the griffins, who never did manage to recover and re-form their line after the confusion of the bridge collapse. It was difficult to see much of the battle through the chaos and driving snow, but it was apparent that the changelings and royal guards were cutting down griffins almost at will. Some of the griffins attempted to turn and flee back towards the bridge, but were quickly hemmed in by the advancing Equestrian line, trapping them between the changelings and royal guards, and a four hundred foot plunge to certain death.

James turned to Sergeant Mystica and the guards with him now, the five of them congratulating each other on a job well done.

“I don't think even Engineering Command could have done any better,” Sergeant Mystica said, almost having to shout to be heard over the noise of the battle. “Good work, all of you.”

James nodded “Yes, good work, all of you,” he said before turning back to the battle, adrenaline continuing to pound through him.

He lost track of time, but it was obvious the griffins didn't stand a chance as the ground became more and more saturated with fallen griffins, only occasionally interrupted by a fallen changeling or royal guard. Within a few minutes, James saw the griffin commander waving the orange flag of parley, some of them shouting out frantic calls of surrender. But even after that, in the chaos of battle, it took several more minutes for the fighting to stop on the entire battlefield.

When it finally had, all four of the unicorns with James cast light spells down onto the battlefield, illuminating the carnage. There were several hundred dead griffins strewn about the field. The white snow had become saturated with a dark, reddish color. There were dead changelings and ponies as well, but not nearly as many. Some of the bodies on the ground moved, groaning and stirring. Many of them would be dead soon enough. Others were maimed almost beyond recognition, but likely didn't have life-threatening injuries.

For a moment, James felt his stomach turn and he thought he might vomit. Get a hold of yourself! You'll need to be composed when you talk with the griffin commander, he scolded himself.

As the battle came to a halt, the two sides reformed their lines, creating a break between them. On one side stood the griffins, clearly rattled and confused by their near certain victory suddenly turned crushing defeat. On the other side, changelings and royal guards stood side-by-side. Tension hung in the air like electricity, and he half-expected the sudden cease-fire to immediately fall apart and the two sides to rush at each other once more.

For several long minutes, nothing happened. He really didn't know what he was supposed to do next and was waiting for the griffin commander to make the first move. But still nothing happened, the two sides simply staring across the void between them.

“Counselor,” he heard from beside him, jumping slightly as he hadn't noticed the pegasus guard walking up to him from the side. “Captain Skydart has requested your presence on the battlefield to join him in parley with the griffin commander.”

“Captain Skydart is here?”

“He is, Councilor.”

James nodded and turned to follow the pegasus guard, who led him down to the battlefield, feeling his spirits lift slightly at the news that Skydart was here. His presence meant that news of the invasion had reached Canterlot, which also meant that by now, Twilight had probably surmised that his mission to the changelings had been successful and that he had taken his forces directly to the battle instead of returning to Canterlot.

It's good to see you again, Councilor,” Skydart responded as he approached.

“And you, Captain,” James responded. “Lady Twilight … Does she --”

“She knows you're here, Councilor, along with the changelings. A messenger from Trottingham delivered the news.”

James only nodded in response, but felt a great sense of relief wash through him.

“Technically, you are the senior officer here, Councilor. Protocol says you should be the one to do most of the talking with the griffin commander.”

James hesitated for a moment before acknowledging and falling in line with Captain Skydart and Lieutenant Swift Wing, who James was relieved to see alive and apparently unharmed. During part of his training as a Council member, he had been taught the basics of parley with an enemy commander. Still, he had to force down a distinct lack of confidence in himself that tried to rise in him. He quickly tried to recall everything he had learned about griffin culture. In particular, griffin military culture. The one thing that really stuck out at him was that honor in battle was extremely important to griffins. The fact that they had lost this battle no doubt cost them a great deal of honor. Despite the fact that a number of griffins had surrendered, it was more honorable for a griffin to die in battle than to surrender to an enemy. That was key. If he was going to get a favorable outcome from this parley, he was going to have to give the griffins some way to regain the honor they had lost. If he couldn't do that, then the cease-fire would probably fall apart, and the battle would continue until no griffins were left standing, as well as costing the lives of a lot of additional ponies and changelings.

As they reached the battlefield, the griffin commander stepped forward with two of his lieutenants beside him, stopping and standing at attention. James and the two Pegasus Guard officers with him also stopped and stood at attention, staring emotionlessly across the field at their griffin counterparts. Finally, the six of them began walking towards each other in perfect military step formation. When they were about five paces apart, they all came to a halt.

James remained stone-faced as he looked across the field at the griffin commander. Where as the griffins had seemed rattled and confused only a few minutes ago, the commander looking at him now was a picture of confidence, his face betraying no emotion at all, standing tall and proud despite the clear defeat his forces had just suffered. He was the first to speak.

“I'm Commander Ouranos Velos of King Aeto's Imperial Army,” the griffin commander stated flatly.

“Councilor James Peterson, of Their Majesties' Royal Council,” James responded in kind.

“I assume you have terms for us, Councilor,” Commander Velos said, still showing no emotion.

“I do. Pledge your allegiance to Lady Twilight Sparkle. Fight for us in the upcoming battle of The Beyond. And restore your honor. If these terms are not acceptable, you will be taken to Canterlot and held as prisoners of war until such time as this is all over.”

The griffin commander shook his head slightly. “Pledging our allegiance to Equestria is unacceptable, Councilor. It would disgrace us and be dishonorable.”

“And what would be honorable, Commander? Sitting in a dungeon cell doing nothing while The Beyond destroys the Griffin Kingdom? Assuming the cold doesn't destroy you first. I already know your people are starving, Commander, due to the failure of the moon tides devastating your fishing industry.”

“King Aetos says we must suffer now to achieve great glory later. It was promised to him,” Commander Velos responded. But James detected a hint of uncertainty in his voice. It was time to capitalize on that.

“And you believe him, Commander? King Aetos was visited by an aisling. A servant of The Beyond. I know how tempting they can be. I too was visited by one. But the aislings are incapable of telling the truth, Commander. Everything they say is a lie intended to further the goals of the Beyond, which is to destroy all that is life, and all that moves.”

Commander Velos averted his eyes slightly. It was barely perceptible, but it was there. After several moments of no response, James spoke again, this time loudly, ensuring that all of the griffins could hear.

“This will be the largest battle this world has ever seen. And the most important one. It's a battle for the survival of every living thing. Join us. Fight with us. Save your own people and this entire world. And restore your honor.”

The griffin commander narrowed his eyes at James, no doubt aware that he had intentionally been speaking loud enough to ensure the rest of the griffins heard. For a long time, he didn't respond, appearing to mull everything over in his mind.

“I'll have to talk it over with the rest of my officers,” he finally responded.

“Of course,” James acknowledged. Then, Commander Velos turned on his heel, and walked back towards his line. Several minutes passed as he conferred with the rest of his officers. James wished he could hear what they were saying, but they spoke in hushed tones, huddled around each other. The whole time, James simply waited, standing with the two pegasus officers with him. Eventually, the griffin commander nodded his head and turned around, marching back towards him and stopping a few paces away.

“Very well. These terms are acceptable to us,” he said simply.

James felt an enormous sense of relief come over him now that he knew the battle was truly over. But he kept it in check, maintaining his cool as he nodded in response.

“I look forward to working with you together in the future as allies, Commander.”

“And I with you, Counselor, Captain, Lieutenant,” the griffin acknowledged in return. With that, the six of them turned, walking back to their respective line.

Medics had already begun to attend to the wounded ponies, changelings, and griffins. When the rest of the ponies and changeling heard the news that the battle was over, there was relief, but no celebration. All of them knew that the true battle was still in the future. The battle that would make this one look very small indeed by comparison. Instead of celebrating, they somberly began to make their way back to the base camp.

Upon arriving, James was met with the sounds of the battle's aftermath. From the medical tent, he could hear the moans of the injured changelings and ponies. Medics scrambled back and forth rushing wounded ponies and changelings into the tent. Outside, those waiting to be treated were sitting or lying on the ground, being tended to by both pony and changeling medics. It was clear from the number of wounded that the fighting had not gone nearly as well for the changeling and pony forces prior to the mass confusion caused by the collapse of the bridge.

Something akin to a daze came over him as he was surrounded by carnage on all sides. To his left, a pegasus guard missing one of his wings seemed to be in a state of shock. To his right, a changeling limped along on three legs.

“Get away from me, insect!” he heard a pony yell out. Turning his head in the direction of the sound, he saw a changeling medic trying to aid an injured royal guard who had a gaping head wound and appeared to be in a state of delusion.

A feeling of darkness and dread came over him, a feeling he couldn't have described if he tried. His entire body felt chilled and empty. Despair and a feeling of helplessness flooded through him, threatening to overwhelm him. He stumbled towards his own tent, longing for it as if it were some kind of sanctuary where he would be able to blot out all of the horrors surrounding him. Upon reaching it, he fumbled for the tent flap, his arms seeming uncoordinated and unwilling to obey the commands his mind was giving them. Finally, he got it open, walking inside and pulling the flap shut behind him.

Inside, he collapsed onto his cot, sitting there and shaking slightly. For the third time, he nearly vomited as his stomach churned. Even though he couldn't see the carnage anymore, the fabric of the tent did nothing to muffle the noises.

Self-blame and overwhelming guilt began to set in now, and he found himself feeling more guilty about the injured changelings than he did about the injured ponies. I'm the one that led the changelings into this battle. I'm the one who gave the order to come here instead of go back to Canterlot. If it weren't for me, none of them would have died, and none of them would be wounded. The fact that the dead changelings had given their lives to protect a kingdom that wasn't even theirs and that they had no reason to feel any loyalty towards made his feelings of guilt all the worse.

Something else was bothering him too. When they had blown the bridge, he had actually been excited to see the griffins falling to their deaths. He had almost gotten some kind of twisted thrill out of it. What kind of monster am I becoming?

What he wouldn't give for the days at the Academy. The days when the biggest things he had to worry about were whether his uniform was tidy enough and making sure he got to staff meetings on time. The days where the biggest guilt he ever faced was when a student failed his class, since he thought it perhaps suggested a failure on his part as a teacher. But a student who failed a class could retake it and pass the next time. It was something that was fixable. The dead changelings and ponies were not.

James had no idea how much time passed as he sat lost in his own guilt. Eventually, he became aware of somepony calling to him, sounding very distant at first and gradually coming into focus as he came out of his daze. Looking up, he saw Lieutenant Swift Wing standing at the entrance to his tent, holding the flap open with one forehoof.

“Councilor, the griffins are asking for permission to bury their dead according to their own customs and traditions.”

James nodded slightly in response. “Tell them to do so. And the changelings may do likewise. Of course, we'll also perform our own funeral rites for the fallen royal guards when they have all been gathered.”

“Of course, Councilor … Also, the changeling commander would like to speak with you for a moment. He has a … request that I figured I'd better let you handle.”

“Send him in.”

Lieutenant Swift Wing stepped out, replaced a moment later by the changeling commander.

“What can I do for you, Commander?” James asked.

The changeling commander fumbled nervously for words as he responded.

“Councilor … We commandeered several barrels of griffin ale from the griffin forces … I know it's illegal to drink alcohol in Equestria … but in changeling culture, it's a long tradition for changeling warriors to have a drink after victory in a battle … The royal guards would never even think of participating … but I was wondering if maybe we could –”

“Just don't get yourselves plastered, okay?”

“Of course not. And thank you, Councilor.”

James only nodded in response as the changeling commander walked out, letting the tent flap fall shut behind him.

He sighed slightly, standing up from the cot. Only now, did he become aware that the activity outside seemed to have slowed down. The moaning of the injured was gone. Most of the seriously injured ones had probably been evacuated to Trottingham hospital by now. His heart sank as he couldn't ignore the fact that some of them were no longer moaning because they had died from their injuries.

He stepped out of the tent now, walking through the camp aimlessly. The snow had stopped, and the wind was mostly gone, the weather ponies having long since stopped their blizzard. Stopping it had turned out to be more difficult than anticipated. With the pegasi losing control of the weather, they almost lost control of their own blizzard. It was as if it had taken on a mind of its own, like some kind of malevolent monster bent on growing and destroying. Fortunately, they were finally able to bring it back under control and stop it.

Most of the ponies and changelings seemed to be inside their tents, probably taking some well deserved rest after the battle. That was something he should be doing too. But even though his body was tired, he knew he would find no sleep. Not with all the thoughts troubling his mind. Oh, how he wished Captain Swordstorm were here instead of on Earth right now. He needed somepony to confide in. To discuss his feelings with. And Captain Swordstorm had become both a brother and mentor to him. They had been through so much together, going back to his very first day in Equestria when Swordstorm and his guards had captured him and brought him to Canterlot. True, Fluttershy was the first pony he had met. But Captain Swordstorm was the first pony he had had any real interaction with. He didn't think he'd confide these feelings to even Twilight. They were feelings he really just thought he'd be more comfortable discussing with another male. Captain Swordstorm was the obvious choice. But he wasn't here, and there was nothing to be done about that.

“Can't sleep, Councilor?”

The sound jolted him, and he turned to see Captain Skydart walking towards him. He shook his head once in response. Skydart would have to do.

“I … keep thinking about all the changelings and ponies that died today, and the ones that were maimed … They are dead and maimed because of orders I gave. Especially the changelings. It's … it's because I brought them here,” he confessed.

Skydart nodded once in understanding. “There would be a lot more dead if you hadn't brought them here, including a lot of innocent ponies in Trottingham. Without the help of the changelings, we wouldn't have been able to stop the griffins from overrunning the city.”

“That's how it can be rationalized, yes … But it still doesn't make me feel any less guilty about making a decision that resulted in their deaths.”

“Perhaps. But consider this. Wouldn't you feel even more guilty if you had made the alternative decision? If you had gone back to Canterlot instead and the griffins had overrun Trottingham?”

Captain Skydart had a point. Fate, providence, destiny, the weaver, or some other such thing had appointed this decision to fall on him. It sucked, and he hated it. But there was nothing to be done about it.

“You made the best of a bad situation, Councilor,” Skydart continued. “The griffins forced this battle on us, and you made the only decision you could. The one that resulted in the least amount of life lost, and the one that was most loyal to Their Majesties and to Equestria. And for that, you should be proud. You did as well as anypony could expect you to do.”

James hesitated for several moments. Part of him had already known that what Skydart was telling him now was true. But still, it was of some comfort to hear a Royal Guard officer confirm it for him, especially an officer who was second only to Captain Swordstorm in command.

“There's another issue, Captain … When we blew the bridge … I was excited to see the griffins falling. I got … some kind of sick thrill out of it. At the time, I didn't even see them as living beings. I saw them more like rocks, or some other obstacle that simply needed to be destroyed … I know they were the enemy, but still … What does that make me?” Some part of him wondered if it made him a monster. Another part of him wondered if the fact that he felt concern for the enemy indicated some kind of disloyalty and made him unfit for duty.

“It makes you normal, Councilor. It happens in the heat of battle. You harden yourself to the horrors of war because it's the only way you can deal with them. It's only when the battle is over and you are reflecting back on it that you begin to think about your enemies as individuals who have families, loved ones, and so on. It's only after the battle is over that you begin to feel guilt.”

“But is it wrong? Is it wrong to feel concern for the enemy? To feel guilt over doing what had to be done?”

Skydart shook his head. “On the contrary. With all due respect, Councilor, I'd consider you unfit for duty if you did not feel concern for the enemy, and if you did not show compassion for them. And if you were a royal guard under my command who had no concern for the well being of the enemy? I'd discharge you as unfit for duty … Sorry for being so frank, Councilor.”

“No apology necessary, Captain. Your point is well taken … And thank you for listening and being honest with me.”

Skydart nodded once. “We should both get some rest, Councilor. We have a lot of things we need to sort out, now and it'll be better to do it with our minds fresh.”

With that, the two of them went back to their tents. James went inside and pulled the flap shut, stoking the fire a little bit to keep the outside cold at bay before laying down on his cot. Eventually fatigue took over, and he was asleep.

Some time later, an arctic chill woke him up. At first, he thought the fire had gone out and the tent flap had blown open. But as sleep left him, he realized he wasn't even in his tent anymore. He was some distance away in a forest. That jolted him awake quickly, and he was suddenly aware of a hoof pressed over his mouth, keeping him from calling out. Instantly, he tried to struggle, but realized that some type of magical spell was keeping him immobile. A voice whispered to him just as he was about to go into full panic mode.

“Sssh... James, it's me, Twilight.”

His eyes went wide and he saw a very dim lavender aura in front of him as the unicorn lit her horn, providing just enough light so that he could barely see her, confirming that it definitely was Twilight. It was obvious from the very small amount of light she was using that she didn't want anypony else knowing she was there with him.

He felt her release the spell that was holding him, and her hoof come away from his mouth. He spoke quickly, in a whisper.

“Twilight, what's going on? And what are you doing here?”

“I'm sorry about that. I teleported you out here 'cause I couldn't risk any ponies or changelings seeing us. We still have one or more traitors somewhere and I don't know who I can trust.”

He nodded slightly, but worry tugged at him. Something must definitely be wrong if she came all the way out here to see him, and if she was that worried about anyone else seeing them. She confirmed his suspicions a moment later.

“James, there's been a coup in the Changeling Empire. We don't have many details, but we know that Queen Chrysalis has been stripped of her power and locked in the dungeon.”

James frowned and he felt his heart sink. “... I guess we can only assume that it was because other changelings didn't approve of her forming an alliance with Equestria.” Twilight nodded in response.

Now, it made sense why Twilight had … kidnapped him for lack of a better word, from his tent. If any of the changelings or griffins found out what she just told him, they might decide to jump ship, or worse, form an alliance against Equestria. And, of course, seeing Twilight here at all, much less talking to him in secret would raise suspicions that something was clearly going on that the rulers of Equestria didn't want them to know about.

“It's imperative that neither the changelings or the griffins find out about this,” Twilight said, echoing his own thoughts.

“We have to at least tell Captain Skydart. The high officers of the Royal Guard need to know.”

“I agree,” Twilight responded, then frowned. “Unfortunately, I have more bad news. There've been isolated skirmishes along the barrier with aislings. The barrier has weakened enough that some aislings are starting to get through. There's not a flood of them yet, but as the aislings push through the barrier, it's going to weaken faster, allowing more of them to get through, which only compounds the rate of weakening.”

James frowned at the news. “We knew it was only a matter of time before that started happening. As soon as the changeling and griffin forces here have recovered from their battle with each other, we can send them to the barriers to help … Any word from Gilda?”

Twilight shook her head slightly. “Nothing. I'm starting to worry that she might suspect the magical recall spell I told her I put on her was bogus and she has no intention of doing what I told her to.”

James nodded slightly in response, feeling more downcast over the news. “We'll question the griffins here before we send them to the borders. But I suspect none of them are going to know where Princess Luna is. The highest ranking griffin officer we have is a field commander. I doubt he's privy to information of such a sensitive nature.”

Twilight looked around for a moment before returning her attention to him. “You … you did very well James. In both your mission to the Changeling Empire, and in your decisions here that led to victory in this battle. Your service to Equestria has been exceptional.”

“The changelings and ponies who died here today or were maimed did far more than I,” James protested. It came out in a more combative tone than he intended. But such compliments made him feel guilty. He wasn't the one who should be getting that praise. He did nothing, except tell others to do things that got them killed or maimed. They were the ones who deserved the praise. Not him.

Twilight only nodded in response saying nothing more on the subject, seeming to understand that it was a sensitive issue for him. A raw wound that he didn't want touched right now.

She looked at the ground now, her eyes shifting nervously. Several times, she looked like she was about to say something, but then stopped. Finally, she looked at him and spoke again, her voice sounding almost frightened now.

“James … When this is all over, what's …. what's going to happen to us? To you and me?”

He winced and looked at the ground himself now. It was the topic he dreaded. But the one he knew he was going to have to discuss with her sooner or later. But why oh why did she have to bring it up here and now? Guilt racked him over the fact that he hadn't brought it up with her earlier, and instead, had made her bring up the subject. And yet, he wanted to stall. To delay. To find some way to avoid the discussion. But he knew he couldn't. She deserved an answer, and he'd already strung her along longer than he should have.

And yet, when he opened his mouth, all that came out was a timidly spoken “I … I don't know, Twilight.”

“We … we'll have to break it off, won't we?” she said, in a timid voice similar to his own.

For several long moments, he didn't answer. He stared at the ground, feeling his eyes moisten as tears started to fill them. Finally, he answered with a single word, quietly spoken.

“Probably.”

Twilight nodded almost imperceptibly. He glanced up slightly to see her staring at the ground now, pawing her hoof at it slightly, her tail limp, and her ears drooping downward. At the same time, he felt his heart breaking, a cold tear starting to run down his face.

Then, Twilight flicked her tail once, and her ears stood up. She looked up at him again.

“James … If I were to ask you to run away with me … To break your oath and run away with me so we could be together … Would you do it?”

His feeling of despair quickly mixed with one of surprise, and he almost recoiled. Had she really asked him that?

“Twilight, you mustn’t ask such questions,” he rebuked her, a bit more harshly than he intended.

“... Would you James? If I were to ask you, would you run away with me?” she persisted.

“Twilight … please don't ask me that question,” he pleaded with her.

“I am asking you, James. If I were to ask you to break your oath … to run away with me so we could be together. Would you do it?”

He hesitated only a moment before looking her directly in the eyes and responding.

“If you ask it of me, Twilight … Yes, I would do it ...”

54 - Enemies and Allies

Chapter 54: Enemies and Allies

For a long time, James simply sat there in bewilderment. The expression on Twilight’s face suggested she was as bewildered as he was. He wasn’t sure which one surprised him more. The fact that she had asked him if he would run away with her so they could be together, or the fact that he had actually told her he would. He was dedicated to his role as a Royal Councilor. Dedicated to Princess Celestia and Princess Luna. He would never do anything to betray their trust in him. And yet, he knew he had spoken the truth when he answered Twilight’s question. If she asked him to run away with her so they could be together, he would do it. If she asked him to fight off an entire squadron of dragons for her, he would do it. There was nothing he wouldn’t do for her, short of murder. His heart pounded and he spoke nervously, quickly trying to change the subject as if somehow that could make them both forget the question had ever been asked or answered.

“I … I should go back to the changeling hive. I need … need to try to get answers and find out what’s going on.” He wished to Celestia and Luna he could stop his voice from stammering. Despite the bitter cold, he felt flushed and hot.

“No. It’s too dangerous,” Twilight said, shaking her head once. She seemed to have recovered her confidence much quicker than he had, almost as if she had forgotten the awkward conversation they had just finished. Had it been a trap? Was she testing his loyalty? Ice stabbed at him as he briefly wondered if she would report his answer back to Princess Celestia when she returned. No, Twilight wouldn’t do that to me. “If there’s been a coup, there could be anarchy right now. They might kill you on sight, or take you prisoner.”

“I don’t think they will, Twilight,” he answered, trying to recover his own composure and forget the previous conversation. “No matter what has happened, they should still afford me diplomatic ambassador protection. And besides, I’m their only communications link with Equestria.” Run away with her? Did she really ask me that?

Twilight frowned, appearing lost in thought for several moments, looking away from him as if to hide the turmoil in her eyes. Finally, she nodded slowly. “Alright. But you need to return to Canterlot first. You need to brief me and the rest of the Council on the situation with the griffins, the battle, and what you know so far about the changelings.”

Anxiety tugged at him like a leash regarding the changeling situation. He had to get back to the hive as soon as possible and find out what was going on. Find out whether fourteen thousand changelings were likely to turn on them as soon as they got word of what had happened there. He frowned and scrubbed a hand through his hair, but quickly checked himself. She was right, he knew. She, the Council, and the military commanders back in Canterlot needed the information he held regarding the battle, the griffins, and whatever he currently knew about the changelings. Finally, he nodded slowly.

“Alright. I’ll return to Canterlot, but I’ll need to wait until morning. Leaving in the middle of the night would raise too many questions.”

She nodded, and the next thing he knew, her forehooves were around him, pulling him close as she kissed him. He blinked, caught off guard, but then returned the kiss. She held him for several seconds before releasing him and pulling back. In the dim light of her horn, he could see the blush on her muzzle. He was certain his own face looked a mirror image of hers.

“I … I should go … I need to get back to Canterlot, and you should get back to your tent before anypony realizes you are gone … Be … be careful, James.”

“I will. I promise,” he responded, trying to quell the butterflies that were dancing in his stomach.

She smiled briefly, and then her expression turned serious again.

“I’ll teleport you back to your tent.”

She took a few steps back from him and the glow of her horn changed slightly. He felt a tingling surround his body and the next thing he knew, he was back in his tent sitting on his cot again, the vertigo slamming into him as the tent did cartwheels around him. As usual when she teleported him, the feeling passed in a few seconds.

For a long while, he simply sat on the cot trying to process everything that had happened. He tried to focus on the changeling coup despite the fact that there was nothing to be done about it until he had more information. But despite his best efforts, his mind kept going where he didn’t want it to go. Had she really asked him to run away with her? The butterflies danced in his stomach again, stronger than before, as if they were breeding. Anxiety tugged at him wondering about what would happen when or if the Princesses found out. Again, he tried to forcefully pull his mind off those thoughts and back to what he had to worry about now.

Part of him wanted to go straight to Captain Skydart and tell him about the changeling coup, if for no other reason than it would give him something to do other than think about … No! Stop going there! he scolded himself. Telling Skydart right now wouldn’t do. Even though most of the camp was asleep, there were still the Royal Guard patrols. No doubt, they would start talking if they saw him enter Captain Skydart’s tent and wake him in the middle of the night. Instead, he lie down on his cot, doing his best to calm his mind and fall asleep. Did she really ask me if I would run away with her? Did I really agree to do it if she asked? Slowly, he drifted off to a world of tortured dreams.

He stood in the cold, a blizzard surrounding him. Then, a series of bright flashes, and the bridge exploded, screaming griffins falling to their deaths, others trying to run away only for the bridge to collapse right underneath their talons, sending them plummeting to the floor of the gorge some four hundred feet down.

Flash …

Griffin children wailed, and shrieked, as they learned their fathers would never come home again. Mothers held them tightly wrapping their wings around them, tears streaming from their own eyes. They glared at him, their condemning gaze boring into his soul, letting him know in no uncertain terms, it was his fault their children no longer had fathers.

Flash …

The griffin children turned into elderly mares and stallions, tears streaming like blood down their muzzles. Stallions tried to comfort their mares. But what comfort could they offer? Royal Guards in full dress uniforms presented folded Equestrian flags to the grieving mares. Some of them pulled backwards, refusing to accept the flags and shaking their heads, as if somehow, accepting the flag would be accepting the fact that their sons were never coming home … Never coming home because of him and the order he had given.

Flash …

Changelings attacked him from above. He swatted at them with his sword as if they were swarming killer bees, but he couldn’t manage to hit any of them. He was disarmed and overwhelmed quickly, a changeling drone slamming into him from behind and bringing him roughly to the ground. A weight pressed down on him as the changeling ontop of him forcefully pinned him down, a hard, chitten-covered forehoof roughly slamming his head to the dirt. His arms were yanked painfully behind him and bound tightly in place with the sticky changeling resin. His feet followed quickly, his ankles bound together. His captors said nothing as they yanked him to his feet, nearly dislocating his shoulders. He was forced into a windowless prisoner transport wagon. The door slammed shut, sealing him in darkness.

Flash …

He found himself in a coal black colored throne room, held on his knees by shackles around his wrists, ankles, and neck. In front of him, stone steps lead to an obsidian colored throne. He tried to stand, but the shackles and chains kept him on his knees, forcing him to kneel in front of the throne. Chancing a glance upward, his eyes were met with a cold stare from Chrysalis. She sat on her throne, her stance that of a predatory feline glaring at a trapped mouse. On second look, it wasn’t Chrysalis on the throne. it was Antenna, but she had taken on many of the characteristics of Chrysalis. He looked down again, noticing the thick iron shackles on his wrist, the sigil of the changelings engraved into them, indicating his status as a prisoner of the Changeling Empire. When Antenna spoke it was with a voice that could have have simultaneously frozen a volcano, and melted iron.

“It seems Chrysalis was half right about one thing, James Peterson. After all, you are kneeling in front of the Queen of the Changelings again.” A twisted grin formed on her face now, clearly showing her fangs. “James Peterson, on the charge of conspiring with Chrysalis to draw changeling soldiers into an Equestrian war, I find you guilty. By extension, I find you guilty of causing the deaths of every changeling soldier that died fighting the griffins. Their blood is on your hands. I hereby sentence you to spend the rest of your life in the changeling military dungeon, with no possibility of parole.” Her twisted grin grew slightly wider, revealing even more of her fangs. “If you are fortunate, perhaps you will share a cell with Chrysalis and you can feed her need for love.”

Antenna’s horn glowed an eldritch green as did a wicked looking stone gavel as she slammed it onto the arm of her throne, causing sparks to fly, the crashing noise the sound of doom in his ears. As soon as the gavel had fallen, four changeling soldiers surrounded him, undoing the chains from the floor. He almost cried out for mercy, but stopped. After all, part him was convinced he deserved the sentence imposed on him. His guards led him deeper into the changeling hive, starting a dark descent down into the earth. A descent he knew he would never return from.

Flash …

He found himself on his knees in another throne room, although this one he clearly recognized as the throne room of Canterlot Castle. Iron shackles held his wrists and ankles, this time engraved with Celestia’s golden sun. He could have stood up if he wanted to, but he remained on his knees in shame. He looked up at the throne, where Celestia was seated, looking down on him. He wished her expression had been one of anger, or even rage. That, he could have dealt with. But the expression of hurt and betrayal on her muzzle was more than he could bear. He looked at the floor again. He thought of Twilight now and wondered where she was. He hadn’t seen her since the Royal Guards had found them and arrested them, bringing them back to Canterlot after their few months on the run from justice. Tears threatened to overwhelm his eyes, knowing he would probably never see her again now. Celestia speaking brought his attention back to her. Her voice was calm, but deeply sad. It gnawed him to the bone knowing how much he had hurt her.

“I’m not angry,” she began, the hurt evident in her voice. “I’m just deeply hurt by your betrayal. The fact that you broke your Council oath is like a hot fire searing me. The fact that you did it with my most faithful student is like a knife to my heart.” He felt as if a knife were twisting in his own heart now at her words. He heard her take a deep breath, letting it out slowly. It was obvious she was trying to hold back tears when she spoke again.

“I take no pleasure in passing this sentence, and it breaks my heart more than you will ever know. But the law must be upheld. Councilor James Peterson, you are hereby stripped of your status as a Royal Councilor, and sentenced to spend the rest of your life in the castle dungeon for treason against the Crown. This proceeding is closed.”

He didn’t struggle and made no protest as the Royal Guards fell in on either side of him, lead him out of the throne room, and towards the dungeon.

He awoke to the sounds of clanking metal and the sight of darkness as he lie on the cot in his dungeon cell. No … The darkness of his tent. Of course, it had only been a nightmare. A sequence of them. He felt something trickle down his face and he realized he had been crying in his sleep. Despite the cold, he had been sweating. Now, he felt like he had fallen into a frozen lake, his clothes dripping wet.

As his eyes adjusted, he could see dim flickering glows outside the tent, along with the dull chatter of voices. Cook fires, he realized as the scent of wood smoke wiffed passed his nose. He shivered again, vividly remembering the sequence of nightmares he had just had. With an effort of will, he forced them down. He had no time to worry about nightmares. He needed to find Captain Skydart and then be on his way back to Canterlot.

Standing up, he quickly shed his sweat-drenched night-clothes and put on his Council robe, followed by a heavy overcoat, absent-mindedly buckling his sword belt around it. That was simply rote these days. The sword had become a part of him. It required more of a conscious effort now to leave the sword behind than it did to strap it on. It was amazing how fast a man could adapt to battlefield conditions. A man could adapt to anything quickly when his life, and the lives of thousands of others depended on it.

He threw the tent flap aside, stepping out into the cold. There was no wind to speak of, which was a welcome relief from the past several days. But at the same time, the lack of wind, the lack of movement reminded him of death, and he found himself wishing for at least a light breeze.

He looked around, taking in the activity by the flickering glow of the fires. The camp had nearly doubled in size now that they had added the griffins to their ranks. Royal Guards bustled around him as they went about their morning preparations. All of the tents near him were colored red and blue, and flew the flag of Equestria from their main supports. As he walked, the cluster of tents thinned out, leaving a small stretch of unoccupied ground before the Equestrian tents gave way to the black tents of the changelings, the sigil of the Changeling Empire flying from their supports. To the left, beyond more open space, stood the gold and brown tents of the griffin army. The three species had clearly segregated themselves into their own camps within a camp. Whether that was good or bad, he wasn’t sure. On one hand, given the distrust the three of them had for each other, it was probably best that they stayed apart to avoid any trouble. On the other hand, the segregation would also reinforce in their minds that they were three separate armies who just happened to be fighting on the same side. At least for now until the immediate threat was passed and they could go back to being enemies again. Better if they were to intermingle and integrate into one force … if they could do it without fighting each other.

A loud commotion to his right drew his attention. Shouting, cheering, and jeering coming from both ponies and changelings. He could see nothing in the darkness, but quickly headed in the direction the sounds were coming from. As the sounds grew louder, the glow of the fires revealed a circle made of royal guards on one half, and changeling soldiers on the other. All of them faced the center of the circle, cheers alternating with jeers as they focused on something in the middle. He quickly turned his walk into a run pushing his way into the gathered royal guards, making his way closer to the center of the circle.

As expected, he found a changeling soldier and a pegasus guard locked in combat with each other. Despite the fact that the pegasus wasn’t wearing his armor --a fact that no doubt put him at a disadvantage against the naturally armored changeling-- he seemed to have the upper hoof, standing over the changeling and pinning him down, his royal guard comrades cheering him on while the changelings on the other side of the circle jeered and shouted encouragement to their currently pinned soldier.

“Break it up!” James shouted as he continued to try to push his way towards the two fighters. But his words were completely drowned out by the shouting of the spectators.

In the blink of an eye, the changeling arched upwards, wrapping his hind legs around the pegasus and twisting, pulling him down to his side. The pegasus winced slightly as the changeling squeezed his hind legs together, compressing the pony’s midsection and forcing the air out of him, as well as pinning his wings to his sides. As the tide of the fight shifted, the changelings on the other side were the ones cheering now, the royal guards having taken up the role of shouting encouragement to their trapped comrade to break free from the changeling’s hold.

“Break it up!” James shouted again, still trying to fight his way towards the circle. Again, his words were lost in the shouting of the spectators. The crowd made no effort to let him through. In the excitement of the fight, they didn’t even realize who he was, probably assuming he was just another reveler jockeying for a better view.

The trapped pegasus used his forehooves now to try to pry the changelings hind legs apart. Quickly, the changeling snagged one of the of the pony’s prying forelegs with his own foreleg, trapping it and pulling it tight, getting another wince from the pegasus he pulled the trapped forelimb in a direction it shouldn’t naturally be able to go, at the same time, he appeared to squeeze his hind legs tighter around the pony’s midsection.

“I said break it up!” James shouted again, finally punching through the front of the crowd and into the circle.

To his surprise, the changeling immediately released the trapped pegasus and stood up, then offered a forehoof to the downed pony, who accepted it and stood up as well.

“What’s going on here?” James questioned, or more accurately, demanded. It was the pegasus who answered.

“We were just sparring, Councilor. For fun.”

The changeling nodded. “And we thought perhaps we could learn some new techniques from each other. Changelings and ponies have different fighting tactics.”

“Sparring were you?” James responded dubiously. Did they really expect him to believe that? He looked at the gathered crowd, but all of them had gone completely silent and none offered any hint on whether that was the truth or not. He turned his attention back to the two fighters. There were no obvious signs of injury on the pegasus, not even on the foreleg that the changeling had locked. No obvious bruising that he could see in the flickering fire, and no blood. As far as the changeling, he wasn’t sure if he’d be able to see bruising if it were present, or if the carapace would hide it. But at least he didn’t see any blood. Perhaps … maybe … they were telling the truth, but neither one of them answered his question. Either way, it was something he was not going to allow to continue. He responded in a calmer, but still firm tone.

“Sparring or not, I don’t want to see any more of it. I’m sure no one here would try to deny that the history between ponies and changelings isn’t exactly flowers and rainbows. And I’m not about to provide you with a temptation like sparring when it could quickly lead to an all out brawl or worse. Am I clear?”

“Yes, Councilor,” both combatants responded in unison, their voices tinged with disappointment.

“Good,” James nodded, turning his attention back to the gathered crowd. “Are all of you clear on that?”

“Yes, Councilor,” they all responded in military like yes sir fashion.

“Good," James repeated, then turned and started walking back in the direction he had come from, the crowd parting for him like a wave this time.

“I had you,” he heard the changeling say behind him. “If he hadn’t stopped it, you would have surrendered in another few seconds.”

“Yeah, I would have,” the pegasus admitted. There was no anger in his tone. “But that hold you had me in wouldn’t have worked nearly as well if I’d had my armor on.”

“It’s a foolish soldier that doesn’t take advantage of every weakness his enemy offers him,” the changeling responded, then chuckled. “And a foolish pony who goes into battle naked against a changeling.” The pegasus laughed at that too, as did some of the gathered spectators.

James continued walking away, but smiled slightly to himself. Apparently, they really had been sparring, and it seemed they held no ill will towards each other and it really had been all in fun. Perhaps they really were willing to put their past animosity behind them and focus on working together as brothers now. Sport-fighting with your former enemies seemed a weird way to bond, but he wasn’t a soldier, and didn’t understand things of that nature. If sparring brought them closer together, perhaps he should allow them to do it? It was a decision he’d revisit later, once he had a better feel for how well they were actually going to get along. But if sparring helped them bond, helped them learn new techniques from each other, and kept them in practice? Well, that was going to be vital for the much larger battle that was still in the future. The one that would make the battle with the griffins look like it had been a fight on a child’s playground.

Making his way back to the center of the camp, he stopped in front of Captain Skydart’s tent. The flickering glow of a lantern off the canvas walls, along with the silhouette of a moving pony told him the Captain was already up and about.

“Permission to enter, Captain?” he called through the closed flap.

“Come,” Skydart responded and James pulled the tent flap open ducking to enter and closing the flap behind him, making sure it was secure.

“Good morning, Councilor. Were you able to get some sleep?” Captain Skydart asked, pouring a cup of tea and holding it out to him with his mouth.

“Thank you Captain,” James said as he took the steaming cup, blowing on it slightly before sipping it. A couple of years ago, the thought of drinking out of something that had been in a pony’s mouth probably would have made him bulk. But now, he gave it no more thought than if another human had simply handed it to him. The spiced tea warmed his insides as he swallowed, taking some of the chill off the cold air. “Mostly I had nightmares,” he admitted. “But that’s not what I came here to talk to you about. We have a … situation. It’s important that as few ponies as possible know about it, and none of the changelings or griffins.”

If Skydart was at all alarmed by the news, he didn’t show it. Instead, he simply nodded slightly. James supposed that after a decade or more in the military, not much rattled a Royal Guard officer. “Continue,” was all the Captain said in response.

“Lady Twilight was here last night. Apparently they’ve received word from one of their changeling spies that there’s been a coup in the Changeling Empire. Chrysalis has been deposed. She didn’t know anything more than that, yet. It’s unknown why the coup happened, or who is currently in charge.”

Skydart maintained his rock-hard military expression, showing no indication that the news frightened or disturbed him. “Until we hear otherwise, we’ll have to assume the changelings bulked at Chrysalis’ alliance with Equestria,” he responded, with an air of confidence he had not had when he had first taken Captain Swordstorm’s place as Supreme Commander of Equestria’s Forces. The young captain had come a long way since his first meeting with Twilight and the Royal Council, James observed.

“Can you make sure the changelings don’t find out?” Skydart nodded once in response. James wished he had as much confidence as the Captain seemed to have.

“I’ll take them north to help protect the barriers. We’ll give wide berth to any cities or towns and stick to the wilderness when we travel.”

“Won’t they get suspicious?” James asked, raising an eyebrow.

“I doubt it. After the cold reception we got in Trottingham, it shouldn’t surprise them that I’m trying to avoid cities and towns. And if that’s not enough, I can tell them that time is of the essence and we need to get to the borders as soon as possible.”

“You won’t be lying, Captain. That’s the other part of the news from Lady Twilight. The barriers have weakened enough that some aislings have been starting to get through. They aren’t flooding through yet, but they will be soon enough.”

Again, Skydart maintained his military professionalism, not showing any indication that the news disturbed him. He did hesitate for a few moments before speaking again, though.

“Councilor, to be honest, I’m more worried about the griffins betraying us than the changelings. In Changeling culture, the Queen is literally a goddess in the flesh; the living embodiment of Dorylini the Great. And she is to be obeyed without question. Nowhere is that more true than in the Changeling Army. Despite the coup, the changelings we have with us will probably remain loyal to whatever Chrysalis ordered them to do unless they hear otherwise directly from her … The griffins, however, have committed high treason against their king by allying with Equestria. I fear they might use the first opportunity they can find to turn against us.”

James had considered that, but he doubted it. There was another thing he had learned about griffin culture during his Council training.

“I don’t think they will, Captain,” he began. “The only thing more dishonorable to a griffin soldier than surrendering in battle is going back on their word of honor. And the griffin commander gave us his word of honor when he agreed to pledge his allegiance to Lady Twilight.”

“Be that as it may, Councilor, his soldiers might not feel the same way. After all, none of them personally pledged to Lady Twilight. There is worry among the royal guards and some of the changeling soldiers that the griffins might mutiny against their own commander.”

James frowned as he took another sip of his tea. Skydart had a point. None of the individual griffins had given their allegiance to Twilight, only the commander. Normally, the commander would be able to speak for the entire force, but If the griffin soldiers considered their commander to be a traitor to the King, they might very well decide his word was not their word. None of the individual soldiers had taken any pledges. When they weighed their two options, disloyalty to the king might seem more dishonorable than going back on the word their commander had given.

Briefly, he considered asking all of the griffins to individually pledge loyalty to Twilight. He quickly decided against that, though. Asking them that would probably only plant the thought in their minds that even he and Skydart felt they were betraying their own king, which might make it even more likely they would decide loyalty to their king is more honorable than abiding by the pledge their commander had given. Griffin honor was a complicated thing. One he wished he knew a lot more about right now.

“Get the griffins to the northern barrier as soon as possible,” he said at last. “Push as hard and as fast as you can, Captain. The sooner they see an aisling for themselves, the sooner they will realize just what it is their king is trying to bargain with.”

“As you say, Councilor,” Skydart responded, quickly downing the rest of his tea, which was already cold. Tea didn’t stay hot for very long under these frigid conditions.

The sooner both the griffins and the changelings reached the northern barrier, the better James would feel. Other than reducing the chance of a griffin mutiny, it should also ensure that no news of the coup in the Changeling Empire would reach them. There were no ponies that far north to deliver the news. There was nothing that far north at all, other than the Royal Guards stationed there to monitor the barrier. In the not too distant past, that had consisted of just a few dozen guards at remote outposts who monitored the condition of the barrier and sent reports back to Canterlot. Now, it consisted of thousands, with more arriving every day.

The guards arriving every day were a problem, he realized with a frown. Many of them would likely be aware of the changeling coup. He wished he’d thought of that earlier when he was still talking to Twilight. It was vital that the royal guards traveling to the barrier be under strict orders not to talk about the coup at all, given the changelings would be arriving there as soon as possible. He hoped Twilight had thought of that as well, and given the guards traveling to the border those very orders.

He quickly downed his own tea and placed the cup back on the tray.

“You have command of all of them, Captain. I need to return to Canterlot and brief Lady Twilight and the rest of the Council on what happened here. After that, I’ll be going back to the changeling hive to find out what happened. May your journey be safe and quick, Captain.”

“And yours, Councilor.”

With that, James turned and left the tent, returning to his own, stopping briefly along the way to inform the the Air Transport Command officer to ready a chariot for Canterlot. Inside his tent, he quickly packed up a few belongings, leaving all of the maps and other military information for Captain Skydart. Thirty minutes later he was in the air, finally making his way back to Canterlot. All he could think about was the question Twilight had asked him, and the answer he had given her …

55 - A Devastating Discovery

Chapter 55: A Devastating Discovery

Gravity pulling forward on James told him the chariot was slowing down, the mounting pressure in his ears letting him know they'd begun their descent towards Canterlot. His breath floated through the air like a ghostly specter in the dim flickering light of the single lantern that lit the inside of the chariot. He turned his head towards the small window, finding it completely frosted over. Rubbing the palm of his hand over the glass, he cleared a circle and looked outside. Above him and to all sides, he could see nothing but darkness. It was a nothingness that served as an ever-present reminder of what the land of Equestria—indeed the entire world of Equus—would look like if the Beyond succeeded in its quest. Of course, if that happened, nopony, and no anything else for that matter, would be around to see the nothingness.

Turning his eyes downward, he could see a faint, rolling glow, looking almost like a pale, snow-capped mountain range. The lights of Canterlot. They must be above a cloud layer. As they continued their descent, the phantom like glow approached the bottom of the chariot, and wisps of cloud began to coalesce around them, finally engulfing them completely. A sharp jolt, followed shortly after by another, as the turbulence inside the cloud layer buffeted them like a ship on a storm-tossed sea. The weather was turning bad again. That was the last thing they needed right now.

Eventually the chariot broke through the cloud layer, and he was greeted by the comforting sight of Canterlot Castle, its polished white stonework and gold trim shining like a beacon as it reflected the bright lights. It was the first sign he'd seen since they'd taken off from the camp at Trottingham that anything at all still existed outside the small world of his chariot.

On top of the castle spires, the red and blue banners of the Sun and Moon—the crests of Celestia and Luna—flapped in the wind. Those wonderful banners, answering the challenge of the weather, bucking wildly, battered and slightly frayed, but still flying. They stood as a symbol of the spirit of Equestria. They gave him courage and lifted his spirits. They'd been dealt a blow. Several of them. But they were still standing. They were still fighting. And they were building a coalition, gathering all of the nations of Equus to fight in the largest battle the world had ever seen. The battle that would ultimately save all worlds … or destroy all worlds if they lost. They wouldn't lose though. They couldn't.

The banners disappeared from sight as they sank below the level of the towers, the wheels of the chariot touching down with a light bump a few seconds later. Even before they had stopped, a Royal Guard ground support crew was coming out to meet them. They were bundled tightly in woolen gray cloaks and thick lined caps. One of the guards opened the door as soon as the wheels had rolled to a stop.

“Welcome home, Councilor,” he said with a salute of his forehoof. “And congratulations on your victory over the griffons. Lady Twilight is waiting for you along with the Guard commanders and the rest of the Council inside the meeting chambers.”

“Thank you, Sergeant”, he responded, returning the salute with his hand. He knew all of the Equestrian rank symbols by heart now, not having to even think about them.

The thank you, he had only meant for the welcome home. Not for the congratulations on the 'victory'. In fact, it irked him that the guard had congratulated him on his victory. What right did he have to claim victory over anything? He hadn't lifted his sword even once during the battle. He'd watched the entire thing from a safe vantage point. Sure, he'd been the one that came up with the plan, but he had no right to claim any kind of victory. If you want to congratulate somepony for the victory, go bow in front of the mothers, wives, daughters, sisters, and sons of the ones who aren't around anymore, and congratulate them on behalf of their dead loved ones, he thought bitterly to himself, but did not express that sentiment to the guard. He said no more as he buckled on his sword belt and walked towards the steps leading to the castle's grand entrance, the ground support team helping the Pegasus Guards who had pulled the chariot out of their harnesses and beginning the post-flight inspection of the chariot.

He walked carefully at first, half expecting the marble courtyard to be slick with ice and snow, but he found it was not. It must have been cleared recently. That wouldn't last long, though. Light snow flurries were already swirling around the lights, winking in and out like fireflies on a hot summer night. He wondered if it would ever be summer again. A mocking, icy gust of wind from the north was the only response he got to his unspoken question.

Besides, he thought to himself, dwelling again on the 'congratulations for your victory' the guard had given him, the loyalty of the griffons they had defeated and brought over to their side was already fragile at best. And in griffon culture, it was considered a great shame to be defeated in battle. He definitely didn't need those kind of victory congratulations getting back to the griffons, especially not when they were coming from Royal Guards.

He stepped through the open castle doors, returning the salute of two more guards who had opened them for him. Then he made his way quickly through the main corridor, the cold air yielding to the warmth of the hearth fires burning throughout the halls. The fortress of Canterlot Castle might stop the cold, but it would be swept away like a shack in a tornado against the force of the Beyond, he thought with a shudder, returning a third salute as he reached the Council meeting chambers and the guards posted outside opened the doors for him, quickly closing them as soon as he had entered the room.

The entire Council was already assembled, along with the Guard Captains. Twilight Sparkle smiled briefly at him, but then her expression turned neutral again. He had to resist the urge to go to her and hug her. They definitely could not show their affections for each other in front of the Council members or any of the Royal Guards. Twilight's expression went from neutral to one that looked more like … exasperation? At him? She turned her head away from him and looked out over the table. His eyes followed hers and he quickly found the source of her frustration.

On the other side of the table, seated across from each other, Captain Sunflare of the Celestial Guard, and Captain Stardust of the Lunar Guard, were glaring daggers at each other. Neither spoke, but the hackles on both were standing almost straight out, their ears laid back along their heads in an uncharacteristic breach of Royal Guard respect protocol. Both of them held their tongue, but their equine body language made it abundantly clear they wanted to explode at each other. Noting the stressed expressions on the faces of the other ponies gathered around the table, he surmised that they already had, but that Twilight had taken charge and made both of them be quiet.

“Welcome back, Councilor,” Twilight said, drawing his attention back to her. “Now that everyone is here, we can begin the formal debriefing.” She said the word 'formal' with venom, and her eyes shifting towards the two Guard captains left no doubt regarding her current thoughts about them. Following her eyes again, he saw both of the Guard captains open their mouths to say something, but then think better of it. He suspected he would find out what their problem with each other was soon enough. Neither one of them was going to be able to keep silent for long.

“Thank you, My Lady,” he responded formally, taking a seat at the table as far away from the two commanders as he could. He didn't want to be anywhere near them when that burning fuse hit the powder.

“We've received a report from the northern barrier,” Twilight begin, her tone all business now. “The bad news is that the barriers have weakened to the point where small numbers of entities from the Beyond are able to slip through, and the frequency of those breaches is increasing. The good news is that it seems they are forced to take physical form once they cross the barrier into the physical world. That also makes them vulnerable to conventional weapons.”

“That's the best news we've had in a long time,” Councilor Moon Song said, breathing an audible sigh of relief. “We had been worried they would still be in ethereal form when crossing over the barrier and conventional weapons wouldn't be able to touch them. In that case, only the unicorns and the changelings would have been able to fight them.”

“At least we know our efforts to bring the griffons over to our side won't have been in vain then,” James said with relief. From the corner of his eye, he saw Commander Stardust bristle and open his mouth, but then wisely close it once again. Immediately he wished he hadn't said anything about the griffons. Not that it really mattered. The topic was bound to come up sooner or later when Twilight asked him to debrief the Council on the Battle of Trottingham.

“Why isn't the Unicorn Guard able to maintain the barrier anymore? They've done it for over a thousand years and nothing like this has ever happened,” It was Storm Runner that had spoken.

“Because it was the magic of the Princesses that held the Beyond at bay,” Moon Song responded. “With that magic gone, there's nothing stopping the Beyond from drawing additional power and becoming increasingly stronger. And as it does so, it exerts more and more force on the barrier, chipping away at it like a pick ax on a block of ice. With the magic of one Princess, the unicorns could still maintain the barrier, although it would be much more difficult. But without the magic of either one of them? The Beyond is just too strong.”

That, apparently, was more than Stardust could resist, and the bat-winged captain of the Lunar Guard broke in quickly, his voice dripping with anger as he shouted. “All the more reason we need to stop waiting for this Gilda to return and launch an immediate mission into the Griffon Kingdom to capture their king and force him to tell us where Her Majesty of the Night is!”

His Celestial Guard counterpart narrowed his eyes and opened his mouth to respond, but Twilight raised a hoof and glared at both of them, immediately taking control of the situation before it got out of hoof. When she spoke, her voice could have frozen fire and melted iron.

“Both of you will have your turn to speak, and that discussion will be had when it is time. For now, I expect no further outbursts out from either one of you. Am I clear?” she said, leaving no room for argument, and no doubt as to who was firmly in charge here.

“Yes, My Lady,” both commanders responded simultaneously in a dejected tone of voice, then looked away from each other, as if not trusting themselves not to speak out again at a wrong expression or glance from the other.

James knew the situation was delicate and dangerous. The Celestial and Lunar Guard served their respective Princess directly, outside the chain of normal military command. Granted, in this time of emergency, both captains had sworn fealty to Twilight as protocol required them to do should both Princesses go missing. Still, their loyalties to their respective Princess ran very deep, and he worried there was a real danger the Lunar Guard might decide to act alone if Gilda didn't return soon.

“Since the griffons have been brought up,” Twilight continued in a calmer voice, “James will brief us on what happened at the Battle of Trottingham and what the current situation is with the griffon invasion force.”

“Thank you, My Lady,” James acknowledged, then turned his attention to the rest of the Council members and Guard captains seated at the table. “The Battle of Trottingham was a … victory,” he hesitated, still having trouble with the word 'victory', given how many allied forces had been killed to attain it, “for Equestrian combined forces. But it was not without high cost. However, in the end, the griffon invasion force surrendered and their commander pledged his loyalty, and that of his soldiers, to Lady Twilight. As we speak, Captain Skydart is leading a combined force of around ten thousand griffons and fourteen thousand changelings … minus battle casualties of course … to the northern border to assist in patrolling and protecting the barrier. So far, the changelings are unaware that Queen Chrysalis has been deposed. Let's hope that Captain Skydart is able to keep it that way.”

“Do we have any further information on what exactly happened in the changeling Empire?” Captain Sunflare asked. It was Twilight that responded, shaking her head.

“No, but as soon as this next storm passes, Councilor James will be going back there to try to find out.”

She turned her attention back to the captains of the Celestial and Lunar Guard now, hesitating for a moment and frowning before speaking again. “And now you two may bring your concerns regarding the griffons. However, I expect you to do so respectfully, and with the civility and discipline that is required by the rank you both hold.” She said the last part with authority that left no room for argument. Still, James could see from her expression that she dreaded this part of the meeting, and wasn't confident that the two captains could discuss the issue civilly. And with Captain Skydart leading the Equestrian combined forces north, there was no other high ranking military officer in the room to act as a buffer between the two. Twilight nodded at the Lunar Guard captain, motioning him to go first.

“Thank you, My Lady,” Captain Stardust acknowledged, bowing his head slightly before addressing the rest of the room. Although it wasn't hard to notice that he spent an inordinate amount of time focused on his Celestial Guard counterpart across the table from him.

“With all due respect to my comrade from the Celestial Guard, we know for a fact that Princess Celestia will not return in time to save Equestria and every living thing in it from frozen death. And that's assuming this Eric from the human world can even figure out away to return her to us at --”

“She's going to return to us,” Captain Sunflare interjected, the two captains glaring at each other again. Fortunately, a stronger glare from Twilight prevented them from going any further.

“Please continue,” Twilight said to Captain Stardust, quickly regaining control of the situation.

“Thank you, My Lady. As I was saying, we are running out of time. We can't afford to wait for Gilda any longer. If we are going to cross the sea of tears and engage the griffons on their own turf, we are going to have to do it now. Let me take Bat Team Alpha in there, My Lady. We can be in and out before the griffons even know we are there. We can capture King Aetos and whisk him back to Equestria right out from under their beaks.”

Bat Team Alpha, James knew, was an elite special forces unit within the Lunar Guard that specialized in highly classified black ops. Deep penetration missions, capture of high-profile targets, and other such dangerous missions. They were basically the equivalent of Seal Team Six or Delta Force from his own country back on Earth.

“I don't doubt the skill of Bat Team Alpha.” It was Captain Sunflare who was speaking now, this time keeping his tone calm and respectful. “But even if your team could successfully get into the castle, capture King Aetos, and get him back to Equestria without detection. Even if every single part of the mission goes flawlessly, it's not like the griffons won't realize he's gone. And when they do, the first place they are going to point their talons is at us.”

“With ten thousand of their soldiers already over here and pledged to Lady Twilight, and with a crossing of the Sea of Tears becoming ever more dangerous, they won't be in much of a position to do anything about it. Especially without their king to guide them.” The Lunar Captain had answered as respectfully, but still, the tension in the air felt like a tinderbox coated with oil that could erupt in an inferno at the slightest spark.

“They could move Princess Luna, which would make anything you learn from Aetos worthless,” Sunflare countered.

“They could, yes,” Stardust acknowledged with a nod. “But in that case, we could offer a prisoner exchange. Their only king for one of our two princesses. We could probably convince them they are getting the better end of the deal.”

“That might work, but there's another concern. If the griffons who have pledged for Lady Twilight find out we sent a clandestine mission into Griffon City and kidnapped their king, they might rethink their decision.”

“I'm sure I don't need to remind you, Captain, that despite the surrender and subsequent pledge of the griffon invaders, we are still in an official state of war with the Griffon Kingdom. They can't claim we weren't entitled to send a force into Griffon City to capture a strategically important target.”

“Do you really think they will care about what we are and are not entitled to do?” Sunflare's voice was heating up a bit now, the oil-soaked tinderbox starting to smoke. “Their loyalty to their king will trump all of that. It will trump their pledge to Lady Twilight. We cannot afford to lose the support of the griffons who are with Captain Skydart on their way to the northern border. And we most certainly can't afford to have those griffons restart the war on our own front! Especially not when we have the open question of what's going on with the changelings hanging over our head!”

Stardust opened his mouth to respond, but Twilight interjected before he got the chance, attempting to douse the smoking tinder before it burst into flame.

“How much longer can we go without the sun before it won't be possible for anything to survive outside anymore? How much longer before we reach a point of no recovery?”

“Ten days. Maybe a few days more,” Councilor Storm Runner responded.

Twilight nodded, her expression turning grim. “And it's still almost six weeks before we can make the attempt to get Princess Celestia back … If we run out of time, it isn't going to matter whether we lose the support of the griffons with Captain Skydart or not. Even with their support, the war against the Beyond will be lost.”

She turned her attention to the maps on the table now. For a minute or two, she said nothing more. Neither did anypony else in the room as she considered her options. There was a nervous tension in the air. Captain Stardust looked like he wanted to jump out of his seat and began planning his mission right now, and that it was all he could do to contain himself and wait for Twilight's decision. Finally, Twilight looked out across the room, determination painted on her face as she spoke again.

“Assemble Bat Team Alpha and plan your mission, Captain Stardust. Then proceed to Griffon City, but lay low. I'll … send Spike with you so we can send you a message if we need to. If in five days time you haven't heard anything from us, proceed with your infiltration of the castle, capture King Aetos, and bring him back here.”

“It will be as you say, My Lady,” Captain Stardust responded, nodding respectfully. A slight hint of a triumphant smile showed briefly on his muzzle, but he hid it quickly and his face became unreadable. Captain Sunflare's expression was also unreadable, and it was impossible to tell whether he wanted to protest the decision or not. But even if he did, James knew he wouldn't. Twilight had spoken with an air of finality. She had made her decision, and it was clear to everyone in the room that it was final and there was nothing more to be said about the issue.

“Good,” Twilight nodded once. “Then this meeting is adjourned for now.”

James stood up along with the other Council members, and together, they filed out of the room. Most of them turned towards the corridor that would take them to the Council living quarters, probably so they could continue to discuss all of the current problems and look for a solution. James turned the other way before any of them could say anything and went back towards the castle entrance. It wasn't that he didn't want to talk to the other Council members. He did. Desperately so, in fact. But he knew that if he did, they would all start congratulating him on his victory over the griffons just as the guard who met the chariot had done. He wasn't ready for that. Not now. But they were his brothers and sisters, and he would talk to them later—voice his feelings and concerns to them. But not now. Now, he needed time alone to process his own thoughts and emotions.

Automatically, he returned a salute from the guards at the massive main doors as they opened them for him. Icy fingers of wind from outside leaped at the chance to jump in and assault him. Snowflakes swirled through the grand archway in the time it took him to step outside. The guards wasted no time before closing and barring the double doors again. The snowflakes that had been dancing in the lights when he had landed had turned into a raging blizzard during the time he was in the Council meeting. The chariot he'd been riding in was gone now, no doubt moved to a hanger. Harsh glow reflected off the driving snow, reducing visibility to almost zero. There was no way the Pegasus Guards could fly in this. He wouldn't be leaving for the Changeling Empire anytime soon he knew.

Still, he wanted to be alone with his thoughts, but at least he might make himself useful while doing so. He turned and headed toward the armory. Perhaps the enormous stash of documents they had recovered would contain some hint as to where Luna had been taken? It was a long shot, he knew. But right now, he couldn't think of anything better he could do.

As he walked, he thought about Twilight and how she had hesitated before offering to send Spike with Bat Team Alpha on the mission to Griffon City. If anything happened to him, she would never forgive herself. It had been a necessary risk, he told himself, and he was sure she was thinking the same thing. Just as going back to the Changeling Empire was a necessary risk for him. And he, tried to convince himself, the actions he had ordered in the Battle of Trottingham had been a necessary risk, and the casualties had been a necessary price to pay, given that the alternative would have been far worse. At least, that's what he told himself. Believing it was another thing, and something he hadn't been able to do yet. Part of his mind felt like he was simply trying to justify his actions. To rationalize them. And because of that, the more he tried to convince himself that the risks and casualties had been necessary, the more heavily the weight of guild pressed upon him, like so much ballast threatening to pull a ship beneath the waves.

“Nice day, isn't it, Councilor?” he heard somepony say sarcastically from ahead of him, breaking his thoughts. He'd been looking down while walking, and hadn't realized he was only a few feet from the front door of the armory now. The Royal Guards standing outside, one unicorn and one earth pony, wore heavy gray wool cloaks over their armor, and thick gray woolen hats to help ward off the cold and biting wind.

“I hope they don't have you stuck out here too long,” James responded.

The earth pony guard shook his head once, some gathered snow shaking loose from the top of his hat and falling to the ground. “They've got us on two hour rotations, with forty minute breaks in between to warm up. And their keeping us stocked with hot tea and soup.” As the earth pony spoke and kept watch, the unicorn guard magically unlocked the outer door of the armory and opened it.

“Thank you, Sergeant,” James acknowledged, looking between the two of them as he stepped through the door.. They both held the same rank according to the rank insignias pinned to the right side of their caps. “Try to stay warm,” he added as he stepped inside. He knew that sounded a bit corny, but he hadn't been able to think of anything else to say. His mind was too occupied and running in too many directions.

He hadn't walked very far before he came to the door on his left that he was looking for. Pulling the handle, he stepped inside, and stopped in his tracks. He wasn't alone.

Standing at the far end of the room, a white unicorn with a black mane stared back at him. She was dressed in a Royal Equestrian Academy uniform, and her cutie mark was several small balls orbiting around a center nucleus. Her eyes were wide in surprise, and she dropped the folder she had been looking through, then seemed frozen in place. James felt just as frozen and neither of them said anything for several very long moments. Finally, James spoke first.

“Theory Point … I … didn't expect to find you here.” He felt a chill shoot through him that was not from the cold air outside. A sinking feeling pulled at his stomach and he started to feel as if he were going to be sick.

“I thought I might be able to help. The Royal Guards outside let me in.” She had said it with confidence and assertiveness. Had her words been all he had to go by, he might have taken it for the truth. The fact that she avoided direct eye contact with him, though … And surely the guards outside would have told him there was somepony else in here. And there was one other problem as well …

“You don't have clearance, Theory. They wouldn't have let you in,” he responded, noting the sound of despair in his own voice, an increasing feeling of dread coming over him.

The white unicorn gave no response, instead, looking down at the table where the folder she had been looking through lay open. After a few moments, James spoke again.

“Theory Point … Please tell me you aren't involved … Please tell me you didn't play a role in this plot,” his voice sounded desperate in his own ears. Pleading even. Please, he thought to himself. She was one of his best friends, or at least had been before he joined the Royal Council. She'd been the one who'd been his mentor at the Academy. The one who he'd worked with more than anypony else. And she was the one who'd introduced him to Canterlot life. Taken him to The Underhoof. Gotten him to come out of his shell. Please. And still, she gave no answer. He hadn't thought his heart could sink any lower, but now it did. Her shifting eyes told everything.

“You are … aren't you...” he said in a gasp almost too low to hear. It was a statement, not a question. His knees felt weak, like they were turning to rubber, and he quickly sat down in a chair, afraid he would collapse if he didn't. And still, she gave no answer.

“Why, Theory … Why?” was all he said, almost in a whisper. This time, she did respond.

“Why?” she said, any hint of fear of nervousness in her voice gone, replaced with determination and assertiveness. He looked up at her now, and she focused directly on him, the nervous shifting of her eyes from earlier had now become a look of confidence and direct eye contact. “You ask me why? So that all ponies in Equestria can forge their own future. So that we can do so without the shadow of two goddesses hanging over us. So that we can be truly free to make our own way and shape our own destiny. That's why.”

“Shape your own destiny?” he responded with a feeling of incredulity, although the tone of his voice was deeply laden with hurt. “Theory, neither Celestia or Luna, or anypony else for that matter, forced you to become what you are. Nopony forced you to join the Academy. Nopony forced me to either, or to join the Royal Council. You did forge your own destiny.”

She shook her head once, and looked back him, still all confidence. “I made it to the top of my field, became one of the most respected scientists in Equestria, and obtained a position at the top educational and research institution in the world, yes. And that's where I hit the limit. I had to live by their rules, and teach by their rules. So no, I didn't truly forge my own destiny. I tried, and then hit limits. Limits that exist because of them. You worked at the Academy,” she said, pointing an accusing forehoof at him. “You know what it's like.”

“Everything has limits, Theory. All things have rules.” He knew he didn't sound as confident as she did, his tone quieter and more subdued. But it wasn't because he felt he was being out-argued. Only because he still hadn't recovered from the punch in the chest of finding her here and learning of her treachery. Theory, on the other hand, sounded as if she were a great leader giving a powerful motivational speech. Perhaps she believed she was.

“Limits were made to be broken,” she asserted. “To be pushed through and constantly moved further and further out until eventually there are no limits.”

“And rules?” he said, raising his head to look up at her again from his sitting position. He thought about standing, so she would haven't the advantage of being above him, looking down on him. But he still thought his legs might fold if he tried. “Theory, all systems have to have rules. Without rules there would be chaos. Surely, if Equestria learned anything from Discord, it was this.”

“Oh, yes, we need rules,” she responded with a nod, pacing back and forth in front of him. “But we should make our own rules. Not have them dictated to us by two goddesses. And that's what I and the others have been planning to do all along. The artificial sun will be followed by an artificial moon to control the tides. And when we have those, we will have removed all of the power that Celestia and Luna have over us. The two tasks they are absolutely essential for will have been taken into our own hooves. And then we will be free to forge our own destinies and set our own rules without them dictating to us.” She stopped pacing directly in front of him, looking down at him, directly at him again. “When we had dinner that night. And we talked about the berating you got from the Colonel, I told you you needed to stop being such a pushover. I told you to be more assertive. That's all I'm doing here, James. Standing up for myself, and for every other pony. Standing up for our ability to create our own future and set our own rules.”

It wasn't lost on him that she had been speaking in future tense when she talked about the artificial sun and moon. She still thinks they can pull this off, he thought to himself with dismay. But what he said was, “And so you subjected every pony in Equestria … every changeling, every griffon, every dragon … every form of life on this planet to the risk of freezing to death. Without even asking what it is they want first. How does that make you any better than what you rally against, Theory? Are you not attempting to impose your own rules on everypony else? At great risk to all life, no less?”

“You can't always play it safe James. All life is a game of risk. I also told you that when we had dinner.”

“And I told you something that night. Putting yourself at risk is one thing, but you take risks that put everypony in the room in danger. That night I said everypony in the room, but I guess I was thinking way too small for you. You take risks that put entire worlds in danger.”

“It's the only way we move forward, James,” she said simply, repeating the last thing she had said to him before leaving the restaurant that night. She had patted him on the shoulder with her forehoof then. It was strange the things one remembers sometimes. She didn't pat him now though. She just stood over him, looking down at him, her eyes still full of confidence, and her usual assertiveness shining forth.

He looked down, not out of fear or any sense of submission, but only because he was trying to come to terms with the words he had to say next—words he dreaded with all his heart. For several long moments, it was almost as if he'd forgotten how to speak. He tried, and failed to form the words, the sounds dying before they ever made it to his vocal chords. Finally, he swallowed the lump in his throat, gathered his resolve, and looked up at her, meeting her eyes with his own level gaze. When he spoke it was with no emotion in his voice.

“It gives me no pleasure to do this, Theory Point … As a Royal Councilor, and a duly authorized representative of the Crown, you are hereby charged with high treason against Their Majesties, and against the Crown of Equestria.”

She backed up slightly, then gave a brief laugh before responding. “That'd be a good trick … to see you pull that off, James.”

“There are two Royal Guards right outside the door.”

“You can try to get them if you'd like. Trust me, you'll find that you're quite securely restrained to that chair,” she responded, looking down at him again.

He blinked and tried to stand up, failed, then pulled at his arms. With a stab of fear, he realized what she'd said was very true. He'd never seen her cast the spell. Never felt anything. And even now, there was no visible glow around her horn. Yet somehow, magic was holding him bound to the chair as securely as if his legs, chest, and arms had been chained to it. He didn't know if she was still maintaining the restraint spell, or if she had somehow tied it off and left it in place. Despite his situation, the analytical side of him did note, however, that the Council robe had not blocked her spell. Only then, did he remember that the enchantment on the robe was charged by sunlight and moonlight, of which there had been neither for a long time now. But the fact that he had never seen her cast, never seen her horn glow, never felt the magic touch him, lead him to one terrifying conclusion: Theory Point was immensely more powerful and skilled with magic than she had let on. Perhaps even as powerful as Twilight Sparkle. He spoke again, but this time it was with less confidence in his voice and more uncertainty.

“If I yell, the guards outside will hear me. The loading dock door isn't that soundproof.”

She shook her head. “You can try that too if you'd like. I've warded the room with a sound dampening spell. Nopony outside of this room can hear anything that goes on in here.”

“I don't believe you. One of the guards is a unicorn. They would have sensed that spell being cast.”

“They wouldn't have been able to tell the difference between my soundproofing ward and the trap wards that were on the room to warn of any entry. I simply swapped one spell for another and they are none the wiser.”

That confirmed his fears and suspicions beyond any doubt. When he'd first met Theory Point, she had claimed she wasn't very good with magic, and didn't like using it because she preferred to focus on science. But if she'd been able to swap out one spell for another without the unicorn guard detecting it? She was definitely far more powerful with magic than she had lead him to believe. And far more skilled. He shook his head slightly—the only part of his body he could move very far due to the magical restraints she had applied to him, and spoke in an almost pleading tone now.

“Theory Point, you don't know what you've done. The magic of the Princesses is necessary for more than just controlling the sun and moon. Even as we speak, the barriers that keep the Beyond at bay are crumbling and the Unicorn Guard can't maintain them. Not without the magic of at least one of the Princesses.”

She paced in front of him again before responding. “Yes, that would be what the Royal Council told you, wouldn't it? But think about it, James. Of course that's what they'd tell you. To bolster their claim that the Princesses are absolutely essential to the survival of Equestria, and therefore, it's vital that they remain in power.” She stopped her pacing, standing directly in front of him and looking down at him again. “But we don't believe it. We believe it's charged particles from the sun that energize the barrier. In the same way they energize the ionosphere. Our artificial sun will serve the same function, recharge the barrier, and keep the Beyond out of Equestria.”

He looked away from her, his heart pounding as he tried to master his fear. Finally, he asked the question that'd been on his mind for awhile. What difference did it make? He knew it was inevitable whether or not he asked, and he no longer saw any point in drawing things out. He sighed once before speaking, still not looking at her.

“Can we just get on with it?”

“Get on with what?”

“Don't play with me, Theory,” he said, shaking his head slightly, still looking away from her. “You and I both know you aren't going to let me leave this armory alive. Not with what I know now.”

It would be the perfect assassination, he thought with dismay. The guards outside had no idea anyone was in here except for him. There was no way in or out of the building that wasn't guarded, and it was supposed to be impossible to teleport in or out. To top it off, given what he now knew of her magical ability, he had no doubt she could easily make it look like an accident, or that he had died from natural causes. She could stop his heart, and the doctors would write it off as sudden cardiac death, probably brought on by stress. They would never even think to look for foul play, given the guards outside would report that nopony else had been in the room with him. And even if they did look, he suspected that if Theory Point were skilled enough to swap two spells out without the unicorn guard outside detecting it, she was also skilled enough to cast a killing spell that left no magical residue.

Primarily, though, he thought of Twilight Sparkle now, here at what he was sure was the end. He though of how he'd come straight to the armory after the meeting instead of going to see her first. He thought of how he'd never be able to tell her he loved her again. And that thought killed him inside even before the spell he expected to hit any moment would kill his body.

“Kill you?” Theory Point asked with shock in her voice that sounded completely genuine. “James … I don't want to kill anyone … Least of all you.” That last part sounded like she was genuinely hurt by his suggestion that she would do so. He turned to look at her again, and her expression seemed somewhat softer, and he could see the pain in her eyes. She wasn't looking at him anymore, her gaze directed down at the floor. He hadn't been imagining it in her tone of voice then.

“Given the last couple interactions we had, I was under the impression you weren't very fond of me anymore. Not since I joined the Council.”

“I was disappointed, James. I didn't know how to react. I was disappointed because … I had been planning to bring you on board. I had been planning on asking you to join us. But when you joined the Council, I knew you were lost to us.” She looked up again, meeting his gaze once more, a glimmer of what he thought looked like hope in her eyes. “But it's not too late, James. You can still join us. You can still help us save Equestria. Help us complete the artificial sun. With your knowledge of nuclear physics, we can finish it before it's too late.”

He shook his his head and gasped in frustration, which was also evident in his voice when he responded. “If I thought it could work, I would be helping you. Not because I believe in your cause, but because I believe it's what Their Majesties would want me to do. Above all else, they would want me to do what I needed to do to save Equestria. But it can't work, Theory! I've been studying this stuff ever since my college days and I'm telling you with absolute certainty that what you are trying to do can't work!”

“Actually … you've already been helping us, James. Since the very beginning.”

“...What?” he responded quickly, his own eyes going wide as he felt a new wave of fear at her words. He tested the magical restraints that were holding him to the chair. They didn't budge.

“Since the day we went up to Whitepony. The half-burned notes in the stove. It was no accident that all the notes didn't burn. We meant for you to find those. We needed your expertise to help us figure out what would and wouldn't work.”

He listened to her with rapt attention now, her words ringing ominous in his ears, as if they were the voice of doom itself. She continued, looking straight at him.

“Who do you think it was that stole our research notes from the lab last fall? Why do you think the alarm didn't go off when somepony entered? I've been funneling your notes, our discussions, and the results of our research to the rest of my team the entire time. You've been helping us every step of the way at figuring out what will and will not work.”

James just continued listening in silence, feeling like the wind had been knocked out of him at the revelation. He doubted the restraints holding him in the chair were necessary. His knees were so weak right now he couldn't have stood if he'd tried. His throat had gone dry and he tried to work moisture back into it before asking a question.

“And … all of the documents here … Were we meant to find those and confiscate them as well?”

She nodded. “Most of them. Although, whoever sorted them apparently got a little careless. The castle blueprints and guard rotation times were obviously not supposed to be mixed in with the scientific notes. The compromising of that information, unfortunately, forced us to put our plan for kidnapping the Princesses into action earlier than we intended. We had hoped to have the artificial sun finished before we did that.”

“And if your plans had succeeded … What were you planning to do with the Princesses?”

“When our plans succeed, and we've demonstrated to every pony, griffon, changeling, dragon and so on, that they don't need Princess Celestia and Princess Luna to raise and lower the sun and moon? When we've demonstrated that they can be free from all that? We'll let Luna go, and we'll find a way to bring Celestia home. Neither one of them will have any more influence than any other pony does once everypony realizes the world will continue to to function without their princesses controlling it.”

Suddenly, he thought he saw a small bright spot. Maybe. Just maybe.

“Theory Point, there's still time for you to do the right thing. There's still time for you to save Equestria. Tell me where Princess Luna is,” he pleaded desperately. But his hopes were dashed when she shook her head in response.

“If I knew, I wouldn't tell you. But I don't know anyway. None of us has any more information than we need to do our part of the job. That way if one of us is found out and caught, we won't be able to compromise the entire project.”

Of course, he thought with a frown. It only made sense that each operative would have no more information than they needed for their own role. Unfortunately, that also meant that Theory Point likely didn't know who the other mole in the castle was. It had to be one of a small handful or Royal Guards, one of the Councilors, or one of the Celestial or Lunar guards. Nopony else had access to the guard rotation schedules or knew the secret route by which they would have evacuated Princess Luna from the secure bunker. And Theory herself definitely wouldn't have had access to that information. He suspected any information she got came through a messenger, and the only others she knew who were involved were other scientists working on her team. But he knew she'd never turn over those names to him, so he didn't bother asking.

“And all of that,” Theory Point continued, resuming her pacing in front of him again, “is why you wouldn't call for the guards even if I hadn't placed a soundproof warding on the room. It's why you aren't going to tell anypony about this encounter. Because you've been actively involved the entire time, James. You'll look just as guilty as I do. If I spend the rest of my life in the dungeon for high treason, you'll be right there with me.”

He just sat there in stunned silence now. He couldn't have moved even had he not been restrained. Everything she said was true. It looked just as bad for him as it did for her. After all, if they found the rest of Theory Point's team, they'd find all of his research along with them. Everything he had ever discussed with her, they would have. He'd look every bit as guilty of treason as she did. Cold despair and a feeling of hopelessness flooded through him. He felt as if he were a ship that had been sliced open by an iceberg and was now taking on water and going down fast. His whole world felt as if it were crashing down around him.

Theory Point had stopped pacing, he realized, and was standing in front of him again, looking down on him. He forced his eyes to meet hers, and she spoke again, in a tone that almost sounded caring.

“Think back when you were first invited to join the Academy, James. You admitted yourself you hated the formality and the protocol. You hated the restrictions. Are we that different, you and I? You can still join us. You can still help us make an Equestria where we are free of those restrictions and we make our own rules.”

She took a few steps closer to him her face close to his now, close enough that he could feel her warm breath washing over him. The fur on her muzzle brushed over his cheek.

“Think about it,” she said into his ear, her voice barely above a whisper. She licked his cheek once. He felt a tingle of magic, saw a glow from the corner of his eye, and she was gone. The restraining spell that held him to the chair disappeared as soon as she did. But instead of standing up, he fell to the floor, and wept.

56 - Commander Auraria

Chapter 56: Commander Auraria

Commander Auraria of the Imperial Changeling Army called for her nearly fourteen thousand changeling soldiers to halt, repeating the command given by Captain Skydart of the Equestrian Royal Guard. This was the second rest stop since they had begun marching this morning. She didn’t think it could be more than an hour past noon. Surely the soldiers of the Equestrian Royal Guard couldn’t be that undisciplined? That out of shape? Granted, changeling soldiers were the most disciplined and well trained in the world, so maybe she was expecting too much out of these ponies. But two rest stops before early afternoon? None of Skydart’s own guards had questioned him on it, at least not that she had seen. Not that any of them probably would. The highest ranking among them was a PFC. Rank and file soldiers didn’t question the orders of their commanding officer—especially not when that officer was the acting Supreme Commander of all of Equestria’s forces.

She shook herself briefly, snow tumbling off her hard carapace. An owl hooted above her from one of the nearby trees. For the past two days, they’d been traveling through dense thickets of pine forest. At least the heavy tree canopy blocked some of the Dorylini-cursed wind and made the snow less deep here than in the open grasslands, although the cold air plunging down from the Mountains of Disharmony less than three days march to the east probably negated the windbreak effect of the trees.

That was another thing she found strange. They had been heading east instead of north, despite Captain Skydart’s admonishment that they needed to reach the northern barrier as soon as possible. That was something else none of Skydart’s own soldiers brought up, although she wasn’t entirely sure any of them would have known what direction they were going. Changeling officers knew the geography of Equestria better than most ponies did. She herself knew the location of every landmark, every road, every river, lake, forest, and city. She knew the topography like the holes in her own legs. Knowledge of topography often meant the difference between winning and losing a battle. Last night, after they’d stopped for camp, she had asked him why they were traveling east instead of north, and he’d told her he wanted to avoid roads and populated areas, lest they have a repeat of the troubles in Trottingham. Ponies were unlikely to react kindly to more than ten thousand changelings passing near their cities he had said. Add the griffon army into the mix and you had a recipe for panic.

Auraria herself wasn’t so sure. True, traveling directly north would have meant they had to cross the busiest road in Equestria. The one that connected Canterlot to the sprawling metropolis cities of Manehattan, Baltimare, and Fillydelphia. But it wouldn’t have taken them very close to any of the cities. And given the bitter cold and near constant blizzards, she doubted any pony would be foolish enough to try traveling the distance between the cities. The inns along the road were probably abandoned by now, the ponies who owned them and worked in them likely having fled to the cities once they realized the sun wasn’t going to rise. Besides, the ponies were soft. Used to having their weather controlled and custom made to order. The fact that the weather was completely unpredictable now made it even less likely that any would have attempted the journey between cities. In any case, they could have sent scouts ahead to check the road. The road was bordered on the south by thick forest. That, along with the darkness, meant they could have stayed hidden as long as they needed to, waiting for an opportunity to move across the road. Even if they’d had to wait hours, or an entire day, it would have been faster than taking the long detour east and then turning north to skirt along the Mountains of Disharmony. Not only that, but dragons were known to make their homes in those mountains and to hunt in the woods surrounding them.

She shook her head in bewilderment regarding the Captain’s decisions. Technically, he outranked her, being the acting Supreme Commander of all of Equestria’s forces. He probably also had ten years of age seniority on her. But despite her young age of twenty, she had no doubt that she was the more qualified leader, and likely had more experience than he did. Changelings who showed any military aptitude at all began officer training as soon as that ability became apparent. She had been six when she’d begun her training. Military strategy classes, strategy games and exercises, and martial arts combat training had occupied most of her time as a filly. She was what the ponies called a prodigy. By the age of ten she was sparring with opponents twice her age. By eleven she was usually winning. At seventeen she’d been the youngest changeling ever to be promoted to officer. At twenty the youngest to ever be given their own command. On more than one occasion her martial arts Roshi had commented to her that he thought she must be the reincarnation of Dorylini the Great.

Now that, of course, was absurd. She had been born more than forty years after Chrysalis had been made Queen, and only fillies born in the timeframe between the death of the previous monarch and the revealing of the new one could be considered as the reincarnation of the Great God-Queen, and thus, the only rightful successor to the throne. So there was simply no way she could be the reincarnation of Dorylini.

Unless … Unless … the high priestesses had made a mistake. What her martial arts Roshi had told her was not the kind of thing you said unless you wanted to find yourself in a dungeon charged with treason and blasphemy. So it certainly wasn’t something he would have risked saying in jest. A mistake had only happened once in the entire history of the Changeling Empire. But it had happened. And given the average Queen ruled for eight hundred years, there had only been five queens in the Empire’s history, including Dorylini, and the current Queen, Chrysalis. Missing one in five was far from flawless. That mistake had only been discovered when the queen in question died of natural causes at the age of ninety-six, which was around the life expectancy of a normal changeling. True Queens who were the reincarnation of Dorylini the Great lived eight hundred and fifty years or longer.

Unlike Equestria’s God-Princesses, Changeling God-Queens weren’t immortal. It was written in the religious texts that Dorylini herself had decreed it to be so. At the age of eight hundred and ninety four, she had decided it was time for her to go to the next life, and to wake the spirits of all of the changelings who had died up until that time and take them with her to live for all eternity in the glorious afterlife. When she died, she broke her spirit into two halves. One half was to remain with her in the afterlife for all eternity. The other half was to be reincarnated into a first-born filly of her choosing. The chosen filly would thus have a spirit that was half her own, and half the reincarnation of Dorylini the Great. Again, Dorylini herself had declared it to be such so that the new queens would bring their own blood and fresh ideas to the throne, but at the same time, they would have the wisdom and true leadership ability of Dorylini, the Eternal Goddess. That meant each Changeling Queen was a true living Goddess. And only by following and submitting to the will of the Queen could anyone achieve true happiness and purpose in life.

“Move out!”

The loud command from Captain Skydart echoed off the trees, pulling her out of her thoughts. Again, she repeated the order to her own soldiers, and they quickly fell back into formation. They were ready to march again before either the royal guards or the griffon soldiers had finished forming up she noted to herself with satisfaction and pride. Yes, Changeling soldiers were the best trained and most disciplined in the world.

Snow continued to fall as she resumed leading her soldiers through the dark forest, and she said a quick prayer of thanks to Dorylini that the tree canopy kept the wind from creating deep drifts. It was small gifts like that that could make the difference between winning a battle or losing it because of marching fatigue. As she marched, she let her mind wander again.

Dorylini had died after dictating her intention to be reincarnated to one of the high priestesses and leaving them with instructions for choosing her successor. After her death, a one week period of mourning had been decreed by the priestesses, and a very elaborate state funeral had been held. Celestia herself had attended the funeral, and it was said that when she approached the body of Dorylini lying in state in the throne room, she bowed so low that her muzzle touched the floor. In giving Dorylini the highest form of respect it was possible to give in Changeling culture, she had shown the changelings that she accepted their Queen as her equal. Accepted her as a fellow Goddess. Of course, the bow she had given briefly became a scandal in Equestria, but Celestia had silenced all critics by simply stating that she had no doubt Dorylini would have done the same for her. Auraria had no doubt Celestia had spoken truth. According to the history books, it would be a stretch to say that Dorylini and Celestia had been good friends. But they definitely were not enemies, and they most certainly had an enormous degree of respect for each other. Relations between Equestria and the Changeling Empire hadn’t really turned sour until Chrysalis came along. It was also said in the history books that Celestia had wept at the funeral. Good friends or not, it must have been hard on her to lose someone she had known for more than eight hundred years.

When the one week period of mourning had finished, the thirteen high priestesses decreed that every first-born female changeling who had been born after the death of Dorylini must be registered and brought to the sanctuary for testing to see if she had the spirit of Dorylini, and thus, was the one she had chosen as her successor. It had been that way ever since. Each time the Queen passed, all first-born female changelings born after the passing were required by law to be brought to the sanctuary and tested until Dorylini’s chosen successor was found. When the successor was found, and the ritual of succession had been performed, the chosen one began to take on the physical appearance of a changeling queen.

Most changelings thought their system was superior to Equestria’s immortal God-Princess system, specifically because the changeling system brought fresh blood and new ideas to the throne, combined with the knowledge, wisdom, and skill of the Everlasting Goddess, Dorylini herself.

The system was not without its flaws, however. In the months and early years following the passing of a queen, the nurseries always ended up overflowing with eggs and newly hatched larvae. Being the Queen Mother carried an enormous amount of prestige, and every changeling female of egg laying age who hadn’t yet had any offspring wanted to get pregnant in the hopes that their larva would be the chosen one—the reincarnation of a Goddess. That meant one of the first problems a new changeling queen invariably had to deal with was a population explosion, of which the new queen herself was a part of. That usually meant temporary one larva per female restrictions had to be put in place. Fortunately, because the search for a new queen was a ritual that was carried out only once every eight hundred years on average, the temporary population explosions never became population crises.

In the interim between the passing of the old queen and the discovery of the chosen successor, the high priestesses ruled by majority consensus, as Dorylini herself had decreed. That was another flaw in the system, Auraria thought. If the search for the true successor took too long, changelings began to suspect the high priestesses were intentionally delaying the search in order to maintain power for themselves. Protests and rallies condemning the institution of the priestesses and demanding that they find the new queen invariably followed. That put enormous pressure on the priestesses to choose some changeling—any changeling—just to prevent a full scale revolt and descent into anarchy. That was probably how the one mistake had been made. How the only false queen in changeling history had been placed on the throne.

But was it possible that Chrysalis was a false queen? There were some incidents that definitely raised the question. True successors to Dorylini ruled with the best interests of the changelings in heart and mind at all times. Chrysalis’ invasion of Equestria could hardly be said to be for the good of the changelings. It was more like a personal quest for glory. Chrysalis had wanted to make Celestia kneel before her, and she still did. That was really the extent of it. Equestria was not, and never had been, a threat to the Changeling Empire. Furthermore, although Chrysalis liked to brag that she had instilled fear in the hearts of every ruler, and that although they mocked her in public, they whispered in fear of her behind close doors, that simply wasn’t true. They said the same things about her behind closed doors that they did in public. Chrysalis’ folly, they called it. They didn’t fear her. They thought her a fool for thinking she could defeat Equestria in their own capital city. Sure, she might have come close. But the plan was doomed to fail from the start. Auraria had known that even then. But that wasn’t the kind of thing that a fourteen year old up-and-coming military student who every changeling knew would be an officer in a few years said out loud regarding plans made by the Queen. Not unless they wanted a very short career.

Chrysalis also liked to claim to those who she thought wouldn’t know any better, that she had conquered the Southern Griffon Empire and brought it under Changeling rule. That wasn’t true either. It had been her predecessor, Queen Vespidae, who had done that—nearly one hundred years before Chrysalis had even been born. Chrysalis’ ill-fated attempt at conquering Equestria had as much to do with that as anything else. A desire to prove herself a more powerful queen than her predecessor. True Queens didn’t engage in that kind of petty one-upmanship. These were facts that every changeling military officer knew, but the general public did not. And they were things you kept to yourself, unless you wanted to be stripped of your rank and locked away in a dungeon. You don’t question The Queen. It was that simple.

And besides, even if Chrysalis was a false queen, what was there to be done about it? No changeling who valued their head would ever dare accuse a sitting queen of being a false queen. To do so would be the highest order of blasphemy. The one time there actually had been a false queen, the high priestesses never would have said a word, even if they had discovered their mistake. Had they done so, they would have almost certainly been immediately stripped of all their power on the grounds that they had turned against the Goddess, charged with blasphemy, and never seen anything again other than the four walls of a dungeon cell.

Anyway, even if Chrysalis were false, Auraria wasn’t nearly presumptuous enough—or egotistical enough for that matter—to assume that her Roshi was correct and she was the reincarnation of Dorylini. That she herself was a living Goddess. Her parents were simple laborers, not of noble blood. Her mother was a nursemaid in one of the hatcheries, and her father dug tunnels for expansions of the hives. Not that one had to be of noble blood to be the Chosen One. Dorylini chose who she wanted, for whatever reasons she wanted. True, she was her parent’s first-born filly. Their only filly, in fact. But still, even if Chrysalis wasn’t the True Queen, Auraria wasn’t nearly so arrogant to assume that she was. She was just some changeling who happened to have a strong aptitude for military strategy and combat tactics. That was all.

Even when lost in thought, Auraria was very perceptive—always watching, always listening, always vigilant. It might have been a subtle shift in the way the wind blew against her chitin. It might have been a slight change in the pattern of the snow falling around her. Or it might have been a faint, wind-carried scent reaching her nose that warned her.

“Defensive formations! We’re under air attack!” she shouted, loud enough to ensure all changelings, ponies, and griffons would hear.

She glanced behind her, making sure all her soldiers were forming up properly, although she already knew they would be. The sounds of clattering armor rang out from ahead of her and to her left as the ponies and griffons got into formation. Then, there was silence except for the howling of wind, the creaking and groaning of the trees as they swayed back and forth in the heavy breeze. But she knew that wouldn’t last long. She waited three seconds … five, then called out again in a loud commanding voice, completely in her natural element.

“Air units, to the sky! Protect the ground forces!”

The buzzing of wings erupted behind her, like a million killer bees swarming out of their hive to fend off an invader, as the changeling air units launched themselves into the sky in perfect formation, taking off in groups of four and rushing over her head. In front of her, Captain Skydart barked similar orders, mirrored by Commander Velos of the griffons to her left. Then, the pegasus guards were airborne, along with the Griffon Air Force.

Again, she looked behind her, checking the formation of her forces. Everything was perfect. Just as she had trained them. The seconds ticked by.

And then the sky exploded in flame, the forest around them lighting up in orange tinted light. The shrill cry of dragons pierced the air like a banshee call. Trees burst into flames with an ear shattering roar a few hundred meters to her right. The dragon had gambled and lost. It was a mistake that would prove fatal for the beast, she knew.

The forest lit up again, this time in a brilliant green glow as Auraria’s ground forces instantly targeted the source of the flame. Hundreds of green plasma bolts cut the night, zipping over her head from behind, like fingers of green lightning slicing through the air. A green burst of light flooded the sky as the bolts found their target, bathing the dragon in green discharges. An explosion and shock wave radiated out where the bolts had struck, and another shrill cry pierced the night. But this one was cut short as the large wings seized up and the beast fell from the sky. Dozens of loud cracking and splitting sounds rang through the night as the huge body plunged into the trees, snapping branches as if they were toothpicks. She had no more time to think about that, though. There were other dragons up there. She was certain she’d heard multiple battle cries.

Metal clanged against metal somewhere in front of her, combined with shouts and the pounding of hooves. “For the glory of Equestria!” a loud voice called out. The sounds of melee combat. It wasn’t just dragons they had to worry about, then.

Another eruption of flame, low on the horizon, announced the presence of another dragon. The trees blocked her view of where this one hit. They also blocked the line of fire of her soldiers, preventing them from targeting the source of the flame. Another roar split the air as the trees near the blast erupted in fire.

“Air defense units, stay back! Melee units, charge!” she commanded.

And then she burst forward, her buzzing wings carrying her just above the ground, skimming over the snow, deftly avoiding the trees with sharp banks to the left and right, thousands of her soldiers following her. Hive life made changelings experts in close quarters maneuvering. She was completely in her element, nimbly banking left and right, dodging each trunk with ease. The sound of metal against metal grew louder. In the dark, she couldn’t see the battle yet, but her ears told her they would be there soon enough. She didn’t like rushing blindly into a melee battle without having some advance knowledge of just what they were charging into. But at the same time, if they hung back, it wouldn’t be long before the dragons pinpointed their location and began to rain fire down on them at will. Once that happened, they wouldn’t survive long. At least the melee combat offered protection from the dragon attacks. The lumbering reptiles were unlikely to target the close quarters ground battles. Their flame attacks would kill their own ground friendlies just as easily as they’d kill the opposing forces. At the same time, the dragons wouldn’t attempt to directly target her air defense units. To do so was suicidal, as the dragon who had fired first had learned. Or would have learned if not for the fact that he were now lying dead in a heap somewhere among the trees.

“What in the name of Celestia is that?!” she heard one of the ponies exclaim from somewhere ahead. She angled her wings, putting the flat sides directly in the wind, her wings now acting as a spoiler and slowing her quickly, calling behind her at the same time for her soldiers to do the same. She didn’t stop her advance, but they moved more slowly now.

And then, she saw what had caused the pony’s exclamation. Floating in the air, standing nearly ten feet tall and illuminated by an unnatural pale gray light, was a dark robed figure. It appeared almost bipedal, like the human that had been with them earlier, except no legs or feet were visible at the bottom of the robe. Where the hands should be at the ends of the sleeves, there was nothing. Inside the hood, there was no face. Only two glowing red eyes. The inside of the hood was like … staring into a void. Like staring at the complete absence of everything. Furthermore, the creature was almost semi-transparent, as if you could see through the robe. Yet, on the other side, it was like staring into the absence of everything. The creature raised one sleeve. Where the hand should have been there was only the opening. A blue-white bolt of lightning suddenly shot from the end of the sleeve and one of the unicorn guards fell where he stood. The bolt had made no sound. Neither had the guard before he fell.

In a rage, three earth pony guards hurled spears, sending them sailing towards whatever the being was that had just killed one of their own. The apparition gave an ear-splitting screech as the spears hit home, brilliant flashes of light bursting out where their razor points plunged into the robe. As the spears struck, the ghostly being instantly solidified, twisted, deformed hands and feet forming where before there had been nothing. Inside the hood, a face formed, dry, cracked, and brittle, as if it were dead flesh stretched thin over a skeleton. Then, the light surrounding the creature went out, and it fell to the ground, dead just as if it had been a normal, physical being all along, albeit a grotesquely deformed one that appeared older than time itself.

A lesser officer might have frozen up, been unnerved, or at least, taken time to recover. But not Auraria. Instantly, she surveyed the situation. There were more of those ghostly apparitions ahead. But they could be struck with weapons. And when they were, they died just like any normal physical being. That’s all that mattered right now. There’d be time for figuring out what they were later.

“Resume charge!” she commanded loudly, her wings beating rapidly and propelling her forward again. She flew straight at one of the strange, robed creatures. It quickly raised its sleeve to fire at her. It was fast. Auraria was faster. Green plasma arced from her horn, striking the creature square in the center. The pale gray aura surrounding the creature suddenly became the same green color as the plasma bolt. The strange being gave a choked off scream, then solidified and crumpled to the ground. They were vulnerable to magical attacks as well as physical attacks, then.

She angled her wings, cognizant of any dragons that might be nearby—although they were probably keeping their mouths shut by now since any flames they launched would reveal their location to the airborne Changeling and Pegasus Guard interceptors—and pitched herself skyward, darting straight up for several seconds before just as quickly reversing her angle so she was pointing down. With a practiced eye, she quickly took in the battlefield below. The unearthly glow of the strange creatures, combined with the constant lightning-like flashes of magical discharges from the changelings and unicorn guards made it easy to see. Ponies, griffons, and changelings were engaging the strange beings in both magical and physical combat. It was clear the enemy was vastly outnumbered, perhaps a hundred to one. There was no doubt who would be victorious in this battle.

Turning her head, she frowned as she also saw griffons fighting against ponies and changelings. Hopefully, they were just dissenters. If the whole of the griffon forces—all eight thousand of them—had betrayed them … Choosing her next target, she dove towards one of the robed creatures. It never saw the blast of green plasma from her horn that killed it.

She was about to shout orders to her soldiers based on her quick aerial survey of the battle, but then it became obvious the enemy was retreating rapidly. Several griffons were already fleeing the battle as fast as their wings could carry them. The remaining robed creatures retreated in the direction they had come from, then floated into the sky until they were about twenty feet above the trees. Some of them climbed onto the backs of waiting griffons, while others were actually scooped up in the talons of dragons. And then, they began to fly higher, before turning east and disappearing toward the Mountains of Disharmony.

“Disengage!” she commanded her forces. She descended, flaring her wings before landing, then folding them at her sides. Automatically, she switched from battle mode to survey mode, quickly scanning the area. To her left, and further away to her front-left, orange glows flickered in the sky, marking the area where trees that had been struck by dragon fire were burning. Fortunately the wind was carrying the smoke away from them. The fires wouldn’t be a threat, she decided. With the snow on the ground they were likely to burn themselves out fairly soon since there was no dry underbrush to catch fire. And if they didn’t, the wind would carry any spreading flames away from them.

Turning her head to her right, she narrowed her eyes, spotting Commander Velos of the Griffon Army.

“Friends of yours?” she snarled at him.

“At least eight of my soldiers are dead, Commander Auraria,” he responded with malice. “The griffons who ambushed us are no friends of mine.”

A fair enough statement, she decided with a nod.

“Report!” She ordered loudly, ensuring all of her own soldiers, as well as all of the Equestrian royal guards and the griffon soldiers could hear her.

“Four changelings dead, Ma’am,” one of her soldiers responded quickly. “Three air interceptors, one hoof soldier.”

“Five royal guards dead,” one of the pegasus guards followed. “Three pegasus guards, two unicorn guards. And Captain Skydart missing. Presumed captured and taken POW.”

No griffons responded. Not that she needed them to. Velos had already told her they had taken at least eight.

“Gather the dead, and load them into carts,” she ordered, again making sure everyone could hear. “Search the area and make sure everyone who can be accounted for is. We march north in one hour, even if we have to cross a road. No more rest stops until we make camp tonight.”

“And what is it that makes you think you can issue orders now?” a gruff voice said from behind her. She rounded, confronted by one of the pegasus guards. A private first class according to his rank insignia. His ears laid back on his head, and his stance was aggressive.

“With Captain Skydart gone, I’m the highest ranking officer here, and the most qualified to lead,” she responded firmly but calmly, taking a defensive stance. Was the pony whelp actually planning to attack her?

“Commander Velos could probably make the same claim,” the pegasus responded with a quick flick of his head towards the griffon commander before returning his full attention to her.

“I claim no right to leadership,” Velos replied. “The Griffon Kingdom is officially at war with Equestria, and we are a band of renegades. It would not be appropriate for me to claim command here.” At least the griffons wouldn’t give her any trouble then.

“Nevertheless,” the pegasus responded with a stomp of his hoof, “we do not take orders from a changeling. Especially not on Equestrian soil.” He had spat the word changeling as if he were spitting out something poisonous.

Auraria felt anger well up inside her at his disrespect, but she kept it firmly in check. She did narrow her eyes, however, and tense her stance slightly before responding.

“And just who do you propose to lead this mission then, Private? Your Captain is missing, presumed taken POW. And the highest ranking pony among you is a private first class. None of you have any leadership qualifications.”

“The highest ranking royal guard here will lead and will give the orders. We will not take orders from a cockroach! Not on our own land!” the pegasus shot back at her, stomping his forehoof aggressively.

She narrowed her eyes further at the speciesist insult. Calling a changeling a cockroach was pretty much the most denigrating term you could use for one of her species. Her anger became a volcano, threatening to erupt at any moment. But she was far too disciplined to lose her cool. Far too in control of herself. A number of royal guards were standing behind their loose-mouthed private, she noticed. But they mostly glanced at each other nervously, seeming unsure of themselves, or what they should do. Behind her, several of her own soldiers had gathered. They most certainly were sure of themselves. She stared down the disrespectful pony in front of her, responding in a very firm tone of voice.

“First of all, I am a changeling, not a cockroach, and I better never hear you use that term again referring to me or any of my soldiers. Second, this is a joint Equestrian and Changeling operation, Private. We are allies in this war. As such, you will obey the orders of an officer, changeling or otherwise. And you will show me the proper respect due my rank!” She narrowed her eyes further, tensing herself, ready to spring into action at the slightest move on the part of the foul-mouthed private who was daring to challenge her.

“Is that so,” the pegasus guard stated flatly. Then he launched at her, pushing off with his hind legs and trying to plow straight into her. His attack had been fast, but she’d been expecting it and was more than ready for it, sidestepping it easily. He landed in the snow and she quickly spun to face him again, buzzing her wings to help her spin quickly and avoid getting bogged down in the snow.

“Stand down, Private!” she ordered with a snarl. Instead, he turned and lunged at her again. This time, she braced herself and met his attack, her forelegs entangling around his. He pulled to one side, trying to toss her to the ground. She resisted, pulling the other direction before pushing in the same direction he was, catching him off balance and tumbling him into the snow on his side. She let her wings carry her backwards quickly, landing a few paces away from him.

“I said stand down, Private!” she commanded again as he rose to his hooves, turning to face her once more. Again, he launched himself at her, and again, she met his charge, her forelegs entangling with his. A slow learner, this one. But she was a patient teacher, and this arrogant, racist pony desperately needed a lesson.

This time, she took the initiative, pulling him sharply to one side. He countered by quickly pulling opposite, throwing all of his strength in it, exactly as she’d expected him to do. The fool thought he could win by raw strength alone—a mistake that caused him to overcorrect and pull too hard. She capitalized on it before he had a chance to realize it, suddenly reversing her own momentum and pushing him in the same direction he was trying to pull her. At the same time, she used her left hind leg to hook one of his, sweeping it out from under him and tossing him to the ground again on his side.

This time, she didn’t jump backwards, instead, spinning a quarter turn and straddling him before he had a chance to try to get back to his hooves. He tried to turn onto his stomach to get some leverage, but she quickly countered by simply dropping her haunches, sitting on his side now, pinning one of his wings underneath her against his own body, his other wing pinned to the ground by the other side of his own body.

“Yield, pony,” she commanded once she had him securely pinned beneath her. He responded by kicking his hind legs, struggling furiously, as if he were a mouse caught by a cat. But trapped on his side as he was, he could find nothing to push against, and she knew the only thing he was accomplishing at this point was wearing himself out. Well, she could help him do that a bit faster she decided, squeezing her hind legs on either side of him as she remained seated on top of him, compressing him downward to the ground now, as well as from two sides with her legs. He grunted in response, breathing obviously an effort for him now.

“Yield, Private,” she ordered again.

Again, he tried to kick himself free, but she maintained her position, holding him firmly to the ground. She knew there was no way he was going to escape, and he would realize it soon enough as well. Having him secured, she turned half her thoughts to another potential problem, looking up from the royal guard trapped beneath her and glancing around. The commotion had attracted a fairly large crowd of ponies and changelings. The changelings vastly outnumbered the ponies, though, and none of the royal guards seemed willing to risk helping the pegasus guard out of the situation. Not with a line of changeling soldiers several rows deep keeping them at bay. And especially not when the arrogant private had no one to blame but himself for the situation he was in now. She returned her attention to the struggling pony beneath her, her pin still completely secure.

Finally, he stopped struggling, apparently realizing that none of his companions were going to come to his aid.

“I… yield,” he said reluctantly, as if he had to force the words out.

She stopped squeezing with her legs as soon as he yielded, and he gasped deeply as she allowed him to take in full breaths again. For the time being, though, she continued to keep him pinned. She looked directly down at his face, speaking in a tone that allowed for no argument.

“I’m willing to forget this little incident occurred, provided I have no future problems with you, Private.”

“Yes … Ma’am,” he responded, although again, it was obvious from the tone and delay that it required effort for him to say.

“Good,” was all she said in response before finally standing up and stepping off of him. She offered one of her forehooves to help him back up. He didn’t accept it, instead pushing himself to his own hooves, and backing into the crowd of royal guards that had gathered, looking as if he were trying to disappear into it.

She looked around again. The royal guards all looked uneasy, shifting their eyes nervously towards each other, or sometimes to the ground, as if unsure what they should do next, although none of them seemed willing to raise any more objections to her claim of leadership. The griffons just stood there, expressions unreadable as if none of this affected them at all. Given their own commander had already relinquished any claim to leadership, they probably couldn’t care less whether they were lead by a pony or a changeling, as long as whoever lead them was competent and not likely to get them all killed. Her own soldiers, of course, were the picture of confidence. None of them would show their emotions. They were far too well trained for that. But changelings had the ability to sense emotions, and she could feel the pride flowing from them. Pride in her. Pride in their commander and their leader. Well, it was time to see how the ponies would respond to her orders. She turned towards the gathered pegasus guards.

“Which two of you are the fastest flyers?”

“That would be us, Sir … pardon me, I mean Ma’am,” a young looking pegasus answered as he and a companion stepped forward slightly, both of them privates according to their rank insignias. She let his gender slip slide, knowing it was an honest mistake. Females didn’t serve in the Royal Guard, she knew, and the ponies would be unused to referring to anyone as “Ma’am.” None of the other pegasi challenged the private’s claim to being the fastest flyer, so she accepted it at face value.

“The entities we encountered in battle clearly came from The Beyond. The fact that at least some of them managed to slip through the barrier guards and travel this far south means they could be in a position to threaten any city, even Canterlot. It’s vital that Lady Twilight be informed of this.

“Return to Canterlot. But the ones who attacked us might expect us to try to send a message back to Canterlot and have interceptors waiting. So both of you take a different route, neither one direct. Tell them exactly what happened here. Exactly. Including the fact that I’ve taken command of all Equestrian, Changeling, and Griffon forces in the area. Tell them we are heading directly north from this location to join the barrier guards at Cold Saddle Alps. Give them my name. They’ll know who I am.” She was almost certain they would. Given how fast she had risen through the ranks of the Empire’s army, she was a prime candidate to be named Supreme Commander of the entire changeling military within the next few years. Equestrian intelligence probably had a file on her nearly as thick as the one they had on Chrysalis herself.

“Yes, Ma’am,” both pegasus guards responded in unison, but then a third one spoke up.

“With all due respect, Ma’am, there are few enough of us here as it is. Why not send a changeling disguised as a pegasus guard?” That was true. There were only about three thousand royal guards with them, compared to around fourteen thousand changelings. But she shook her head slightly.

“There’s too much risk of detection, and those in Canterlot might not believe a changeling is telling the truth.” That was only part of the reason. The other part was that even disguised as a pegasus, a changeling flyer couldn’t tolerate the bitter cold nearly as well as a pegasus. Even though they had the appearance of having fur and feathered wings when taking the form of a pegasus, those features didn’t provide any of the warmth or windbreak benefits of real fur and feathers. But that was strategic information about changeling soldier limitations that she wasn’t quite willing to give to the ponies. Not yet anyway. Not until she was sure this fragile alliance was going to hold together. Although, she suspected Equestrian intelligence already knew about the limitation anyway.

“Yes, Ma’am,” the one who had raised the objection responded. She returned her attention to the other two.

“Go. And fly as fast as you can. But remember, separate and indirect routes.”

“Ma’am,” they both responded again before spreading their wings and taking to the air. When the two had cleared the trees, they banked towards Canterlot, splitting off from each other. They disappeared from sight within a few seconds, absorbed into the dark as if they had fallen into a well of black ink.

She turned her attention back to her assembled soldiers now … All of her assembled soldiers, including the royal guards and griffons. One of the pegasus guards spoke up.

“We need to find Captain Skydart … We need to rescue him … Ma’am.”

“We will search for him. I’ll send changeling scouts to look and they’ll report back to me. And if we find him, we’ll attempt a rescue if it looks feasible to do so. But our first priority needs to be getting to the northern barrier to protect against further incursions from the Beyond. Our experience today has already shown that they are slipping through the gaps in the border defenses and making their way deep into the southern parts of Equestria.”

“Why changelings? Why not pegasus guards, Ma’am?”

“As you said earlier, there are already few enough of you as it is. If there’s to be a rescue attempt, I’ll allow royal guards to participate. But for now, the changelings will do the scouting.”

“Yes, Ma’am,” he responded with no further argument.

“The rest of you carry out the orders I gave earlier. Gather the dead and load them into carts. Search the area and make sure everyone who can be accounted for is accounted for. Be ready to march in one hour.”

“Yes Ma’am!” changelings, ponies, and griffons all responded in unison as they filed out to perform their assigned tasks.. She watched them go for a moment, then turned to a changeling soldier standing behind her.

“Staff Sergeant Rasahus, with me.”

“Ma’am,” he responded as the two of them walked to a quieter area away from the main activity. When they stopped, she turned her head, reaching into her saddle bag and taking out a waterproof map. Briefly, she had to fight with it to keep the wind from snatching it, but she gained control of it quickly and spread it out on the snow, using one forehoof to hold it down while Rasahus moved to stand on the other end.

“We’re approximately right here,” she said, pointing to a spot on the map with her horn not far west of the Mountains of Disharmony. “The party that attacked us fled to the east. This forest ends not far from here. Maybe four hours at a brisk walk. After that it’s open tundra until the base of the mountains.

“Take four scouts and proceed to the edge of the forest, Scout the tundra and see if you can find any sign of our attackers. The rest of us will head straight north. We’ll make camp in this clearing.” She pointed to a spot on the map about eight hours north at a fast march. “Meet up with us there tonight and report your findings.”

“Yes, Ma’am,” he responded. The two of them stepped off the map and she folded it, giving it to him for reference. She had duplicates in her saddle bag. She always carried extra maps.

Then the two of them returned to the main activity, Sergeant Rasahus turning from her and going to pick out the scouts he would take with him. She didn’t have to say anything more to him, confident he would pick the right changelings. Her soldiers were well trained and knew their jobs. She only had to tell them what to do, not how to do it. She wasn’t sure she’d have that same luxury with the ponies that were now under her command.

An hour later, Commander Auraria ordered her units to fall in. Then she lead her army of changelings, ponies, and griffons north.

o.O.o

Nine hours later, Auraria sat on her haunches in her green and black tent, studying the maps on a low table in front of her. Two oil lamps near the sides of the map she was reviewing provided enough light for her to work by. Glowing coals in a brazier at the center of the tent provided warmth, the smoke venting through a small opening at the top of the conical roof. The thick nylon walls kept the arctic winds out, and it had stopped snowing. She thanked Dorylini for that as well. That would make the coming days of marching easier, as well as make it more likely her scouts might find some sign of their attackers.

Outside, the sounds of pots and pans being scrubbed as changelings, ponies, and griffons cleaned up after the evening meal. Captain Skydart had allowed them to self-segregate themselves by species into three separate camps. Not her, though. She forced them all to stay in the same camp and had ordered them to eat together. If they were going to fight together, they were also going to live together.

She’d marched them for eight hours before calling a halt for the night’s rest. They’d covered a lot of territory. More than eighty miles. An exceptional distance given the terrain and snow. The ponies had had no trouble keeping up throughout the entire eight hour march, nor had they lodged any complaints about wanting to stop. Tomorrow, she planned to march them at least twelve hours, with one forty-five minute rest stop. They’d eat while marching. She expected to cover nearly a hundred and twenty miles tomorrow. If they could maintain that rate, and the weather held, they’d reach the Cold Saddle Alps in eleven days. If they could fly, they’d be there in one day. But the unicorn and earth pony guards they’d picked up in Trottingham ruled that option out. Even between the Changeling Army and the Pegasus Guard combined, they didn’t have enough chariots to transport all of the ground forces. That and if it started to snow again, her changelings wouldn’t be able to fly for long without picking up too much ice on their wings.

The ponies had had no trouble keeping up on the march today, despite the fast pace she’d set. Nor had they protested or asked for a break … It wasn’t because the royal guards were out of shape or undisciplined, then.

“Permission to enter, Ma’am,” a voice came from outside, interrupting her thoughts.

“Enter, Staff Sergeant Rasahus,” she responded.

The changeling scout undid the tent flap and entered quickly, closing the flap and securing it before turning and saluting her, bringing a forehoof to his chest. She returned his salute.

“Sit,” she said, motioning to a spot on the other side of her map table. He walked towards her, taking the spot she indicated. “Did you find their trail?”

“Yes, Ma’am. They landed shortly after they cleared the woods and continued on foot. They also turned northeast. The dragons probably can’t fly long in this cold before they risk severe frostbite to their wings.”

“Good work, Sergeant. Can you track them?”

“Yes Ma’am. I left two of my scouts behind to continue tracking, in case it snows again and starts to cover the prints. They’ll send out emotion beacons every thirty minutes.”

She nodded in approval. She didn’t have to tell her soldiers how to do their jobs. When a changeling intentionally projected their own emotion outwards, it was possible for other changelings to sense it from a distance of several miles. The Changeling Army used this capability as a navigation aid. Even though it was pitch black, the emotion beacons would act like a homing signal, leading the other changelings right to them. That was one capability of changeling warfare she suspected Equestrian intelligence did not know about.

“Tomorrow night, we’ll stop here,” she said, pointing to a spot on the map with her hoof. “I’ll leave you with eight hundred Changeling hoof soldiers and four Equestrian unicorn guards. Find our attackers and locate Captain Skydart. Do not engage the enemy unless they spot you and things go sour. If possible, have the unicorns teleport Captain Skydart away from them without him knowing you are there. Meet us at tomorrow night’s camp. Bring Captain Skydart there. In restraints if you have to.”

“In restraints, Ma’am?” Sergeant Rasahus questioned.

The simple answer was that their attackers had started an attack before realizing they were grossly outnumbered and couldn’t win, then decided they’d at least claim a very high ranking Equestrian Royal Guard officer as a prize. Perhaps to interrogate him, or just in the hopes that taking their officer and depriving them of leadership would result in the mixed band of ponies, changelings, and griffons falling into chaos, and perhaps even fighting each other. That was the simple answer.

But the ponies had kept up just fine in her eight hour march, without so much as a protest or request to stop for a break. Why had Captain Skydart stopped twice this morning? Was he intentionally trying to delay them? Perhaps to coordinate some joint action? And why had he taken them so far east just to avoid a road that wasn’t likely to have anypony on it anyway? Especially when he knew he was leading them dangerously close to the Mountains of Disharmony and the dragons that lived there?

Yes, the simple and convenient answer was that their attackers had just seized an opportunity to capture a high ranking officer when they realized they couldn’t win the battle. But Auraria didn’t accept answers just because they were simple and convenient—especially not when so many things just didn’t add up.

“I don’t think this is a rescue mission, Sergeant,” was all she said in response.

Auraria wanted answers. And one way or another, she was going to get them.

57 - Gilda

“... The night shall be as day. A thousand-thousand suns shall erupt in the sky. The heavens from north-to-south and east-to-west shall be set ablaze with fire and light. All of the stars in the universe shall be consumed. That which was torn asunder shall be reforged, and the horizon shall be destroyed and remade. The sun shall swallow the sun, and the moon shall swallow the moon. Here in, ends the third age. The world begins to shine again, and The Children of the Sun and Moon who were lost shall be found.

“May the Two Who Are One save us from nothingness. May they save us from themselves.” — Fragment of prophecy believed written by Star Swirl the Bearded. The rest of the manuscript is lost. (Date unknown)

Chapter 57: Gilda

Maybe her old flight school friend Dash would be willing to take her in, Gilda thought to herself as she carefully wiped snow from the bridge of her beak with a talon. She’d checked out of The Last Claw two days ago—three days later than she’d intended. For whatever reason, the guard change to Luna’s prison had been delayed. At first she thought she had simply missed it. And so she had sat in her room, staring out the window the whole time, not sleeping at all for the entire three days. But finally, she spotted a supply wagon and twenty-five gryphons leaving the city. The wagon was very large, but primitive and unmarked. It could easily have been mistaken for a common peddler's wagon. Most of the gryphons wore armor, but it was unmarked and crude, mostly consisting of steel plates sewn onto leather jerkins to create a primitive form of mail. It was a far cry from the plate armor of the Gryphon Army. Still, it had to be them, she had assumed, even though twenty-five seemed like a lot. No one would leave the city in this accursed weather if they had the choice not to. There had been near blizzard conditions at the time, and the snow and wind still hadn’t let up. Perhaps the peddler’s wagon and the primitive armor meant they were just trying to maintain a low profile. The crude mail would make them look like merchant’s guards, although twenty-five would seem like a very large number to be guarding one wagon. Unless, the goods it contained were extremely valuable, intended for sale to nobles and other wealthy gryphons. But she supposed one couldn’t be too careful when it came to holding an alicorn prisoner. Perhaps twenty-five wasn’t so many after all, even if the alicorn in question was surely locked in a cell made of cold iron bars, and was probably wearing a magic suppressing horn ring for added assurance. Besides, only the largest bands of raiders or bandits would dare attack a wagon with twenty-five guards. And even if the wagon did look like a tempting target, the thieves would likely have a nasty surprise in store for them when they discovered that the merchant’s guards were really highly trained Gryphon Army soldiers.

The driving snow and biting wind was actually a harsh blessing. It kept the gryphon guards and their supply wagon grounded. Given the darkness, it would have been impossible for her to track them from the air. As it was, she was tracking entirely by sound. She was also upwind of them, which carried her scent right to them. Had they been scouts like her, they would have easily detected that someone was following them by smell. But apparently her scent mingled enough with their own that they couldn’t tell the difference. Although being upwind of them wasn’t harming her, it certainly wasn’t helping her either. Without scent, and given it was pitch black, the only thing she could track by was sound. She didn’t dare use a lantern to look for tracks. Might as well light a signal flare as do that. At least the wind rushing through the forest and causing the trees to squeak and groan in protest was helping to cover her own sound. Not that she made much sound when she moved. Fortunately, sound was something the guards made plenty of, between the skids of their cart slicing through the snow, and their frequent bursts of laughter and bouts of raucous singing of old war songs. The fools were probably drunk, thinking the ale would keep them warm. Gilda knew better. Anyway, there was no way the guards would hear her over all that.

The fact that the road ran through the forest was something else to be thankful for. It provided her with cover, as well as kept her at least somewhat sheltered from the wind. The guards, tied to the road as they were by their wagon, had to take the full brunt of the gale.

Of course, the fact that she was upwind of them also meant she couldn’t light any fires for warmth or cooking. Even through the pelting snow, the glow would probably be visible. But if it weren’t, even those idiots would probably be able to smell a campfire that was upwind of them. And so, for the last two days, she’d eaten frozen meat, and relied on melting snow with her own body warmth to quench her thirst. And when they had stopped to make camp for the night, she’d slept outside, exposed to the elements, making the best of whatever natural cover she could find. Last night, she’d slept under a large pine tree, the branches drooping heavily with the weight of snow. They had provided a windbreak, as well as concealed her form. She had still had to shake snow off herself every thirty minutes or so, but that was probably just as well, as it helped make sure she slept very lightly, ensuring she’d hear the guards when they started getting ready to move again. In these conditions, they wouldn’t need too much of a head start on her for her to lose them. And if she did, finding them again would be nigh impossible, even though they were sticking to the road for now. Eventually, they would turn off it. She was sure of that. And when they did, they’d have to abandon their cart and go the rest of the way on foot, carrying their supplies on their backs. The fools probably thought they’d be harder to track once they left the road, given they wouldn’t be following a predictable path anymore. But for a scout like Gilda, they’d actually be even easier to track once they were in the forest. They’d make even more noise than they already were, tromping through the woods like elephants, breaking and bending branches, knocking snow off trees, and leaving their scent on anything they scraped passed. To her, all of those things served as signposts. Calling cards that would lead her right to them. Even those who thought they were being very careful to cover their tracks and leave no trace of themselves were usually surprised to find that she could track them easily. She shivered slightly as a particularly strong gust of wind hit her from behind, whipping snow into her back like thousands of tiny, frozen pins. The guards had begun their drunken singing again. She could hear several voices clearly—both male and female—although no two of them were in sync with each other, or singing on the same key for that matter.

Flying gryphons own the sky

Honor ours to fight and die

Lion’s claws and eagle’s jaws

They flee in fear with gaping maws

Look the enemy in the eye

Who’s afraid to die? Not I!

On second thought, forget asking Dash to take her in. That purple unicorn better offer her her full military pension for this. In fact, the ponies better give her a medal for this mission. Certainly, the ponies had to know they were going to have to give her political asylum in Equestria when this was all over. Any chance that she could ever return to the Gryphon Kingdom had ended when she’d written the fake suicide note. In fact, she thought, smiling to herself and wiping another patch of snow from her beak, the unicorn would find the tables turned once Gilda knew where Luna was. She’d have that horned pony completely under her paws then. No doubt, she’d agree to give her anything she asked for in exchange for the information. Oh sure, the pony could threaten to toss her in the dungeon for the rest of the her life again if she didn’t cough up the goods. But that threat wouldn’t work this time. The information she had was too valuable. Oh, she might spend a few days in the dungeon, but the little pony would break first this time and be begging her for the information she had. She’d be able to name her price.

Suddenly, she realized she couldn’t hear the noise of the cart anymore. She stopped abruptly, listening intently as her heart pounded inside her. A chill crept up her that was not from the cold. How long had the noise been gone? Had they heard her and stopped to listen? To see if something was following them? She mentally cursed herself for her lack of discipline; for allowing herself to get so caught up in her thoughts about the demands she would make of Twilight Sparkle. She wanted to move deeper into the woods and put more trees between her and the guards. But she didn’t dare move now. She didn’t dare make any sound at all.

Slowly, she took in a deep breath and held it. It was easier to listen for faint sounds without competition from the sound of your own breathing. But still, all she heard was the wind, the creaking of the trees, and the occasional puff sound of a pile of snow falling off a branch onto the ground. The silence seemed to continue for an eternity, but in reality she knew had probably only been a few seconds. At least, a few seconds that she was aware of. She had no idea how long they had been still while she was allowing herself to be distracted by thoughts of that unicorn.

Then she heard noises at the cart again, the sound of the doors being unlocked and opened, and voices reached her ears once more.

“Who’d we piss off to get assigned to this awful duty anyway, huh?” a male voice asked.

“Hold your tongue and get that pack strapped on. And consider the honor of being chosen to guard the most valuable prisoner that the kingdom has ever held,” a female voice responded.

“Honor be damned,” the other voice responded with a spitting sound. “I’d rather have a warm fire, a mug of ale, and a dry floor under my paws.”

“The faster you get that pack strapped on, the sooner we can be off, and the sooner you’ll have that warm fire,” a third male voice responded. “And you’ve had more than enough ale already. All of you have. At the rate you’re all going, you’ll have it gone before we even get there.” He spoke with a hint of a slur that suggested he’d been drinking just as much as the ones he was accusing of drinking too much.

Finally, Gilda slowly let out the breath it felt like she had been holding forever. They hadn’t heard her, then. They were just getting ready to turn off the road.

Once again, they started making enough racket for a construction zone as they strapped packs on to their backs, moved supplies out of the cart, and prepared to enter the woods. She took advantage of the noise to backtrack a few hundred feet and conceal herself carefully among the pines. It would do no good for them to enter the forest and run right into her. Although, that was assuming they entered her side of the woods. Both sides of the road were forested, and there was just as much chance they could go the other direction. If they did that, there was a chance she’d lose them, as she’d have to wait long enough to make sure they had gone the other way before she dared leave her cover and go down to the road. She said a quick prayer to the Great Eagle that they would turn this way. Then, for good measure, she threw in another prayer for the Lioness Goddess, although the Great Eagle God would likely help her more for a task that involved scouting. Although, she probably couldn’t expect help from either one, given she was betraying her own kind, who were, in fact, the offspring of the gods: The sons and daughters of the union between Eagle and Lioness. She’d be lucky if the gods even let her out of this one alive.

She heard twigs snapping now, followed by a curse as presumably one of the guards had gotten their pack hung up on a branch. But she couldn’t tell yet how close they were. She’d need a few more sounds to triangulate where it was coming from, and thus determine which side of the forest they had entered. Fortunately, the fools continued making just as much noise as they had been, and then some now that they were loping through the trees like a bull moose crashing through a thicket. It didn’t take her long to determine that they had entered her side of the woods. Maybe the gods were on her side after all. Then again, it was more likely she’d just been lucky, given there’d only been two directions they could have taken.

For the next several hours, she continued to follow them deeper into the forest, the pines becoming more dense, and the snow becoming less deep as the canopy overhead kept more of it in the trees. Eventually, she even reached spots where she felt her paws on bare ground, which turned out to be a slimy, slippery mixture of wet undergrowth. Ahead of her, and slightly to her left, another twig snapped, followed by another curse. She adjusted her course slightly in response. They were just as easy to track through the forest as she’d expected they’d be, leaving calling cards everywhere in the form of broken twigs and scent deposits on branches they brushed against. Occasionally, she even found feathers, and once, a small smearing of blood where a twig must have scratched one of them.

She had to be very careful now, keeping track of how fast she was moving, and how long she’d been traveling. Gryphons had a strong natural navigation ability, thanks to their eagle heritage. But she still needed to keep track of how far off the road they were going to be able to mark their destination on a map later.

Eventually, they stopped again, and began talking of making camp for the night. Carefully, she backtracked again, putting a hundred feet or so of distance between them. They’d be looking for dry wood to start a fire, and she wanted to make sure there was no chance of them running into her. The guards begin putting up tents, although from the amount of noise they made, one could have been excused for thinking they were putting up concrete buildings instead. Were they always this careless? Given where they were going, and who they were being sent to guard, they should have been sending a scout back behind them on a regular basis to check whether they were being followed. Yet they hadn’t done so even once. Then again, perhaps they just assumed no one could follow them in this weather. The king might think Gilda an incompetent buffoon after her story about getting lost on her way to Canterlot. But the reality was she was one of the best scouts in the entire Gryphon Army, if not the best.

When the tent construction noise had ceased, she waited until she heard the sounds of pans being taken out, and other noises of food being prepared. She assumed that meant they had a fire going by now, and the gryphons who had been looking for firewood were back. She couldn’t smell any smoke, but she wouldn’t be able to because the wind would still be carrying it away from her. Cautiously, she began to creep back towards them, like a hunting lioness stalking a gazelle. It was an agonizingly slow process. She took one very careful step, then stopped to listen, then another careful step, and so on. She only moved when they were making noise. And between each step, she listened for any sign that they had heard her. As soon as she could see the faint orange glow of their fire through the snow, she stopped and looked around for cover, which was no easy task given she couldn’t see much further than her own beak in the moonless darkness. After a few careful steps, she found a pine with branches that sagged heavily under the weight of snow. She crouched, carefully working her way underneath it, and then lying down in a very lioness like way, covering as much of her body as possible with her wings. She could still see the glow of the campfire and make out moving shapes. But there was no way they’d be able to see her, especially given that they’d built their campfire between her and their tent. The glow of the fire would completely obscure their night vision in her direction.

And now, she waited, watching the shadows prepare their meal. Her own stomach growled from the sight, but she didn’t dare start eating yet. Not until she was sure they were all asleep. The fools probably wouldn’t post any sentries. They hadn’t done so the last two nights. As she waited for them to finish eating and turn in, she quietly gathered snow into a canteen, then placed the canteen between her body and one of her wings. It should be melted by the time they went to sleep and she was ready to eat.

The guards ate quickly, drinking from mugs that no doubt contained even more ale to wash down their meal. Then, one by one, they went into the tents they had set up. Glows appeared from inside the tents as they kindled fires on braziers to keep them warm at night, and smoke rose through the holes at the top center of each tent, glowing with an eerie luminescence from the fire before gradually fading into the darkness. The smoke was drifting to her left, she noted. It was always good to know exactly which direction the wind was coming from, and it meant the wind was no longer carrying her scent towards them. She said a small prayer of thanks to the Great Lioness for that, despite the fact that the guards hadn’t detected her yet. Not even when the wind had been carrying her scent directly to them. The sight of the glowing fires inside the tents teased her and made her long for Canterlot Castle and one of its many sitting rooms with large fireplaces on either end. For mulled wine …okay, hot tea, since the prissy ponies didn’t serve alcohol, and hot honey cakes drizzled with icing and … Stop it! she chided herself. You’re a soldier in the Gryphon Army. Not some softy who needs creature comforts like that! Still, the thought made her wish they would hurry up and get where they were going so she could be on her way to Equestria, and then in a nice toasty guest room in Canterlot Castle.

There were no shadows moving inside the tents now. Still, she waited another half-hour or so before she finally allowed herself to eat. The snow in the canteen had mostly melted, although now it was like drinking water with small chunks of ice in it. That hot tea was sounding even better now. For dinner, she had cold, raw wild boar steak. Had the steak been lightly seared on both sides and seasoned, but still mostly raw in the middle, it would have been a culinary delicacy to make Gustave le Grand proud. But frozen as it was, it had almost no flavor at all, and the texture was like chewing on an old leather boot that still had the metal lace holes in it. When she’d finished the bland meal and drank the nearly frozen water—which made her colder than she already was—she refilled the canteen with snow so it would be ready for tomorrow. Then she curled up, tucking the canteen against her body and covering as much of herself as she could with a wing, and allowed herself to drift off into a very light sleep.

She awoke sometime later to the sounds of another meal being prepared, and to the smell of roasting meat and wood smoke. The wind must have shifted again while she was sleeping. That was good for her mission, but bad for her stomach, which started to growl again as the cooking smells taunted her. Although the hot tea at Canterlot Castle would be welcome, meat was something she knew would not be on the menu.

Looking at the camp, she could clearly see a campfire, along with the well defined silhouettes of gryphons moving around it. The snow must have also stopped while she’d been asleep, although the wind was still strong. Fortunately, now that the soldiers were weighed down with heavy supply packs, it was unlikely they’d be able to fly even with the improved weather. Maybe the gods were on her side?

The soldiers finished their meal, put out their campfire, and then began striking their camp with all the noise of a major demolition project. She took the opportunity to eat her own breakfast, which again, was frozen meat and nearly frozen water to wash it down with. The soldiers, although making enough noise to alert the entire forest, worked quickly and efficiently, and had the tents down and stowed within their packs quickly. Then, they set out again towards their destination. Gilda waited until they were a safe distance away, then began to follow them.

Once again, the soldiers plodded through the dense forest with all the grace of a bull moose charging a territorial rival. There was no singing this time, but occasionally, one or another would complain about their splitting headache, or various other symptoms that were no doubt triggered by the copious amounts of ale they had consumed the previous day.

For hours, they plodded through the forest, and she continued to follow. They didn’t stop for lunch this time, which probably meant they were getting close to their destination. Either that, or they were behind schedule. She hoped it was the former.

Finally, after just over eleven hours, Gilda could see the very faint silhouettes of trees that were being lighted from the other side. Not long after that, she could make out a small clearing in the trees.

“You’re late,” she heard a gruff female voice call out, laced with irritation.

“Take it up with someone higher than us, Commander. We were delayed because of logistical problems. The supplies we needed weren’t in place,” a male voice responded.

“Anyway, one of you lucky soldiers gets to go back to Gryphon City with us,” the female who was apparently the current facility commander responded. “Albinus requested that he be allowed to stay here.”

“Why would anyone request to stay here?” another voice asked, sounding shocked.

“Claims he had a falling out with his wife and wants to stay as far away from her as possible for now. She must be one lioness of a character if he’s more afraid of her than of what we got inside here. Personally, I’d rather be guarding thirty unmuzzled dragon prisoners than one alicorn. If she gets loose … Well, everyone has their own worst fears, I suppose. Guess for him it’s his wife. Although, I—”

“Begging your pardon, Commander, but can we save the talk for a warm fire somewhere inside?”

“Right, of course. I’ll let all of you fight it out as to which one of you gets to leave with us.”

They stopped talking after that, and Gilda could hear the sounds of chains being undone, followed by the sound of hinges that were in need of oil as something she assumed was the perimeter gate was opened. A few minutes later, she heard the sound again as it closed, along with the chains being restrung and the lock reapplied. A couple of voices resumed their idle chatter for another minute or so. She heard the sound of a heavy lock being unlatched, followed another squeaking sound as a door was opened. Shortly after, the sound of the door slamming shut and the lock being reengaged.

Gilda waited for a few more minutes to ensure there were no further sounds, then she carefully crept forward, stalking low to the ground like a cat following a mouse. Closer and closer to the end of the tree line she moved, making no sounds, each paw carefully set to ensure she stepped on no twigs or other debris that might make a noise and reveal her presence. When she reached a point where she could see through the trees, she stopped and surveyed the facility.

What she saw, was a fairly small concrete building with a low profile. A small courtyard with a poured concrete surface surrounded the building. The courtyard itself was surrounded by a very tall fence, rimmed at the top with razor wire as a last line of defence against prisoner escape. There was no snow on the concrete, or on top of the building. Looking up, it was clear why. A large camouflage canopy with patterns intended to mimic the surrounding trees covered the entire facility. At first, Gilda herself had barely noticed it. It would make the facility very difficult to spot from the air.

This must be one of the fabled secret prisons that the Gryphon Kingdom maintained in several parts of the empire, she realized. She knew that several such prisons existed, although she had never seen one before, nor had she known where any of them were. All of them were said to be relatively small—intended only for holding very high profile prisoners who posed a high escape risk, or where it was thought there was a high risk of a rescue attempt. A large portion of each facility was said to be underground, with only the first level having an above-ground structure.

She took a better look at the building itself now. There were no windows, and in the dim lights of the courtyard—which were also shielded on top to prevent any light from shining into the sky—the concrete construction looked very new, as did the poured concrete of the courtyard. She determined the facility must be a relatively new one, no doubt constructed with the recently discovered process of fusing cold iron with concrete. The slightly off color of the concrete, and the occasional metallic gleam reflecting the light confirmed her suspicions.

Gilda didn’t know much about how cold iron was made, and the process of fusing it together with concrete was one of the Kingdom’s most closely guarded secrets. Many said that cold iron wasn’t really iron at all, and that it wasn’t even a natural element, but rather an extremely complex amalgam of several different elements that had to be combined in exact ratios to form compound elements, which then had to be combined to form more complex compound elements, and so on. But the gryphons who said that were unlikely to know anything more about it than she did. What she did know about it, was that cold iron prevented magic users from being able to cast any spells. Put a unicorn in a room constructed of concrete fused with cold iron, and they might as well have no magical ability at all for all the good it did them. The prison she was looking at had been specifically constructed for holding magic users.

She also knew enough to know that the more powerful the magic user, the more cold iron was needed to hold them. To hold an alicorn …the amount must be truly immense, if it were even possible to hold an alicorn with cold iron. But whether it was or wasn’t possible seemed to be of little consequence. If Luna could have escaped, she would have done so by now. And one thing was certain: The cold iron contained in the concrete of the facility would definitely be enough to prevent unicorn guards from using magic while they were inside. Furthermore, the building would effectively be a trap for any unicorns that attempted to teleport inside and rescue Luna. It was very risky for a unicorn to teleport into an enclosed area they weren’t familiar with to begin with. After all, if they teleported themselves into the same location as a wall, or other object, it would cause them serious injury at best, or outright kill them at worst. But if one of them did successfully teleport into the building, they’d find themselves unable to teleport out again. She had expected the bars of the cell they were holding Luna in to be made from cold iron. But the process of fusing cold iron and concrete was so new that it had never occurred to her that the entire building would be constructed with cold iron. How were the ponies ever going to get her out of there?

She turned her mind to other things. How they were going to get her out was for the Equestrian Royal Guard to worry about. She surveyed the rest of the area, gathering as much information as she could. Right now, there were only two guards at the gate, and their night vision would be impaired because of the lights in the courtyard. It was unlikely they could see the tree line at all, much less anything beyond it.

She crept backwards, deeper in the forest, placing each paw very lightly before stepping down, again feeling for any twigs or other debris that might make noise if she stepped on it. Then, she slowly worked her way around the other sides of the facility. The guarded gate at the front, she noted, was both the only entrance into or out of the perimeter, and the only part of the perimeter that was always guarded. However, she counted four roving guards making patrols around the rest of the perimeter. Like the guards at the gate, the courtyard lighting would ensure they couldn’t see very far beyond the perimeter fence. There was one other door in the building, on the opposite side of the one that was facing the gate. There were no windows on any side of the building. Looking at the roof, she noticed two air vents. Other than the two doors, those appeared to be the only other openings that would lead into the building. Although they looked like they might be large enough to crawl through, they had thick bars and heavy screens over the openings to prevent anyone from attempting to do so. She remained still for awhile longer, timing the average amount of time it took the roving guards to make one complete round of the perimeter fence. Confident she’d gathered all of the useful data she could about the place, she quickly gathered her bearings using her natural compass, then turned west and crept deeper into the woods, moving at a crouch, stalking like a lioness, until she was sure she was far enough away that there was no chance of anyone from the prison seeing or hearing her.

She noted the time on her pocket watch, did a few calculations based on all of the data she’d collected so far, then pulled her map out of her pack and lit a match so she could see it. She’d brought an ink well and pen, but the ink was completely frozen, so she simply punched a small hole in the map with her talon where the prison was located. Then she put out the match, folded the map, and secured it in her pack again. She threw the spent match in her pack, too. She wasn’t taking any chances of leaving evidence that someone had been there.

Next, she drank the entire contents of her water canteen, then spread her wings, and carefully took to the sky, rising in a hover until she was clear of the trees. She flew west, praying to the Great Eagle for a strong tailwind. She experimented with different altitudes, although the higher she went, the colder it got. But it didn’t take her long before she found the tailwind she was looking for, giving her extra speed, pushing her further and further west. She estimated the strength of the tail wind and figured it would add fifty knots to her speed. As she flew, she was very careful to note any changes in wind direction or speed. That, combined with the information she’d kept track of when they’d walked to the prison earlier, would be critical for her later when she needed to triangulate the position of the prison and make sure the original mark she’d made on her map was accurate.

Briefly, she considered stopping for dinner. It’d been about thirteen hours since she’d last eaten. But given she was a full-fledged traitor now, the sooner she was out of gryphon territory and over the Sea of Tears, the safer she’d feel. That, and the hot tea and blazing hearth in Canterlot castle were calling to her.

She’d flown for about two hours in complete darkness before the air suddenly turned colder and she could smell salt in her nostrils, a sure sign that she had crossed the coast and was over the sea now. Again, she made a note of how long she’d been flying. One could never have too many reference points for navigation.

Once safely over the sea, she let her mind wander to Canterlot again, and the demands she would make of the ponies in exchange for the information she had. Perhaps a fancy house in the city to go with her full pension. A house fit for a noble. It’s the least she deserved from them given how much risk they had asked … no, forced her to take on in this mission, as well as the fact that she could never return home again.

“Traitor!” a voice screeched from above her, sending a shock through her. Almost on instinct, she banked sharply to the left, performing a knife edge turn. It was the only thing that saved her life. She felt a strong rush of air, and something collide with her wing tip as another gryphon dove down from above. Had he not foolishly announced his presence by shouting out that word, she would be dead right now.

She pitched upward, pumping her wings to gain altitude. Even with her night vision, it was so dark with no moon that it was very difficult to see anything. A shifting air current below her, and the sound of his wings pointed out his location, though. She extended the talons on her front feet and the razor sharp claws of her leonine hind paws. At the same time, she reversed direction and dove, slamming into him from above. She dug her hind claws into his back, trying to secure her position and snap at the back of his neck. He flapped a wing, trying to power his way free. She caught it with a forepaw, digging her talons into it. He screeched loudly, but managed to tear himself away from her, although she had no doubt he’d done significant damage to his wing in the process.

Still, he was fast, and spun himself around quickly so she couldn’t attack his unguarded side again. But Gilda pressed her advantage and made a frontal attack. Once again, the two of them locked together, scraping and slashing with claws and talons. He was larger than her, but she knew how to use that to her advantage.

He darted his head forward, attempting to get his beak around her neck. He overshot because of his larger size, his head sliding over the top of hers instead. That mistake had left his neck completely exposed and vulnerable. She wasted no time before exploiting the opportunity, her beak closing around the underside of his neck and pulling backwards roughly. Warm blood flooded into her mouth like a fountain, and she knew she’d scored a killing bite. He tried to hang on to her, tried to screech again, but all that came out was a gurgle. It was clear from his relaxing grip that his strength was ebbing out of him along with his blood. Then, his claws released her, and she roughly kicked him away with her hind legs, sending him plummeting into the Sea of Tears below them.

Shark food, she thought to herself, wincing at the pain in her side while at the same time chastising herself for being so lost in her own thoughts that she hadn’t realized the attack from above before he announced his presence. She lowered a talon, carefully feeling the wound in her side. It didn’t feel too deep, but it was deep enough. Although she could feel the wetness of some blood, it didn’t seem to be soaked with it.

Briefly, she considered turning around and landing on the shore to tend the wound, but discarded the idea as being extremely dangerous. She was certain the gryphon who had attacked her had not followed her from the prison. She would have been aware of him before then, and he certainly would have attacked sooner. That meant he had to be a member of a shore patrol, probably sent here to intercept deserters who were trying to defect to Equestria. She had heard rumors that at least one unit had done so already. If she turned around and went back towards shore, there was a high chance she’d run into another one. It was equally likely that if she landed on shore, she’d land right in the middle of whatever Gryphon Army camp the shore patrols were originating from.

And so, there was nothing for it but to turn west and continue out over the sea towards Canterlot, hope the wound wasn’t serious, and if it was, pray she didn’t bleed out before she got there.

58 - Theory Point

58 - Theory Point

In all her life, Theory Point had never been so frightened as she was now. As soon as she teleported out of the armory, she began to gallop away from it as if she were competing in the Running of the Leaves, her heart thudding like the hooves of a stampeding elk. Quickly, she checked herself, slowing to a walk. Galloping would certainly arouse suspicion in any pony that saw her. Her forelocks were damp with a cold sweat, causing her to shiver. But that wasn’t the only reason she shivered. Her eyes darted to-and-fro, watching for any Royal Guards that might be pursuing her.

Despite what she had told James about how he would look just as guilty as she did, she had no confidence that he wouldn’t turn her in. He was a Royal Councilor now, and his only loyalty was to The Crown. It wouldn’t be long before Twilight Sparkle knew what had happened in the armory. She was sure to believe him. If and when either Princess returned, they would believe him too. The bond of mutual trust between Royal Councilors and the Princesses was almost unbreakable. Like the strongest steel forged in the hottest fire. No, the little speech she’d given to James wouldn’t stop him from turning her in. Even while she had been giving it, she hadn’t had any illusions that it would. All she had hoped for then, and still hoped for, was that it would buy her some time. Make him think about it for awhile before going to Twilight. She hoped the time would be measured in hours, but she suspected it was more likely to be measured in minutes. And when that time ran out, she had no doubt that he would go to Twilight. After that, it would only be a matter of an hour or two before word was circulated to every Royal Guard in Canterlot. They would all be on the lookout for her, and she’d be arrested on sight. Her thoughts raced and dwelled on fears of dungeon cells and treason charges. Of court trials in front of a Royal Guard military tribunal instead of a civilian court. After all, she had aided and abetted the enemy. She had actively participated in kidnapping one of the Princesses. Not only had she committed high treason, but she had committed it multiple times. She struggled to get control of her racing thoughts, roping them all in. First things first, she told herself. She had to get out of Canterlot as soon as possible. But she also had to do it without arousing suspicion. After all, no one in their right mind, other than Royal Guard units getting ready for deployment, would be in any hurry to leave the city. What with the freezing cold, constant snow squalls, biting winds, and darkness like a vat of black ink beyond the lights of the city limits.

Continuing to walk at a slow, determined pace, as if she had a particular task and destination in mind, she forced herself to look forward. It took all of her willpower to resist the urge to constantly turn her head and look for Royal Guards that might be after her. She tried to reason that if they were pursuing her, she’d know without seeing. It’s not like they’d be trying to sneak up on her in the open. They’d be galloping and probably ordering her to halt. The courtyard walls were close now, but it seemed to take an agonizing amount of time to cover the final yards to them. As if they were mountains that appeared very close, but no matter how long she walked, they never seemed to get any closer.

From the corner of her eye, she saw two patrolling guards marching along the wall. Her breathing quickened and her legs felt like they were set in concrete. Every instinct of survival told her to stop. To bolt and gallop in the other direction. It took all of her willpower reserves to continue moving one hoof in front of the other. One of the guards looked at her and her heart skipped a beat. Calm yourself. There’s no way they could know yet, she told herself.

“Is everything alright, Ma’am?” the gray Earth Pony Guard asked, stopping his patrol and turning to face her.

“Yes, sir,” she responded, trying to keep her voice as steady as possible while her heart threatened to pound out of her chest. “I’m just finishing up a weather analysis.”

Immediately, she kicked herself. True, she was wearing her Academy uniform, so the claim of gathering or analyzing data would be believable. Except, the unit patch on her left shoulder clearly indicated she was from the Department of Physics. She tried to keep her breathing normal as the two Royal Guards looked her over. They were both earth ponies. If she struck first, she could probably have restraining and gag spells on them before they could overpower her and slap a magic suppression ring on her horn. But the amount of magic she’d need to use to restrain two Royal Guards at the same time was high enough that there’d be no way she’d be able to hide the glow of her horn in the darkness. And even if the two guards she was casting at didn’t have time to warn other guards in the area, any guards patrolling the walls would almost certainly see her. The guards had approached from the other side. That meant they probably hadn’t seen her unit patch. Then again, perhaps she was just being paranoid at this point? Even if they had seen it, would it occur to them that it seemed a bit out of her area of expertise to be doing a meteorological analysis?

“Weather analysis seems a bit out of your field,” one of the guards commented, sending a jolt through her. Her heart racing even faster. The damn guards didn’t miss anything.

She tried desperately to calm herself. The guard hadn’t sounded like he was accusing her of anything. Merely making an observation. As if trying to engage her in friendly conversation. But Royal Guards were trained to do that when questioning someone suspicious. To make you feel safe where you were not. To make you feel comfortable so you’d slip up and reveal something damning. Still, she could talk her way out of this one. She was a highly trained scientist. The guards would just take her for her word at anything she said, not having the slightest clue whether it made any sense or not. At least, she hoped that’s what would happen. So with all the confidence she could force into her voice, all of the assertiveness, and all indication she could give that she knew exactly what she were doing and why, she responded.

“I’m analyzing thermal-transfer potentials of molecules in the troposphere, sir. We’ll combine that with IR flux data from the stratosphere that we’ve already gathered over the last few days and use the combination to determine likely acceleration rates of the cooling trend. At least, that’s what we are trying to do. It’s all highly experimental, given no situation like this has ever been observed before, or even theoretically accounted for.” It was complete scientific nonsense. But the two guards wouldn’t know that … Would they?

The guards said nothing in response, eyeing her for a bit longer. Was that suspicion in their eyes? Her heart continued to thunder away, as she exercised all of her self-control to keep her breathing calm. Impatience gnawed at her with the same fury as the icy wind. Even if her story did fool the guards, she was wasting valuable time. Every second she wasted here was another second closer to Twilight knowing what happened. It would take time for word of her to reach the guards in the outskirts of the city, so the faster she could get away from the armory and the castle—and the further—the safer she’d be. Moments seemed to stretch into hours. The whole time, she made sure to keep eye contact with both guards. It was always important to maintain steady eye contact. It showed assertiveness, confidence, and allowed one to maintain control of a situation. Avoiding eye contact, or shifting her eyes, would suggest she had something to hide and cause her to lose control of the encounter. She prepared a restraining and gag spell as the time ticked away, but didn’t charge her horn. For now, the guards would have no idea she was holding a powerful spell on the verge of casting.

“Don’t stay out too long, ma’am. It’s dangerously cold,” one of the guards finally responded.

“I won’t, sir. And you try to keep warm as well,” she said, a wave of relief flooding over her as the guards resumed their patrol.

She continued walking in the direction she’d been going before the encounter, releasing the spell she’d been prepared to cast, her fear gradually coming down, though it wouldn’t be gone completely until she was far outside of Canterlot. She stopped every once in awhile, and acted as if she were looking at something, or taking a sample. The reality is she was just trying to buy a bit more time for the guards to be far enough away where they were unlikely to be able to see her.

Now, she had another immediate problem to deal with. The gate into and out of the castle courtyard was closed and locked. It had been ever since they’d discovered the potential threat against the Princesses. A few days before she’d teleported in and gone into the armory, she’d observed the gate for awhile. She’d quickly learned that the gate sentries weren’t allowing anyone in unless they had a magically sealed pass from Twilight Sparkle, or they were injured, or otherwise in desperate need of some kind of attention. Worse, the sentries were letting no one out of the gates without the magical pass, no matter what excuse they had for wanting to leave. Theory Point was very competent with magic, but she knew she was no match for Twilight. There was no way she’d be able to forge a magical pass, especially given she hadn’t even seen one to know what the spell print looked like. That meant the only way for her to get out was to teleport herself outside of the wall. That was how she’d gotten in, but it had been a great risk. Fortunately, none of the guards had spotted her. However, with teleportation spells, the origin of the magic always glowed brighter and longer than the target. That meant a unicorn was far more likely to be spotted at the place they were teleporting from than at the destination they were teleporting to—something that was definitely not conducive to trying to leave an area without being noticed.

Furthermore, despite the fact that she was a relatively powerful magic user, teleportation was something she’d never been particularly good at. A unicorn like Twilight Sparkle probably would have been able to teleport directly from the armory to somewhere outside of the castle walls. But Theory Point knew she couldn’t teleport nearly that far. She also doubted her own ability to teleport through more than one solid object at a time without killing or seriously injuring herself. That had ruled out trying to go through the armory wall and the courtyard wall with one jump. And so, there was nothing she could do except get fairly close to the wall, and then teleport to the other side, and hope none of the guards saw her do it.

She continued walking towards the wall, looking for a place that offered at least some features that would hide her, or at least obscure the glow when she initiated the spell. Two areas looked promising. The first, was the shadow of a garden tool building near one part of the wall. That would completely hide her and prevent the guards from seeing her at all. However, the fact that the area was in shadow would amplify the light from the teleportation spell, like a flashbulb going off in a dark room. Furthermore, the act of ducking into the shadow of the building might draw unwanted attention from the guards.

The second option, was a very bright light lamp illuminating the ground near one part of the wall. She could teleport from directly underneath it, and the flash from the spell would likely be indistinguishable from the powerful lamp. Of course, that also had the risk that one of the guards would happen to be looking directly at her when she teleported and would see her disappear from under the lamp. Both locations had their risks. At least she didn’t have to worry about teleporting herself into any objects on the other side of the wall, no matter which option she chose. For defensive reasons, all trees had been cleared and the grass was kept very short outside the wall, leaving over a thousand strides of open space on all sides. That way, any army that tried to attack the castle would be visible long before they got there. An attacking army would also be forced to take very heavy casualties as they crossed the field, completely exposed to the volleys of arrows and magical attacks that would rain down on them from the walls and defense towers.

Again, every second she spent deciding which option to choose was a second she couldn’t really afford, so she quickly decided on teleporting from under the lamp post. That would be less likely to attract attention, she thought. If she teleported from shadow, the strong flash would be noticed even from the corner of the eye, whereas if she teleported from the lamp and the flash wasn’t visible, one of the guards would likely have to be looking directly at her to see the spell. Furthermore, the guards would be looking directly into the glare from the lamp itself, which would make her harder to see.

She changed her direction slightly, making her way towards the lamp post now, being careful to resist the urge to look around. As she walked, she prepared the teleportation spell, holding it just on the edge of casting. Then, just as she reached the light post, she cast.

The world spun for a moment—she didn’t use teleportation very often, which was probably part of the reason she wasn’t very good at it—and she found herself just outside of the castle walls. Getting her bearings, she stood stock still as close to the wall as possible, ensuring that any guards up on the walls would have to look directly down to see her. And even then, they might not be able to. Her ears swiveled up and forward, listening for any conversations inside the walls. Any signs that they had seen a unicorn teleport, or even that they had seen anything unusual. To her relief, she heard nothing other than the steady sound of hoofsteps as the guards continued to patrol the wall above her.

She allowed herself a slight sigh of relief, but the most dangerous part of getting away was still ahead of her. She couldn’t simply gallop across the thousand-plus strides of open field in front of her. After all, the field would reveal someone running away from the castle just as easily as it would reveal an army approaching it.

She cast a weak levitation spell on herself, allowing her to walk just above the ground and avoid making any noise, as well as avoid leaving a trail of hoofprints. Either one would likely arouse suspicion. Then, she carefully worked her way along the perimeter, hugging the wall as closely as possible. The levitation spell was weak enough that it didn’t produce any detectable glow. Not that it would have mattered even if it had. The perimeter around the outside of the fence was well lit. If a guard leaned far enough over the wall, he’d see her, glow or no glow. Worry over the amount of time this was all taking gnawed at her like a timberwolf gnawing on a fresh kill.. But she had to get to the main gate before she dared leave the safety of the wall. There, she’d be able to join the crowd of ponies seeking the latest news from the gate sentries, or asking for additional assistance with food, heating, and so on.

The silent walk around the perimeter seemed to take ages. Worse, she was rapidly draining her magic reserves. Maintaining the levitation spell required a constant flow of magic. She could draw on her physical energy reserves to maintain the spell once her magical reserves had run out. Most advanced unicorns knew how to do that, and thanks to the Academy’s fitness requirements, she was in very good physical shape. But it was much less efficient to use physical energy to drive spells than to use magical reserves. Physical energy had to be converted to magical energy before it could be used for spell purposes, in much the same way that fat had to be converted to glucose before a cell could use it for energy. And just like that conversion, the process of converting physical energy to magical energy required energy itself, which meant physical energy was used up quickly once a unicorn started drawing on it for magic. That physical energy was something she’d desperately need once she was away from the castle and fleeing the city.

She rounded another corner and saw the lights of the gate. Ponies were gathered around it, bombarding the sentries with questions, frustrations, and occasional shouts. Two earth pony sentries and one unicorn sentry stood at the gate, the earth ponies trying to keep the citizens calm, and the unicorn checking magical passes. Theory Point dropped her levitation spell, allowing her hooves to sink into the snow now. She felt she still had some magic reserves left. Hopefully, she wouldn’t need them anytime soon.

She walked casually now, intentionally putting a slight expression of worry on her muzzle. That would help her blend in with the crowd more as most of the ponies were worried and concerned. As she entered the fray, she turned away from the castle and proceeded away from the gate, joining the side of the road with the other ponies that were leaving. The crowd gradually thinned out as she got further away from the gates. She chanced a glance over her shoulder. None of the guards were looking in her direction and none were coming after her, she realized with a sigh of relief.

Every instinct told her to make her way as quickly as possible to the city border and leave. But her intended destination was two days away. That meant she’d have to obtain supplies first. The safest way to do that would be to buy them from a shop on the outskirts of the city. But she suspected all of the shops had sold out of everything long ago. The ones that had even stayed open through the crisis, that is. All of them were probably closed by now. If she got to the edge of the city and didn’t find any open shops, or any that had the supplies she needed, she’d have to turn around and come back in. That was likely to be more risky than returning to the Academy and gathering her own supplies. Besides, she also needed to get rid of her Academy uniform as soon as possible.

She turned towards the Academy, starting towards one of the staff housing buildings at a fast trot. Trotting wouldn’t look suspicious. After all, nopony wanted to be out in this cold any longer than necessary. All of the shops she passed were closed, most of them boarded up to protect against looters. But the streets were mostly deserted, and the shops looked no worse for wear. Boarding them up had likely been an unnecessary precaution.

Opening the staff housing door, she stepped inside and quickly went to the stairs, climbing them to the floor her own room was on. Like the streets, the building was deserted. All of the staff members who had families would no doubt be at home with them. The other staff would all be busy with various other duties around the city, having been drafted into service as Royal Guard Reserve.

She reached the door to her own apartment, unlocking it and stepping in, shivering again. The building’s heat was turned down to conserve energy and valuable fuel resources. Her breath misted in front of her muzzle as she walked over to her wardrobe locker, using a small amount of magic to open it.

Quickly, she shed her academy uniform and took out the warmest clothes she had. The saddle blanket was a dull brown, as was the hood, both made of stout brown wool lined with linen. She had almost thrown these clothes away when she’d joined the Academy, thinking she’d never wear them again. After all, no Academy officer would be caught wearing such peasant like clothing. The only reason she hadn’t gotten rid of them was that they’d been a gift from her parents. She was glad she’d kept them, now. Dressing like a common peasant would be the best way to avoid attracting attention as she left the city.

She felt a twinge of pain in her heart as she thought of her parents. Like the dull twisting of a knife. How were they doing, she wondered?

She shook her head. No time to think of things like that now. There’d be plenty of time for that once she was safely out of the city, she thought as she put the warm saddle blanket on, tightening the straps and then pulling the hood over her head. She scanned through the rest of the wardrobe. There was nothing else that seemed worth taking.

Leaving the room and heading down the stairs again, she made her way to the kitchen, opening the pantries and looking for any non-perishable food she could take with her. All of them were completely empty. She frowned slightly, but had half expected she wouldn’t find anything. Since nopony was staying in the building, the food had likely been appropriated by the Royal Guard and distributed where it would be needed. Well, it was only two days she had to travel. She could go without food for that long.

She stepped outside again, the warm wool keeping the icy wind from biting into her, and turned down the road, making her way towards the northern edge of the city. Even though the Academy campus was located in the heart of Canterlot, the streets were almost deserted. Nopony would be out unless they had to be in this kind of weather. Occasionally, she’d pass Royal Guards on patrol. Probably looking for looters or anypony who needed help. Every time she crossed paths with one, her heart raced a little faster, and a slight chill went through her. But as long as she stayed calm, as long as she looked like she had a destination in mind, they should have no reason to suspect her. She kept reminding herself of that, and the Royal Guards paid her no mind for the most part, other than the occasional nod, or the occasional greeting, to which she responded politely and in as calm a voice as possible.

She moved at a fast trot, again thinking it wouldn’t look suspicious. Anypony would want to get their business outside done as fast as possible so they could be back inside among a nice, warm fire. Soon, the densely packed multi-story buildings of downtown Canterlot begin to thin out into smaller buildings, spaced further apart. As the space between buildings grew further apart, so did the space between street lamps, leaving some areas of the street in shadow now. She felt some of her anxiety begin to lift. The sparser street lamps would reduce the chance that any guards would recognize her, and every step she took reduced the chance that word of her would have reached the guards in the area yet.

The road narrowed now, and the smaller stone structures gave way to single-story wood and plaster dwellings. The snow was up to her cannons now, and getting deeper the further she walked. This far in the outskirts of the city, there was very little traffic to tamp it down, and no maintenance crews clearing it away. Unfortunately, that meant she’d leave hoofprints as she left the city. There was nothing to be done about that, though. Levitating herself at this point would only make it obvious she was trying not to leave hoofprints, and that would look extremely suspicious to any guards who saw her. Besides, she wanted to conserve her magic in case she ran into any guards who were looking for her.

The snow was up to her knees now, and she thought she’d probably reached the end of the paved road and was on dirt. There was no way to tell, of course. Not with the snow as deep as it was. The plaster and wood dwellings gave way to open fields and farmland. Darkness loomed ahead of her as she neared the last set of street lamps, broken occasionally far to her left or right by lights in the windows of farm houses that were well off of the road. There were far fewer lights than their normally would have been. Most of the farm families had likely abandoned their homes for the relative safety of the city. The merchants and store owners they did business with would likely have taken them in and sheltered them. Those merchants and store owners would expect nothing in return. Most ponies were like that. Always willing to help others in need without expecting anything in return. A brief sickly feeling came over her as she realized how badly she had failed to live up to that, and how she was part of the reason why those ponies were in this situation right now. It will be worth it in the end, she told herself.

She stopped and turned around briefly, looking at the brightly lit city behind her. On top of the castle spires, the banners of Celestia and Luna—the golden sun and silver moon—flapped in the wind. A beacon for ponies to unite behind. A beacon that proclaimed that ponies were down, but not out. Their banners still flew, and they would overcome … A beacon she had betrayed. They were no longer her banners. No longer a part of her. There was no going back. Whether she regretted that or not, even she wasn’t sure. One thing was certain, though. She could never return to Canterlot again. At least not of her own free will. If she ever found herself back in Canterlot, it would be in chains. She nodded briefly to the city, as if in farewell, then turned around and walked passed the last set of street lamps, casting a light spell to illuminate the road in front of her. She made sure all of the light concentrated in front of her, not allowing any of it to shine out to the sides, behind, or above. Not only would that attract unwanted attention, but it was also a waste of magical energy.

She increased her speed to a gallop now, quickly putting distance between herself and the city, losing track of time as the farmland yielded to forest. She continued on the road for a bit longer as the woods thickened, then slowed to a walk, turning off the path and entering the forest.

A few hours later, she allowed herself to stop, confident she was far enough away from the city and far enough into the woods that she wouldn’t be found. Fear gave way to exhaustion now as the adrenaline-fueled flight from the city began to take its toll on her. She looked back towards Canterlot again. Even the glow of the city lights was no longer visible against the night sky.

She scouted the area, finding a small opening that was surrounded on all sides by trees. It would do nicely for getting some sleep, protecting her from the wind. Next, she gathered some wood, making it into a small pile near one side of the clearing. She channeled magic to her horn, and the wood burst into flame. Before long, she had a warm fire going. She laid down next to it, allowing herself to get lost in her thoughts again. The fire warmed her outsides, but did nothing to take the chill off her spirit. She thought of her parents again. How proud they’d been of her when she’d passed the Academy testing and been accepted. Guilt stabbed at her core again as she looked around, barely able to make out the trees surrounding the clearing their bare branches, casting accusing shadows on the ground in the flickering orange glow of the campfire. Beyond the light of the fire, there was nothing. Darkness on all sides of her. Darkness ahead of her, darkness behind her. It seemed to be an accurate painting of her past and her future now. Nothing. Only darkness. It wouldn’t have mattered if she had found food in the pantry at the Academy. She had no appetite to eat it anyway.

o.O.o

James, you fool, James chastised himself as he picked himself up off the floor of the armory, wiping the tears from his face with the sleeve of his robe. He’d made two mistakes now, he thought with dismay. The first had been trusting Theory Point to begin with. He should have noticed something was wrong. Something in her behavior or attitude. There had to have been something that should have made him suspicious.

The second mistake, had been lying here on the floor feeling sorry for himself. How long had he been doing that? No doubt, his delay had allowed Theory Point plenty of time to escape from the Castle courtyard. She was probably near the edge of the city by now.

And so he made his way outside of the armory, his heart weighing him down like an anchor. He felt numb, not even noticing the cold wind as it ripped into him and he made his way towards the Castle, in search of Twilight.

59 - Equestria Catches a Break

Chapter 59: Equestria Catches a Break

Even Commander Auraria herself was starting to get tired after marching her troops through knee-deep snow for eleven hours. She was also cold, but she had more important things to worry about than that. She had been putting those worries off, although she couldn’t put them off for much longer. The first, was that her changelings would need to replenish their magic reserves soon. Although they could survive indefinitely on regular food, they required emotions to maintain their magic reserves. Her soldiers had used a significant amount of magic when the griffons and aislings had attacked earlier. If worse came to worse, she could designate some of her changelings as magic users, and the rest of them as sources. Then, the magic users could draw off the emotions of the sources. But that was far from ideal, as it would leave the source changelings unable to cast any spells at all. Feeding off the emotions of the pegasus and earth pony guards was another option. They didn’t do magic anyway and would be able to replenish the lost energy while they slept. But how she would ever convince the ponies to go along with that, she had no idea. She’d have to think about it a big longer, but she knew she couldn’t keep putting it off.

The second problem was that Captain Skydart’s detour had left them short on supplies. Surely. he must have known a supply shortage was inevitable? In the spring, summer, and fall, his pony soldiers could have survived indefinitely by foraging on grass, although that was not ideal. Foraging took a great deal of time, and living on grass was not particularly good for troop morale. Still, the ability to survive by foraging when they had to was an advantage the Royal Guard had over the Changeling Army. But that ability was only a factor when the ground wasn’t covered in knee-deep snow. There’s no way Captain Skydart could have overlooked that. The unavoidable fact was that despite Skydart’s desire to avoid getting near cities, they were going to have to make a supply stop. Her two options were Canterlot and Manehattan. Of those two, Manehattan was significantly closer. She would have prefered Canterlot, since that would allow her to talk with Twilight Sparkle about what had happened, as well as coordinate her own efforts with the rest of Equestria’s military forces. But detouring that far west would take way too much time, so Manehattan it would be. On the positive side, she’d be able to get news in Manehattan about how the rest of the war effort was going.

Actually, she had a third concern as well, and this was the biggest one of all. How had the aislings been able to take physical form and launch an attack so far into the Equestrian mainland? A deep-seated fear stabbed at her gut as she considered the most likely possibility: The Northern Fortress had already fallen, and they were using it as a base of operations. The thought sent a shiver through her that wasn’t from the cold. Despite her battle-hardened nature, and despite all her military prowess, the thought of having to retake the fortress in the middle of winter was enough to make her sick. It would be hard enough to retake in the summer or fall. In the middle of winter, it might be impossible. One thing was certain. Even if she could pull it off, it was going to be an extremely bloody battle, and it was going to cost a lot of lives. Concern about the cost in lives was her only flaw, really. Changeling military commanders weren’t supposed to worry about things like that. The glory of the Empire was always supposed to be paramount, and any changeling soldier would gladly rush into impossible odds for the glory of Queen and Empire if she ordered them to. But Auraria simply didn’t have it in her to be that cold-hearted. Unlike most changeling commanders, she cared about the lives and well-being of the soldiers under her command — even the ponies and griffons. Yes, it was a flaw according to traditional changeling thought. But she considered the flaw to be one of the major reasons she was the youngest regional commander in changeling military history. Unlike most commanders, the soldiers under her command respected her for reasons other than being afraid of her. Auraria believed that soldiers who were motivated by fear lacked morale and delivered inferior performance compared to soldiers who genuinely respected their commander because she or he had actually earned their respect rather than breaking them by frightening them into a feigned respect. Respect was a two-way street. A commander had to give respect if she wanted to have respect. Most of the higher ups in the changeling military considered her ideas and command style to be radically soft. Pony soft, they sometimes mockingly called it while snickering. But the fact that she’d risen so rapidly in the ranks seemed to suggest that despite their mocking and snickering, her ideas had merit, and were slowly catching on. At least, she hoped they were. Anyway, part of respecting her soldiers meant being honest with them about her concerns, and not leading them into battles without telling them what they faced.

But at the same time, she didn’t want to frighten them unnecessarily. She really needed more information. And for that, she really needed to interrogate Captain Skydart. Hopefully, he’d be able to confirm whether or not the Northern Fortress had, in fact, fallen. And if it had, she hoped he’d be able to tell her the strength of the occupying force, and what it was made up of. Of course, that all depended on whether the team she’d left behind to capture him was successful or not.

It was almost one hour later on the dot when they arrived at the spot she’d told Sergeant Rasahus that they’d stop and make camp for the night. She called a halt to her troops, listening to her command being echoed back through the ranks. She used her mouth to remove the watch from her saddle bag — avoiding using a telekinesis spell to conserve her magic — and noted with pride that she’d marched them for exactly twelve hours and five minutes, only five minutes longer than the twelve hours she’d estimated it would take them to reach the camp area she’d chosen. Even the soft ponies hadn’t held them up. They hadn’t complained either. They were earning her respect quickly, and she hoped she was earning theirs.

All of the soldiers worked quickly and efficiently. Her green and black striped tent flying the flag of the Changeling Empire was set up quickly at the center of the clearing, and a small city of tents quickly grew up around it. The changelings, ponies, and griffons, were all following her order to integrate, she noted with satisfaction as the clearing became a kaleidoscope of mixed colors and flags, reflecting the mixed nature of her army in the light of the lanterns. Satisfied that her orders were being followed, and that her troops could get camp set up without her supervision, she retreated into her tent, then unpacked her maps and spread them out on the large table that had been set up near the center, using two lighted oil lamps to hold the edges down. The smell of the evening meal being cooked wafted into her tent, bringing the mouth-watering scent of boar meat roasting over an open flame. But it didn’t make her hungry. On the contrary, all it did was remind her of the looming supply shortage she faced. Instead of eating, she spent the next couple of hours planning tomorrow’s march and trying not to worry about the status of the fortress. There was no sense worrying about it until she knew for sure whether it had fallen or not. If her capture team had been successful in apprehending Skydart, she’d know soon enough.

She took a quill and inkwell out of her saddlebag and upon realizing the ink was completely frozen, removed a piece of charcoal instead. Then, she used the charcoal and a ruler to draw a line from their current location to Manehattan. If her soldiers performed as well tomorrow as they had today, if the ponies continued to keep up, and the weather held out, they could be in Manehattan with six hours of marching. She’d keep most of her forces outside of the city, of course, sending in a small team of earth ponies with carts to get supplies. She’d send a few changeling officers as well. She didn’t completely trust the ponies to bring back uncensored versions of the news. The changeling officers would have to be in disguise since she didn’t completely trust the ponies in Manehattan to delivered uncensored versions of the news either if they knew there were changelings listening. Unfortunately, that meant the chosen officers were going to have to deplete their magic reserves even further with the transformation spell. But there was nothing to be done about that.

“Permission to enter, Ma’am?” the voice of one of her changeling soldiers called from outside, interrupting her thoughts.

“Enter,” she responded.

The soldier pulled the tent flap open, a cold gust of air blowing in as he entered. He quickly pulled the flap shut again before turning around and saluting, raising his right hoof to his chest. She returned the salute, then he continued.

“Sergeant Rasahus has returned. They captured Captain Skydart. He’s currently being held in the staging tent.”

“Good news, private. Send Sergeant Rasahus in to brief me. I’ll interrogate Skydart afterwards.”

“Yes, Ma’am,” the private responded with another salute which she returned. Then, he turned around and left the tent, another blast of frigid air barging its way in as he opened the flap.

Auraria smiled to herself once the flap was closed, feeling at least some of her concerns begin to melt away like ice in front of the fire on her brazier. At least now, she’d have information.

o.O.o

The smell of salt began to fade from Gilda’s nostrils, a sure sign that she’d crossed the western coast of the Sea of Tears and was now in Equestrian airspace. She allowed herself a sigh of relief. At least she’d be safe from griffon patrols now. She couldn’t let her guard down too much, though. She still had Pegasus Guard patrols to worry about. Hopefully, if she encountered any, they’d simply escort her to Canterlot. On the other talon, they might be in attack first, ask questions later mode, if they were still angry about the attack on Ponyville. She also couldn’t be certain that all of the pegasus guards had gotten the memo that she was working for Twilight Sparkle, or that they would recognize her even if they had. More than likely, they’d suspect that a lone griffon was a spy.

She winced as the wound in her side burned and pulsed, the muscle beginning to cramp again. The burning and cramping was traveling up her wing muscle now, making it difficult for her to maintain a straight course. If she wasn’t careful, she’d miss Canterlot. That was the best case scenario. The worse was that a severe enough cramp would cause her to spin out of control, sending her crashing to the ground. The only good news was that it couldn’t be bleeding anymore. If it had still been bleeding, she would have bled out a long time ago.

She flew on for hours, cold, tired, hungry, and the pain in her side growing in intensity. It was the only part of her that didn’t feel frozen. Instead, it felt like a hot coal was being pressed onto it, the burn growing ever outward and larger.

The darkness she flew in was complete and total, as if she were swimming through an ocean of black ink. She couldn’t even tell whether she was in clouds or in clear air. And yet, she flew on, the minutes and hours droaning by. The never changing darkness made it feel as though time had stopped, as well as made it very difficult to keep track of how much time had passed. The nagging thought that she had flown too far north or south and overshot Canterlot completely began to gnaw at her like a diamond dog gnawing on a bone. She was beginning to think she should turn around, but how could she know whether she’d already flown passed Canterlot or not? A growing fear that she was hopelessly lost began to stab at her.

Twinkling lights began to appear in the distant sky as the light of the stars broke through the clouds. She said a quick prayer of thanks to the First Lioness and the First Eagle for the break in the overcast sky. Once she were out from underneath the clouds, the light of the stars should be just bright enough for her excellent night vision to make out the ground. Of all the races in Equestria, the griffons had the best vision by far, benefitting from both the superb night vision of their leonine ancestors, as well as the excellent day vision of their eagle ancestors.

Suddenly, she realized something was wrong. The starlit area was approaching way too quickly given how far away it had been on the horizon. At the same time, the stars seemed to be moving rapidly closer to the horizon. Panic flooded over her, adrenaline shooting through her veins as she realized those weren’t stars at all. They were the lights of a city! She was flying upside down! That meant the control feathers on her wings were reversed. Every time she thought she was making an adjustment to fly higher, she’d actually been bringing herself closer to the ground!

The lights rushed to meet the horizon as she slammed the angle of her wings in the other direction — a direction that would normally pitch her sharpy towards the ground, but since she was upside down, would pitch her sharply upward instead. Vertigo crashed into her as all of her senses screamed at her that she was diving towards the ground instead of climbing, the inverted horizon illusion making the feeling almost overpowering. It took all of her willpower to convince herself that her senses were lying to her and she was doing the exact opposite of what they told her she was. Sharp, stinging pain flooded the upper surfaces of her wings as the tops of trees slapped and whipped her, branches like living, grasping, fingers trying to grab her and slam her into the ground. She pumped her wings frantically in a desperate quest for altitude. And still, the trees slapped and whipped at her. Eternity seemed to pass, and then, she was clear of the trees, the lights becoming visible on the horizon once again.

Her heart pounded as she tried to catch her breath, still flying upside down as she continued to climb. Once she was sure she’d reached a safe altitude, she banked her wings, rolling herself right side up. Again, her senses lied to her, doing their best to convince her that she had actually rolled inverted. And again, it took all of her willpower not to obey what her senses were trying to tell her. For several seconds, her will fought a desperate battle for survival against her lying senses. Finally, her senses yielded to her, the vertigo disappeared, and she was able to focus again.

She cursed the wound in her side as she realized what had happened. One of the cramps in her wing muscles must have caused her to roll inverted without realizing it. She’d probably been too distracted with the cramp itself. She also cursed herself for that. Distraction was no excuse for her to have forgotten her basic flight training. Inverted horizon illusion at night was a serious danger to any aviator. And something that had been drilled into her during flight safety training. Inverted horizon illusion combined with vertigo was often deadly.

With near disaster averted, she took stock of her situation. Unless she’d flown ridiculously far off course, the lights in front of her must be Canterlot. If she were reasonably on course, no other city would be close enough, even if she’d overshot Canterlot, there was no city north or west of Canterlot that was large enough to produce such a large pattern of twinkling lights.

As she flew closer to the lights, the towers of Canterlot Castle began to fade into view, the banners of the Sun and Moon on top of the spires challenging the wind, daring it to try to rip them down. So far, it appeared the wind had failed to do so.

She smiled to herself, thinking of that warm fire, that warm mug of mulled wine … well, warm cider since the ponies didn’t serve alcohol, and the fact that she’d be sleeping in the finest guest room in the castle tonight. Don’t get too hasty, she told herself. First, she had to make it inside the castle walls without the Pegasus Guard patrols attacking her.

She pitched up, climbing higher until the lights began to be obscured by mist, looking like ghosts on the horizon. Then, very slowly, she descended again until they became clear. In this way, she kept the cloud layer just above her, skimming the bottom of it, able to dart back up into it anytime she wanted to avoid being seen. As she flew close to the castle, the silhouettes of armored pegasi circling the parameter became visible. She could see them in the bright lights of the castle, but she knew there was no way they could see her, yet. She slowed down, observing the patterns they were flying, timing how long it took them to make one complete circle over the castle, then smirked to herself as she formed a plan and darted up into the overcast clouds above her, the lights once again disappearing from view. Her plan was to come in over the castle wall obscured in the clouds, then wait until she was sure the patrolling guards were on the exact opposite side of the castle. Then, she’d dive down through the clouds. They’d see her when she broke through, of course, but her plan was to come in so fast and steep that she’d be on the ground in the courtyard before they could reach her. Then, she’d have only the unicorn and earth pony guards to deal with on the ground. But she’d be able to talk to them before they attacked her. In the air, with the wind noise rushing around them, it would be highly unlikely the pegasus guards would hear her if she tried talking to them.

She flew forward now, carefully noting her speed and timing, stopping when she was certain she must be just over the end of the wall. Then, she waited, counting by the seconds. When she was certain the pegasus guards were on the other side of the castle, she folded her wings and pitched herself towards the ground, diving straight down. The wind whipped past her, ruffling her feathers as she gained speed. Then, she broke out of the base of the clouds, the courtyard ground rushing up to meet her. At the last second, she pulled out of her dive, spreading her wings wide to slow herself quickly. She landed hard, but still on her feet. The shouting of guards greeted her ears as she folded her wings and quickly gathered in her surroundings. Earth pony and unicorn guards were rushing at her from all sides. They were shouting at her, but she payed no attention to what they were saying and she shouted over the top of them.

“You will take me to see Twilight Sparkle at once! No, you will take me to the infirmary and tend to my wound, and you will send Twilight Sparkle to me!”

The guards stopped rushing at her, having her surrounded now. None of them made any move to attack her, but the sergeant in charge began chewing her out as if she were one of his own soldiers.

“What in the name of Celestia was that! Do you have any idea how reckless that dive out of the clouds was! I don’t know who you think you are, but you can’t just come in here and —”

“I know where Princess Luna is,” she interrupted.

The sergeant shut up immediately, a stunned expression on his muzzle for a brief second before he turned to the guard next to him.

“Private, send for Miss Sparkle. Ask her to meet me in the infirmary immediately … And inform Captain Stardust of the Lunar Guard to meet us there as well.”

Author's note: Sorry for the very long delay between the last chapter and this one. I won't make any excuses other than to say I was dealing with some issues which have been resolved. This chapter is a bit short, but I've already got some of chapter 60 written, so another chapter will probably be coming out next week. Thank you so much for your patience and your continued interest in this story.

60 - Interrogation of a Captain

Chapter 60: Interrogation of a Captain

“Good work, Sergeant Rasahus,” Auraria said with a slight smile as the changeling who had lead the mission to capture Captain Skydart finished his report on the mission. “I think a promotion to Master Sergeant might be in order for this.”

“Thank you, Ma’am,” Rasahus responded. It was obvious to Auraria that it was an effort for him to maintain his military composure and not show his excitement. The Changeling Army didn’t hand out promotions easily, especially not to higher levels of non-commissioned officer. When a promotion was given, it meant that the changeling receiving it had truly performed above and beyond the call of duty.

“Go get Skydart,” she ordered. “Let’s find out just what his game is.”

“Yes, Ma’am,” Rasahus responded, giving a salute, which she returned before he turned around and left the tent. Once he was gone and the flap had been closed, she smiled to herself, rubbing her forehooves together lightly against the cold. Finally, she’d get the answers she needed. She got up and walked over to her brazier, adding a couple more coals to the fire, which sizzled and popped as the new coals began to smolder before catching flame, the glowing embers continuing their seemingly never ending battle to push more of the cold back outside of her tent. She warmed her forehooves for a minute or so before returning to her map table, standing on the side of it opposite to the tent flap. She wanted the table between her and Captain Skydart, as it would add to the sense that she was in control here.

“Permission to enter Ma’am? We have Captain Skydart,” Sergeant Rasahus called from outside.

“Enter,” she responded, taking up a stiff composure, looking directly at the tent flap as the ties were undone and the flap pulled aside by one of the changeling guards. Sergeant Rasahus entered first, followed by two changeling guards behind him on either side. Between them, Captain Skydart reluctantly marched in. He stopped once, refusing to move, but a prod from another changeling soldier behind him got him moving again. Once they were inside the tent, Sergeant Rasahus turned to his right, marching to the tent wall before turning around and taking up position, standing at attention, and Auraria got her first unobstructed view of Captain Skydart.

The pegasus looked a little frazzled, his mane and tail roughed up, and a slight amount of blood running down his shoulder. It was clear he hadn’t been captured without a struggle. Other than that, he appeared no worse for wear. He moved a little slowly, but that was due to the manacles locked around all four of his hooves, which were in turn connected to each other with short lengths of chain that didn’t allow for taking very large steps. In addition to the hoof restraints, nylon straps were wrapped around his midsection, securing both of his wings firmly to his sides. He stared directly at her, his eyes fixed on hers and blazing with fury and indignation, but he said nothing. She caught him glancing slightly to the left and right a couple of times, as if he were looking for some avenue of escape. But with the manacles and chains binding his hooves, and the nylon cord securing his wings, it was clear he wouldn’t be going anywhere. Auraria paced behind her desk now, in a manner that suggested she wasn’t intimidated by his fiery glare, and that he didn’t even warrant her full attention. Then, she broke the silence, speaking in an emotionless tone.

“I thought you might show a little more gratitude, Skydart, given my soldiers risked their lives to rescue you “

“It’s Captain Skydart, not just Skydart,” he shot back. “As an officer in the Royal Guard, I believe I’ve earned the right to be addressed by my rank.”

She stopped pacing and turned to look directly at him now, returning his fiery glare with an icy one of her own. “In my view, you lost that right when you betrayed us by leading us into an ambush!” she stated coldly, allowing just a hint of anger to enter her voice.

“Betrayed? Ambush? You dare make those accusations against me? Perhaps you’ve forgotten who is in charge of this army? Who is the Supreme Commander of all of Equestria’s military forces in the absence of Captain Swordstorm? Your insubordination will not be tolerated, cockroach! That ambush caught me completely by surprise just as it did you!”

Cockroach. There was that word again. The worst racial insult that anyone could use on a changeling. But she didn’t let it rattle her. Not at all. After all, if she gave any hint she was rattled, it would let him know he’d gotten under her chitin. And that would erode her control of the situation. Instead, she responded calmly, completely ignoring the insult.

“That’s not what my soldiers tell me,” she said as she nonchalantly walked to the other side of her desk again, still keeping it between him and her. “They observed you for several minutes before mounting the rescue. They tell me they saw you sitting at a campfire talking and drinking coffee with your griffon captors. They tell me they even heard you and them cracking jokes with each other.”

He scoffed slightly at that. “I did no such thing. You think Her Majesty is going to believe the word of some changeling soldiers? You think an Equestrian court is going to believe it?”

“Is the word of a few changeling soldiers going to be enough to convict you in Equestrian court? Probably not,” she said, then stopped in the center of her desk, turning to glare directly at him again. “But you won’t be standing trial in an Equestrian court. You’ll be standing trial in front of a Changeling military tribunal.”

That seemed to rattle his composure a bit. He blinked, and for a brief moment, the fiery glare in his eyes was replaced by a look of fear. But he recovered quick enough.

“On what grounds?” he demanded.

“On the grounds that your traitorous actions directly resulted in the deaths of four changeling soldiers.”

He sneered at that, still keeping most of his composure. He was proving to be a bit tough to crack. But Auraria knew she’d get him sooner or later.

“You really think Princess Celestia would stand for that? The Supreme Commander of her Royal Guard standing trial in front of a Changeling military tribunal?”

“Oh, she might lodge a formal complaint,“ Auraria responded, walking to the other side of her desk again and looking at one of her maps. “But there’s nothing she can do about it under international law. Given four changelings are dead as a direct result of your actions, the Changeling Empire is an affected party, and we are well within our international rights to hold you accountable and bring you to justice.” She looked up from the map, returning her attention to him. “Besides, given you are guilty of high treason that resulted in the deaths of five royal guards, how inclined do you think she’ll actually be to violate international law to get you back?”

“This all presumes you actually had any proof, other than the word of a few of your lying cockroach underlings.”

Auraria had to admit, a large part of her wanted to jump over the desk and slap this insolent pony right across the muzzle. But despite the fact that he’d used that insult again, she managed to maintain her composure when she responded.

“Actually, I do. I’ve already spoken with the unicorn guards who accompanied my changeling soldiers on the rescue mission. They corroborated the report given by my own soldiers. Now I ask you … do you actually think Princess Celestia is going to believe that four of her own guards conspired with changelings to concoct this story about their own high commander? Does that even make any sense?”

That got him. This time his eyes darted from left to right. The emotion coming off of him changed from one of smugness and arrogance to one of uncertainty, mixed with some fear. She waited several seconds, and when he still hadn’t answered her question, she pressed him a bit more.

“I can have those unicorns brought in if you want to hear it from their own mouths. If you don’t believe me that they corroborated the story told by the changelings.”

Again, she waited several seconds, and he still didn’t answer her, but that arrogance and smugness that had been wafting off of him just a minute earlier was now completely gone. In its place, was only fear and uncertainty. Again his eyes, darted to the left, then the right, as if he were once again looking for some avenue of escape. She knew she had him now. She moved back to the center of her desk so she was directly in front of him again, then she propped her forehooves on it, leaning over it slightly to get just a bit closer to him.

“Here’s the deal I’m offering you, Skydart. Cooperate with this interrogation, tell me what you know, and I’ll send you back to Equestria to face treason charges under your own law. Don’t cooperate, and you’ll be at the Hive by this time tomorrow, sitting in a changeling dungeon cell while you await trial on murder charges under our law. If you choose that option, I can say with virtual certainty that you’ll never see Equestria again, and after your trial, you’ll never see anything outside of a changeling military prison again.” She took her forehooves off the table now, going back to all fours on the ground. “The choice is yours, Skydart.”

Again, he didn’t respond, but now he wouldn’t even make eye contact with her, and the fear emotions flowed off of him like water flowing down a fountain. She gave him several more seconds to respond, then turned to Sergeant Rasahus.

“Prepare a prisoner transport to leave for the Hive, Sergeant. And send a forward messenger to inform dungeon unit four to prepare a cell for a pegasus guard prisoner. Tell them to make sure it’s in the maximum security section, given the status of the prisoner.”

“Yes, Ma’am,” Rasahus responded, giving a salute before turning and making his way towards the tent opening.

“No, wait!” Skydart called out loudly.

“Put that order on hold. At least temporarily, Sergeant,” Auraria said.

“Yes Ma’am,” Rasahus responded, returning to his post at the side of the tent, standing at attention once again. Auraria returned her attention to Captain Skydart now, once again, looking directly at him, although he still avoided eye contact with her.

“I don’t know why you did it. I don’t want to know why you did it. That’s for the court, whichever court that ends up being, to figure out. What I want to know, is how much danger you put my soldiers in. All of my soldiers, including the ponies that used to be yours.” She put her forehooves back up on the table again, leaning over it towards him for emphasis. “And if it later turns out that you lied to me, or you weren’t completely forthcoming with information, this deal is off, and you’ll be on that transport to the Hive. Understood?”

“Un … understood,” he responded, all of the arrogance gone from his voice now.

“Good,” she responded, taking her forehooves off the table and returning to all fours again. “Has the Northern Fortress fallen?”

“Yes … It fell about five days ago,” he responded in a defeated tone, looking at the ground now.

Auraria felt her heart sink as her worst fears were confirmed. But she pushed it to the back of her mind for now and didn’t let any of her emotions show. For now, she just had to focus on the interrogation.

“Does Canterlot know?”

“Probably not. None of the messengers who tried to leave got away alive.”

“Did they slaughter everypony?”

“No. Most of them were placed in the fortress dungeon. Only the ones that tried to leave with messages were killed.”

She felt a bit of relief over that. Other than the obvious relief over the fact that there hadn’t been a wholesale slaughter at the fortress, it also meant that once she’d retaken the fortress, assuming she could do so, she’d be able to add the original defenders to her ranks to prevent it from falling again.

“What kind of forces they got there?” she prodded.

“Mostly griffons. Some aislings. Some pegasi, and a few unicorns.”

“Numbers, Skydart.”

“I don’t have exact numbers. But it’s somewhere around forty thousand griffons, three thousand aislings, probably around a hundred pegasi, and twenty-five to fifty unicorns.”

“And the unicorns will presumably be using light spells to light up the entire approach to the fortress?” That meant she’d have to deploy smoke spells to obscure their approach. Smoke spells were a mixed bag. Yes, they prevented the enemy from seeing her advancing troops. But they also prevented her troops from seeing the enemy.

“Light spells?” he said with a snort. “That’s the least of your worries. They’ve got unicorns who know life detect spells. Even if you smoke the entire area, your forces are gonna light up like fireworks, especially in the darkness. Smoke isn’t gonna protect you.”

She frowned at that. “Is there a counterspell for the life detect spell?”

“That’s classified information,” he responded bluntly.

“Given the circumstances, the rules on what information our two sides can keep classified from each other have changed somewhat, Skydart. And besides, our expedition to the fortress was also supposed to be classified. That didn’t seem to deter you from telling our enemies about it.”

“Yes, there’s a counterspell,” he sighed. “But again, it’s classified. Not many unicorns guards know it. And given the highest ranking unicorn in this camp is a PFC, I sincerely doubt there are any here who know it.”

Well, that definitely complicated things. Somehow, she’d have to pick up at least a few unicorns who could counter the life detect spells. She added it to her list of things to do when they reached Manehattan tomorrow.

“What about other raids?” she prompted. “I’ve already figured out they’re using the fortress to stage attacks deep into Equestria. When are the next ones planned for? And what is their target?”

“There’s a large attack scheduled four days from now. The target is Hoofington. They’ve been ordered to occupy the town and kill one hundred residents every day.”

Damn! Auraria thought to herself. This really put a kink in her plans. Better if they’d been planning to attack Canterlot than Hoofington. The city defense at Canterlot would have been large enough, and well equipped enough to hold the city against an attack, especially after she’d sent a messenger to give them advance warning that the attack was coming. She could have had her forces lay low, quietly wait until the attack forces had left the fortress, and then launched her assault when it had been mostly emptied. But not now. Not with Hoofington as the target. Even with advance warning, there’d be no way that the defense garrisons at Hoofington could hold against a combined attacking force of griffons and aislings. The simple fact was, her forces were now the only thing standing between Hoofington, and an attacking force nearly forty thousand strong — a force that intended to kill all the residents of the town once it got there. There was no decision for her to make, really. She had to scrub her mission to take the fortress, and instead, divert west to ambush the raid on Hoofington before it ever got near the town.

And the part that irked her the most, was she knew damn well that she was doing exactly what they wanted her to do! She hadn’t been born yesterday, and it was obvious to her that the reason they were targeting small towns with no strategic military value was specifically to drive Equestria’s forces away from the Northern border by forcing them to stay in the more populated southern regions to protect the civilian towns. Or worse, to liberate towns that had already been taken. After all, with the edict that they were going to kill one hundred residents every day, it was unthinkable to anyone to consider allowing the towns to wait it out until a better opportunity for liberation came along. And because of that, she had no choice. It was unthinkable to her to allow a mostly undefended civilian population to be targeted like that. She forced her thoughts back to the interrogation for now.

“Are there any other traitors in our ranks?”

“No. At least none that I’m aware of,” Skydart responded.

It wasn’t lost on her that he’d left himself an out by including the that I’m aware of part on the end. Nevertheless, she decided he was probably telling the truth. Given the highest ranking pony soldier in her command was a private first class, it’s unlikely there were any ponies among her who would have been targeted for recruitment by the Beyond or its agents.

“Will the unicorns go on the raid?” she asked.

“Probably not. They’ll almost certainly stay behind and protect the fortress.”

At least that meant no life detect spells to light up her soldiers. But it didn’t mean no magic, as she’d already seen that the aislings were capable of using magical attacks.

“Is there anything else you want to add? Think very hard, Skydart, and remember what I said about not being completely forthcoming with information.”

“There’s nothing,” Skydart said with a sigh. Auraria looked at him for a bit longer before turning to Sergeant Rasahus again.

“Take Skydart back to the staging tent and keep him under guard. I’ll send for him when I need him again.”

“Yes, Ma’am,” he responded, giving her a salute before turning and rejoining the rest of the guards. Then, the four of them marched their prisoner out of the tent.

Auraria watched them and waited until the tent flap was closed, then returned her attention to her maps, although her thoughts were really only half on them right now. This new development really threw a wrench into her plans. Resupplying in Manehattan tomorrow was no longer in the cards. Instead, she’d have to turn northwest to intercept the attack on Hoofington. That meant she would have to start rationing food, something she absolutely hated doing given she’d have to send her forces into battle in four days. She might even have to resort to sending some of her soldiers on a hunting expedition. That would supply extra food for the changelings, although she had no idea whether the ponies would eat meat or not. Not even in an emergency. However, she hoped their desire to protect one of their own towns from mass genocide would outweigh their taboo against meat eating. She dismissed the thought of resupplying in Hoofington without ever giving it any serious consideration. Despite the fact that her new mission was to protect the town, she had no intention of actually getting anywhere near it. Her plan was to halt the attempted attack at least two days march to the northeast of the town. If the attackers were able to drive her forces far enough southwest to make resupplying in Hoofington an option, that would mean she’d lost the battle. Besides that, Hoofington was a small town. There’d be no way they could resupply an army of nearly twenty five thousand soldiers without draining their town dry, leaving nothing for the town’s residents to survive on. For now, she’d stick to her original plan of resupplying in Manehattan. She’d just have to delay it for about a week.

Briefly, she turned her thoughts to what to do with Skydart. She didn’t really want to haul him all the way to the Northern Fortress, and she considered dropping him off in Manehattan and letting the Royal Guard there deal with him. She decided against that, though. She wanted to maintain control of his fate until after the battle for Northern Fortress. That would ensure her threat about sending him to the Hive to face trial would continue to hold weight, just in case there was any more information he was still withholding. And besides, he might prove useful to have around when she was making her battle plans for assaulting the fortress.

“Well, I might as well go give the troops the good news,” she said to herself, walking around the map table, pulling the tent flap open, and stepping out into the biting wind. She looked around, surveying the scene in the flickering light of the campfires and lanterns. They were almost done with cleanup from the evening meal. The rest of the cleanup could wait.

“All units, fall in!” she called out loudly.

The soldiers nearest her immediately stopped what they were doing and passed her order further out. She listened as her order rippled outward from the center of the camp, the dull chatter went silent, and all of her soldiers fell into formation in front of her.

For several moments, she said nothing, taking in the scene before her in silence. A scene she never thought she’d ever see in her lifetime. The scene of almost twenty five thousand ponies, changelings, and griffons, standing shoulder to shoulder. All fighting in the same army. All united for a common goal.

When they had all fallen into perfect formation, she addressed them as loudly as she could, ensuring everyone all the way to the last row in the formation could hear.

“The Northern Fortress has fallen. We’re going to have to retake it.”

A collective groan arose from the assembled soldiers. No individual soldier made their frustration known very loudly, but multiplied by almost twenty five thousand, their dismay at the news was clear.

“We’re taking a little detour first, though,” she continued. “As I suspected, Skydart lead us into that ambush earlier.”

At that, calls for a field trial and instant justice arose from some angered changelings. At the same time, calls of denial arose from some of the ponies. She raised a forehoof, quickly restoring order.

“In the process of interrogating him, I learned that an attack on Hoofington is being launched from the fortress in four days. We’re marching northwest to intercept that attack.”

She was about to continue when a griffon in the middle of the gathered soldiers shouted out loudly.

“Why should we risk our lives to save a village of ponies? Especially when we have a larger mission to attend to? Let the ponies protect their own town!”

“They’re going to kill one hundred of the town’s residents every day after they take it,” she stated before any other griffons could rally to support his sentiment. “Even if we were at war with the ponies themselves, it would be barbaric and immoral for us to allow such wanton aggression against civilians. Hoofington is a peaceful farming community. And the City Guard there isn’t nearly large enough to defend the town against an ambush of nearly forty thousand. The majority of these attacking forces are griffons, by the way,” she added, focusing her full attention on the griffon who had spoken. “I’d suggest you have a moral duty to stop your own comrades from engaging in such a moral atrocity.”

“But forty thousand of them? They outnumber us by nearly fifteen thousand!” the same griffon protested.

“Yes, they do. Would you rather face them while they are holed up behind those fortress walls? Better to face them in the open.” She also wanted to argue that they’d have the element of a surprise ambush on the invasion force. Unfortunately, she didn’t think they actually would. Their enemies knew they had rescued Skydart. They also probably knew that she had figured out Skydart had betrayed them. Given that, she had to assume they knew she’d be intercepting the attack. The best she could likely hope for is that they’d underestimate how much ground her troops could cover in a day’s march, so she’d at least be able to surprise them by intercepting them far sooner than they thought possible.

“Even better, I’d rather let the attack leave and then assault a nearly empty fortress,” the arguing griffon responded.

Auraria was well aware that would obviously be the safest plan. It would also be the plan their enemies would be least likely to suspect, given they’d consider it inconceivable that she’d allow them to launch such a genocidal attack on Hoofington unchallenged. She knew she was letting her enemy choose her battles for her; something that was a huge mistake in warfare. But in this instance, there was nothing she could do about it.

“We could do that,” she acknowledged. “If we wanted to abandon all sense of decency and morality. If we wanted to forsake our honor as soldiers and disgrace ourselves by doing nothing to protect a population of innocent civilians.”

“They’re still ponies,” the obstinate griffon shot back. “It’s not our responsibility to protect Equestrian towns.”

“They’re still innocent civilians! And there are no other battalions between there and Hoofington who can protect them!” she fired back, feeling her anger reach a boiling point at the insubordinate griffon. “We have a moral responsibility to stop this genocide!”

“Assuming we could stop it. We’re outnumbered by fifteen thousand. We’ll get slaughtered.”

“No we won’t,” one of her changeling soldiers interjected loudly. “We have something they don’t. We have Commander Auraria!”

A cheer of approval arose from the rest of the changelings soldiers. Even some of the ponies joined in cheering her. She felt emotions of pride and love for her flowing from both her own soldiers, and the ponies that had joined in. A nagging worry told her those emotions might be premature. Nevertheless, her mind was made up, She wasn’t about to allow genocide against an entire town.

“We will intercept the attacking force. This discussion is closed,” she said sternly, giving the protesting griffon a look that left no doubt that further argument would result in disciplinary action. The griffon opened his beak briefly, but then apparently thought better of it, closing it again. She turned her head first left, then right, surveying her assembled soldiers. Wisely, no one else raised any further objections.

“I’ll be in my tent planning the interception,” she continued. “In one hour, I want the two highest ranking griffons, pegasi, earth ponies, and unicorns to join me. Also, Sergeant Rasahus will join me. I want to go over plans with all of you.”

“Yes, Ma’am!” they all responded in unison.

“Good. For now, you may all return to your normal duties. Dismissed!”

All of the assembled soldiers saluted her, each in the way that was standard protocol for their own army. Then, she watched them all fall out, the dull chatter resuming as she turned around and went back into her tent, pulling the flap shut and locking the chill wind outside.

She walked to her brazier, adding a couple more coals to the smoldering embers and bringing the fire back to life, once again, chasing the biting cold out of the tent. Then, she returned to her map table, raising the wicks on the lamps slightly, forcing the shadows to the corners of the tent.

She might not be able to choose her battle in this case, but at least she could choose when and how it would be fought. Looking at the map area between Hoofington and the Northern Fortress, she noted an area of open terrain bordered on two sides by dense forest, which would provide cover and make it difficult for the enemy to target her forces from the air. But best of all, were the high, rocky cliffs that provided a funnel, wider towards the fortress, and narrowing in the direction towards Hoofington. That would provide a natural squeeze point, forcing the attacking forces to close up their ranks. Furthermore, the high cliffs would prevent the enemy from using any flanking attacks against her forces. The position should be very defensible, and she estimated they could get there with seventeen hours of hard marching tomorrow. That was harder than she liked to push her troops on a march, but it would get them there a full three days before the attackers arrived. That would allow them plenty of time for rest and recovery, as well as allow time for her to finalize her plans and get all her forces in position once she’d physically surveyed the surrounding terrain.

“Permission to enter, Ma’am?” a voice asked from outside that sounded more like a pony than a changeling.

“Enter,” she responded.

The tent flap opened, revealing the pegasus guard she had fought with after they’d been ambushed. He secured the tent flap after entering, then turned around and gave her a salute, which she returned.

“What’s on your mind?” she asked in a neutral tone, making good on her promise to forget the whole incident from earlier as long as he didn’t cause any further trouble.

“Ma’am, I just wanted to … apologize for my behavior earlier … And to say that I’m … I’m honored and proud to be serving under you. If anyone can get us through this mess alive … well, I think you are probably the one … That’s all I wanted to say.”

For a moment, she was caught off guard by the unexpected praise, but she gathered herself quickly and responded.

“Thank you. And I’m greatly appreciative of your confidence.”

“Ma’am,” he said before saluting again. She returned the salute, and he turned, exiting the tent and pulling the flap shut again.

She looked at her maps again, although she wasn’t really looking at them. That had definitely been unexpected. At least coming that particular pegasus. If even he was beginning to respect her, hopefully that meant the rest of the ponies were as well. The coming week, and the coming battles, would determine whether she was worthy of that respect or not. They would be the defining moments of her military career. The battles that would either cement her place in history as one of the greatest changeling commanders that ever lived, or as a shining military star that burned brightly for a short time, only to explode in a supernova that took all of the forces under her command with her. She’d never shied away from responsibility before, nor had she ever doubted her own abilities. But for the first time, doubt plagued her, and she felt that she was too young to have this level of responsibility placed on her. Everyone would play their part and have their moment in this war. But in this particular moment, the fate of Hoofington, and possibly the fate of the entire world, rested squarely in the hooves of one young changeling commander.

61 - A Mission to Plan

“The bond that was broken before time shall be reforged with fire and light, and they shall remake the world according to their will. Every being shall rejoice and be stricken with fear.” — Prophecies and Predictions of Star Swirl the Bearded. Date unknown.

Chapter 61: A Mission to Plan

Celestia stood facing into the wind, the pounding rain battering her muzzle and the storm pulling at her mane and tail like a flag whipping in the wind. She squinted her eyes slightly, keeping out the driving rain drops. Lightning flashed in the sky above her and a loud crack of thunder reverberated off the Montana mountains, rolling and echoing like an explosion. She held her ground, narrowing her eyes as if challenging the storm, all four of her hooves in a wide stance. Her horn glowed with a golden aura and a razor-thin beam of light shot from the tip into the clouds. Immediately, the wind started to subside, the driving rain became a light drizzle, and the clouds began to break apart. A minute later, shafts of sunlight began to penetrate the ever thinning clouds. A couple of minutes after that, the sky was clear. Only her wet fur, the small puddles on the ground, the light pitter-patter of rain dripping off trees, and the fresh, clean smell of ozone in the air remained as evidence that the storm had ever existed at all. Birds began to chirp, and the wild critters of the forest emerged from their places of shelter.

She turned and started walking back to the cabin where Eric and the others were working. The storm she had just dissipated was not the one her quarrel was with. Using magic to destroy a small summer thunderstorm in Montana was one thing. Destroying the category five hurricane she had seen on the news that was churning towards a state called Georgia in this country she found herself in would be a quite another. It was beyond her ability, she knew. Breaking up a hurricane that large, or even just turning it out to sea, would require at least three entire squadrons of weather pegasi. Destroying the small thunderstorm overhead had been cathartic — a way to vent her frustration that she couldn’t destroy the hurricane in the east. But it had accomplished nothing of practical value.

She lit her horn again, casting a quick drying spell on herself to dry her coat before stepping inside, then used a small amount of magic to open the door. Immediately, she had to turn to the left and walk a wide circle to get to the back of the cabin. Almost all of the open space in the cabin’s main room was now taken up by a large, donut-shaped metal device that had wires and pipes attached to virtually every part of it. The wires were strung along the floor and taped to the walls, each one connected to a computer, some other part of the device, or some kind of monitoring device with various knobs and displays. Not only had the main room started to look like some kind of mad scientist’s lab, but navigating the maze of wire on the floor without tripping had become a challenge for all of them. But time was of the essence, so they hadn’t invested any effort on luxuries such as making the thing look nice. Eric had called the large donut-shaped device a cyclotron, and said that it was a miniature version of the device that had sent James to Equestria. Of course, it was far less powerful than that one. That one had been able to produce one trillion electron volts of energy. The miniature one in the cabin could only produce about one million. That wasn’t nearly enough to send her back to Equestria, Eric had explained. Not even with unicorns using magic to pull from the other side. But it was enough for them to generate small scale experiments, gather data, and then interpolate the results to much larger levels of energy. At least, that was the plan. Nothing like this had ever been intentionally done before, and no one knew for sure whether any formulas or values calculated from them would still hold when they actually punched a hole in the veil between two dimensions to send her home. This was an uncharted area of quantum physics that even Eric couldn’t be certain about.

After working her way in a large half-circle around the device, stepping carefully to avoid tripping on the wires, she stood in the doorway to the kitchen on the other side of the room where Eric and the others were gathered and discussing the results of their latest round of experiments. They paid her no mind, not even wondering about the storm that had suddenly disappeared. Destroying thunderstorms had become somewhat of a routine habit for her over the last couple of days since she’d learned about the hurricane eyeing the east coast. For the most part, she paid them no mind when they were working either. She wished there was more she could do to help, but most of the discussions they had were beyond her. For the most part, she stayed out of the way, only contributing to their work when they had specific questions about the magical aspects of the plan Twilight and James had sent them. For the moment, however, it seemed they were not discussing mathematical formulas she didn’t understand, and so she listened more closely.

“The parameters James and Twilight sent us assumed we would be sending Celestia home from Fermilab in Chicago. But obviously, that’s not going to be possible,” Eric was saying. “Fortunately, they sent us the formulas they used to create the parameters, so we’ll be able to create new parameters.” He paused and sighed, rubbing his temples with thumb and index finger as if he had a headache before continuing. “Unfortunately, it’s not going to be that simple. Twilight will be targeting Chicago because she assumes that’s where we’re going to be. In Equestria, they don’t know the tevatron was destroyed beyond repair. Somehow, we are going to have to send a message to her letting her know the new parameters, and they are going to have to adjust on their end too.”

“But we can’t send anything to them because Twilight said the dimensional energy is currently polarized against us, so it’s only possible to send things from there to here. Which means we have a new problem we have to solve, and we aren’t going to get any help from Twilight or James on this one,” Thomas stated.

“Exactly. Anyone have any ideas?” Eric asked, looking around the table at the others.

“One. But it’s radical,” Michael responded.

“Right now, even radical ideas are better than no ideas,” Eric said.

“We could bend the portal ourselves to make up for the location difference.”

Eric shook his head slightly. “It’d require too much power. We’d melt the superconductors, assuming we didn’t blow out the transformers first.”

“If we tried to maintain it long enough to send Celestia home, yes. But what if we only maintained it long enough to send the revised calculations through? Then we could drop the power level and Twilight and her team would be able to make the necessary corrections to their … their magical tractor beam or whatever it is.”

Eric smiled slightly at that. “Interesting idea. It might work. You did an internship at RHIC, right? Is it powerful enough to do it?”

Michael shook his head. “Not nearly. There’s only one accelerator in the world that has even a chance of being powerful enough to do it.”

Eric frowned and his expression took on a troubled appearance. “The Large Hadron Collider … So now all we have to do is figure out how we are going to smuggle an alicorn and a pegasus into Switzerland … And once we do that, we have come up with a way to commandeer the LHC control room.” He rubbed his temples again, as if whatever headache he might have had earlier had just gotten much worse. “Could this possibly —”

He cut his statement short when he noticed her standing in the kitchen doorway. She knew he’d stopped short for her benefit. But it was already too late. She didn’t need him to finish the sentence for her own expression to take on the same troubled appearance as his.

o.O.o

Later that night, Celestia rested in the bedroom they had given her. It was completely dark outside her window, and it still felt strange to her that she didn’t have to lower the sun. The moon was just starting to rise, and silver light glittered and danced off the snow of the distant mountains like thousands of twinkling stars. Moonrise was the hardest time for her. Every night, for a brief moment, she found herself thinking her sister was here, and that everything was going to be okay. But only for a moment. Then she would remember that just like the sun, the moon rose and set of its own accord here. And then the reality of the situation would slam back into her as if she were standing in the middle of a train track staring down the Canterlot Express.

She closed her eyes and tried to sleep again, but so far, all attempts at sleep eluded her. Mostly, her thoughts kept wandering to Equestria. Had they been able to rescue Luna yet? Had they gotten the sun back? Did Equestria still exist at all? Or was it merely a frozen wasteland covered in arctic tundra and the emaciated skeletons of trees, starved of the sunlight they needed to survive, their bare limbs and branches sticking into the air like bony fingers as a monument to what once was? She shoved the vision down, as if striking it with a giant hammer. But she knew it would invariably surface again, like pounding down the peg on a door hinge that always manages to work its way back up again. One thing she knew for certain: They were going to have to figure out a way to raise the sun without her there. There was no way Equestria could survive until her return without the sun.

Then her thoughts turned to the east coast of the country she was in now, and the hurricane that was barreling towards Georgia. A mental clock in her head counted down the hours until it was predicted to strike. She had been baffled when Eric told her that large numbers of people would ignore the evacuation order put out by the government. The people here often didn’t trust their government, it seemed. Many of them thought that the storm would weaken before it made landfall, or that it would turn out to sea and only graze the coast. Anger at the stupidity of the people ignoring the evacuation order mingled with pity in her mind as she thought of what would happen to them. The storm would continue to churn towards the coast, like some unstoppable army that no weapons could affect. Eventually, the people would realize it was going to march right over the top of them. But by then, it would be too late for them to get out of the way. Their houses and their lives would be crushed under its enormous footprint — a footprint that covered an area of more than half a million square miles.

But there was nothing she could do about that either. She couldn’t help Equestria, and she couldn’t help the people on the world she was currently stuck in. Never in her life had she felt as helpless as she did right now.

A soft thump from the kitchen brought her out of her thoughts, and she swiveled her ears in the direction the sound had come from. She heard several more of the thumps and realized it was someone walking in the kitchen. She heard the refrigerator door open and close, a few more thumps, and then the sound of someone sitting down in one the chairs at the table. She wasn’t the only one who couldn’t sleep, then.

She got out of bed and used a small amount of magic to open the door, the golden aura glowing faintly in the darkness, then made her way into the kitchen. There, she found Eric, sitting at the table with a glass of water and reading over something on his computer. He moved his finger over the trackpad, clicked, and read some more.

“Eric, you should be in bed,” she said.

He jumped slightly in surprise, having been so engrossed in his work that he apparently hadn’t seen her approach.

“Celestia … You startled me. I didn’t hear you come in.”

“Can’t sleep?” she asked, walking to the other side of the table and stopping when she was standing next to him. Glancing at the computer screen, she noted that he had two windows open. One contained what appeared to be shipping maps over the large body of water she recognized as the Atlantic Ocean from the world map she had studied. The shipping routes ran from the east coast to Europe. The east coast map again made her think of the hurricane that was about to hit, but she forced it to the back of her mind for now. No sense dwelling on it. The other browser window was filled with text, but she couldn’t read most of it since she hadn’t spent much time studying the alphabet that the humans used. There was also a picture of a small cargo ship on the page, along with a portrait picture of a grizzled man with a shaggy, sandy-colored beard wearing what she guessed was a seaman’s uniform. His darker complexion and facial features suggested he was some from some other tribe — nationality as the humans called them — than Eric.

“I’m not tired. And I have a lot planning I need to do,” Eric responded.

She turned her head away from the computer and looked at his face. His eyes were slightly bloodshot and there were dark, baggy circles under his eyes. His hair was disheveled, suggesting he had been lying down recently.

“When was the last time you slept, Eric?” she asked with a slight hint of accusation in her voice.

“I tried sleeping, but I can’t,” he responded, confirming her suspicions as he rubbed his bloodshot eyes lightly with a forefinger. “I’m trying to figure out how I’m going to get you to Switzerland. There’s no way I’m gonna be able to get you through airport security, so we are gonna have to go by boat. The crossing is gonna take about a week.”

She nodded slightly, feeling herself in inner turmoil. That was a week less time that they had to try to work out the accelerator equations, which was definitely putting them in a time crunch. However, she didn’t let her discouragement show to Eric or any of the others. That was part of being a princess. You always had to maintain an air of confidence even when you felt uncertain. Your subjects always had to see you as strong and full of assurance. Seeing their leaders full of confident assurance inspired them to be confident as well. She wasn’t a leader here, and she didn’t think they saw her as a leader. But still, she knew they were doing the best they could, and working as fast as they could. Showing them her discouragement would definitely not help the situation.

“Any ideas?” she asked, looking back towards the computer screen.

“I’ve found a few small cargo ship operators. Some with skippers who I suspect are a bit … less than on the up and up. But it’s risky. Some of them may already be on government radars as possible contraband runners. Illegal drugs, weapons smugglers, that sort of thing. But I don’t see that we have any other choice. It’d be foolish to ask an operator that is running completely legally.”

“So we’ll avoid initial detection and discovery, but at an increased risk of getting discovered later if we get boarded by the Coast Guard or something.”

“That’s pretty much the tradeoff, yeah.”

So none of their options were particularly good then, but a smuggler seemed like the best option. She wasn’t thrilled with the idea of shacking up with criminals and contraband runners, but it seemed like the least risky option. Indeed, perhaps the only option.

“Do you think they’ll take me, though?” she asked, “I mean even if they are used to smuggling things, I’m not exactly …”

“My plan is to smuggle you onboard in a shipping container. They are probably used to not asking questions about contents if they get paid enough. Once we are safely on board, you can teleport out at the first available opportunity and then spend the rest of the journey in my cabin. Just before we arrive at port in Europe, you can teleport back into the shipping container. That way there won’t be any evidence that it was ever opened or tampered with.”

“And my Captain?”

“There'll be room in the shipping container for both of you, assuming you can teleport him in and out with you.”

“I can,” she answered with a nod.

“Alright … At least we’ve got that partially figured out, then,” he said, making a visible effort to stifle a yawn.

“You need some sleep, Eric. I know you want to keep working, but you’ll think better after you’ve slept. And you’ll make up for the lost time anyway when you are refreshed.”

He looked at her, raising an eyebrow. “You got a spell that can help me sleep? I don’t think I could sleep if I tried.”

She frowned and shook her head. “I’m sorry, but I don’t. My sister could easily help with that. But sleep spells go almost entirely against my nature, being the ruler of the sun and all.” She mentally kicked herself now for never asking Luna to teach her a sleep spell. She probably could have learned one if she’d tried, but she’d never considered it a priority. She always had other things that had seemed more important.

“It’s alright. Don’t worry about it,” he said. “I’ll go back to bed and try to get some sleep soon.”

She turned and started to make her way back to the kitchen door. “Good night, Eric.”

“Night, Celestia,” he responded before turning his attention back to his computer.

She started back towards her bedroom, but then changed her mind, turning towards the main room and making her way towards the door instead. She cast a light spell, lighting the path in front of her as she navigated through the maze of wires and around the cyclotron donut again, then opened the door and stepped outside, She let the light on her horn go out and slowly made her way down the driveway, just using the light of the moon to guide her. At least she could be glad that Eric had stopped addressing her as ‘Your Majesty’, and that he was finally comfortable enough around her to be somewhat casual. All of the students still addressed her formally, but she hoped that they would start to become more comfortable and casual as well.

Another concern entered her mind. Eric had never said anything about it, but she knew he must be running out of money by now. Between the cost of all the parts he had to buy to build the cyclotron, the fact that he was going to have to bribe a ship captain to take them to Europe, and the fact that he wasn’t working right now, the money had to be getting tight. If she’d had a way to send messages to Equestria, she could have asked Twilight to send gold from the Royal Treasury through a portal. She could have provided him with virtually unlimited funds. But here, she could do nothing. She might as well be the poorest being in all Equestria for all the good the Royal Treasury did her here. Providing funding for Eric’s research was yet another item she could add to the list of things she couldn’t do. Yet another thing to make her feel helpless.

“Is that you, Your Majesty?” a male voice called out from her left. She immediately recognized the voice of Captain Swordstorm and turned her head in that direction, but she could not see him.

“It is, Captain. Where are you?” she asked, straining her night vision, but still unable to see him.

Slowly, he appeared from almost directly in front of her, as if he were a figure appearing from the end of a pitch black tunnel. He was wearing the Lunar Guard night armor he’d brought with him from Equestria.

“Even you can’t see me in the dark,” he said with a smile. “We might have to equip the entire Royal Guard with this stuff.”

“We’ll have to consider it. You should be in bed. What are you doing out here, Captain?” she said as he turned and the two of them began walking down the dirt path side by side.

“Watching … Guarding,” he said as he scanned the area. “I’m not comfortable leaving you unguarded. Especially not after we failed to protect you and your sister from being ambushed, your Majesty.”

“That’s what’s bothering you?” she asked, compassion filling her voice and flooding her heart. “Captain, that wasn’t your fault. It was nopony’s fault. It should have been impossible —“

“Your Majesty, don’t,” he said firmly, almost using his command voice as he cut her off, stopping to turn and look at her. There had even been a hint of anger in his voice, and she knew his anger was directed at her. She looked back at him for only a brief moment before nodding her head in acquiescence.

“As you wish, Captain. Forgive me,” she said in resignation and began walking again with Captain Swordstorm resuming his walk alongside her. This had always been a point of contention between her and her Royal Guards. Royal Guards took their honor very seriously. Any injury or slight against one of the Princesses was something they considered an affront to their honor, even if there was nothing they could have reasonably done to prevent it. But pointing out to them that there was nothing they could have done, or suggesting it wasn’t their fault, was to insult their honor even further because they took it as a downplaying of their responsibilities to the Princesses. She had never understood it herself, but it was an integral part of Royal Guard culture that was as firm and unchangeable as the strongest mountain. In the past, she had tried to argue with several of her captains about it, but they would have none of it. And so she’d decided long ago to yield to them on this issue. It was a rare event these days that she slipped up and tried to argue with them over it as she had done just now.

“How have your intelligence gathering efforts with Michael been going?” she asked, changing the subject.

“He’s been very helpful. Very willing to talk,” he responded conversationally, all hints of anger in his voice having vanished as if they had never been there. “There’s large variations in the military strength and capabilities of the various nations of this world. The country we are in is one of the most powerful in both military size and capability. They have advanced technology, but no magic capabilities and no ability to defend against magic. It’s likely they wouldn’t even recognize magic if it were to be used on them. He’s provided me with the locations of most of the important military installations around the world.”

She nodded in response. “And in a hypothetical situation where our two words had contact with each other, would they be a threat to us?”

“Some nations, yes. Others, probably not. Some would likely be friends. Others would certainly be foes. One thing that is certain is that we would not be able to treat the human world as one nation. We’d have to pick and choose our friends carefully. And the friends we keep would play a large part in determining who our enemies are.”

“Good work, Captain.”

“Thank you, Your Majesty. Do you have any thoughts on what we will do if there is ever contact?”

“The next dimensional alignment won’t happen for more than a thousand years, so we have at least that long to prepare for it. And if the time comes, our foreign policy with the human nations will be the same as it has always been with the other nations in our own world. We will turn as many of the human nations into our friends as possible. And we will be ready to defend ourselves against the ones that reject our friendship and decide to threaten us instead. But that’s a problem that’s far off into the future. I’m afraid you have a much more immediate problem to deal with, Captain.”

“Your Majesty?” he questioned?

“I’m afraid you have to develop a tactical plan, and lead a group of college students on a mission to capture a highly advanced scientific research facility in a country called Switzerland. And you must carry out that mission in about one month’s time. Come on, let’s both get some sleep,” she said, turning around and making her way back towards the cabin ...

63 - Everfree

Chapter 63: Everfree

Everfree Forest was probably the place least affected by the absence of the two Princesses, if any place could be said to be least affected. The entire forest, which covered more than a hundred thousand strides in every direction from where Theory Point was now, had been abandoned by ponies ever since the legendary battle between Celestia and Nightmare Moon had destroyed it more than a thousand years ago. Of course, the forest had long since recovered, and now the only evidence that the epic battle had ever occurred here were the ruins of the Ancient Castle of the Royal Pony Sisters. But the ponies had never returned to the forest or resumed control of the weather here. Now, the forest was ruled by creatures out of nightmares. Manticores with their deadly, stinging, tails, three headed hydras that lurked in the swamps, packs of marauding timber wolves, and the feared cockatrice, whose gaze could turn you to stone. But despite the wildness of this place, even here, the Sun and Moon did not rise or set without the command of the Princesses.

Theory Point shivered as a cold blast of wind hit her, icy drops launching out of the trees and penetrating deep into her fur like thousands of stinging, frozen darts. The gust got under her cloak, ripping part of it off of her and causing it to flap madly in the wind like a flag being assaulted by a hurricane. She used a little bit of magic to pull it tightly around herself and re-knot the ties that held it in place. Being occupied with her cloak, she failed to notice the tangled, fallen limb just barely sticking out of the ground in front of her. Her left front hoof caught it, and for at least the third time since entering the forest, she found herself pitched forward, her chest, neck, and muzzle digging deep into the snow as both her front legs went out from under her.

Cursing, she picked herself up again. The cloak she had just finished tying was now full of snow, and felt like frostbite against her fur. Again, she used magic to untie the cloak, unwrap it from herself, and shake the snow out of it. As if the weather had some foul, sinister mind of its own, another arctic blast, even stronger than the first one, slammed into her unprotected fur and also threatened to rip the cloak away from her magical grasp. Her magic won out, though, and after shaking the snow off of herself, she rewrapped the cloak around her and tied it again. She wished she were somewhere else right now. Anywhere else. Everfree Forest was dangerous enough no matter when you went tromping through it. At night in the middle of winter, it was downright deadly. But at least she had no fear of being spotted anymore. No pony in their right mind would be out here right now. The question of whether she was in her right mind herself was something that certainly hadn’t escaped her attention.

She cast a light spell now, illuminating the area in front of her for about two or three hundred strides, like the beam of a powerful spotlight piercing the dark. She was no longer worried about the light attracting unwanted attention. Out here, it was more likely the light would frighten away such attention. For a moment, all she saw was the black silhouette of trees as she scanned the area in front of her. She passed over an area, but then quickly returned her attention to it. Broken spires jutted up into the sky like the crooked fangs of some giant dragon laying dead on the ground with its gaping mouth exposed to the air. That was her destination. The ancient castle of the Royal Pony Sisters. Part of her wanted to hurry closer, anticipating the warm fire that would await her inside. The other part of her wanted to delay as much as possible, dreading the process of facing The Council (as the group was calling themselves), and informing them that she had been discovered. She thought the name of the group was intentionally chosen to mock the Royal Council of the Princesses.

Eventually, she came to the bridge over the now frozen moat and made her way across it quickly. As she crossed it, she noted hoofprints, and the prints of gryphon paws in the snow. She shook her head in bewilderment. The Council should have abandoned the ruined castle as their base of operations as soon as the first snowfall had come, she thought. Those tracks would be like putting out a red flag for any passing Royal Guard patrols to see. After all, no pony would venture out to the castle in this kind of weather unless they had something to hide, or were trying to hide themselves from someone. But the Council had thought that no Royal Guard patrols would be coming here anytime soon. They had bigger problems to worry about than patrolling a forest that nopony would be in, the Council had said Theory Point wasn’t so sure. The very fact that ponies rarely came to Everfree Forest made it a popular hideout for thieves and other wanted folk. And besides, they already knew that the Royal Sisters had been suspicious more than a year ago that something was going on in the ancient castle. Luna had even secretly come out to investigate, although she had found nothing. At that time, the Council had only been using it as a sporadic meeting place, and keeping one spy there on a rotating basis to watch for any other activity. Several months and passed, and neither Luna, nor any other pony, had returned after that one incident, and so the Council thought the Royal Sisters had become satisfied there was nothing of interest going on in the old ruins. It was then that they had decided to use the ruins as a permanent base of operations.

After crossing the bridge, she stepped into the ruined courtyard and made her way to the main door. She let the light on her horn go out, and with a great deal of effort, she forced the large door open, then closed it after stepping inside. It closed with an ominously loud boom that echoed off the vast, empty corridors and arches of the ruined entry way. No torches were lit and she found herself in complete darkness. Again, she used a small amount of magic to light her horn, providing about the same level of light as a lantern. She walked towards a ruined corridor that lead off to the left, proceeding down it until she found the set of stairs that lead downward. She followed the stairs being very careful since some of them were broken, and it was a long fall if one were to fall through a broken step. Eventually, she reached the bottom, coming out in a ruined, long hallway that gave the illusion of going on forever in the darkness. She started down it, her own hoofsteps echoing alarmingly loud in her ears. She doubted the structural integrity of the walls and ceiling around her. She hated coming here. Everytime she did, she wondered if the ceiling would collapse and bury her alive. The way things were going, perhaps it would be best if the ceiling did collapse and take out the entire Council in one blow, she thought to herself. Not that it would do any good at this point. The Council had already unleashed their doomsday plan when they ordered the go on the operations to capture Celestia and Luna. Destroying the Council now would be too little, too late.

Eventually, after navigating a maze of several twisting, turning corridors, she came to a large, iron door that blocked any further progress. The door was guarded by four guards dressed in dark cloaks. One was a unicorn, another an earth pony, and the other two were gryphons. None of them said anything to her, but the two gryphons turned to open the door for her. Flickering light pierced through the crack as the door began to swing inward. She stepped in, and the warmth of the room hit her like a blast furnace compared to what she had been enduring outside. The two gryphons closed the iron door with another loud boom.

The room she was in now was sparsely furnished, with only a high stone fireplace set into one wall, a large, rectangular table in the center of the room, and several flickering torches on the walls. At one time, those walls had been covered with richly woven tapestries. But time, fabric eating insects, and souvenir and treasure hunters had long since left the walls bare. Now, they were just dark gray stone. There were stone sitting blocks set around the table. Some were occupied by ponies, others by gryphons. She also noted the presence of a couple of changelings. The changelings, she’d never seen before, and assumed they must have been in disguise the other times she’d appeared before The Council. At the head of the table, directly across from her, sat a white unicorn mare with a coat almost as white as Celestia’s. But her mane and tail were a deep blue with white stars in them. But unlike the stars in Luna’s mane and tail, this unicorn’s stars had a dead quality to them, like dimly glowing remnants of stars that had long ago exhausted their fuel supply. It was hard not to look at those dim, dead stars and wonder if they weren’t a prophetic sign of the role this strange unicorn had played in putting Equestria into its current, frozen state. Her eyes were a deep crimson red, and looking at them was at the same time like looking into deep pools of blood, and looking into nothing at all. It was easy to get lost in those eyes, and very dangerous to do so. Her horn had taken on a crooked appearance, so that it looked like a chipped, deformed giant fang growing out of her forehead. The unicorn hadn’t looked anything like this when Theory Point had first met her. At that time, she had looked young, exuberant, and compassionate. Her mane and tail had been a lighter sky blue color, and her eyes had been sea green. She had also been very charismatic at the time, able to win over almost anyone who spoke to her, pony or otherwise. It all must have been a clever illusion spell, Theory Point thought now. Years of practicing dark magic is what had given her her present appearance, she assumed. One thing had not changed, though: Those eyes. Those eyes could still draw someone in. As if they could make you agree with her without even realizing how she had convinced you to agree with her. Those eyes, sea green or blood red, had always been dangerous. She didn’t know what the unicorn’s name was, and she didn’t think anyone else did either. She only knew that despite her crooked horn, she was not a changeling. between the show white coat, and the blue mane and tail with the strange stars, she almost resembled some kind of demented and twisted combination of the two Royal Sisters. But as far as she knew, the unicorn had no relation to the Royal Family at all.

“Why have you come to The Council before your appointed time, Theory Point?” the unicorn spoke in an emotionless voice that made her shiver slightly. If death itself had a voice, she thought that’s what it must sound like.

“I was discovered. The human knows I’m involved,” she responded, deciding it was best not to beat around the bush.

“And why is the human still alive? So that he can rush off to the Regent and tell her everything he knows?” the other asked. There was no emotion at all in the voice. No anger, no malice. Nothing. It was even more unnerving than if the voice had been laced with rage. This was the voice of someone who had no emotion, no empathy. no feeling at all. Someone who was cold, calculating, and made every decision based purely on objective outcome.

“He doesn’t know anything other than the fact that I’m involved. I told him nothing else. The human is still valuable to us. Perhaps even more valuable to us now that he knows what we were actually trying to do. Soon enough he will realize that the only way to save Equestria is by helping us complete the star project.”

The white unicorn shook her head, her dark blue mane flowing over her neck like a frigid waterfall sick and dying stars. “That’s not what this council believes. This council believes that your … heart is no longer in this cause. That you are no longer dedicated to it. Indeed, we believe your heart may be somewhere else and that you may have become infatuated with the human.”

The warmth of the room disappeared as suddenly as if she had been cast back out into the cold. An icy chill of fear took hold of her. She was tempted to turn and run, but she knew she wouldn’t even make it as far as the closed door, much less have time to open it before they were on her. Attempting to use magic or teleport out of the room was also out of the question. The unicorn across the table from her was far more powerful than she was, and would be able to block her magic before she ever had a chance to cast.

“That … that’s not true,” she stammered in response, failing to keep the fear out of her voice.

“Is it not? Word has reached this Council of your, shall we say, extra-curricular activities with the human. Your frequent visits to nightclubs. The date you went on with him.”

A surge of fear shot through Theory Point at those words. They had been spying on her? Calm down. You don’t have anything to hide, she told herself.

“Our relationship was purely professional. We talked of work related topics And I was trying to earn his trust. Not his friendship,” she responded, trying to keep a note of fear out of her voice. She didn’t think she had succeeded.

“Really, now ...” The unicorn across the table responded, her expression not changing at all, her entire figure unmoving, and her gaze fixed solidly across the table. “I wonder, Theory Point … Are you familiar with Star Swirl’s prophecy of the Two Who are One?”

“I’ve read it. The part of it that survived anyway.”

“We believe he is one-half of the two who are one. They who will cause all of the stars in the universe to be consumed. They who will bring about the end of the third age. They who will set the heavens ablaze and destroy the horizon. He is one-half of the doom of Equestria.”

“We can’t say that with any certainty,” Theory Point responded a bit more confidently, finding some source of courage within her, although she knew not its source. She even managed to look the other unicorn directly in the eyes. “It’s apocalyptic writing. It should not be taken literally. And besides, the prophecy is incomplete. Only a small fragment of it survives. It’s dangerous conjecture to make a conclusion like that about it.”

“Is it? We believe Luna saw the truth in it, which is why she was so hostile and distrustful of him. Her sister didn’t see it, soft-hearted fool that she is. And Luna never spoke of the prophecy with her sister.”

“Then what of us? The prophecy also stated that the Sun shall swallow the Sun and the Moon shall swallow the Moon. I warned you that even with the human unwittingly helping us, the star project would not be ready in time. But against my advice, you decided to carry out the operation prematurely anyway. Because of that, we are responsible for the fact that the Sun and Moon are not rising. Maybe we fulfilled part of the prophecy ourselves?”

“It is the opinion of this Council that Luna saw the doom of Equestria in the human, and that he is one-half of the prophecy. We don’t yet know who the other half is,” the white unicorn reiterated. It wasn’t lost on Theory Point that the white unicorn had skirted around her question instead of addressing it.

“If Luna did believe that, she changed her mind. Luna is very close with the human now. And if she never spoke of the prophecy with her sister, it’s because she herself understood that it was dangerous conjecture, and chose to keep her fears to herself.”

“Defending one of the Princesses now are you, Theory Point? One could hardly be blamed if we were to mistake you for a … loyalist.”

The implication was clear. The courage she had found evaporated instantly, like a single drop of water placed on a red-hot coal. Immediately, she broke off eye contact with the white unicorn and shifted her gaze towards the stone floor.

“That … that’s not true. I still believe in deposing the Princesses,” she stammered, unable to keep the fear out of her voice now.

“Then understand this, Theory Point. Our enemies are cunning. Luna has become close to the human because she was ultimately deceived and taken in by him. Just as her sister was right away. And just as you have now become. That both Princesses were so easily deceived by him, even though it took Luna longer to fall victim to his deception, is all the more reason to judge them unfit to rule.”

“I’ve not been taken in. I’m still loyal to and dedicated to the cause,” she responded, feeling her fur starting to become damp with sweat. The warmth of the fireplace was now completely overwhelmed by the chill of fear as she began to seriously doubt that she was going to get out of this room alive. Her glance wandered momentarily to the gryphons and their razor sharp claws and beaks, but then returned to the white unicorn across the table from her. Of course, she wouldn’t need the gryphons to do the deed for her. There was no telling what she could do with her dark magic.

I’m still dedicated,” she emphasized again.

“Are you …” the white unicorn responded, looking her over with a piercing gaze. Her eyes held no more emotion than her voice. Those deep red pools of blood that descended to uncharted depths, holding mysteries and dark secrets no pony could fathom. Looking into them was like looking into nothingness. Perhaps like looking into the Beyond itself. Theory Point shuddered again, knowing the other unicorn was trying to read her, and having no idea what she was capable of doing.

“Are you indeed,” The white unicorn said again. “You created this mess. You will clean it up. Kill the human, Theory Point. I don't care how you do it. Hire someone else to do it for all I care. But make sure it gets done. I expect to see you again before this council in five days time reporting that it has been done. But do not dare to return unless it actually has been. Kill the human.”

“It … It will be done,” she responded. Then, she took a couple of steps backward, turned and walked towards the door. The two guards on the inside opened it for her, and she stepped through.The door closed behind her, echoing as the sound of doom itself. She walked slowly down the hallway, her heart pounding in her chest. When she was sure the four guards could no longer see her, she broke into a run, making her way for the stairs at a gallop. She didn’t slow down when reaching the stairs, heedless of the danger of tripping, heedless even of the danger of falling to her death through one of the broken stairs. Only one thing was on her mind now: Placing as much distance between her and that emotionless voice as she possibly could ...

64 - A Plan Set in Motion

Chapter 64: A Plan Set in Motion

James waited in the Council meeting chambers along with all of the other Royal Councilors. Also present were Captain Sunflare of the Celestial Guard, and Captain Silent Watch, Commander of the Royal Intelligence Service. James had already told them why they’d been summoned to the meeting chambers on such short notice. An electric energy of celebration filled the room and it buzzed with muted but excited chatter among the Council members. James, however, sat in silence. Looking around, he noted that Captain Sunflare and Captain Silent Watch were also silent. Like him, he suspected they wouldn’t begin celebrating until Luna was safely back in the castle. No doubt, the two of them were just as aware as he was that there were any number of things that could still go wrong with the rescue operation.

The door opened and Twilight Sparkle entered, along with Captain Stardust, Commander of the Lunar Guard. Immediately, the chatter stopped. The Council members stood in respect of the Regent, while the Captains in the room all stood and saluted. Twilight returned their salute, and as she sat down, so did everyone else. She wasted no time before beginning to speak.

“As you’ve no doubt all heard, Gilda has returned and she knows where Princess Luna is being held. However, the operation to rescue her isn’t going to be easy. The gryphons have a secret weapon we didn’t know about. It’s called cold iron.”

She paused, looking at Captain Silent Watch, as if waiting to see if he would have any reaction to the fact that the gryphons had apparently pulled one over on the Royal Intelligence Service..

“Actually, we did know about it, My Lady. We didn’t know they had already actively deployed it anywhere, though,” Silent Watch stated.

“You did? Why wasn’t I informed in any of my previous briefings?” Twilight asked with just a slight hint of annoyance in her voice.

“Under the circumstances, we didn’t have time to inform you of everything, My Lady. We informed you of what we thought was most important. Weapons that we thought were still in the testing phase and not in actual deployment didn’t seem important enough to spend precious time on.”

“”You’re right,” Twilight responded apologetically, although if Silent Watch had taken any offense at the slight hint of anger in her tone, he had not shown it. “However, this is going to make the rescue very difficult.”

This time, it was Captain Stardust who responded.

“Royal Intelligence has kept us up to date on what they know about cold iron, and we’ve worked with Bat Team Alpha on tactics to combat it. We don’t have any direct way to counter or neutralize it, but we have developed effective tactics for dealing with it.”

“That’s good to know, at least,” Twilight responded. She then proceeded to tell the Council members and captains everything that Gilda had told her. James carefully watched both Captain Silent Watch and Captain Stardust for anything their facial expressions or body language might give away about what they thought the chances of a successful rescue were. But if they had been poker players, they both would have been masters at it. Neither one revealed the slightest hint about what they were thinking or feeling. They only listened intently, occasionally scrawling notes about what she was saying.

“That’s everything she told me,” Twilight said when she had finished telling them everything Gilda had told her. “So what are your thoughts, Captain?” She said, looking at Captain Stardust now.

“I think Bat Team Alpha can pull off a successful rescue. It sounds like the gryphons are relying rather heavily on the secrecy of the location, as well on the protection that they think the cold iron will provide them, and that they are unaware that we know the location, or that we know about cold iron. They are expecting that even if we do discover the location and make a rescue attempt, they will catch us completely by surprise with the cold iron. As it turns out, they are the ones that will be surprised. Plus, if Her Majesty really does have a friend on the inside, and James can communicate with her again and let her know we are coming. Yes, I think we have a very good chance of pulling this off.”

“Can you get in without the outside guards raising an alarm, though? Given that the unicorns probably can’t teleport into the building?” Silent Watch asked.

“We won’t send unicorns in. Unicorns aren’t very well trained in hoof-to-paw combat.”

“But how are you gonna get in, then?” Twilight asked.

“We have a couple of secret weapon of our own that will get us in. Weapons we are almost certain the gryphons don’t know about,” Captain Stardust said with a confident smirk. He didn’t elaborate on what those secret weapons were, and Twilight didn’t ask.

“As long as it will get you in, we don’t have time to go into details,” Twilight said. “If you don’t need anything more from me, you may go plan your mission. My assistant, Spike, is embedded with your Bat Team Alpha unit. Let me know as soon as you are ready to transmit the information to them. I can send it to Spike and they will get it instantly. Also, be sure to let James know so he can contact Princess Luna in the dream world and give her the details.”

“My Lady,” he said, standing up and saluting. Then, he turned and left the room. Twilight waited until the door had closed again before continuing.

“Since we are all here, we might as well make this our regularly scheduled briefing. What other news do we have?” It was Captain Sunflare that responded.

“Two Pegasus Guard messengers arrived about an hour ago. Captain Skydart’s forces were ambushed by a combined force of aislings, gryphons, and dragons. Casualties were minimal, but Captain Skydart was captured. A changeling by the name of Auraria is leading the forces now.”

“Aislings?” Twilight said, her ears perking up in alarm. “Then the barrier has weakened enough and the Beyond has grown strong enough for its agents to enter Equestria and take physical form. Does that mean a full-scale invasion is imminent?” She frowned, turning her attention to Moonsong now.

“Probably not, My Lady,” Moonsong responded, shaking his head. “There are cracks in the barrier, and more are forming faster than we can repair the existing ones. However, the aislings can only come through at the cracks. So basically, it’s like a funnel. Very few of them can get through at any given time. But they can get through, and the rate at which they can get through is increasing.”

Twilight nodded, then turned her attention back to Silent Watch.

“Auraria. What do we know about her?”

“Commander Auraria, twenty-two years old, Division Commander of the First Imperial Army. She’s a prodigy. A military genius by any standard. Began her military training at the age of six, young even by changeling standards. Promoted to officer at seventeen, making her the youngest changeling ever to receive officer rank. Became a division commander at the age of twenty, the youngest changeling ever to receive a division command. Widely expected to be next in line for Supreme Commander of the entire Imperial Army and expected to receive that promotion within the next two years. Her writings on military strategy are required reading for our own students at the Academy who are training to be officers in the Royal Guard.”

Silent Watcher had started giving the information about Auraria without so much as a pause to think about it after Twilight had asked. Nor had he missed a beat or stopped to think while giving it. He had recited the information as easily as most ponies could recite the alphabet. It was obvious that the Royal Intelligence Service spent a great deal of time thinking about and studying this Commander Auraria.

“Well, her qualifications to lead certainly aren’t in doubt, then,” Twilight stated.

“There is no one more qualified anywhere in the world,” Silent Watch responded.

“But can we trust her?”

“As long as she continues to believe that her orders from Imperial High Command are to assist Equestria in our war against the Beyond and against the Gryphon Empire? Yes, we can trust her. But if word reaches her about the coup at home, and she believes that coup is over the Empire’s assistance to Equestria? She’ll have to decide whose side she’s on. If she decides she’s not on ours? Then we’ll have a large changeling army deep inside our borders lead by the best and most dangerous field commander the world has ever seen.”

Twilight’s ears perked up just a bit more, a sign that her state of alarm had increased.

“All the more reason James needs to get back to the Hive and find out what the hay is going on there. But he can’t leave until he hears back from Captain Stardust and he’s been able to contact Luna … Any other news?” It was Moonsong that responded.

“There’s something strange going on inside The Beyond, and we aren’t sure what it means. Our last magical energy probes into The Beyond showed that the energy fields inside are weaker than they were a few days ago.”

“Could the aislings that left the Beyond and entered Equestria explain it?” Twilight asked.

“That accounts for some of it, but we don’t think enough of them have entered Equestria to explain the magnitude of the drop we are seeing.”

“Could The Beyond just be weakening for some reason?”

“It’s possible, but we don’t think so. If anything, we think it should be growing stronger. There’s nothing that would explain why it should be growing weaker. Our biggest concern, and what we think is most likely, is that there’s a larger hole in the barrier somewhere that we haven’t found yet, and that a large number of aislings came through it in the last few days. If that’s the case, they may be hiding somewhere in Equestria preparing to make a large attack. But if so, we have no idea where they are and when the assault might happen. We don’t have nearly enough forces to keep watch on the entire barrier and also fight the gryphons.”

Twilight frowned, but nodded. “Keep on it, and let me know as soon as you learn anything more.”

“Yes, My Lady,” Moonsong responded.

“If there’s nothing else, then, you are all dismissed. Since we used this as our normal briefing, none of you need to show up for the next scheduled one.”

Everyone in the room stood when Twilight did, and the remaining military officers saluted. Then, they all filed out and went their separate ways, James making his way to the Council living quarters to get ready for his trip to the Hive.

Once he was in his room, he took the pack that Rarity had made for him out of the closet and tossed it on the bed. Then he took a couple of changes of clothes out of the closet, neatly folded them, and placed them in the pack. The clothes were warm, yet made of a material thin enough that he could wear them under his Council robe. He’d forgotten what material Rarity had said they were made out of. He wasn’t in his room long before he heard a hoof knock on his door.

“Councilor?”

“Come in, Captain,” James responded, recognizing the voice of Captain Stardust of the Lunar Guard.

The bat pony entered, closing the door before speaking.

“We’ve made contact with our Bat Team Alpha unit in the Gryphon Empire. The rescue mission is set. They are currently two hours and seventeen minutes from the facility where Her Majesty is being held. Once they arrive, they will take five minutes to survey the facility and set up their attack on it. So the actual infiltration of the facility will begin in exactly two hours and twenty two minutes. Note the time right now.”

“Exactly?” James said, raising an eyebrow at the fine-grained estimate he’d been given. At the same time, he glanced at the clock, making a mental note of the current time as Stardust had instructed.

“Bat Team Alpha units are required to make their estimates accurate within plus or minus fifteen seconds. If they say they’ll arrive at a target at a certain time, you can be sure they’ll be there within fifteen seconds either side of the time they gave you.”

“That’s … impressive,” James responded in amazement.

“There’s a reason they are considered the best of the best,” Stardust responded in neutral tone, as if estimates that accurate were the most natural thing in the world for the elite Alpha team.

“I don’t think I’ll be able to give Princess Luna a time that accurate, though. I won’t have a clock in the dream world, and it’s very difficult to keep track of time in the dream world. Hours in the dream world can be just minutes in the waking world.”

“Yes,” Stardust said with a nod. “So it’s important that you establish contact with Her Majesty as soon as possible after going to sleep. You don’t need to worry about giving her the exact times that I’ve given you. As long as they are close, that will be good enough. Trust me, she’ll know when they enter the facility. It will be impossible for her not to.”

“Alright. Thank you Captain,” James responded. He didn’t ask how Luna would know when they entered. After all, if Stardust hadn’t tell him how she’d know, it must mean he didn’t think he needed to tell her how she’d know. That meant Luna probably already knew about this secret weapon that Bat Team Alpha was going to use to get inside the facility.

“Councilor,” Stardust acknowledged before turning and leaving the room. James grabbed his pocket watch, and quickly checked its time against the time on the wall clock. Then, he followed Stardust out. The two of them walked down the hallway for a little ways until James turned down a different corridor, making his way for one of the service entrances out into the courtyard.

The two Royal Guards stationed at the doors leading to the courtyard opened them as he approached. Stepping outside, he pulled his robe tighter around himself against the cold. Ice crystals danced on frozen tree limbs, reflecting the lights of the castle courtyard like thousands of twinkling stars. Under normal circumstances, it would have been a picturesque scene, perfect for some special event such as Hearth’s Warming Eve. But given the ultimate outcome if things continued the way they were, it was an ominous warning of things to come instead. Every new day was a little bit colder than the last. One thing was certain: This rescue mission couldn’t come soon enough. He was pretty certain they had found Luna just in the nick of time.

Of course, the fate of the world, and possibly the fate of the universe itself, still relied on whether or not Luna could raise the Sun. If she couldn’t, then there would be nothing left alive in this world to stop the Beyond from marching all over it. And if Celestia had been right, once the Beyond had conquered this world, it would plunge all the way to the center of the macro pattern and unravel the very fabric of the entire universe, effectively returning it to the state it was in before the big bang. A shiver that wasn’t from the cold went through James as he contemplated that. But at least he had more confidence that the rescue mission would succeed now. Captain Stardust had seemed very confident that his elite team could pull it off.

He approached the stone door of the circular, roofless building again. The one where he’d been initiated into the Royal Council, and the one where he’d made contact with Luna last time. He pulled the door open and entered, closing it behind him.

As before, no magic flowed in the room right now, and given the open roof, it was no warmer in here than it had been outside. Torches flickered on the wall making the steam from his breath visible. The Royal Guards were very vigilant about making sure those torches were always burning. Anytime one was about to burn out, they would replace it with a new one. The gesture was, of course, symbolic, although perhaps also somewhat superstitious in nature. As if as long as those torches burned and their light reflected off the sacred Sun and Moon symbols on the floor, the return of their Princesses was assured.

There was no snow on the floor in here. The guards were also meticulous about keeping snow off the sacred symbols, as well as keeping them polished. The light of the torches danced and reflected off of them like the light of the Sun or Moon reflecting off of a calm lake on a peaceful evening. Indeed, despite everything that was going on, there was a sense of peace in this room. Almost, he could forget how cold he was. Almost.

As before, he walked to the center of the circular room, stopping when he was directly at the center of the Sun and Moon symbols on the floor. He pulled out his pocket watch, quickly noting the amount of time that had passed since he’d checked it in his room. Then he knelt and reached out deep into the ethereal plain between the waking world and the dream world, quietly calling out to Luna.

Immediately, the torch lights seemed to dim and then go out. The symbol of the crescent Moon on the floor began to glow with its own silver light, and he knew that she was there. Warmth filled him as she weaved her spell around him. He closed his eyes, not trying to fight the sleep spell she was placing on him from across the void.

And then, he was in the dream world. Formless mists floated around him, as if he were in a dense fog. But ahead of him, he could see a silver light penetrating through the mist like a lighthouse beacon guiding an errant ship home. He walked, or more like floated, towards the light. Gradually, the mists parted, and the form of the Moon Goddess appeared before him.

“James, it is good to see you again,” she said, walking up to him and nuzzling him on the side of his cheek. Her touch felt almost real, but not quite. It was like a wisp of cotton just barely brushing his face, but then evaporating into nothing almost before he realized it had touched him. It was a reminder that despite the real communication between the two of them, this was still only a dream.

“And you, Your Majesty,” James responded with a nod.

“How is Equestria? And my sister? Do you have a plan to bring her home?” Luna asked with a look of concern on her face. Despite her own situation, her first concern was clearly for her country and for her sister.

“We have a plan, yes. But there’s no time to discuss things now. Bat Team Alpha will be rescuing you in about two hours and five minutes. Captain Stardust said you’d know when they arrived.”

She nodded once, and gave just the slightest hint of a smile of relief. “That is good news indeed. Please let them know that I will be bringing someone with me back to Equestria. A gryphon. So they don’t accidentally attack when they see a gryphon with me.”

“Your friend on the inside?”

She nodded in response.

“I’ll let Twilight know. She can send a message to them through Spike.” He paused for a moment, taking a deep breath and letting it out. “Alright then. About two hours … Be watchful, and be ready, Your Majesty.”

She nodded, her image began to fade, and he awoke to find himself back in the cold, circular room. The torches on the wall were burning once again, and the crescent Moon on the floor was no longer glowing.

65 - The Emissary

65: The Emissary

James rubbed his hand over the chariot window, clearing away a small circle in the frost, and watched the lights of Canterlot drop away beneath him as he left Canterlot Castle for his diplomatic mission to the Changeling Empire. Once the lights were out of sight, he leaned back, resting his head on the wall. His breath was still visible when he exhaled, but the small portable stove in the chariot was rapidly warming things up. He felt sorry for the poor Pegasus Guards that had to pull the chariot. Although, he’d been told by Captain Swordstorm once that their fur and heavy feathers provided very good insulation. Ice was a bigger problem for them than cold was, he had said. If sufficient amounts of ice built up on their wings, it would disrupt the airflow over them enough that they would stall, and be unable to fly. However, their own body warmth acted as a natural deicer, and could melt even fairly heavy ice. Furthermore, unlike fixed-wing aircraft, the fact that pegasi could flap their wings also helped to break up ice. Ice wouldn’t be a problem today anyway. There was no snow and no clouds in the sky. Still, he thought even the hearty pegasi must be getting cold these days.

His thoughts turned to Luna now. He had really hoped he’d be in Canterlot to greet her when she returned. But there was no way he’d be back from the Hive in time now. Assuming, of course, that the rescue mission was successful. If he was able to watch the sun rise from the Hive, he’d know that it was.

At the same time, he was somewhat nervous about meeting her again. There were two subjects he had to discuss with her, and he wasn’t looking forward to either one. The first, was Theory Point. Yes, Twilight Sparkle believed he had no involvement in her treasonous actions. But then again, he was romantically involved with Twilight. Would Luna believe him? His relationship with Luna had come along way. At least, he thought it had based on the remorse she seemed to show in the dream world. But she hadn’t trusted him in the past. Would this incident only confirm her earlier mistrust of him? There was really no sense in worrying about it now. All he could do is tell her the truth and hope that she believed him. If she didn’t, he’d deal with it then.

Besides, whether Luna would believe him about that or not paled in comparison to the second thing he had to discuss with her. He knew he couldn’t keep his romantic relationship with Twilight concealed forever. He was going to have to tell her about it. And that scared him more than anything. The knowledge that she would order him to end that relationship was more frightening than if he were waiting on a judge to deliver a looming death sentence that he knew was coming. After all, there was no doubt of his guilt. His relationship with Twilight was a clear violation of Royal Council law, which forbade Councilors from engaging in romantic relationships on the grounds that it would distract them from their duty to Equestria. He knew the law, and he had broken it. There was no denying that.

The chariot began making a standard turn to the left, but he ignored it, assuming they were just flying the standard exit pattern from Canterlot airspace. He continued with his thoughts.

His plans had not changed. If … more like when, Luna ordered him to end his relationship with Twilight, he would only nod. Then, he and Twilight would do what they needed to do to end this crisis. And when it was over — assuming they or anything else in the universe survived — if Twilight asked him to run away with her, he would do it so they could be together. Even if it meant the two of them had to spend the rest of their lives in hiding. It wasn’t something he liked contemplating, and he hated all the options. However, he’d made his decision. If he was going to be forced to choose, then his loyalty to Twilight would be stronger than his loyalty to either of the Princesses.

Subconsciously, he realized that the left turn they were in was lasting too long. By now, they would have way overshot the exit pattern bearing. A slight pressure on the outside of his eardrums, followed by a pop as the pressure equalized also told him they were descending.

What are they doing? he thought to himself as he came out of his thoughts, looking out the window again. The lights of Canterlot Castle slowly swung passed the window and out of sight again towards the front of the chariot. Then the pegasi came out of their turn. It was obvious now that they had turned around and were taking him back to Canterlot Castle. Fear gripped him like the icy, bony hand of death itself as he assumed the worst: Something must have already gone wrong with the mission to rescue Luna, and all of the Councilors had been summoned back for an emergency briefing.

Calm down, James, he told himself. You haven’t even been in the air for ten minutes. Bat Team Alpha hasn’t even reached the facility where Luna is being held yet, much less started the mission. It’s probably a mechanical problem with the chariot. A broken harness or something. That seemed logical. After all, the harnesses did have a tendency to get a little brittle in this extreme cold. A broken harness, although considered an in-flight emergency, was not anything to get overly worked up about. The pegasi always flew with two harness cables on both sides of them so that if one broke, the chariot wouldn’t fall from the sky like an airliner that had suddenly lost all of its engines. Still, a broken harness cable was considered a failure of a safety system, and was grounds for an emergency landing under Royal Guard aviation regulations.

The combined knowledge that Bat Team Alpha couldn’t have even reached the facility yet, and that he probably wasn’t in any immediate danger of falling out of the sky, helped to calm him down some. Still, the five or six minutes it took them to fly the landing pattern passed agonizingly slow, like sitting in a hospital emergency room, waiting for news of a loved one who was brought in in an ambulance.

Finally, the chariot touched down and came to a stop. Through the window, James could see a junior Royal Guard cantering towards the door. A messenger, it appeared. So it wasn’t a mechanical problem, then. Not if a messenger was already waiting to meet him. Another surge of fear went through him as it became obvious that he had been called back for some reason. He opened the chariot door before the messenger got there.

“What’s going on?” he called out.

“Your mission to the Hive has been scrubbed, Councilor. An emissary from the Changeling Empire arrived less than five minutes after you took off. She asked for you by name. Says the two of you are friends. Name’s Commander Antenna. Looks like she saved you the trip.”

“Yeah, I know her,” James said with a nod, breathing a sigh of relief as all his fears evaporated. “Why wasn’t I informed before I left that there was a changeling emissary inbound?”

The guard’s expression took on a sheepish look and he responded somewhat slowly. “She kind of ... caught us by surprise, Councilor. They sneaked in disguised as a Royal Guard patrol. Although she revealed herself for who she was as soon as they were inside the courtyard.

Nice to see the security’s working so well around here even after Princess Celestia was kidnapped right out from under our noses, James thought, but did not voice his sarcasm to the guard. Instead, he just nodded.

“Where is she?”

“In the green sitting room.”

“Alright. Tell her I’ll be there as soon as I change out of these travel clothes. And see to her guards. I don’t imagine they’ll be going back to the Hive without a good rest period, so put them up in the barracks. And have a guest room made ready for Commander Antenna.” And tell her she wouldn’t have to wait for me if we’d had notice of her coming, he was tempted to add, but didn’t.

“Yes, Councilor,” the messenger responded before turning and cantering back into the castle.

James stepped out of the chariot now, closing the door and walking around to the front.

“Sorry you two had to get all dressed up with nowhere to go,” he said to the two Pegasus Guards that had been pulling the chariot.

“We won’t complain if you won’t, Councilor,” one of them responded.

“Trust me. I won’t,” James said before turning and jogging into the castle himself.

Once inside, he made his way to the Council living quarters. It was empty, he noted. No doubt all of the Councilors were busy with various tasks. Either that or they had started celebrating early at the prospect of Luna’s return. He quickly took off his Council robe, changed out of the warm underclothes, and then put the robe back on. Then he left, making his way through the hallways to the sitting room where Antenna was. The attendant outside opened the door for him, and he stepped in. Antenna put down the cup of tea she’d been drinking (apple-cinnamon, he thought from the smell), and stood up from the plush green cushion she’d been sitting on.

“Councilor, it’s good to see you again. I apologize for our delay in bringing news to you. We would have been here days ago, but because of bad weather, we had to travel most of the way by ground.”

James nodded. “It’s good to see you again too, Commander. And the delay is understandable. Although I do wonder if the deception and sneaking in under disguise was necessary.” He intentionally added a slight tone of rebuke to his voice for that last part.

“I apologize for that too, Councilor. We presumed you were already aware of the coup in the Empire, but we had no idea what information you had about it, or what you might currently believe about it. We weren’t sure if we’d be welcome here, or if your guard patrols would have attacked us on sight and asked questions later.”

“Very well,” James motioned for her to sit back down, and he did so as well. “I presume you are here to tell us what’s going on at the Hive, then?” James asked as he refilled her cup of tea and poured one for himself. He took a sip of it, confirming that it was apple-cinnamon as he had suspected. But not just any apple-cinnamon. This was straight from Sweet Apple Acres. It warmed his insides as it went down and also made him think of Ponyville.

“You presume correctly,” Antenna said with a nod. “To start with, yes it’s true. There has a been a coup, and Chrysalis has been deposed. I was the instigator and leader of said coup.”

“But why? Why now of all times?” James said, the exasperation no doubt clear in his voice.

“I was coming to that,” Antenna responded with an obvious hint of annoyance in her voice.

James nodded in acquiescence and let her continue.

“Chrysalis rescinded support for Equestria. In fact, she was planning to launch a major attack on Equestria. She claims Queen Dorylini came to her in a dream and told her to attack Equestria when it was at its weakest, and while they thought we were allies with them. She convened her military advisers and ordered them to immediately draw up plans for a major attack. Her plan was a blitzkrieg offensive against all of your major cities. She intended to quickly conquer and occupy them all before the Royal Guard units could be called back from the Beyond to defend them. She thought Equestria would have no choice but surrender to avoid the enormous civilian casualties that would occur while trying to rout changeling forces out of the cities again. The advisers told her the plan was folly under current conditions. That even if she could pull off the plan, and Equestria surrendered the way she hoped, her victory would mean nothing because all of her occupying forces would soon freeze or starve to death right along with the ponies of the cities they were occupying. But she would hear none of it. So convinced was she that Queen Dorylini had told her to do this. Anyway, I didn’t believe Queen Dorylini had really come to her. Neither did several other of her advisers. Queen Dorylini never had any designs on Equestria, and would never have sacrificed her entire Hive for a hollow victory that would mean nothing in the end.”

“It wasn’t Queen Dorylini,” James said shaking his head. “It was an aisling. A dream walker from the Beyond. They appear in whatever form your mind wants to give them. As what you fear the most, or what you revere the most, depending on what they are trying to convince you of. They’ve also visited Princess Celestia, Princess Luna. King Aetos of the Gryphons, and me.” James felt confident in saying that it definitely was an aisling that had visited Chrysalis, given his own experience with the aislings, and what Luna had told him about them.

“It’s good to have my suspicions confirmed that it wasn’t Queen Dorylini,” Antenna responded, taking a sip from her cup of tea.

“Who’s in charge of the Empire now, then?” James asked.

“Right now, the Empire is under martial law. Chrysalis’s military advisers, including me, are ruling.”

“Is that stable? can you hold it together until we’ve overcome this crisis?” James asked, unable to keep the concern out of his voice.

Antenna looked down into her teacup, swirling it idly. “Probably not. Never before has a sitting Queen been deposed. And the changeling citizens know she was deposed. They have little tolerance for any rule other than the rule of the Queen. They’ll see this as a power grab by the military and demand that a Queen be chosen, or that Chrysalis be reinstated.”

“Alright. So all you have to do is choose a new Queen and place her in power then, right?”

“Unfortunately, it’s not that simple,” Antenna continued, her attention still on her cup of tea. “Normally, the High Priestesses would assume rule during transitions between queens. And only the High Priestesses can choose a Queen. But for them to do that, we have to convince them they made a mistake when they chose Chrysalis as Queen. And even if we do convince them, it’s unlikely they will admit they made a mistake. Doing so erodes public confidence in the institution of the Priestesshood. They’ve only made a mistake once in the entire history of the Changeling Empire. And the only reason they admitted that one is because they were forced to when the Queen they chose died at the age of a normal changeling instead of living for eight hundred to a thousand years as real queens do.”

A queasy feeling began to creep into James as it started to become apparent how bad this situation actually was.

“Can you turn the rule of the Empire over to the High Priestesses?” he asked, desperate to offer any suggestions now. “After all, you said that they would normally rule during the transition between queens. Would that satisfy the citizens for the time being?”

Antenna shook her head slightly. “For the High Priestesses to accept rule, they’d have to admit they made a mistake when they chose Chrysalis as Queen. And the citizens would just see it as a power grab by the High Priestesses assisted by the military. Historically, they’ve had little enough tolerance as it is for rule by the High Priestesses. If the High Priestesses take to long to choose a new Queen, the citizens start to think they are just holding onto power for themselves. Then they start to demand a new Queen.”

She swirled the tea in her cup again, pausing for a few seconds before continuing. “The citizens are already … uneasy. And some of the military may eventually side with the citizens in hopes of winning high favor with Chrysalis.”

James began to feel sick, almost like he was going to vomit, as the magnitude of the situation unfolded before him. He took a large sip of the tea to try to force the feeling back down.

“Antenna … we absolutely cannot afford a changeling civil war. Not right now. Equestria cannot win this war without changeling help. All of us … the entire world, is doomed if this coalition falls apart. You need to find a way to hold it together,” he said. Only after he had said it, did he realize he’d sounded like he was back at the Academy, chastising one of his students for not putting in enough effort on a project. Immediately, he regretted his tone.

“I’m trying, James,” she responded with a strong hint of annoyance in her voice. “I’m doing what I can. But we had to depose Chrysalis. If we hadn’t done so, at best all of your Royal Guard units would be double-timing it back from the northern border to try to liberate towns that have been overrun with changeling soldiers. At worst, you’d all be under the rule of Chrysalis right now. If nothing else, I bought time. I’m doing what I can.”

“I know you are,” he said calmly, then repeated more quietly, “I know you are.”

“I have someone in mind who I think is probably the true Queen. Her name is Commander Auraria. She’s currently with one of your armies.”

“I know the name,” James said with a nod. “Our military intelligence officers seem rather enamored with her.”

“There is no changeling in the entire army who would dare rise up against her. And she’s a hero among the citizens as well, so they would probably support her too. But the High Priestesses don’t take kindly to anyone interfering in their affairs.”

“We don’t have time for protocol. Surely even the High Priestesses must understand that,” James responded.

Antenna nodded slowly, finishing the last sip of her tea and putting her cup down on the small table between the sitting cushions. “I’ll do what I can. But I’ll have to be subtle.”

“That’s all you can do,” James said with a slight nod, then drained his own cup of tea and set it down on the table next to hers. “It’s too long of a trip to expect you and your guards to fly back without rest first. Your guards have been put up in the barracks, and I’ll have you shown to a guest room. You can order food and drink from the castle kitchen, although I’m afraid they only serve vegetarian cuisine,” he said as he stood up.

“Thank you. I’m very appreciative,” Antenna responded, standing up too and making her way to the door.

“And Antenna?”

“Yes?” She stopped, turning to look at him again.

“Be careful. Your actions have probably drawn the eye of the Beyond onto yourself, given that you thwarted its plans with Chrysalis. So don’t be surprised if you are visited by an aisling. They can be very convincing. And remember, they appear as whatever you fear the most, or whatever you admire the most, depending on what they are trying to convince you of. The Beyond knows we have no hope of winning if this coalition falls apart. And so it’s desperately trying to do everything it can to destroy it. You must not listen to anything it tells you.”

“I’ll be careful,” she said. Then, she turned, and and knocked on the door. The attendant outside opened, it and she left the room.

66 - To Rescue The Moon

Chapter 66: To Rescue The Moon

Lieutenant Sirius of Bat Team Alpha crouched just behind the treeline, observing the facility where Luna was being held. They were up on a ridge and the facility was down below them in a slight valley. The part of the building above the ground wasn't large. At least it wouldn't take them long to sweep and clear the above ground level and they'd be able to work their way to the underground levels of the facility quickly, then. How expansive the underground levels were, though, he had no idea.

He had already timed how long it took the roving guards to make one complete patrol around the perimeter, and the rest of the team were already in their designated positions. He almost felt sorry for the poor foals guarding the facility. The bright lights flooding the courtyard were certain to make them night blind as far as being able to see anything more than a few feet beyond the perimeter fence. Those lights also made the guards easy targets for his team's bat unicorn snipers, two of which were stationed at the treeline in front of the gate. Two more were stationed ninety degrees from the first two, on one side of the building that had no door. Not that bat ponies needed light to see their targets anyway. They had extremely good night vision and were able to see the ultraviolet and infrared spectrum. To a bat pony, anything that gave off heat, including living beings, glowed in the dark like a beacon of light. The drawback was that bat ponies couldn't see very well outside on bright days. Furthermore, they had to wear dark glasses when out in bright sunlight to prevent the ultraviolet light from damaging their eyes. Because of this, bat ponies had somewhat of a reputation as vampires, given that they were almost exclusively nocturnal and avoided the sun. (There was no truth to the vampire aspect, though. Bat ponies were vegetarian just like their sun-loving comrades, and they did not drink blood.) For these reasons, Bat Team Alpha operated exclusively at night. Of course, night was the best time for the highly classified, off the books, and officially denied missions that Bat Team Alpha typically engaged in.

He thought about the mission now. Getting into the facility wouldn't be the hard part. They had a secret weapon that would take care of that. The hard part would be finding Luna once they got inside. They had no map of the facility, and no idea what the inner layout looked like. In the worst case scenario, they were going to have to sweep all levels of the entire building looking for her. He hoped, however, that Luna's friend on the inside would let her out of her cell once it became obvious they were being raided. Then, Luna could work her way up and meet them before they'd had to go through the entire facility. Not only would that save time, but it would reduce the risk of casualties. Bat Team Alpha was the best that Equestria had, and a match for any force that could be thrown against them. But close-quarters warfare inside a building you didn't know the layout of was always risky business. Even with Luna's help, they were going to have to sweep and clear every level before they could work their way any further down. Otherwise, they risked getting trapped in a lower level of the facility by an ambush from a higher level.

He turned his attention to the two roving guards now. They were almost at the end of the side of the building. A few seconds later, they turned left, starting their walk behind the building. He saw his Captain raise his forehoof, giving the signal to the two snipers stationed at the treeline by the gate position. Almost as soon as the Captain Vega had given the signal, the two gryphon guards at the gate instantly crumpled and dropped at the exact same time, as if they were houses of cards that had had the supporting cards yanked out from underneath them. Both of them were dead before they had had any chance to raise an alarm. There had been no sound, and no telltale flash of magic from the two snipers, and they had coordinated their attack perfectly, both of them casting their deadly spells at the exact same time. That spell was one of Bat Team Alpha's most lethal secrets. A spell that made no sound, gave off no light, instantly paralyzed all voluntary muscle movement, and stopped the target's heart.

The roving guards continued their patrol around the back of the facility, oblivious to what had happened to their two comrades in front. Then, they turned the corner, walking along the side of the building. A second later, the two of them also collapsed, falling instantly dead as the two snipers on the side of the facility did their deadly work. Again, the attack had been perfectly coordinated, and neither gryphon had had a chance to make a sound. The two snipers on that side of the building quickly, but quietly, sprinted to the back of the building now, taking up new positions. Now the two pairs of snipers had both doors in the building covered.

Captain Vega turned his head, looking behind himself and once again giving a signal with his forehoof. Then, he silently took to the air. Lieutenant Sirius also lifted off the ground, following his Captain along with the other eleven members of his team. They flew low, and were only in the air for a few seconds before they were over the camouflage canopy. Using the razor sharp blade attached to his foreleg armor, Captain Vega cut a hole in the canopy, then pulled it open, motioning for his team to slip through. Sirius waited as the rest of the team quickly flew through the small opening in a line, landing silently on one side of the building near the two dead gryphon guards. They folded their wings, crushing themselves up against the wall of the building as tightly as possible. Then, Sirius himself slipped through the small hole. But instead of landing beside the building with the rest of his team, he flared his wings and landed on top of the roof next to the ventilation shaft, touching down as light and quiet as a feather floating to the ground and landing on a bed of moss.

Carefully, he reached into his saddlebag with his mouth, pulling out a ball of cloth. He set it down on the top of the roof and unwrapped it, holding it down with the edge of his forehoof and revealing eight small blocks of a dark gray putty-like substance. Very carefully, he picked up a block with his forehoof and placed it at one of the weld joints where the screen and grating were attached to the ventilation shaft. He applied a little bit of pressure, carefully working the substance into the grating until it was wrapped around it like a hornet's nest wrapped around a branch on a tree. Indeed, it might have been a hornet's nest based on how cautiously he treated the substance. He repeated the process seven more times, working his way around the grating and applying a square of the substance at each joint.

He reached into his saddlebag again, pulling out a bundle of what looked like thin rope. He held the end of the rope up to one of the joints where he had applied the putty-like substance, letting a little of it unravel, then using the blade attached to his foreleg armor to cut it. Next, he cut seven more pieces, carefully making sure they were all the exact same length as the first piece. When he had eight pieces, he embedded one end of each rope into the putty-like substance at each joint. Finally, he carefully measured out another length of rope, cut it, and used one end to join the loose ends of the eight pieces together. The other end of the rope, he let dangle.

After he'd finished, he carefully examined his work, then reached into his saddlebag and pulled out a flint with his mouth. He held his forehoof up to the loose end of the rope, and struck the flint against the armor. Sparks flew from the flint, and the rope caught fire, sparks flying from it, reflections of them flickering off the metal on the ventilation shaft as the sparks and flame traveled up the rope.

He quickly spread his wings, flying off the top of the building with the flint still in his mouth, landing next to the rest of his team at the side of the building, then putting the flint back in his saddle bag and closing the flap. His heart pounded faster now as he waited on their second secret weapon to do its work.

A few seconds later, a loud BOOM reverberated off the trees, accompanied by a bright, white-hot flash of light. Immediately, the entire team erupted into action, spreading their wings and flying to the top of the building. Captain Vega kicked the now shattered grate covering the ventilation shaft out of the way, then scrambled inside. Sirius followed along with the rest of his team and they began to made their way through the shaft towards the interior of the facility.

“Up you fools, we're under attack!” came the loud, but muffled voice of a gryphon, sounding as if it was coming from the end of a cave. It was followed by confused shouting and the dampened race of gryphon claws clacking against concrete as they raced up the stairs. The sounds became louder as the disorganized gryphons raced underneath them, then started to fade again. A cold gush of air rushed through the ventilation shaft, suggesting the gryphons had opened the door to the outside of the facility. The plan had worked as intended, then. The gryphons were making a mad rush outside, thinking their attackers were still outside of the building. Sirius knew it would be a fatal mistake for them. That was confirmed a few seconds later as the confused shouting was replaced by panicked and frightened yells. The unicorn snipers were picking off the gryphons who had rushed outside now, using their silent and invisible lethal spells. The panicked gryphons would have no idea why their comrades were suddenly dropping dead next to them, but they wouldn't have more than a few seconds to think about it before they were next.

Shafts of light pierced the tunnel they were crawling through as they approached the end of the ventilation shaft. Captain Vega turned and kicked the vent covering with his rear hooves. The light metal gave way instantly, bending and snapping at the edges, as the vent covering swung outward, hanging down by a single corner now. Captain Vega looked through the vent scanning for enemies quickly, then dropped through to the floor. Sirius and the rest of the team followed quickly, dropping behind him and scanning for gryphons. There were none in the immediate area, all of the nearby ones apparently having rushed for the door when the explosion had ripped open the grate on the roof. The room they were in was a featureless, stone square, dimly lit by four torches near each corner. Their flickering light was barely enough to reach the middle of the room. The only exit from the room was a corridor in the left wall.

Immediately, they turned towards the corridor, following it and, making their way deeper into the facility, moving carefully and quietly to make sure they would hear any approaching gryphons before the gryphons heard them. The team members on the left kept their heads slightly turned to the left, and the ones on the other side did the same to the right. That was all they needed to do to keep watch directly behind them, their equine eyes having nearly a three hundred and sixty degree field of view.

The hallway turned right in front of them, a single torch on the wall at the end lighting the way. The sound of running claws echoed off the corridor walls. Sirius swiveled his keen ears in that direction and determined six gryphons were rushing down the hall. His team stopped and waited. Adrenaline pulsed through him and his heart beat rapidly in his chest. Clack, clack, clack, went the claws, growing louder and inching closer. A few seconds later, the first three gryphons emerged from the hall. The next several events happened so quickly, it was difficult to tell what order they had happened in. One of the bat ponies in front of Sirius flicked his forehoof, and a throwing knife whistled through the air. Then, one of the gryphons squawked loudly, throwing up his talons to grasp at his head, Blood dribbled from it where the thrown knife had embedded itself directly between his eyes. He took a few staggering steps, then fell. The remaining three gryphons scrambled out of the hallway, and all five of the remaining gryphons let out an ear splitting screech before rushing towards them. None of the gryphons were wearing armor, Sirius noted. They had obviously been caught by total surprise. More knives sailed through the air, and two more gryphons staggered as the knives dug into their flesh. They fell a few seconds later. That left three still rushing towards them. There was no time to throw any more knives.

Sirius reared up, bracing himself on his hind legs as one of the remaining three gryphons collided with him, talons meeting forehooves. Vaguely, he was a ware of the sounds of battle. Of talons scraping against armor, beaks clacking, and hooves colliding with flesh as other members of his team engaged gryphons. Sirius and his gryphon shoved against each other, the gryphon snapping his maw and trying to get his beak at Sirius' throat, Sirius pushing back and trying to keep that beak out of range. That beak was sharp as any knife, and could kill just as easily. He pushed off with one of his hind legs, causing the gryphon to give just an inch. Then, he wrenched one of his forelegs free from the gryphon's grasp. Quickly, he pushed forward, slashing his foreleg from left to right under the gryphon's snapping maw. Warm blood squirted onto his muzzle and chest armor like water from a fountain as the blade on his foreleg armor opened up the gryphon's throat. The gryphon released him now, staggering backwards, and grasping his throat with both talons, his eyes wide with shock. He opened his mouth in a silent scream, but only gurgling sounds and blood came out. A few seconds later, he began to stagger, then stumbled to his knees, collapsing face down shortly after.

Sirius looked around and noticed that the other members of his team had felled the other two gryphons. Two of the team members quickly moved forward now, turning and bracing against the wall near the hallway. They leaned out, turning their heads to look down it, then both waved a forehoof, giving the sign that the corridor was clear. Sirius moved quickly, following them down the hallway along with the rest of the team. It was quiet now, and he wondered if all of the gryphons were dead, or if some had finally figured out what was going on and were lying in ambush for them somewhere. Adrenaline continued to surge through his veins, and his heart pumped furiously. He raised a forehoof, carefully wiping the warm, sticky gryphon blood from around his eyes. He'd been on raids like this before and was one of the most experienced members of Bat Team Alpha. But never before had he been on a raid where the stakes were so high. Where failure to accomplish the mission objective could mean the doom of not only Equestria, but potentially the universe itself.

o.O.o

Luna sat on her haunches in her cell, her hind legs folder underneath her, and her forelegs rigidly straight on the floor in front of her. She remained perfectly quiet and unmoving, staring at the three gryphon guards sitting outside of her cell. Every once in a while, she'd flick her tail lightly, but that was the only motion she made. She took deep, slow breaths, waiting for the rescue to start. One of the gryphons glanced at her, but then turned his head away, unable to keep eye contact with her for long. He looked at one of the other guards, shuddered and spoke quietly.

“I hate it when she does that. It's creepy I tell ya. She's like some predator staring down her trapped prey, just waiting for the right moment to pounce.”

Luna pretended not to pay attention to their conversation, but inwardly, she was chuckling to herself. Occasionally, during her detention here, she'd amuse herself by playing these psychological games with the guards. They never failed to have the intended effect. Although some of the guards were a lot better at maintaining their outward composure than others.

“In case you haven't noticed, she's the one trapped behind bars,” the other guard responded. “She won't be pouncin' on no one. If it creeps you out so much, then don' look at her.”

“Then she's meditating or something. Gettin' ready to cast some damn spell on us.”

“If she could cast spells, don' ya think she'd a-dun it by now?”

“She's bidin' her time. Waitin' for the right moment, I tell ya. That's what she's a-doing. Waitin'.”

“Ya worry too much, Jet Stream. That's yer problem. If she could cast spells she'd a gotten away a long time ago. She can't cast. Not with the magic inhibitor on her horn and the cold iron in the bars and walls.”

“Maybe a normal unicorn couldn't cast. But she ain't no unicorn.”

The other gryphon just shook his head. “Again, if she's unnerving you that much, just don' look at 'er.”

Despite the guard's cool composure and reassuring answers, Luna could smell his nervousness. He wasn't entirely convinced his own statements were true.

Unfortunately, however, they were true. Luna had tried every day, several times a day to use just a little bit of magic. She'd searched and searched for some kind of weakness in the inhibitor ring and cold iron. But so far, she had found nothing. It was true. She couldn't cast in here.

Without moving her eyes, she turned her attention to the third gryphon outside her cell. He was her friend, Albinus. The one who was going to help her. During her conversations with him, she'd learned that he was the most junior guard here. At nineteen, he was also the youngest, having barely finished basic training before being sent here. At first, she'd been baffled that they had sent someone with virtually no experience to guard her, given how valuable of a prisoner she was. But Albinus had explained to her that assignments in the Gryphon Army were typically given based on seniority, and that not many soldiers with seniority wanted this assignment. They were all too afraid of her and what she might be capable of.

Suddenly a dull, deep BOOM echoed throughout the dungeon hall. All three of the guards gave a startled jump, getting to their feet quickly. A gust of air from the ventilation shaft ruffled her fur, and a tinge of sulfur smell hit her nostrils.

“You stay here, Albinus! Guard her!” the senior guard shouted before he and the one he had called Jet Stream darted towards the door. The senior guard fumbled for his keys, finally finding the right one and throwing the door open. The two of them ran out, dashing up the stairs, not even bothering to close the door behind them.

Albinus had stayed behind as ordered, but he looked nervous now, occasionally shifting his weight from one hind paw to the other. For a little while, he did nothing, except stare towards the door in the direction his comrades had run. A sinking feeling began to weigh heavily on her as she started to wonder if he was having second thoughts and was going to back out of his promise to help her.

The muffled sounds of battle reached her ears through the ventilation shaft. Her team was inside now, she knew. She heard the clash of talons slamming against armor, followed by a loud squawk of pain from a gryphon. The battle noises seemed to rouse Albinus out of his indecisiveness. He turned around, fumbling with his key ring, finding the right key, and sticking it into the lock. He hesitated for only a brief moment before turning it. There was a sliding, scraping sound as the bolt slid back, and then he swung the door open.

“Go,” he said. “'I'll cover you from behind.”

And for the first time in she wasn't sure how long, Luna stepped out of her cell, quickly making her way to the still open dungeon hall door. They had already agreed she would go first and he would follow. That would make sure her rescue team didn't accidentally kill him before they realized he was her friend. She had just started up the stairs when a loud female voice stopped her in her tracks.

“You treacherous vulture!” the voice shouted.

She turned her head, seeing the female Commander of the guard unit, accompanied by a male subordinate officer, already rushing towards Albinus, The Commander raised a talon and slashed towards his throat, but he blocked it with his own talon, deflecting the blow away from him.

“Go!” he shouted at Luna as both guards attacked him now, trying to ram through him and get to her in the stairwell.

“But there's no way you can take on two of them by yourself!” she shouted back at him, wincing as he parried another blow. But that blow had staggered him badly, nearly sending him to his knees. It was clear he was already losing the fight.

“You can't help! You can't cast in here! What happens to me doesn't matter! All that matters is that you get to your rescue team! Now go!” he shouted, taking a slash across his chest from the Commander that instantly started to dribble blood. Luna winced at the sight, but the cut wasn't deep. Still, she knew he wouldn't survive long.

He'd already explained the layout of the dungeon to her, and she knew how to work her way towards the surface. She took one step up the stairs, then stopped and turned around, narrowing her eyes. I may not be able to cast in here, but my horn is useful for something other than just casting spells, she said to herself. Then, she lowered her head and charged at a full gallop, her horn pointing in front of her like a silver lance. A second later, she slammed into the side of the Commander. Horn met flesh, and flesh yielded. She pushed off hard with her hind legs, driving herself forward, her horn slipping in between two ribs and burying itself deeper, until her forehead hit the gryphon's side, the entire length of her horn now embedded deeply inside the Commander's flesh. The gryphon let out a screech that was part agony and part surprise. She jerked herself away, pulling her skewered body off of Luna's horn. As soon as she did, frothy pink blood started to flow out of the wound. The same blood also ran down Luna's horn, dripping down her forehead and into her eyes. She shook her head slightly, clearing her vision, and then watched the startled Commander. The Commander took an enraged step forward towards her, swinging her talon, but she was moving much more slowly, and Luna easily sprang backward, avoiding the swipe. Then, the gryphon opened her mouth, as if to say something, but instead of voice, there was only a rasping cough and spraying blood from her mouth. And with that, Luna knew her aim had been true. Her horn had penetrated at least one, and probably both lungs. It was a mortal wound that would kill quickly.

The gryphon's eyes glazed over and she coughed again as her lungs continued to fill with blood. She was drowning, Luna knew. Then, the gryphon took one more step towards her, swinging her talon wildly, in a last attempt at revenge. The swing never had a chance of hitting. She collapsed, falling in a heap, her eyes motionless.

Luna turned her attention to Albinus now. He was still locked in combat with the other guard. But with the loss of his Commander, the guard seemed to be having a much more difficult time. He shoved his head forward, trying to go for one of Albinus' eyes with his razor-sharp beak. Luna knew it was a fatal mistake. Her judgment proved true as Albinus went low, getting his beak around the other gryphon's now unprotected throat. Albinus clamped down, then yanked backwards, tearing open a large hole in the front of his opponent's neck. The gash was so wide, and the blood loss so rapid, that the other gryphon barely had time to look surprised before he collapsed.

Luna looked at Albinus now, and he looked back at her. Both were breathing a little heavily from the fight. But she was uninjured, and as far as she could tell, other than the minor cut across his chest, he was uninjured as well. Neither of them said anything at they turned and started up the stairs again, Luna leading, and Albinus following close behind her.

o.O.o

Sirius and his team finished clearing the first level of the facility, which was also the only level that was above ground. They came to a door now, and ten members of the team pressed themselves to the wall, five on one side, and five on the other. The remaining team member tested the door, finding it locked. He turned around and bucked with his hind legs, kicking the door and blowing it off its hinges with a loud clattering and clanging noise. Then, the ten members pressed to the wall quickly moved in front of the door to cover him, throwing knives at the ready. There was nothing to throw them at, though. The staircase leading down into the darkness behind the door was empty. Sirius listened for any sound, but heard nothing. Then, at a silent signal from Captain Vega, the team funneled down the stairs. They hadn't gone far before they reached a wide landing with doors leading off to both the left and right.

“Split,” Captain Vega ordered. Four members of the team stood in front of the right door, and four in front of the left door. The three remaining members stayed in the hallway to make sure no gryphons would be able to come up the stairs and get above them. There was no room to hug the wall here, so they had no choice but to remain exposed. Captain Vega tested the door to the left, and found it was unlocked. He opened it carefully, then motioned for the other members to follow him in. Sirius entered first, followed by the rest of the team that had taken the left door. The room they were in turned out to be a kitchen. A large counter stood in the center of the room between them and the wall on the other side of the room, which also had a door in it. Although there were several torches lining the walls, only one of them was lit, casting heavy shadows and shrouding some parts of the kitchen in blackness. Thin clouds of smoke hovered above the other torches, giving away the fact that they had just been extinguished before the team had entered. Captain Vega pointed at the counter with his forehoof, giving a circling motion, and his team split, two of them circling around the counter to the left, and the other two to the right.

Suddenly, a female gryphon jumped up from behind the counter and ran away from them, darting towards the door in the opposite side of the room.

“After her!” Captain Vega shouted, and the team started galloping towards her. One of the members, Nimbus, sprang off the floor, clearing the counter with room to spare. He slammed into the gryphon, bringing her down. Immediately, she twisted onto her side, trying to roll out from under him, but he dropped his haunches, quickly sitting on her and pinning her to the floor, placing one of his armored forehooves on the side of her head, holding it down on the floor. Sirius and the rest of the team quickly surrounded the pinned gryphon and she stopped struggling immediately.

“I surrender! Please! I'm not a soldier! I'm just a cook!” she cried out staring up at the bat pony that held her down, eyes wide with fear.

“A cook, you say?” Captain Vega asked. Sirius quickly noted she was wearing no armor and appeared to be carrying no weapons. But that didn't necessarily mean anything. The guards that had attacked them had been caught by surprise and hadn't been wearing armor either.

“Yes, Sir,” she said, attempting to turn her head to look at Captain Vega.

“Be still!” the bat pony sitting on her ordered, pushing his forehoof down a bit more firmly on her head, preventing her from making any movement. Instead, she just moved her eyes, turning them to look at the Captain instead.

“A cook, Sir,” she continued. “My parents didn't want me, and turned me over to the state when I was born. They forced me to join the army when I turned fifteen, but after finding out I had no soldiering aptitude, they made me a cook. It's considered dishonorable for a gryphon to show no soldiering aptitude, Sir.”

That was certainly more information than they'd needed, asked for, or even wanted.

“Search her,” Captain Vega said with a nod to Sirius.

He nodded, then approached the pinned gryphon. He carefully ran a forehoof through the plumage of her neck and chest, looking for any hidden blades or other weapons. He nodded to Nimbus, who took his forehoof off her head, but otherwise, continued to keep her firmly pinned to the floor.

“Lift your head,” Sirius ordered. The gryphon quickly obeyed, lifting her head and allowing Sirius to reach underneath her. He did so, again, carefully running his forehoof through the plumage on the side of her neck that was facing towards the floor. Then, he nodded to Nimbus again and took a few steps backwards.

“Head down,” Nimbus ordered. Again, she obeyed quickly, and he placed his forehoof lightly back on the side of her head to keep it pinned.

“She's clean, Sir,” Sirius announced. Captain Vega nodded, then returned his attention to the pinned gryphon.

“You know the layout of this facility?”

“Yes Sir,” she responded, attempting to nod her head, but a quick response from Nimbus stopped her from moving again. “Well, most of it anyway. They don't let me go into the dungeon itself. I go to the dungeon entrance, but the guards take the food from there and bring it to the prisoner. I don't even know who they are holding down there. But I assumed it must be a pony 'cause Albinus often asks me to make vegetarian dishes. In fact, he –”

“How many guards are stationed here?” Vega asked, interrupting the gryphon before she wandered any further into detailed descriptions. She was very talkative, and very forthcoming with information, Sirius thought, even volunteering far more information than was needed or asked for. But if what she said was true, and she was only a cook, she probably had no training at all in resisting interrogation, and she was probably very frightened right now. Bat ponies did have a fearsome reputation after all. Especially when you included the false rumors about blood drinking. She probably assumed that the more she talked, and the more information she volunteered without being asked for it, the more favor she would earn with her captors, and the more likely they would be to show her mercy.

“Eighteen, Sir,” she answered timidly.

The snipers had killed four outside of the building, and the team had killed six on the first level. One of the gryphons was Luna's friend. That left seven who were still unaccounted for, and who were still a potential threat. Several gryphons had rushed outside, though, when they realized they were under attack, and Sirius knew from the frightened and confused sounds he'd heard earlier that the snipers had picked off most, if not all of them. He suspected that when they left the building, they'd find most, if not all of the remaining seven lying dead outside. Still as long as any guards remained unaccounted for, they had to be careful. They could take seven guards if they had to, and by themselves, the seven guards wouldn't be able to trap them in a lower level of the building. But they could potentially do something more sinister, such as set a higher level on fire and trap them in the lower level that way. That meant they still had to carefully sweep each level before moving any deeper into the facility.

“Will you lead us through the facility and down as far as you know the way?” Captain Vega asked the pinned gryphon.

“Lead you through the facility? Yes, Sir. I can do that,” she answered timidly. Captain Vega looked at Sirius again.

“You believe her story?”

“About being a cook and not a soldier? Yes, Sir. I believe she's telling the truth. And the sweeps will definitely go much faster with a guide who knows the layout.” The fact that she was so talkative and timid strongly suggested she was not a soldier in the Gryphon Army. Furthermore, when he'd searched her, he'd noted she didn't have the muscle tone or definition that he'd expect to find on a soldier. In fact, she had almost no muscle development at all. It was likely she did very little, if any, intense physical training.

Captain Vega returned his attention to the gryphon, giving her a very stern look that broached no argument.

“No escape attempts, got it?”

“Yes, Sir, I won't try to get away,” she responded.

“And if you give me your word of honor that you won't try to attack any of my team, I won't muzzle you.”

“I have no honor, Sir,” she said with a strong note of sadness in her voice. “But I promise you I won't try to attack any of your team members.”

“Very well,” Captain Vega responded, apparently accepting her promise as good enough. Then, he turned his attention to Nimbus and nodded. “Let her up.”

Nimbus stood up and stepped off of his captive, then offered a forehoof to help her stand back up. She hesitated for a moment, but then graciously accepted it, pulling herself back to her paws with his help.

“Where does that door go?” Captain Vega asked, nodding towards the door that she had attempted to escape through.

“To a stairway, Sir. It leads to the back service entrance. It's only used to deliver food to the kitchen.”

“Did any guards go out it?”

“No, Sir. I heard them shouting and rushing passed, but none of them came in here. They must have all gone out the main entrance.

“Clear it,” Captain Vega said, nodding to two of his team members. They went forward, testing the door and then hugging the wall on either side while they opened it. Two other team members stood with throwing knives at the ready. However, the gryphon had been true to her word. There was nothing behind the door. Just a short stairwell that lead up to another door.

“That door at the top go directly outside?” Captain Vega asked his captive.

“Yes, Sir,” she answered.

There was no reason to sweep beyond the door, then. The snipers would take care of any gryphons that were outside of it. However, the door was worth keeping in mind as it would likely be the quickest way out of the building once they'd located Luna.

“What's your name?” Captain Vega asked her.

“When I was young, they called me Parthenope, Sir. Because the headmaster liked my singing voice.” She looked down at the floor as she continued. “But the army changed my name to Dorcia, and that's what everyone calls me now.”

“Well, you're lucky we captured you, Parthenope. If you'd made it up the stairs, my snipers would have killed you as soon as you stepped outside.”

The gryphon shivered slightly at the realization of just how close she'd come to dying. But then gave a brief but noticeable smile. Sirius was certain the smile was because Captain Vega had addressed her by the name she'd used as a child instead of the one everyone called her now. Dorcia was a gryphon word that meant gazelle. A prey animal. An animal that runs away when threatened. He was sure the army had given her that name to humiliate her after she'd shown no aptitude for being a soldier.

Captain Vega turned and lead his team and captive out into the stairwell again. There, they found the other half of the team waiting for them.

“Any action?” he asked them.

“No Sir, Everything beyond the door was clean,” one of the team members responded.

“Alright, let's continue down, then.”

The team continued working their way down the staircase. Parthenope proved to be a good guide. She'd warm them about upcoming doors before they were close enough to see them, told them what was behind the doors, and made sure they knew which corridors were leading them closer to the lower levels of the facility.

But the gryphon also continued her habit of volunteering way more information than was needed. As they approached the door that lead to the facility commander's quarters, she begin to tell them that in addition to being the cook for the entire building, she was also the Commander's personal maid. She had changed the Commander's sheets this morning, the team learned. She'd also brought the Commander tea. White tea, with a touch of lemon zest added to it. The current Commander had a peculiar habit of taking her tea in a stone ale tankard rather than a tea cup. Parthenope was so talkative that Sirius began to wonder if she were intentionally trying to draw attention to them. Or if she were trying to keep them distracted so that they wouldn't be able to hear any approaching enemies. But he decided it was more likely, she was just one of those types who chattered when they were nervous, and expounded on every detail they could think of out of fear that they would omit something important that they didn't realize was important.

“Be quiet,” Captain Vega finally said in a stern voice, turning his gaze to her. “Tell us when we are coming to rooms or junctions, and answer direct questions. But say nothing else. Give us only the details we actually need.”

“Yes, Sir,” she responded in a slightly dejected tone of voice. Sirius felt sorry for her, suspecting she was probably all to used to being chastised by military officers.

The team continued their methodical sweep of the building, working their way downward much faster now with the help of their guide. So far, they had encountered no additional resistance, and Sirius strongly began to suspect that all of the hostile gryphons were already dead. But they still couldn't rule out the possibility of am ambush lying in wait for them somewhere up ahead.

With Parthenope's direction, they turned another corner, walking down another dimly lit hallway. All of he hallways in the building were so poorly lit that Sirius suspected not all of the lighting had been installed, and that the facility had been pressed into service before it was ready. Parthenope had told them there would be a door at the end of this hallway, and that behind that door would be the final stairway leading down to the dungeon entrance. The door would almost certainly be locked, and was heavy and reinforced, she said, so bucking down the door was out. Sirius, being the entry expert on the team, hoped he could pick the lock. But if that failed, he would have to use some of the blasting-putty to blow the door. He definitely hoped it wouldn't come to that. The blast would be heard throughout the entire facility and would lead any remaining gryphons from any part of the building directly to them.

So far, they could not see the door, and the sparsely lighted hallway seemed to go on forever, disappearing into darkness like some bottomless-pit hole in the ground.

Suddenly, Parthenope stopped dead in her tracks, causing the rest of the team to stop as well.

“What is it?” Captain Vega whispered.

“I heard something, Sir. From behind the door. We are close to it now, but it's too dark to see in here,” she responded just as quietly.

Vega made a motion with his forehoof and his team pushed themselves up against the walls on either side of the hallway as tightly as they could. Sirius grabbed Parthenope's foreleg with his forehoof and pulled her up against the wall next to him. He could feel her trembling, and began to worry she was about to panic. Please don't bolt and try to run, he thought to himself. They definitely didn't need to attract that kind of attention to themselves. Three members of the team readied throwing knives, while Sirius and the remaining members prepared to spring into hoof-to-talon combat.

A key turned in the lock with a grinding sound, a clang echoed off the walls as the deadbolt disengaged, and the faint squeak of hinges told them the door was opening.

Then, out of the darkness, glowing white like some specter in the night, Sirius could see the infrared form of Princess Luna herself, trailed by the gryphon that must be her friend. Involuntarily, he smiled, but then it changed to a frown as he noticed the glowing streaks flowing down Luna's head and chest, and the glowing spots covering the gryphon's form. Even though there was no color in the infrared spectrum, It was obvious what those streaks and spots were: Blood.

Vega gave the sign for his team to move forward, and at the same time, Luna and her companion approached them. Sirius was tempted to run to his Princess. To cry out in joy. No doubt, Luna and every other member of the team felt the same. But all of them, including Luna, were much too well trained to let that emotion get the better of them. Not when there were still potential enemies around.

From the corner of his eye, he saw Parthenope hesitate, a look of uncertainty in her eyes.

“They're ours,” he said to her, remembering that gryphons, like ponies who weren't bat ponies, couldn't see the infrared spectrum like he could.

That seemed to reassure her, and she moved forward with them. Gradually, as they approached each other and moved into the light, the ghostly glowing form materialized into the dark blue form of Princess Luna. Sirius could see now that Luna's entire horn was covered in blood. Parthenope stopped again, her beak almost dropping to the floor, saying nothing. But her gaze was transfixed on Luna.

“Are either of you hurt, Your Majesty?” was the first thing Captain Vega asked when they had reached each other.

“No, Captain. Both of us are fine.”

“You encountered resistance, then?”

“Yes. Two, including the Commander. But neither one of them will be causing us any trouble.”

Captain Vega nodded, and Parthenope finally found her voice.

“The … the Princess of Equestria herself? The Night Princess? That's who it was? All this time I've been cooking for one of Equestria's Princesses?”

“You can gawk all you want later, Parthenope,” Captain Vega said, turning his attention to the gryphon. “But first, lead us out of here. Take the fastest and most direct route, since we've cleared all the levels above and know there's no one up there who can ambush us. When you get to the door that leads outside, though, make sure you let some of us go first. My snipers will shoot you if they see you come out and don't realize you are with us.”

“Yes, Sir,” Parthenope responded, coming out her state of shock and turning, leading the way back up the stairs. Two members of the team walked in front of her just in case they might have missed something earlier. But Sirius was confident their sweep would have found anyone who was still hiding in the upper levels. And the snipers would have insured that anyone who had run outside would not be going back in the building again.

It took only a fraction of the time for them to get back up as it had taken for them to work there way down, Parthenope occasionally giving directions to the guards in front of her if they missed the fact that she had started to turn down a different corridor. In a short time, they approached the entrance to the kitchen. Parthenope, lead them through it, and around the corner. The bat ponies in front of her opened the door that lead to the short flight of stairs leading up to the last door. After making sure the stairwell was still clear, they moved out of the way and let her go in front.

At the top of the stairs, she took a keyring that was hanging on a nail, flipped through a few keys, and unlocked the door. Then she moved out of the way and let the two bat ponies step in front of her again. They pushed open the door, swinging it outward. The bright lights from the courtyard flooded through the opening, bathing the stairwell in yellowish-white light. An icy blast of wind shot down at them. But to Sirius, the freezing wind had never felt so good. They were at the surface, about to leave the building, and they had accomplished their mission. They had rescued their Princess.

The two bat ponies in front Parthenope stepped through first, followed by Captain Vega. He raised his forehoof, giving the all clear signal to the snipers on that side of the building. The snipers, in turn, passed the signal on to their counterparts on the other rise opposite from them. Captain Vega them motioned for the rest of his team to step outside of the building. And one by one, they all stepped out into the open air.

Sirius watched as Luna stretched her wings, breathing deeply and smelling the outside air for what was almost certainly the first time since she'd been captured. He thought he saw her smile briefly, but then she frowned and looked down.

“I had no idea it had gotten so bad out here,” she said, seemingly to herself.

Captain Vega lead his team, their rescued Princess, and the two gryphons around to the front of the facility. There, as expected, by the front door which hung open, they found the bodies of the remaining five gryphons they hadn't been able to account for. In the confusion of the attack, they had run outside, where they had quickly been taken out by the bat unicorn snipers on the hill.

Parthenope winced and shivered, and Sirius thought she might sick up at the sight of so much death around her. As a cook, she had probably never been in a battle situation before. Fortunately, before she got sick, Vega spoke, drawing her attention away from the bodies.

“Come on. Let's get out of here,” was all he said.

Sirius looked up, seeing the hole they had cut in the canopy when they'd come in. It was much larger now, the biting wind having torn the canvas further. Then they all spread their wings, flew into the air, and made the short flight through the hole in the canopy to the top of the ridge, where they landed again and joined with their snipers. There, one of the snipers approached Luna, touching his own horn to the magic inhibiting ring wrapped around hers. There was a brief flash of light, a cracking noise, and the ring splintered and shattered, falling from her horn in a pile of dust. Luna nodded her head in thanks, and then shook it back and forth several times, her mane flipping left, then right, as if she were ridding herself of some confining mask that she had been wearing for a long time.

From there, they walked a short ways through the forest until they arrived at the clearing where the transport chariots were waiting for them, along with Spike and the rest of the bat pony support team who had stayed with the chariots. When they saw that the team had their Princess with them, they raised their forehooves in victory, and spike raised his forearm. The team returned the victory salute, as they stopped in the clearing. Then, the entire team lined up in formation with Captain Vega and, with the exception of the two gryphons, they all bowed to Luna. As they did so, Vega addressed her.

“Now that we are safely away from that building, allow me and my team to be the first to welcome you home, Your Majesty.”

“Thank you, Captain. And thank you, to all of you,” Luna responded, bowing her head in thanks and then motioning them to rise. “Not once while I was held captive, did I despair. For I never had any doubt that my Night Guard would come through. And once again, you have all proven that you are Equestria's finest.”

None of them said anything in response. It was not the time or place. There would be plenty of time for celebration once they were back in Canterlot.

Luna turned her attention to Captain Vega now.

“What of your prisoner, Captain?” she asked, shifting her attention to Parthenope, who bowed her head timidly at Luna's gaze.

“Her name is Parthenope. I had intended on letting her go once we were safely back outside,” he responded. “Although, given what I've learned of her since then, I wonder if she might be happier if we take her with us.”

Immediately, Parthenope lifted her head, turning her attention to Captain Vega, an excited and hopeful gleam in her eyes.

“Oh, could I, Sir? Me come to Canterlot?” she responded in an excited, but also pleading, almost begging tone. But then, the hopeful gleam left her eyes and they went downcast. “But I'm quite certain I'm not strong enough and don't have the endurance to make the flight across the Sea of Tears,” she said sadly, as if all hope had just been dashed out of her.

“You will ride with me,” Luna said.

“May I really? Oh, thank you, Your Majesty!” the gryphon responded, her eyes full of excitement again, and her voice as giddy as a filly waiting for a Wonderbolts show to start.

“I would let you have my entire chariot to yourself, actually. Given how long I've been confined to that cell, I'd love to stretch my wings and fly back to Canterlot myself. But I suspect Captain Vega will not allow it.”

“I'm afraid not, Your Majesty. At least not until we've crossed over the Sea of Tears and are safely back over Equestria,” Captain Vega responded, shaking his head slightly.

Luna nodded once in understanding, then turned her attention to Albinus.

“I assume you are okay flying outside with my team?” she asked.

“I won't be going with you, Princess,” he responded, shaking his head slightly.

“What? But you can't stay here,” Luna responded in surprise, her eyes wide.

“I can't leave my wife here. I have to go back to Gryphon City and get her. Then we'll fly to Equestria together.”

Luna nodded her head in understanding, then turned to her rescue team.

“Nimbus, Ganymede, go with him,” she commanded.

“Yes, Your Majesty!” they both responded, taking a step forward, but Albinus shook his head.

“I'll be safer going alone. Less likely to be noticed.”

“But you'll be killed if they catch you. They'll execute you for abandoning your post,” Luna protested. “Are you sure you don't wish to have an escort? Bat Team Alpha members are experts at covert operations.”

“I deeply thank you for your offer of assistance, Princess. But this is a risk I have to take on my own.”

Luna nodded once more in acceptance, then stepped forward, raising her forehooves and pulling Albinus into a hug. For a moment, the gryphon looked surprised, but then he wrapped his own forelegs around her as well.

“Thank you, for everything, Albinus. And make sure to send notice when you and your wife arrive in Equestria. I look forward to meeting her and having the two of you to the castle for dinner.”

“I will, Princess. I promise,” he responded. Then, the two of them released each other, and Albinus took a few steps backward and turned around. He spread his wings, taking to the air. He flapped them a few times, gaining altitude until he was above the treeline. Then, he turned towards Gryphon City, and quickly disappeared into the night.

“Let's get out of here,” Captain Vega said, drawing Luna's attention away from the sky. She nodded once, then motioned for Parthenope to follow her. The two of them walked towards her chariot, and one of the bat ponies opened the door for them, saluting as they approached. She motioned for her gryphon guest to step in first, and Parthenope timidly did so. Then, Luna stepped in after her, and the bat pony outside closed the door and secured it. The small stove inside the chariot was already lit, and the air was warm and inviting. Luna watched out the window as the rest of Captain Vega's team quickly fell into order.

Then, the chariot began to move, bumping along the rough ground for a few seconds before pitching up and taking to the sky. The ride became smooth as they cleared the tree tops. They turned west, and Luna began her journey back to her old life. And Parthenope, seated next to her, began her journey to her new life: a life where she would never be called Dorcia again.

BOOK II: 67 - A Heated Argument

Chapter 67: A Heated Argument

A glowing halo appeared on the horizon as Bat Team Alpha approached their destination. Within a short time, the lights of Canterlot became visible within the halo, like twinkling stars on the horizon. They were still twenty miles outside of the city, but Lieutenant Sirius could clearly see the outline of the castle spires, reaching high into the heavens. The visibility was excellent. As they flew closer to the city, the banners on top of the towers became visible, blowing lazily as if they were in a gentle, summer breeze. There wasn’t much wind then. Sirius grinned to himself as he increased his speed slightly, pulling up next to Captain Vega.

“Shall we wake them up, Sir?” he shouted to be heard over the wind noise.

“I’m sure nobody in the castle who knows about this mission is actually asleep.”

“True, Sir. But we could still give them a grand entrance. And wake up the rest of the city. I’ve got a little something special in my saddle bag. Blasting putty isn’t the only explosive I brought along,” he responded with a smirk.

Captain Vega turned his head looking at him for a moment, then returned his gaze forward again.

“We’re gonna get our tails chewed off if we do this. You know that, right?”

“Given who we have in the chariot, Sir? I rather think they’ll forget all about it within a few minutes of landing.”

Captain Vega appeared to think for a moment, then nodded his head slightly. With that, he banked sharply to his left, dropping down lower to the ground and increasing his speed. Lieutenant Sirius and the rest of the team followed, assuming a delta formation behind their Captain and darting towards the castle, picking up speed as they went.

o.O.o

James pulled his heavy robe tighter around himself and sipped his mug of hot cider. He was sitting on top of one of the castle walls along with Twilight and the rest of the Royal Council members. Like the others, he felt frozen to his core. But on this night, no amount of cold would have kept him inside. He scanned the sky, looking for any sign of bat ponies. But all he could see were the Pegasus Guard patrols.

The guards on the castle walls looked nervous, and they scanned the sky as well, although they didn’t know what they were looking for. Given the classified nature of the rescue mission, they hadn’t been told about it, and so they had no idea why the Regent, along with the entire Royal Council, was sitting on top of the wall watching the sky. Most of the castle should have been asleep right now, but word had traveled quickly that the Regent and the Council were on top of the wall. Because of that, the castle had emptied, and the courtyard below looked like a stadium of ponies waiting for a concert to start. All of the ponies in the courtyard looked nervous as well, also gazing upward. But like the guard, they didn’t know what they were supposed to be looking for.

James returned his attention to the sky, looking east in the direction Bat Team Alpha would be coming from. But he saw nothing. Despite all the ponies gathered in the courtyard, there was a nervous and eerie silence, as if the world itself were dead.

Suddenly, an ear-splitting CRACK, shook the night, impacting James with a powerful shockwave. A thunderous roar accompanied the noise, drowning out any other sounds. James could feel the sonic waves from the tremendous roar throughout his entire body. At the same time the sound had reached his ears, eleven ponies had shot passed the wall, then pitched up sharply, climbing straight up and out of sight. But still, the earth-shaking roar continued.

“What in the name of Celestia and Luna was that?” he barely heard a guard say, as he cantered out of the guardhouse, staring up into the sky. The roar was finally starting to fade.

“Sonic boom, Sergeant. Eleven ponies just buzzed the wall doing about eight hundred knots. I couldn’t see them clearly ‘cause they were moving too fast, but they looked like bat ponies.”

James felt his heart leap as the guard confirmed what he thought he’d seen with his own eyes. They must have Luna! They wouldn’t be showing off like that and breaking aviation regulations if they didn’t.

James turned and rushed towards the guard house now. The roar had stopped, and only the distant echoes of it remained. The bat ponies must have slowed down to subsonic speed, then. As he ran, he saw several bright flashes of light reflect off the polished, stone wall. He looked up again, seeing fireworks bursting overhead in brilliant flowers of purple, blue, and silver-white. The fireworks were all in Luna’s colors. A few seconds later, a series of loud booms reverberated off the walls and towers. Elated cheering erupted from the guards on the wall, and from the ponies gathered in the courtyard below as they began to guess what all of the commotion was about.

He rushed into the guard house, Twilight and the rest of the Council members rushing in with him. Quickly, they ran down the spiral staircase. On reaching the bottom, he shoved the door open and darted outside. But now, he and the others had to stop as a crowd of ponies blocked their way. Slowly, they made their way through it, ponies making a path as they realized it was the Council and the Regent. But in the excitement, it was proving difficult to get the attention of the gathered crowd.

Finally, they made their way to the landing area. Or at least, where the landing area was supposed to be. The ground crews and guards were having a difficult time clearing ponies off of it. James turned and looked at Twilight, about to ask her if there was anything she could do to help. But he stopped when he noticed her horn was already starting to glow with a spell.

“Fellow Equestrians!” her voice boomed out over the crowd with the aid of a sound amplifying spell. “A you have guessed, one of our elite Bat Team Alpha units has rescued our Princess of the Night!”

Thunderous cheering broke out among the gathered ponies, but Twilight quickly spoke again, regaining command of the crowd.

“But you all must clear out of the landing area so that Her Majesty’s chariot can land! So please, follow the instructions of the Royal Guards!”

Gradually, the gathered crowd moved off in all directions, and a square begin to open up in the landing area. James looked up at the sky again, and noticed a Royal Guard transport chariot hovering off to the east. In the commotion, he hadn’t noticed it earlier. How long had they been waiting?

Finally, the landing area was clear. One of the unicorn guards lit his horn, and a green flare shot from the tip, arcing into the sky and illuminating the gathered ponies with showers of flickering green light. The chariot began to move forward again, slowly making its way over the cheering crowd. Then, it stopped above the landing pad, and, like a helicopter, gradually made a vertical descent, before gracefully touching down. Again, the gathered ponies erupted into shouts of joy, stamping their forehooves on the ground in applause.

A few seconds later, another chariot touched down next to the first one. the door opened, and several bat pony unicorn guards stepped out of it. One of them walked over to the first chariot and opened the door. Then, as if stepping out of a dream itself, The Princess of the Night stepped out of the chariot. James had thought the roar of the crowd couldn’t possibly get any louder. But he was wrong. At the sight of their returning Princess, the noise of the crowd rose to rival that of the sonic boom the bat ponies had made earlier to announce their arrival.

Luna raised a forehoof, waiving to the crowd, although James noticed her eyes shifting nervously and her ears pointed forward as if on high alert. She turned her head to the unicorn guard that had opened the door for her, saying something to him that James couldn’t hear over the noise. The guard nodded, and then with a quick flash, Luna teleported herself away and was gone.

James blinked in surprise, and the noise of the crowd quickly died down to confused and disappointed murmurs. Like him, the crowd, had expected Luna to make some sort of speech. At least to say something to them. He knew Luna wasn’t used to being the center of attention and tended to prefer the company of just one or two. But still, he felt a rising fear that something much more serious was bothering her than just the eyes of the crowd on her. He didn’t have much time to think about it, though, before he saw another flash, and felt a wave of vertigo come over him.

When the vertigo cleared a few seconds later, he found himself inside the castle entryway, standing next to Twilight. He turned to her, about to say something in regards to giving him some warning before doing that, but stopped short when he saw Luna standing there as well, along with a small contingent of bat pony guards. Her muzzle still wore the same troubled expression. In fact, it looked even more troubled now. She looked at Twilight and spoke, somehow managing to keep the nervousness out of her voice.

“It would not be prudent for me to assume rulership of Equestria until I’ve been briefed on everything that has been going on, and have had some time to properly rest. So if you have no objections, I would like you to continue your duties as Regent for a few more days.”

“Oh … Of course, Your Majesty,” Twilight responded, the confusion evident in her voice.

“Good. Please schedule a Council briefing in one hour to fill me in on everything,” Luna added, then turned her attention to James. “But first, I would like to speak with you alone and in private.”

“Of course, Your Majesty,” he responded, casting a confused and nervous glance at Twilight. But her own perplexed expression offered him no comfort.

Luna nodded once, then turned, and began to walk towards the throne room, accompanied by two of her Lunar Guards. James followed, his heart thumping as he felt fear build up inside of him. Why did she want to talk to him in private? Worries raced through his mind as they approached the large, double doors leading to the grand throne room. Did she already know about his relationship with Twilight Sparkle? Or had she somehow found out about Theory Point’s betrayal already, and assumed he was in on it? He tried to tell himself it couldn’t be either one of those. After all, neither one was such an urgent matter that it would be the first thing she’d address when she got back to Canterlot. However, that only made his heart race more, since the one other fear that tugged at his mind was far worse than either of those. A sense of dread came over him as they entered the throne room and she lead him to a small, private meeting room to one side of the throne. She used a small amount of magic to open the door, and James followed her and her guards in. Once inside, the two guards took up positions at either side of the door.

“Your Majesty, shouldn’t you be—”

As soon as the door was closed, Luna rounded on him, and he stopped in surprise.

“You said you have a plan to rescue my sister?” she blurted out. The tension that she’d managed to keep out of her voice in the entryway was abundantly evident now.

“... Yes, we do, Your Majesty,” he responded after a brief pause while the initial surprise wore off. The sense of fear grew inside of him like a developing thunderhead.

“When?”

“Not for over three weeks. We have to wait for a dimensional alignment. We won’t survive that long. We’ll pass a point of no return in just a few days. After that, it will be too late. You have to raise the Sun.”

“Yes … About that …” Luna said, looking at the floor now, her look of nervousness changing to one of despair.

James felt as if lightning had just crashed through him from the developing thunderhead inside of him. His growing fear, the one even worse than the fear that she knew about Theory Point or Twilight, had just been confirmed: Luna couldn’t raise the Sun.

“Don’t tell me you can’t,” he said, shaking his head in denial.

“I’ve never tried it before.”

“Well, then you have to do it now.”

“I don’t know that I can try, James,” Luna responded, shaking her head slightly.

“You have to. Who else is gonna do it? Twilight can’t do it. I certainly can’t do it. You’re the only who can do it.”

“You say can do it as if it’s a foregone conclusion that I will succeed if I try.”

“I have faith in you. I believe you can do it. No … I don’t believe. I know you can do it.”

“Thank you for your confidence in me, James,” she said with a slight smile, which quickly turned to a frown again. “But it’s not that simple.”

“Yes, it is that simple, Your Majesty. We can’t survive long enough to wait for your sister to come back and do it. It really is that simple.”

Luna shook her head. “You don’t understand, James. Raising the Sun has to be done exactly right. If I make even the slightest mistake, I could incinerate our entire world.”

“I understand that if you don’t do it, our entire world will freeze to death before we get the chance to bring Celestia back.”

“Yes … but …”

“But what?”

“But …” Luna stammered again, as if she knew what she wanted to say, but was too afraid to say it.

“But if they freeze to death rather than burn to death, you think you won’t have to feel responsible for it,” James finished for her, a note of disgust slipping into his tone.

“Yes,” Luna responded quietly, lowering her head and pinning her ears back. “I almost destroyed the world once before when I became Nightmare Moon. I can’t face the possibility of doing it again.”

“So you’re just going to let everyone die then.” A mixture of emotions fought for control inside James. On one hand, he felt sympathy for her. But at the same time, he felt anger at her. The anger was winning out. Some of that anger had crept into his accusation.

Luna raised her head now, her ears still back, her tail lashing once and a hint of fire in her eyes over his pointed statement. Anger laced her voice as she responded.

“Don’t you dare speak to me that way, Councilor! Try to understand. If I make even the smallest mistake when attempting to raise the Sun, I could start the entire world on fire! But then again, I don’t expect you to understand! No, I will not try to raise the Sun!” she said with a shake of her head. “We will wait until my sister returns!”

But James wouldn’t back down. Not this time. There was too much at stake. Any fear he felt at arousing Luna’s wrath was completely overpowered by urgency, and now anger. He made no attempt to keep it out of his voice when he responded.

“Oh I understand now. I understand all too well. It was all an act, wasn’t it.”

“What?”

“When you appeared to me as Nightmare Moon in the dream. When you threatened me. When you tried to scare me into serving you. It was all an act, wasn’t it. It was all an act to cover up the fact that hiding behind your tough-girl facade, you’re just a scared little Princess who is too afraid to step up to the plate when she’s called upon to do so!” He was shouting at her now, he realized, but he didn’t care.

Luna laid her ears back on her head, her tail lashing angrily and her eyes narrowing as she shouted back at him.

“You will not speak to me in such a manner! I am still a Princess of Equestria, I’ll —”

“You’ll what? Threaten me some more? Throw me in the dungeon for the rest of my life? Do you really think that frightens me now? Because if you don’t raise the Sun, then I’ll only be spending about two weeks in the dungeon anyway. Because that’s how long we can go before everything in this world is dead!”

“I am still your Princess, and the one you swore loyalty to!” Luna shouted, stomping her forehoof.

“Yes, yes, I did! And part of being loyal to you means telling you what you need to hear! Not what you want to hear! And what you need to hear is that having the power to stop a tragedy, but doing nothing, is just as bad as if you caused the tragedy yourself! If you refuse to raise the Sun, you’ll be just as bad as when you were Nightmare Moon! You might as well turn into her again! Because the world is going to die in the exact same way it would have if you had succeeded in your plans then! And you will be responsible for it!”

“If I could raise the Sun and chose not to, yes! But I can’t! Not without destroying our entire world!”

“Yes, you can! But you’re a scared, spoiled little Princess who is too afraid to try! Princess Luna! The Princess who had the power to save the world, but let it die instead! The Princess who when it came time for her star to shine, refused to do what she had to do to save her own subjects!” he shouted, then added in a quieter voice, “It’s too bad there won’t be anyone left alive in the world to write that into the history books.”

With that, he spun around on his heel, and stormed towards the door.

“Where are you going?” Luna asked. Her voice still sounded angry, but less so than before. Now, there was a hint of uncertainty in it, and he could tell she was rattled by her failed attempts at intimidating him.

“To find Twilight, and Fluttershy, and Rarity, and Rainbow Dash, and Applejack, and Pinkie Pie. To spend what little time we all have left with my friends. Together, at the end.”

As he reached the door, one of the Lunar Guards stepped in front of it, blocking him.

“You will not speak to Her Majesty in such a fashion!” he said in a stern voice.

“Step aside, Sergeant,” James ordered.

“Not until you have bowed to Her Majesty and properly asked her leave.”

“I bow to leaders I respect! I bow to leaders who inspire me to want to follow them! Not to spoiled princesses who won’t even save their own subjects! Now step aside, Sergeant!”

“You are way out of line Councilor! I’ll —”

“You have been given an order by a Royal Council member! And in the absence of a countermand from one of the Princesses themselves, you will follow it or I will relieve you of duty! Now step aside, Sergeant!”

The two of them faced off against each other, neither one of them saying anything, neither one blinking. All the while, James waited for Luna to countermand his order. To order him taken into custody for gross insubordination and tossed in a dungeon cell. At least ten seconds passed, but Luna said nothing. Finally, the Lunar Guard stepped aside, and allowed James to pass. He opened the door, stormed out, and slammed it behind him, the sound echoing off the walls of the great throne room like the sound of doom itself.

He walked passed the royal throne, then turned and stormed towards the double-doors at the end of the room. Part of him regretted the way he had spoken to Luna. But those feelings of regret were completely overwhelmed by feelings of anger that boiled inside him, like a cauldron hanging over a fire, steaming and throwing boiling water over the sides. Anger mixed with despair as he realized that everything they’d worked for up to this point had all been in vain. Their victory over the gryphons, their alliance with the changelings. Gilda’s success at finding the secret prison, and the successful rescue of Luna herself. None of it mattered now.

He reached the doors, pounding on them once. The four Royal Guards stationed outside pulled them open and he stepped out into the large gathering area outside the throne room. He continued across it towards the hallway not acknowledging the four guards.

“Councilor?” one of the guards asked, confusion and concern evident in his voice. James stopped, and turned around, looking at the four of them for a few seconds. All of them looked as confused as the one who had spoken had sounded. He responded in a calm and compassionate voice.

“On behalf of the Regent and the Royal Council, I thank all of you for your service. And I hereby release you from it. Go, be with your families. Cherish them and tell them how much you love them. None of us have very much time left.”

“Councilor?” Another one of the guards asked.

“Just go. Be with your families,” James said quietly before turning around and making his way towards the hallway again.

He had almost reached the hallway when a roar from outside penetrated the walls. He stopped, listening, and it took him a few moments to realize what it was. Applause from the crowd of ponies? He looked up at the stained-glass windows rimming the domed ceiling now. The windows to the east were glowing with a dull orange glow. As he watched, the glow became brighter, and brighter. Suddenly, a shaft of bright light, so intense that it made him squint, pierced through the window and struck his face. The shaft of light rose higher, and he had to look away from it. The glass on the window split the beam into thousands of rays. He turned a circle, bathed in white light. It shined on the wall tapestries, reflected off the floor, and glinted off the armor of the guards.

“She did it,” James said quietly to himself. “She did it!” he shouted, sprinting across the gathering area and back towards the doors to the throne room, nearly tripping on the hem of his robe several times. “Cancel that order, she did it!” he shouted at the guards, who nearly jumped, then quickly moved to open the door for him, again, looking as if they feared he would run right into it.

He raced through the door and down the carpet, sprinting around the throne towards the door to the meeting room. He threw it open, and almost immediately, Luna plowed into him, knocking him to the floor. He blinked and looked up at her.

“I did it!” she shouted, a wide smile on her muzzle. Briefly, the smile turned to a sheepish look as she realized that in her excitement, she’d bowled him over. But the smile returned quickly as her horn glowed and she levitated him off the floor. But instead of setting him down, she pulled him into a hug, wrapping her forelegs tightly around him, nearly squeezing the wind out of him.

“I did it!” she said again.

“You did it!” he agreed, wrapping his arms around her. And as the two of them embraced, bright sunlight flooded through the skydome windows, showering over them. Outside, the crowd continued to cheer wildly. And through the windows, the fully risen Sun bathed them in a warmth that felt better than the warmest fireplace would feel after coming in from the coldest day.

68 - Missing Threads

Chapter 68: Missing Threads

Commander Auraria halted her exhausted troops after just over seventeen hours of hard marching through deep snow. They’d stopped only once to take a brief meal and rest for about half an hour. Changelings, ponies, and gryphons, all looked like they were about to fall over from fatigue. She could hardly blame them. Her own legs felt like they had lead weights attached to them. She prided herself on her physical fitness and endurance, but by hour fourteen, merely putting one hoof in front of the other had required almost all of her focus, and it had taken all of her willpower not to call a halt and take a good seven or eight hours of rest. Now that they’d arrived, though, a sense of pride and accomplishment both in herself and in her soldiers helped to alleviate some of the soreness in her legs. She’d done what she’d set out to do. She’d gotten them to the point where they would make their stand against the invasion force heading for Hoofington. And she’d gotten them there a full three days before that force would arrive. But there was still one thing left to do before they could take their much needed rest.

“Make camp!” she called out loudly. “Space out the tents behind the treeline to make them less visible from the air.”

She listened as her command was repeated throughout the ranks, and all of the soldiers got to work setting up the camp. Even though all of them were no doubt as tired as she was, none of them complained. The wind had picked up again, biting them with cold, arctic blasts of air, and none of them wanted to rest outside. They would be glad to get the cook fires built, and then take a well deserved eight hours of rest inside the tents and out of the wind.

If the invasion force was smart, they’d send scouts ahead of them to make sure there was no ambush waiting like the one she had planned. She was confident her soldiers could intercept the scouts if they had to. Of course, when the scouts didn’t return, that would be almost as bad as allowing the scouts to report back what they’d found. There was no danger of scouts yet, though. Even scouts couldn’t have covered enough ground to be here yet. But two days from now, she would order all of her soldiers to stay inside of their tents, with the exception of a few lookouts to watch for scouts. Her hope was that the scouts would pass right by them and report back to their commanders that they had seen nothing.

While her soldiers worked to set up the camp, she surveyed the area. It was one thing to study an area on a map, but another thing entirely to actually scout it. As she walked, she noted that there was very little undergrowth here, and the trees were spaced close together. That suggested a dense canopy of foliage overhead that prevented sunlight from reaching the ground. She looked up, but the tops of the trees were lost in the darkness. The closely packed trees were good for concealing them, but the tradeoff was that it made maneuvering difficult, even on the ground. Maneuvering from the air would be even more difficult. Her changelings could probably manage it. They trained extensively in close quarters aerial combat in order to protect the Hive. But it was out of the question for the pegasi or the gryphons to take to the air from behind the trees. They were setting up close enough to the treeline, though, that it would only be a short sprint into the open field where they would have all the room they needed to launch into the sky.

She stepped out of the forest now, into the open field. The wind whipped across the plain, slamming into her and causing her tail to blow like the strands of some shredded flag. She ignored the cold, turning her attention to the northeast and straining her eyes in an attempt to see the cliffs that would force the invaders to funnel into a narrow line as they approached her ambush point. But try a she might, they were too far away, and all she could see was the inky black void of night. Is that what the entire universe would look like if the Beyond won? She turned, walking back into the forest again, making her way among the working soldiers. As she had ordered, they were once again interspersing their tents so that changeling, gryphon, and pony all had to live among each other. This time, though, the tents had to be spaced further apart, taking advantage of whatever room could be found between the densely packed trees. She walked a little further, looking for, and spotting Sergeant Rasahus.

“A word with you, Sergeant.”

“Ma’am,” he acknowledged, stopping what he was doing, walking to her and saluting with a forehoof to his chest. She returned the salute before continuing.

“Give them all eight good hours of rest. Then organize twenty hunting parties. Scour the woods and bring back whatever game you can find. We’re going to be running very short of rations because of this detour.”

“Will, the ponies eat meat, Ma’am?”

“I don’t know. I hope they’ll decide that saving Hoofington is worth breaking their taboo of not eating meat. We don’t have time, and they can’t afford to expend the energy to dig for plants or grasses.”

“Yes, Ma’am.”

“Peregrine and Prepona are our two fastest fliers, right?”

“Yes, Ma’am.”

Auraria nodded. “Find them and tell them to meet me at my tent in half an hour.”

“Ma’am.”

The two of them exchanged salutes, and the Sergeant turned, trotting off to find the two changelings she’d asked for.

Auraria continued making her way through the forest, stepping around trees and listening to the idle banter as her soldiers continued setting up camp. She stopped when she came to a group of Pegasus Guards, looking at one of them.

“A word with you, Private,” she said.

The pegasus looked at her and blinked, but then stopped what he was doing and walked over to her. He stopped a few feet from her, saluting by raising his forehoof to his head, different from the way her changeling soldiers did it.

“Ma’am?” he questioned.

She returned his salute, deciding to follow the Royal Guard custom and raise her hoof to her forehead instead of her chest.

“Find the two fastest fliers in your unit and tell them to meet me at my tent in half an hour.”

“May I ask what for, Ma’am?”

Auraria narrowed her eyes slightly, annoyance rising inside her that a private would question the orders of an officer as high ranking as she. She opened her mouth, about to chew him out for it, but then softened her expression and thought better of it. It’s not that the pony soldiers were undisciplined, she decided. It’s just that they didn’t fully trust her yet. If they could win the upcoming battle and save Hoofington, she hoped she would earn their complete trust. But for now, lenience was the best policy.

“I’m going to send messengers to Hoofington to warn them of what’s coming. In case some of our enemies slip through our lines.” A toned-down way of saying ‘in case we lose this battle and fall’, she thought to herself. But she didn’t say that to him. Some of the ponies, and probably even some of the changelings already doubted whether they could win this battle or not. It wouldn’t be good for morale if she were to show them that even she had her doubts. They would give all they could to protect Hoofington. There would be no surrender. They would fight to the death if they had to. But in the end, she knew that may not be enough. The fact remained that they were still outnumbered by two and a half to one.

“Of course, Ma’am,” the Pegasus Guard responded and gave another salute, which she returned. Then he turned and made his way towards another group of pegasi. Auraria continued to the center of camp. Her tent would probably be up by now.

She had thought of only sending Pegasus Guards to Hoofington to give the warning. However, she also wanted them to bring back any news they could gather. She realized that just as the ponies didn’t fully trust her yet, she didn’t fully trust them either. She couldn’t shake the nagging concern that the ponies might conveniently censor any news they didn’t want her to hear, and so she’d decided to send two changelings with them to keep them honest. Of course, the ponies in Hoofington were probably even more likely to censor the news they gave if they knew there were changelings listening. That meant the changelings would have to go in disguise. That was unfortunate, as it meant they’d have to dip even further into their magic reserves, which she still hadn’t figured out how she was going to replenish. But there was nothing she could do about it.

She reached her tent, stepping inside and pulling the flap shut. Immediately, the warmth of the glowing brazier started to take the chill from her. She enjoyed the warmth while she could, and hoped all her soldiers would do the same. Starting tomorrow at this time, she would not allow any braziers to be lit, nor would she allow any cook fires or even lanterns. She couldn’t risk the enemy scouts smelling the smoke and coming in for a closer look.

She walked to her map table now. Two lanterns had already been lit, causing shadows to flicker on the walls of the tent. Her breath rose like steam in front of her, glowing eerily in the light of the lanterns. She took her maps and several books of notes out of her saddlebags, spreading the maps on the table and using her dog-eared books of battle notes to hold the edges down. Before she could start working on her plans, a changeling voice called from outside her tent.

“Permission to enter, Ma’am?”

“Come,” she said, looking up from her table.

Two changelings and two pegasi entered the tent, one of the changelings turning to pull the flap shut again. Then, all four stood in perfect formation and saluted according to their own custom. Auraria returned the salute, first looking at the pegasi and raising her forehoof to her head, then to the changelings and raising her forehoof to her chest. She recognized Peregrine and Prepona, the two changeling fliers she had requested, and she returned her attention to the two pegasi.

“You two are the fliers I requested?”

“The fastest ones in the entire fourth division, Ma’am,” one of the pegasi responded with a note of pride in his voice. “Or so they say,” he added a bit more humbly.

“What are your names?”

“I’m Private Sky Strike and this is Private Jet Stream, Ma’am.”

Auraria nodded. She made a point of trying to learn and memorize the names of every soldier that served under her. It showed that she cared about them as individuals. That they weren’t just numbers to her. Not just expendable machines to be sent into battle. It was another one of her weaknesses, some of her critics claimed. A changeling commander wasn’t supposed to become attached to her soldiers. To do so meant they would hesitate to take the risks necessary to ensure the glory of the changeling empire. But her critics could attack her all they want. None of them could argue with her record, her results, or her skill. And none of them could argue with the fact that she had fewer disciplinary problems than any other division in the entire Changeling Army. The reason, she was certain, was because her soldiers wanted to follow her, instead of following her based on fear and intimidation. Her soldiers respected her because she earned it. Not just because she outranked them. All of the books she’d written on military science emphasized those points. Ironically, though, her books were more popular with pony commanders than with other changeling commanders. Most changeling commanders still considered her ideas to be radical.

“Take seven hours rest, then fly to Hoofington as fast as you can. Warn them of what’s going on here. Tell the city guard to get as many civilians as possible to safety. It’s likely that some of the invasion force will slip through our lines and make it to the town. But my goal is to keep that to a minimum and hold the vast majority of the force here.”

“Yes, Ma’am,” all four of them responded in unison. Private Sky Strike shifted his eyes downward slightly, then looked at her again and spoke is a hesitating tone.

“Do you really think we can win, Ma’am?”

She nodded once. “Yes, I think we can. According to Skydart, the vast majority of forces they had stationed at the Northern Fortress have come on this raid. They’ll retreat back to the fortress when they start taking heavy losses. Capturing Hoofington wouldn’t be worth losing the Northern Fortress over.”

“Yes, Ma’am,” Sky Strike responded. She didn’t think he looked entirely convinced.

“Go get some food, and rest well tonight. The four of you have a long flight ahead of you in seven hours.”

“Ma’am,” they all acknowledged and exchanged salutes with her. Then, they turned and left the tent. As they walked away, she heard Sky Strike speaking quietly.

“She’s over-confident.”

“No she’s not,” one of the changelings responded. “You haven’t seen her in action yet. We’ll win.”

She smiled slightly at the confidence her soldiers had in her. But more so, she smiled at the fact that her soldiers were reassuring their pony comrades. She herself didn’t think she was being over-confident. If the invading force had truly been intent on taking Hoofington at all costs, then no, she didn’t think they could win. But she was convinced that what she’d told the Private was true. The invaders wouldn’t consider Hoofington to be worth losing the Northern Fortress over. They’d retreat once they started to take heavy losses, especially once they realized they were fighting a defending force that did consider Hoofington worth fighting to the death over.

She walked behind her table again, starting to formulate her battle plans And again, she was interrupted. This time, by loud commotion outside. Some of it sounded like cheering. Some it sounded confused. A voice begin to sing the Equestrian anthem, and soon dozens of ponies had joined in.

She stepped around the table, pulling open the flap to her tent and stepping outside. There, she saw all of the ponies, gryphons, and changelings starring towards the east, eyes wide, and some with jaws open. She turned in that direction and felt her heart leap. In the distance stretching to the left and right as far as she could see, the clouds shown with a pink light. Pink became orange, and blue sky began to appear above them. Then, like a giant, golden phoenix rising from the ashes, the sun flared brightly out of the ground, rising slowly into the sky. Auraria had to shield her eyes against its brilliance. It was like stepping out of a dark cave that she’d been in for the last several weeks. The anthem ended, and now ponies, changelings, and gryphons all just cheered, stomping hooves and talons into the snow. She looked around at her gathered soldiers. Some of them spontaneously hugged the one standing next to them, even if they weren’t the same species. She watched with satisfaction as a changeling soldier and pegasus guard hugged. Birds began to chirp in the trees above her, coming out of their hiding places as if a long storm had just passed and the sun were starting to peek out of the dark clouds. The trees sparkled and glittered with white and silver as the glorious light reflected off snow and icicles that hung from their branches. New hope sprang within her, birthed from the light of the sun itself, just as the sun itself appeared to have been birthed from the depths of the ground.

“Then they have one of their Princesses back,” Sergeant Rasahus said, standing next to her. Both of them had had to divert their eyes away from the sky now. Away from the brilliant, blinding light as the sun rose fully above the horizon and higher into the sky, like a giant, golden flag rising to declare victory after a great battle.

“It must be Luna,” Auraria responded. “Our spies in Canterlot say Celestia is trapped in another world and can’t be brought back for three weeks yet.”

“Would that she had waited four more days,” Rasahus said, “Even with the heavy forest, the scouts will probably see our camp now, Ma’am.”

“It will demoralize the enemy,” Auraria countered. “Especially the gryphons, knowing that they lost their prize prisoner, and thus lost their main negotiating chip with Equestria. But more importantly, it will give our own soldiers a badly needed morale boost. Now they know they aren’t fighting in vain. Now they know we actually have hope.”

o.O.o

James listened as the Royal Council members and Guard Captains finished giving their reports. Across the table from him, Luna listened intently, stopping them every once in awhile to ask questions. If any of them were aware of the confrontation he’d had with Luna in the last hour, none of them gave any sign of it. James had decided he wouldn’t tell anyone about it. Not even Celestia. If had been a moment of weakness for Luna. A moment of fear. But she’d overcome it and triumphed. The whole thing was between him and her. There was no reason he needed to tell anyone else. If Luna wanted to tell others, he had no problem with it. But he would not tell anyone.

“Have you thought about what we should do with the Sun?” Luna asked, turning her attention to Councilor Storm Runner.

“We have, Your Majesty. We had considered suggesting that you leave the Sun up for several days straight to quickly warm things back up to normal temperatures. But after we started looking at snowfall totals, we decided that would probably cause serious flooding issues. So our suggestion now is that you just resume a normal sunrise and sunset cycle, and allow a more gradual warming and thawing.”

“Very well. That is what I will do, then.”

“You also need to resume a normal cycle for the Moon, Your Majesty. The gryphon fishing industry has been devastated by the lack of tides and they are facing starvation.”

Luna raised an eyebrow at that. “And yet King Aetos had the power all along to do something about that. He could have released me and I could have made things right for his subjects.”

“King Aetos is being deceived by aislings, Twilight added. “They promised him power and rule over the entire world if he would stay the course. They promised unparalleled glory for the Gryphon Kingdom.”

“I know. Albinus told me. The King must be out of his mind,” Luna said with a shake of her head.

“The gryphon defectors that are fighting with us have the same sentiments, Your Majesty,” James said. “Some of them have even directly said they believe their King is mad.”

“And yet, the percentage of the Gryphon Army that has defected to our side is small. The majority still follows him,” Luna responded, swishing her tail and pacing the length of the room, pausing as if in thought. She stopped again when she reached her spot at the round table, looking at all gathered with a resolute expression.

“We cannot continue to fight a war on two fronts. We cannot continue to defend against aisling incursions as well as fight the gryphons. We must act quickly and decisively to end the war with the Gryphon Kingdom.”

“Perhaps, Your Majesty, we won’t have to worry about the aislings much longer?” Councilor River Rock asked. “Now that you have returned, your magic will strengthen the magical barriers again, won’t it? And won’t that stop the aislings from getting through?”

Luna shook her head. “The Beyond has become so powerful during the absence of my sister and I that I am no longer capable of stopping the barrier from weakening, or the Beyond from growing more powerful. Even when my sister returns, the two of us together will not be able to stop it.. Eventually, the barrier will shatter like glass. and the Beyond will be set loose into the Universe. The task of stopping it still must fall to James and Twilight. For I no longer any doubt in my mind. James and Twilight are the Two Who Are One. The very same Two Who are One spoken of in Star Swirl’s prophecy.”

A jolt shot through James and his mind reeled as if he’d been struck by a bolt of lightning. He glanced at Twilight and she looked as shocked as he was. The expression on her muzzle was one of fear, dismay, and a jumble of other emotions James couldn’t even identify. The Two Who are One, he thought to himself in terror. The Two Who are One who will set the heavens on fire. Will destroy the horizon. Will cause the Sun to swallow itself, and the Moon to swallow itself. The ones who cause the end of the third age. He looked around at the rest of the room, which had descended into a silence like that of death. Every face in the room looked pale, and all had expressions of fear on their muzzles. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, Councilor Moon Song spoke, nervousness lacing his voice.

“There might be … one other thing we can consider. Our latest probes into the Beyond show that it is weakening, and we can’t explain why. We had worried that a massive force of aislings may have entered Equestria, but we can’t find any rupture in the barrier large enough where they could have come through. Perhaps … perhaps if the Beyond continue to weaken, you and your sister will be able to contain it again?”

Luna closed her eyes, appearing to be lost in meditation. James knew she was probably looking at the Pattern. No one in the room dared disturb her, but tension hung in the air like a thick fog. Luna began to speak in a voice that sounded distant, although whether she was speaking for their benefit or talking to herself, he wasn’t sure.

“There is a large invasion force assembling to enter Equestria, but I already knew about that. They can’t enter until the barrier fully ruptures, and they aren’t large enough to explain the massive energy drop in the Beyond’s signature … I don’t understand it … There’s an enormous number of threads missing from the Pattern. Tens of millions of them … Something’s wrong,” she said with a strong note of concern and confusion in her voice. “Something’s very wrong … Threads can’t just disappear from the Pattern. They must have gone somewhere. There has to be another assembly of aislings somewhere. An enormous one. But where? Where are they?”

She was silent for a minute, and James presumed she must be searching the Pattern for the missing threads. The only sound he could hear now was his own blood rushing through his eardrums. Everyone in the room had expressions of unease on their muzzles, which did nothing to sooth his own worries.

Suddenly, Luna gasped loudly, her eyes popping open. “Impossible,” she gasped. “This is beyond the worst fears of me or my sister.”

“Your Majesty, what did you see?” Councilor Moon Song asked, the fear evident in his voice now.

“The Beyond is going to the human world. It’s planning massive invasions of both Equestria and the human world at the same time. That’s where the missing energy is. On its way to the human world.”

James felt as if his heart had stopped. “You said that couldn’t happen,” he said in almost a whisper, the words struggling to come out. “Celestia said that couldn’t happen. You said the Beyond couldn’t harm Earth until after it had already destroyed Equestria.”

“We didn’t think it could. We were wrong.”

Again, there was silence for several moments. Finally, James spoke again.

“How … how strong is the invasion force?”

“It stretches in all directions for further than I can see. But based on the amount of missing energy … Over thirty million aislings are on their way to your world …”

69 - A Confession of Love

Chapter 69: A Confession of Love

“… And how many aislings does the Beyond have in reserve?” James asked after he had recovered from his initial shock.

“A hundred million? five hundred million?” Luna said.

“There's a big difference between one hundred million and five hundred million. Which one is it?” James asked, exasperation and fear welling inside of him like a geyser.

Luna shook her head. “I can't say. The aislings aren't independent entities. They are extensions of the Beyond. Think of them as being like limbs of a body or fingers of a hand. But each time one of those fingers is cut off, the Beyond can spawn a new one. It can spawn new aislings until it runs out of energy. But it draws its energy from the dark energy in the universe. It feeds off it. You're the physicist, James. Do you know how much dark energy there is in the universe?”

James shook his head.

“Then I can't say. It could be five hundred million. It could be a billion. All we know for sure is that the Beyond grows stronger by the day, and will continue to do so. The initial thirty million aislings are just the first wave of the invasion force that will be attacking your world.”

So it's like those video games where enemies just keep respawning after being killed, James thought with dismay. His mind raced for several moments before he spoke quietly, more to himself than to anyone else in the room.

“There's no way the humans can defeat an army of thirty million. Especially not when reinforcements can keep arriving indefinitely.”

“No, they cannot,” Luna said, shaking her head. “But if you and Twilight do your part, they won't have to. They will only have to hold them off.”

“We don't even know what our part is. And it seems that no pony can tell us. All we have is some vague prophecy that no pony understands written by some pony who was probably –” James cut himself short. He had almost said 'written by some pony who was probably out of his mind.' He was glad he'd caught himself. That likely wouldn't have gone over well with Luna, and it certainly wouldn't have gone over well with Twilight. Instead, he just pounded his fist on the table in frustration. Despite the sun shining brightly outside, and the rapidly warming temperatures, the top of the table felt as cold as arctic sea ice. “We don't even know what our part is,” he stated again.

“Then I suggest you and Twilight start spending all of your time trying to figure out what it is. You should have time to do it now that I have returned and can take over the duties of ruling Equestria. All of Canterlot's research facilities, all of our libraries, are open to you. The entire Royal Council is at your disposal, as is the entire staff of the Academy. And I will make myself available to you whenever you need and answer whatever questions I can.”

“Thank you, Your Majesty,” James responded, calming himself down a bit. “But the humans need to be warned. We need to send another messenger to earth.”

Luna shook her head. “It's unlikely that my sister and Eric are still in Chicago. We don't even know if Captain Swordstorm was able to find them. Another messenger would have virtually no chance of finding them.”

“But they must be warned.”

“They will be. We have time. The aislings cannot break through to your world until the barriers are nearly shattered.”

“Are you sure, Your Majesty? They've already entered our world. And the barrier is still mostly intact.”

“A few battalions have entered our world. The Beyond won't do that with your world. It knows the humans of your world know nothing at all about the Beyond, or even that they face any threat at all. The Beyond will not give up its element of surprise. It will wait until the barrier is about to shatter, then send a massive invasion force all at once, hoping to catch the humans entirely off guard.”

James nodded. It seemed to be a sensible strategy for the Beyond to use.

“If there is nothing else,” Luna continued, “then we should all get to our duties. The Council is dismissed. We will meet again as needed. I will be in my study if any pony needs me.”

The Council and the Guard Captains stood up, the Guard Captains saluting. Then Luna left the meeting room, and each of the Council members and captains followed her out. But James remained where he was, looking at the floor.

“Are you coming, James?”

He looked up to see that Twilight had stopped at the door and turned to look at him quizzically.

“I have to tell Luna about Theory Point,” he said.

“What are you going to tell her?”

James hesitated for a moment, but only for a moment, before responding. “The only thing I can tell her. The truth. The most important bond between Royal Council Members and the Princesses is the bond of absolute trust. I have to trust her enough to tell her the truth. I have to trust that she will believe me. And she has to trust me enough to believe I am telling the truth.”

“And yet, you look nervous,” Twilight said, concern evident in her voice.

It was true. He was nervous. But it had nothing to do with Theory Point. The nervousness he felt about telling Luna about Theory Point paled in comparison to the fear he felt over telling her about his relationship with Twilight Sparkle. In good conscience, he couldn't continue to hide that from Luna. Besides, she was bound to find out sooner or later, even if he didn't tell her. No matter how careful they were, sooner or later, one of them would make a mistake and the wrong pony would see it. A slight gesture in public, a look, the wrong thing said at the wrong time. Rumors could start over the smallest thing. And once that happened it would be all over the tabloids, just like the rumor that he and Octavia were a couple had been after she had taught him to dance that night so many months ago. And if Luna confronted him about a rumor of a relationship with Twilight? He knew he wouldn't be able to deny it. He couldn't lie directly to her face. It would be far better if he were up front about it, he had decided. And then … a shiver went through him as he thought about what would happen then. He was in direct violation of Council law, and had willingly and knowingly been so for quite some time now. But there was no sense putting off the inevitable. If would only be worse if Luna found out some other way before he had a chance to tell her.

He turned towards the door now, not acknowledging Twilight's statement. No sense in telling her that he planned to reveal their relationship to Luna. There was no reason to make her worry about it any longer than she actually had to.

“I'll come find you when I get done,” was all he said to Twilight before he stepped out of the room and began to make his way towards Luna's Study. He didn't look back. He didn't want to see the expression on her muzzle. Somehow, he suspected she already knew what he planned to do.

As he made his way closer to Luna's study, his legs seemed to grow heavier, as if someone was adding a lead weight to them with each step he took. Walking, which was something that could usually be done without thinking, became a chore he had to focus on. He had to consciously tell himself to keep putting one foot in front of the other. Even with the constant attention to it, he found himself slowing down several times. His heart pounded in his chest and his mind looked for excuses to delay the conversation. That pretty tapestry on the wall. The one with the unicorn fighting the manticore. He'd walked passed it hundreds of times, and never stopped to pay much attention to it. It told an interesting story. Maybe he should stop and examine it closer? He shook his head and forced himself to walk passed it, but it called to him as if it were a magnet and he were a fleck of iron. Still, he forced himself to avoid stopping, reminding himself that the longer he put this off, the later it would be before he could get started on the research needed to solve the problem with the Beyond. He tried to distract himself from the coming conversation by thinking of the Beyond and how he might stop it, but he was unable to focus. His mind kept snapping back to the looming talk with Luna. That was another reason, he had to get this over with, he realized. He couldn't stay focused on the task he needed to do. Not while keeping a secret like this from Luna.

He reached the door, acknowledging the two bat pony guards standing outside of it. Then, he forced himself to raise his hand and knock.

“Come,”

The bat ponies opened the door for him and he stepped inside. Then, descended to one knee, bowing.

“James, please rise. What's on your mind?” Luna asked as she stepped out from behind a table where she had been studying a scroll. The door made an ominous sound behind him as the bat pony guards closed and locked it. James stood up, and looked at the Princess of the Night standing before him now. His eyes wandered slightly to the left and right. The sun was shining outside, but the midnight-blue curtains were drawn, blocking any of the light from entering. Candles flickered on the table, casting shadows on the bookshelves that adorned the walls. Everything about the study seemed darker than he had remembered it, but he knew it was probably just his mind playing tricks with him. The room smelled strongly of lavender. Somehow, that smell seemed appropriate for the Goddess of the Night.

“Your Majesty, I've found one of the traitors.” Might as well get the easy part out of the way first.

“Oh?” Luna's ears perked up.

“Yes … It was Theory Point. The unicorn I'd been working with. She … she was using me the entire time.”

“Tell me everything.”

James told her about his encounter with Theory Point at the armory. Then, he proceeded to tell her everything from the beginning. He told her about how the evidence at the Northern Outpost had been intentionally planted for him to find, because they needed his physics expertise. He told her that Theory Point had been the one who had broken into the lab and stole their own research so that she could give it to her co-conspirators. And he told her how for the entire time, Theory Point had been funneling his research to the group of traitors. When he finished, he kept his eyes on Luna. Her expression gave no indication of what she was thinking. She was silent for a few moments before speaking.

“Would it do us any good to go after her?”

James shook his head. “I don't think it would be worth spending a great deal of resources on, Your Majesty. She doesn't know anything about their plans that I don't already know. And I believe she was telling the truth when she said she didn't have any more information than she needed to do her job. Their plans are thwarted now that we've rescued you and you were able to raise the sun. They can do nothing to help us bring Celestia home. Our resources would be better spent on other tasks than trying to capture a fugitive who is no longer any threat.”

Luna nodded once. “I believe you, James. I believe you had no involvement in any of this. And please, don't beat yourself up over it. There was no way you could have known.”

James should have felt relief. But instead, he only felt more fear. He'd exhausted the topic of Theory Point, and now had to move on to the topic that terrified him. It was as if the clock were about to run out on a looming death sentence, and Luna herself were his executioner, waiting to lower the ax. She already knew he was nervous, which was no doubt why she had reassured him that she believed him, and that there was no way he could have known. But she had misjudged the source of his fear. James stared at the floor, wishing he could disappear into it. He tried to speak, but found that his mouth wouldn't move and his tongue felt like sandpaper. Maybe he could delay the dreaded conversation just a little while longer?

“There is something else you want to tell me,” Luna said. There would be no further delay, then. James took a deep breath, his legs feeling like rubber, his heart threatening to beat out of his chest. He looked at her again, doing his best to compose himself.

“Yes … Your Majesty.” He paused again. His courage threatened to abandon him. He took one more deep breath, then forced himself to continue. “Twilight Sparkle … I … I mean we –” He stopped when Luna raised a forehoof.

“I already know about your relationship with Twilight Sparkle.”

“Your Majesty?” James questioned, raising an eyebrow.

“It was woven into the pattern. I have known for a very long time. Even since before I was kidnapped.”

“And you didn't tell me this was going to happen,” he stated, his tone reflecting the anger rising within him.

“I didn't tell you because when it happened, I wanted you to know it was real and not just something you had convinced yourself was supposed to happen because I told you it was.”

“I wish I didn't think it was real!” he shouted, his anger bursting forth like hot lava spewing from a volcano. “I wish more than anything I didn't think it was real! Then I would never have told her and I wouldn't have to break both of our hearts now! But that's not the real reason you didn't tell me, is it? It's because if I had known I was going to fall in love with Twilight, I never would have agreed to join the Council. And you knew that!” He knew he was treading on dangerous ground now, accusing his Princess of such deception and underhoofed tactics. But he was too angry to care. Let her accuse him of insubordination. Let her do whatever she wanted.

“Who said anything about breaking anypony's heart?” Luna asked.

“Don't pretend you don't know! Romantic relationships distract from a Council member's –”

“We do not believe that your relationship distracts you from your Council duties,” Luna said, speaking in a calmer voice than he knew he deserved, although it was not lost on him that she had switched to the Royal Canterlot voice, using the We pronoun instead of I now. She was speaking with all of the power and authority of the crown. She continued calmly. “We are not going to order you to end your relationship with Twilight Sparkle.”

He felt a rush like cold water go through him dowsing the flames of the volcanic anger. Had he heard her right? “But –”

“We believe your relationship with Twilight Sparkle only makes you stronger. Makes you more loyal to Equestria. After all, what would you not do to protect and defend the homeland of the pony you love?”

The room itself suddenly seemed brighter, and he felt lighter and more free. It was if a dark cloud that had hovered around him for the last several months had dissipated. As if a great weight he'd been carrying had been removed. Still, he half expected he had imagined her response. That any moment now, he was going to come back to reality and hear what she had really said.

“But Council law says –”

“Am I not a sovereign Princess of Equestria?” she asked in an authoritative tone, raising her head for emphasis. “Do I not have the authority to overrule and change any law as I see fit?”

“It is as you say, Your Majesty,” James murmured, bowing his head and chastising himself internally. Why was he arguing with her about Council law when she was giving him exactly what he wanted? To Tartarus with Council law.

“Court Twilight Sparkle. And treat her every bit as well as she deserves. And do so with Our blessing,” Luna said, a slight smile appearing on her muzzle.

James just stood there, staring at her. The sense of relief washed over him like a strong wind, completely wiping his mind of any response. Outside, the Sun was blazing. But inside him, it was the stars and the Moon that shown brightly. The stars of Twilight's cutie mark, and the light of the Queen of the Moon, who had granted those stars to him.

“James, I believe you and Twilight have a lot of work to do. Further delays in starting may be detrimental to the future of the universe.”

“Of course, Your Majesty,” he responded stupidly, bowing deeply before her in gratitude.

“Get out of here. Go find Twilight.” She waved him off with a forehoof, a humorous grin on her muzzle.

“Of course, Your Majesty. Right away, Your Majesty,” he said, barely able to contain his giddiness.

With that, he rose from his bow, turned around and waited impatiently as the bat pony guards opened the door for him. He stepped out of the room, walking for a moment, but he was unable to resist the urge to break into a run, even before he was out of sight of the guards, or the door had closed behind him. For the moment, he felt as if he could fly. All of his concerns regarding the Beyond and their looming task had receded far away, as if they were a distant illusion, on the edge of the horizon. For now, his mind only had room for one being in the entire universe. And he couldn't wait to find her and tell her.

70 - A Dangerous Idea

Chapter 70: A Dangerous Idea

The bedroom door crashed open, awaking Celestia with a start. For a moment, she panicked, but then she saw that it was just Eric, although he was wearing only his underwear and had no shirt on. His face wore a look of terror that made her own panic start to return. The beard he'd let grow out since they'd come to Montana was missing, and his hair had been cut shorter. That was odd, she thought.

“We have to go back to Chicago! We have to leave right now!” Eric said, speaking rapidly and breathing as if he had just run a marathon.

“What? Calm, down. What's going on?” Concern rose up in Celestia at her human friend's unnatural behavior. At the same time, she made a conscious effort to calm herself.

“We have to leave right now!”

“Why? What happened?”

He looked at her now, slowing his breathing and seeming to compose himself. “I … I don't know. I just had this overpowering urge. This overpowering feeling. We have to go back.”

Celestia nodded her head, climbing out of her bed. “Alright. I'll teleport us there.”

“You can do that?” Eric's raised eyes showed his uncertainty.

“Yes. I remember enough about the landscape to teleport us to a field just outside of the city.” Why did I say that? She thought to herself. It didn't sound right. She'd never attempted to teleport anywhere near the distance between Montana and Chicago. As far as she knew, it wasn't possible to teleport that far. Nevertheless, she decided to give it a try. “You might want to put some clothes on first.”

He shook his head. “There's no time.”

She looked at him dubiously for a moment, but then nodded her head.

“Alright. If you're sure.”

She channeled magic into her horn and there was a brief flash. Then, the two of them emerged in an open field, a small but dense treeline not far in front of them. There was snow on the ground. That was odd. Hadn't it been summer just the other day? It was daytime, but dark, almost black clouds hid the sun in an overcast blanket. Light snow was falling from the clouds, landing softly on the ground and coating the trees. An icy wind blew from the north, ruffling her fur and flapping her ethereal tail in the wind. She looked at Eric, thinking he must be freezing in only his underwear. But he didn't seem to notice the cold. He looked around, turning a quick circle before looking at her.

“I think you teleported us to the wrong place. There's no traffic noise. No constant sound of aircraft from O'Hare.”

“No. I'm sure I brought us to the right place. The city should be just beyond the treeline.” But was she really sure? Maybe she had been right about not being able to teleport them all the way to Chicago and they had emerged somewhere in between. That was entirely possible.

A snowflake landed on her muzzle. It wasn't cold, and didn't melt. Despair began to flood through her as realization hit her like a train. That wasn't snow falling from the sky. It was ash. And the ominous black scud in the sky was not a layer of overcast cloud. It was a thick blanket of smoke. The wind shifted, filling her nostrils with the stink of burning flesh and rubber. The smell of decay, death, and destruction. She took off at a gallop, rushing into the treeline. Popping out the other side, she dug her hooves in, skidding to a halt.

The layout of the city before her was wrong, but the city was in complete ruins. Dense smoke rose from every corner. The magnificent, glass-walled skyscrapers that had once defined the city outline were all gone. Now, twisted metal frames rose to the sky, like tortured black skeletons crying out to the heavens for salvation that would never come. Orange light still glowed ominously where fires still burned. Loud popping and groaning sounds came from the skeletal remains of the buildings as they continued to burn, as if they were crying out in pain. A horrid smell drew her gaze to her left. The remains of four, charred human bodies, including two children, filled her eyes. They had run, trying to escape the city. They hadn't made it.

Pounding feet skidded to a halt beside her as Eric finally caught up with her. He stood, panting for breath, but said nothing as he looked out over the remains of the city that had once been his home. His legs shook, and he collapsed to his knees, his eyes fixed on the horror before him. His eyes appeared to be glazed over, almost as if in death.

A tortured screech like some kind of banshee drew her gaze back to the city. Aislings were rising up from the far side of it. Thousands … no, millions of them. Far too many to count. Their battle lines stretched from one horizon to the other in front of her, countless rows of black-robed, faceless soldiers. Their work done in Chicago, they marched out of the city, continuing on to their next target. To bring more death and destruction.

o.O.o

“Luna!” Celestia yelled. Her eyes flew open and she jumped out of her bed, her breath coming in quick gasps as she looked around to get her bearings. She was still in her bedroom, and it was the middle of the night. Then she threw open the door with a quick burst of magic, galloping through it. She channeled again, throwing Eric's door open with such force it almost broke off its hinges.

“They're coming here!” she said.

Eric sat up, throwing off the covers. He was in his underwear and his chest was bare, just as he'd been in her dream.

“What? Who's coming here?”

“Armies of the Beyond! Millions of them!”

Eric's eyes rose in alarm, as he climbed out of bed. “Alright … Calm down. Tell me everything,” he said as he grabbed some mismatched clothes from a pile, throwing them on quickly.

Celestia took a moment to calm herself, then proceeded to tell Eric everything she had seen in her dream. After she finished, Eric was silent for several moments. He maintained his composure, but she could see the color draining from his face. Finally, he spoke.

“How do you know the dream actually came from your sister? That it wasn't just some random nightmare?”

“Because the layout of the city was wrong. Luna only knew the layout of Chicago in general terms. From descriptions and a few photographs that James had shown her. So the dreamscape she created had inaccuracies.”

“But you said she got the details of this cabin right. She didn't even know we were staying in a cabin. And she got me right, except I didn't have a beard and my hair was shorter.”

“Yes, but that's because of the way the dreamscape works. Since I didn't need to interact with the cabin and there was nothing abnormal about it, she just gave me a sort of … subconscious command to dream about where I currently was. But I needed to interact with you, so she had to place an actual visual of you in the dreamscape. She only knew what you looked like a from a photo that James had shown her, so that's what you looked like in the dream. With shorter hair and no beard. The same is true of the city. Because it was destroyed, she had to create the visual in my dream. But the visual had mistakes because she doesn't know exactly what Chicago looks like.”

“I still don't see how you can be sure the dream came from your sister. If the city was completely destroyed, and the layout was wrong, how can you be sure it was Chicago?”

“Because she left one building standing. One building that was completely untouched: The Adler Planetarium. A temple of the night sky, and a unique structure that doesn't look like any other planetarium in the world. That choice of buildings was evidence not only that it was Chicago, but that it was my sister who sent the dream.”

Eric was silent. He sat down on his bed, and for a long time neither of them said anything. But she could smell fear wafting off of him just as she had been able to smell death oozing from the charred remains of the human bodies in her dream. Finally, Eric spoke again.

“So now we have another problem we have to think about. And we can't tell anyone about it.” He turned his gaze to the floor.

“Can't tell anyone?” Celestia's eyes widened as she stared at him in disbelief. “Eric, we have to warn someone. The military. The president. Someone,” she said with a bit more shock in her voice than she'd intended. Was he really going to just let this happen? He wasn't going to tell anyone about an impending invasion of millions, maybe hundreds of millions of magical soldiers? He was just going to let billions of humans be slaughtered?

Eric looked up at her again, his eyes defensive. “What do you want me to tell them?”

“I don't know….”

“I don't know either. I certainly can't tell them the truth. What, that supernatural armies of evil are going to appear out of a giant hole in the sky and march over the planet, destroying everything as they go? I might as well grow my beard out and stand on a street corner holding a 'repent for the end is near' sign. They'll think I'm some kind of raving lunatic.”

Celestia bristled and narrowed her eyes slightly. She'd heard the word lunatic used on television and had looked it up in a dictionary. She knew the humans used it to refer to a person who was considered crazy. But she considered the word offensive to her sister.

“Sorry,” Eric murmured, catching her gaze and then lowering his eyes.

She shook her head slightly, brushing it off. After all she knew it was just a slip of habit. Eric wouldn't have chosen the word to intentionally offend her or her sister. He looked up at her again.

“Did Luna give you any clue how much time we have?”

She thought back to the dream for a moment before responding.

“It was winter. There was snow on the ground.”

Eric nodded. “Then assuming Luna has her seasons right – and that's probably a safe assumption since James would have been able to tell her what season it currently is here – we should have least five months before any kind of invasion starts.”

Celestia nodded her head, but still felt very uneasy about the idea of not telling anyone. A queasy feeling, like bile churning in her stomach, rumbled through her. She continued to stare at Eric, her expression reflecting her distaste about it all.

Eric took a deep breath, let it out with a sigh. “Alright … Look, I'll tell someone.” She smiled slightly as he gave in, but then he continued. “After you have gone back to Equestria. Assuming I can get anyone to believe me, which I highly doubt, that will still give them at least four months to prepare for this invasion.”

She frowned, but nodded in acceptance of the compromise. But a nagging thought bit at the back of her mind. He doesn't believe me. He doesn't want to believe me. He thinks I'm overreacting about a common nightmare. But then again, would I believe it if I were in his place?

Eric sighed again, bringing her attention off the thought.

“I'll be lucky if I get out of this without an involuntary commitment to the psyche ward, you know.” Celestia couldn't tell if he was joking or not.

“I … need to go talk to Captain Swordstorm about all this. Try to get back to sleep, Eric.”

“I will.”

Celestia stepped outside of his room, using magic to close the door. This time, she was much more careful and quiet than she had been when she'd opened it. She walked down the hallway a short distance, opening the door to Captain Swordstorm's room. He wasn't there. "Outside patrolling again, I suppose," she said with a frown. She wished he'd stop blaming himself for what happened, but she'd already made the mistake of confronting him about it and he'd only gotten angry with her. Royal Guards had an overdeveloped sense of honor sometimes. To imply that something wasn't their fault and that they'd done the best they could, was an insult to their honor because they felt it was accusing them of incompetence. They'd rather believe they had failed at something, and could have done better if they'd been more careful or tried harder, than believe that they'd done the best they could, and it still wasn't good enough. And so she'd learned to just let them accept blame, even when she didn't think they should.

As she turned to walk outside, she thought about what Eric had said again. About ending up committed to psychiatric ward if he told anyone about her dream. The thought made her frown. Eric and his students would likely be in a lot more trouble than that before this was all over. Criminal trouble. After all, they were going to break into a scientific research center, commandeer the most powerful particle accelerator in the world, and use it to try to send her home. More than likely, Eric and his students would all be doing prison time. And they'd be doing it for her. Many times, she had thought about offering to take them all back with her. To give them asylum in Equestria. The only reason she hadn't asked them yet is because she didn't know what she'd be taking them back to. Perhaps, she'd be taking them back to a world that was already dead, or would be dead soon. But her dream had made that concern irrelevant. This world was just as doomed as Equestria if they couldn't find some way to stop the Beyond. One aspect of the dream made her smile a bit, though. The fact that Luna was able to control Celestia's dreams could only mean Equestrian forces had found Luna, and they had successfully rescued her. Her sister was back in Canterlot where she belonged, and would now be ruling Equestria.

o.O.o

James sat a table in the special archives section of the Royal Canterlot Library, paging through one of Star Swirl's journals. His tongue felt dry in his mouth and he wished he had a cup of tea to drink, but library rules didn't allow any beverages in the special archives section. These journals and books were one of a kind. Priceless historical literature. The risk of damaging them by spilling something on them was too great. It was also somewhat cold in this part of the library. But fires weren't allowed in this room for fear that they would dry out the pages of the historical treasures. Yes, copies had been made. But these were the originals. The book he was paging through now had been hoofwritten by Star Swirl himself. Its pages were worn and yellowed by time, but the library did an amazing job of preserving these originals. James felt privileged and somewhat in awe to be holding an actual journal written by one of Equestria's greatest legends. A piece of Equestrian history that was more than a thousand years old.

Ever since he'd told Twilight that Luna had given them her blessing to be together, he had felt like a great weight had been lifted from him. And Twilight had a new spark in her step, and her mane, tail and coat seemed to shine with a new brilliance. Not having to worry about breaking up with each other or going into hiding had allowed them to focus all of their attention on stopping the Beyond. The two of them had been working much better without that threat looming over their heads. And Luna had been right about another thing: His loyalty to Twilight Sparkle really did make him more loyal to Equestria itself. He was determined to protect her homeland, and by extension, his adopted homeland. He turned his attention back to the book, flipping another page.

“You find anything yet?” Twilight asked. He looked over at her to see her closing the page of one book and levitating another one over.

“The Beyond behaves a bit like strange matter. It converts everything it touches into more of itself. But strange matter is unstable. It evaporates before it can do any real damage. And yet the Beyond is stable. The question is why. Why is it stable? What can we do to destabilize it and cause it to consume itself? To evaporate on itself?”

He returned his attention to the page he was looking at now, closing the book and opening a new one, scanning over a few pages before looking back at Twilight and continuing.

“Star Swirl wrote down this multiple page equation more than four hundred times over a period of twenty years. He never finished it, but he was clearly obsessed with it. It consumed twenty years of his life until he finally gave up on it. He never did finish it. He could never get it to balance.”

“His equation on the stability of deep matter you mean? He never solved it. No pony ever has. Today, most of our physicists think it's unsolvable.”

James nodded. “Star Swirl's colleagues believed protons, neutrons, and electrons were the smallest types of matter. The building blocks that all other matter was made from. But Star Swirl thought they were wrong. He discovered subatomic particles. He discovered hadrons, mesons, and baryons. The stallion was a genius. He discovered these particles more than a thousand years before we humans did. But then … he made a mistake. He thought he'd found the smallest particles. The fundamental matter of the universe. And so he never discovered quarks. He never even looked for them.”

James grabbed a piece of scratch paper and a quill, dipping it in the ink and scribbling furiously on the paper, a growing excitement pulsing through his veins. A few minutes later, he stopped and looked up at Twilight. He wasn't able to stop himself from smiling.

“I solved the deep matter equation.”

Twilight's jaw hung open for a moment as she looked at him in disbelief before responding.

“Star Swirl spent the better part of twenty years trying to solve that equation. You're telling me you solved it in twenty minutes? Despite never having seen it until today?”

“Star Swirl could have spent a hundred years trying to solve it. He never would have been able to because he didn't know about the existence of quarks.”

Twilight blinked, then levitated a piece of scratch paper over to herself and begin scribbling frantically for a few minutes, glancing over at the equation in the open book a few times, when she finished, she frowned and shook her head.

“Even after trying all of the quark types it doesn't balance. You must have made a mistake in your math.”

James moved to sit next to Twilight, leaning against her, her warm fur pressing to his robe as he looked over her work. He pointed to a part of it.

“Ah. Your physicists think there are only five types of quarks. There aren't. There are six. Star Swirl's equation requires a top quark. It has a one-half spin and a two-thirds positive charge.”

Twilight scribbled again for a few minutes, then looked up at him, her eyes full of wonder.

“It balances,” was all she said.

“That's why the Beyond is stable. That's why it doesn't evaporate,” James said, trying to contain the excitement in his voice. He stood up now, pacing as he continued, following a chain reaction of thoughts in his head.

“What is the opposite of something? It's not nothing. If we use the analogy of a proton. The opposite of a proton isn't an electron. It's an antiproton. The opposite of something isn't nothing. It's … well, it's anti-something.”

He stopped pacing and turned to face her again, a cyclone equations and ideas storming in his brain as he continued speaking.

“What is the Beyond but the proto-material left over from before the beginning of the Universe? The remains of an imperfect and less than one hundred percent efficient reaction?”

“I'm not following you, James.”

He stopped and put his hands on her shoulders now, barely able to contain his excitement.

“What if we could use deep magic … What if we could figure out a spell you can cast. A spell that splits a god particle at its nucleus?”

Twilight blinked and shook her head. “I don't understand. What good would splitting a Higgs bosson particle do?”

“No no no, not that god particle,” James said with a shake of his head. “The god particle Celestia was talking about. The fundamental building block of the universe.”

Twilight's eyes went wide and she recoiled slightly, his hands falling off of her shoulders.

“James, that's madness!”

“Is it?”

“You want me to re-create the Big Bang!”

“Yes.”

71 - Dorylini's Secret

Chapter 71: Dorylini's Secret

“Love is the word, bringing power and fear.” – Chinchilla

Twilight looked at James, her eyes wide in disbelief before responding.

“It would destroy the entire universe!” She waved both her forehooves for emphasis.

“If we cast the spell here, or anywhere else in the normal universe, then yes, it would. But that's not where we're going to cast it. Remember, Luna said we would have to go inside the Beyond.” He grabbed her shoulders again, the excitement of the idea, a possible solution, rushing through him like a river that had flooded its banks. “If we cast it inside the Beyond, it will consume the entire Beyond. And since the Aislings are extensions of the Beyond, they cannot exist without it. Don't you see, Twilight? If we create a big bang inside the Beyond, it will completely destroy the Beyond. And in its place, it will leave the building blocks of new life!”

“So basically … you want to use deep magic to produce a nuclear chain reaction involving the most fundamental of all particles.” She frowned, looking at him with a slight hint of what he thought was fear in her eyes. “You are blindly charging into territory where even Star Swirl was terrified to put a single hoof. He never even went anywhere near this.”

He felt some of his excitement evaporate like one of Pinkie Pie's balloons deflating. She was right. What he was suggesting was dangerous, and bordered on insane. But, still … “Believe me. If I thought there was any other way, I wouldn't be going there.”

“Even if it would work, I know almost nothing of deep magic. Research into deep magic is forbidden. It's far too dangerous.”

He shook his head. “It's not entirely forbidden. There's a secret Royal Guard lab in an unmapped sub-basement of the Academy's physics building where some research into deep magic is being done. I didn't even know about the lab when I was working there. I didn't find out about it until I became a Council member.

Twilight raised her eyebrows and pricked her ears up. “Still, do you have any idea exactly how I'm going to pull off using deep magic to split a god particle?”

He looked at the floor, letting his hands drop from her shoulders. “No. But that's what we will need to figure out.”

“Star Swirl said a chain reaction involving subatomic particles produced by deep magic would be uncontrollable. That it would split every atom in the universe. Effectively turning all matter into energy at the speed of light.”

“But on this point, he was wrong.”

Twilight narrowed her eyes, and lowered her ears slightly, clearly not used to having anyone say that her greatest historical idol had been wrong. James gave a frustrated dip of his head before continuing.

“Look, Twilight. You know I admire and respect Star Swirl as much as you do. As much as any pony does. But Star Swirl didn't know what I know! I've spent almost my entire adult life cooped up in labs, studying high-energy physics at a subatomic level. And in this case, Star Swirl was just plain wrong. You have to trust me on this!” he said, clenching his fists in front of him in a pleading manner.

Twilight looked away from him and said nothing, her tail flicking once. After several seconds, which seemed like hours, she looked at him again, a somber expression on her muzzle.

“Alright, James … I trust you. But as you know, nothing in science can be proven with absolute certainty … How certain are you that he was wrong? How certain are you that assuming we can even make this work, that it won't destroy the entire universe in a massive nuclear explosion even bigger than the original Big Bang?”

He thought for several long moments, running through everything he knew about high-energy nuclear physics and subatomic particles in his head. Finally he responded. “Conservatively, eighty percent.”

She frowned. “A twenty percent chance of being wrong is a lot when we are talking about the possibility of destroying the entire universe. This world, the human world, and any other worlds we haven't even made contact with yet. All of them being destroyed at the speed of light … Because of a spell that we create and that I …. I would have to cast.”

“I understand, Twilight. But I'm one hundred percent certain that if we do nothing, the Beyond will destroy the entire universe anyway. At least this way, we have an eighty percent chance of surviving. And again, that's a conservative estimate. I'm confident that I'm right on this.”

“It seems like a scorched earth idea, though. Worse than a scorched earth idea. Maybe we could just conventionally battle the Aislings until the Beyond loses strength that way.”

“But you heard what Luna said. The Beyond feeds off the dark energy in the Universe. It can continue to spawn new aislings almost indefinitely. We can't fight that. The humans can't fight that. The only way to stop it is to destroy the Beyond at its source. Without the Beyond, the Aislings can't exist.”

She nodded, but also frowned. Clearly, she didn't like the plan, but at least she was becoming more accepting of it as likely being the only option they had.

“But even if we can contain the reaction inside the Beyond, and if we successfully destroy it, the barrier will shatter. The amount of energy released is going to be enormous. Hundreds of millions of megatons. Won't that still be enough to destroy the entire planet?”

“The Beyond will absorb most of the energy as it is destroyed. It will be like detonating a nuclear bomb underground. Yes, all of Equestria will probably feel a mild earthquake, but that will be it. The barriers will shatter, but by then the energy will have dissipated.”

“You know it will? Or you think it will?” Twilight had a dubious look in her eyes.

“I think it will. But again, I don't see where we have any other option. The alternative is the Beyond destroying the entire universe. And that's basically a one hundred percent certainty if we do nothing.”

Twilight looked away from him again, her tail lashing back and forth lightly. Had he convinced her? James felt as if he were sitting in a hospital waiting room, awaiting word on whether a dangerous surgery had been successful or not. It was all he could do not to pace nervously, suspense threatening to overwhelm him like a tsunami flooding over an ocean shore. Finally, she looked at him again. Her expression was somber, as if she'd resigned herself to some horrible fact.

“Alright, James. You've convinced me. But we can't move forward with research this dangerous without approval from Princess Luna. Whether or not you'll be able to convince her is another story.”

o.O.o

Commander Auraria stood facing northeast, looking out at the cliffs that would funnel the enemy directly into her ambush point. Cold wind from the northwest caught her tail, whipping it around like a sail being tossed in a gale. Light rain splashed against her chitin carapace, bouncing off of it or sliding down the side of it like raindrops on a windowpane. She would dry off soon enough once she went back in her tent. The ponies must have a much harder time dealing with the rain, she thought. They had thick guard hairs, which did a reasonable job of repelling water for a time, and certainly kept them warmer than the changelings in cold or windy weather. But eventually, the rain would soak through and penetrate their fur, leaving their skin drenched. After that, the guard hairs became a liability. It must take their coats hours to dry out, even in direct sunlight. There was no sunlight today, though. It was up there in the sky, but a low overcast layer of clouds obscured it. There was heavier rain coming. Her weather reconnaissance team had returned a half hour ago, reporting thunderstorms to the west. The cumulonimbus clouds were topping out at higher than five thousand spans. They had also reported severe turbulence ahead of the squall line, and a pea soup tinge to the sky that suggested hail. The pegasus weather teams apparently hadn't regained control of the weather yet. The ominous rolling base drum of thunder in the distance announced the squall line's imminent approach.

She turned around, starting back to her tent. What had been deep snow a few days ago had turned into an icy slush as Celestia's Sun – well, for now it was Luna's Sun – had begun to do its work. The slush climbed up her hooves, overflowing into the holes in her legs, creating a feeling like ice water being poured through her legs. She heard another soft plop to her left, looking to see another tree branch yielding under the weight of the waterlogged snow, the heavy white cover plummeting to the ground and spraying droplets of the wet slush into the air.

The incoming thunderstorms might damage the camp, especially if there was hail. They would also likely slow down the invasion force, probably causing them to seek shelter for a time. She didn't like it. She was ready for this battle, her plans were in place, and she wanted to get on with it. Delays would only give her soldiers more time to dwell on just how outnumbered they were. Give them more time to lose their nerve. She went over her strategy again. One could never be too familiar with their battle strategy. Once the battle was at hoof, it had to unfold seamlessly, instinctively, like a well managed theater production where each performer knew exactly when they were supposed to appear on stage, what actions they were supposed to take, what lines they were supposed to speak and when they were supposed to get out of the way. When the battle was upon them, there would be no time to think about what they had to do. Only to do it.

The bad weather would allow her to keep most of the battle on the ground, which is what she preferred. The majority of her forces were changelings, and changeling soldiers were highly trained in grappling and other close-quarters combat techniques. She would use her Changeling Air Force units to perform airstrikes, strafing the advancing enemy with magic bolts from the air. The Pegasus Guard would be useless at that task, given they had no ability to launch ranged attacks against the ground. But she would use them to fly higher altitude cover for the Changeling Air Force units. The Pegasus Guard could engage any gryphons that attempted to attack the changelings, allowing the changelings to focus on strafing the advancing enemy. She prayed to Dorylini that the cloud ceiling would be high enough for that to work. If not, the pegasi would be blind, unable to see or protect the changelings flying the low altitude strafing runs.

Her thoughts turned to the other major problem she had to deal with. A large number of her changeling soldiers would be going into battle with their magic reserves significantly depleted. She still hadn't figured out how to replenish them. Preying on the ponies or gryphons and forcefully stealing their love clearly wasn't an option.

Dorylini had known how to replenish her army's magic reserves without parasitically stealing emotions from others. But that knowledge had been lost for thousands of years. Dorylini's secret, the changelings called it. Some changelings claimed the ponies knew Dorylini's secret. Had it locked up somewhere in their intelligence archives. They argued that the ponies thought the best way to keep the Changeling Empire from being a threat to them was to keep the changelings magically weak. And thus, Equestria refused to reveal that they knew Dorylini's secret. Auraria didn't believe it. It made no sense. After all, a large part of the reason the changelings resorted to raiding and pillaging other species was out of sheer necessity. They had no other way to replenish their magic reserves that didn't involve preying on each other. And that was unsustainable. It would only make the entire species weak. Equestria was well aware of that, and if Equestria really knew Dorylini's secret, surely they would share it, and thus eliminate the need for the changelings to raid other species. Some changelings countered with the claim that since changelings didn't technically need magic to survive, Equestria felt the changelings should just live without magic. But Auraria didn't believe that argument either. Without magic, the changelings would be defenseless against other predators. They would be right back where they had been before Dorylini had united the tribes and formed the Changeling Empire. They would be nomadic prey again, constantly on the run from predators, constantly having to move their villages whenever a new threat arose. Surely, Equestria did not want that fate for the changelings. After all, both Celestia and Luna had supported Dorylini in her efforts to unite the tribes and build a stronger Changeling nation that could protect itself from threats.

A commotion near the tents broke her thoughts. She sped up to a trot, splashing slush high into the air as each one of her hoofs impacted the ground. They better not be fighting, she thought to herself.

As she got closer, it became clear that there was no fight. However, there was tension. Most of their ponies had their hackles raised, and were watching the changelings with wary eyes. The ponies didn't attack – it would be foolish to do so, given how badly outnumbered they were – but they looked as if they expected the changelings to attack. The changelings, however, gave no sign of attacking, instead, talking to each other in low whispers, confusion etched on their faces. She picked out one of the whispers.

“Did you hear? There's been a coup in the Empire. Chrysalis has been removed from power.”

Auraria narrowed her eyes, turning her head as she heard a changeling walking up to her. It was Sergeant Rasahus.

“The messengers you sent to Hoofington have returned, Ma'am,” he said with a salute.

“So I gather,” Her voice had an angry hiss in it as she returned his salute. “I will see them in my tent immediately.”

“Ma'am.” Rasahus saluted again, then turned to round up the messengers. Auraria turned and walked into her tent, seething with anger, hot enough that she wondered if the remaining water droplets spattering her carapace would start to evaporate as steam. She turned and faced the door, her hooves rooted to the ground. A few minutes later, the two pegasus guards and the two changeling soldiers she had sent to Hoofington as messengers entered the tent, stopping and saluting. She didn't return the salute, and their expressions became those of a nymph who had been caught leaching love from one of their nursery mates. Finally, one of the changelings spoke, trying and failing to maintain a tone of confidence.

“We bring news from Hoofington, Ma'am. There's … There's been a coup in the Empire.”

Auraria narrowed her eyes and responded with a hiss in her voice. “Yes, so I've heard. Perhaps one of you would like to tell me why I seem to be the last one to know about it?” Her insect-like eyes glared at them and she let her fangs show slightly. The four messengers shrank slightly under her gaze as if she were using a hoof to press them down. They all averted their eyes to the ground and none of them gave any response.

“Which one of you spilled it?” she hissed.

All of them started to respond at the same time, then stopped. Then, one of the pegasi responded.

“We … we did, Ma'am.”

“I see.” Her expression and tone reflected the feeling of displeasure she felt.

“Ma'am, we were afraid that–”

“Save your excuses, you can tell them to me later.”

The two pegasi wilted under her voice and gaze, but said nothing.

“So then, what do you know about this coup?” Auraria asked. The changeling who spoke originally answered.

“Nothing more than we already told you, Ma'am. Nopony in Hoofington had any details. Not even the royal guards stationed there. The only thing they seem to know for certain is that there was a coup, and that Queen Chrysalis has been deposed. But even that only reached them by rumors. Some say she was deposed by the High Priestesses themselves. Others by her own military council because she supported Equestria. Still others say she was deposed because she was planning to betray Equestria. Nopony knows what really happened. Nopony knows who's running the Empire right now either. Some say it's the High Priestesses. Some say it's the military.”

“These rumors will do us no good,” Auraria said. “I assume you warned them of the impending threat to their town?”

“Yes, Ma'am.”

“And were you able to gather any other news?”

“No Ma'am. We had already left the town before the Sun rose. Even if we had been there, it's unlikely any information from Canterlot would have reached them regarding any rescue of Princess Luna.”

Auraria nodded slightly. “Alright. Good work. Return to your normal duties.”

“Ma'am,” all four of them said with a salute and turned to go.

“Not you two.” She cast her icy blue insect-like eyes on the two pegasi. The two of them stopped with a jolt, wincing as if they'd been struck by the weight of her words. Then, they turned around, doing their best to maintain military composure, but she could tell it was difficult for them. She began speaking in a firm voice, keeping her anger in check.

“I am the commander of these forces. Even the Royal Guard has accepted that. That means I am your commander. You should have come directly to me with the news of the coup. You didn't, and you told others first. Why?”

The two of them were silent, as if they couldn't decide which one of them should speak. Auraria decided for them.

“Private Sky Strike.” She turned her cold gaze on him.

“Ma'am, we … we were afraid that if the changeling soldiers found out about the rumor, especially about the possibility that Queen Chrysalis had been deposed for supporting us, that the Changeling Army would turn against us. We felt we had to warn our fellow soldiers in the Royal Guard so they would not be caught off guard if that happened.”

“And in the process, you put this entire battalion in danger. Changelings, ponies, and gryphons.” She started to pace in front of them now. “Just as all of them were starting to build a mutual bond of trust with each other, you spread news like this. I need the changelings and ponies to have complete and absolute trust in each other. Instead, thanks to you and your inability to keep your muzzles shut, they will both be constantly looking over their shoulders, wondering if they are about to get pounced on. You might as well have thrown a torch into a crate of blasting putty.”

“Ma'am we didn't think–”

“You didn't think!” She stopped her pacing, standing in front of Sky Strike now, her muzzle inches from his. “You're right, you didn't think! That's why you're a private, and I'm an officer! That's why I give orders, and you follow them! And when I personally give you an assignment to carry out, I expect you to report to me and only to me! Is that clear?”

“Yes, Ma'am!” they both responded.

“Good! Now get out of here so I can figure out how I'm gonna run damage control against your fuck up.”

“Ma'am!” they both said, with a salute, before turning and double-timing it to the door as if she were casting plasma bolts at their rumps.

“And don't think you are gonna out of this with no discipline! There will be a disciplinary action hearing as soon as our situation allows!” she called after them. They gave no response, exiting the tent as quickly as possible.

She shook her head and sat down roughly on her haunches. The pony officers must be soft. They must be lax on discipline. Well, they'd find out that being under the command of a changeling officer was different. Yes, she cared about all of the soldiers under her command, including the ponies. She cared about keeping them all alive. And that required strict discipline. This incident was a perfect example of why.

She stood up again, stepping outside of her tent. The rain had increased and the sky had become darker. The booming thunder was closer now and gusty winds were beginning to attack the trees and cause the flags on the tents to whip wildly. She looked around a bit, spotting a supply crate and walking over to it, hopping up onto it. She charged her horn, a green glow forming around it as she cast a sound-amplification spell.

“All units, fall in!” she boomed out in her magic enhanced voice.

All conversation stopped immediately, and the ponies, changelings, and gryphons quickly fell into formation in front of her. She seethed with anger as she watched the ponies and changelings segregate themselves by species, occasionally casting wary glances at each other. She waited until all the shuffling had stopped before addressing them.

“I am aware that all of you have heard the news about the coup in the Changeling Empire. But–”

“We should leave now and go back to the Empire!” a changeling soldier called out.

“No one is going anywhere!” Her eyes cast daggers at the part of the changeling formation where the interruption had come from, but she couldn't tell exactly which changeling had said it, fortunately for them. “Our mission is to assist Equestria in protecting the barrier, and to repel any invaders from the Beyond or anywhere else! And until I hear otherwise from Changeling Military High Command, that is the mission we will continue to perform! If the Empire needs us, they will send a messenger! But as of right now, the coup does not concern us! Our mission remains unchanged!”

“The Empire needs us!” another changeling shouted. “I'm done with this assignment!” The changeling turned as if he were about to walk out of formation. She cast him a glare at him with her icy blue eyes that could have frozen lava.

“Anyone who leaves will be charged with desertion! They will be sent back to the Hive to face a court martial in front a changeling military tribunal! That goes for all of you! Changelings, ponies, and gryphons!”

The changeling who had started to leave stopped in his tracks and turned around, falling back into formation. The rest of the changelings all lowered their eyes slightly. The ponies had nervous expressions painted on their muzzles. While the gryphons looked as if this was all between the other two species, and had nothing to do with them at all. It was one of the pegasus guards who spoke up next.

“We are in Equestria! You have no jurisdiction here, and you have no jurisdiction over ponies!” Auraria turned her gaze to the pegasus who had spoken.

“You aren't a civilian, Private. You are a soldier serving under my command. And if you think I have no jurisdiction over you, you can tell it to the tribunal.”

The pegasus who had spoken gave no further argument, the thought of spending time in a changeling military prison no doubt having made him think better of his objection. She looked over the assembled soldiers again, before continuing.

“Over the past several days, I have watched longtime bitter enemies become friends. I've seen you set up tents next to each other! I've seen you eat together, and talk together! I've seen your share war stories with each other! I've seen you engage in friendly spars with each other! I've seen you all put aside your differences and come together to fight against an enemy that affects us all! An enemy that threatens our entire existence! I expect that behavior to continue! In less than two days, we will go into battle! We will go into battle against a formidable foe that vastly outnumbers us! Our victory, and our very survival depends on you all continuing to forge the bonds of trust and faith in each other that you have formed over these past days! And if you do that! If you keep that trust and faith in each other strong, then when our enemies come, they will tremble in fear! Because they will know that we are not ponies, changelings, and gryphons! We are one! And together, we will show them that their own actions brought us together! Their own actions caused their own downfall! We will show them that they cannot tear apart the bonds of friendship we have forged! We will not go down! We will not fracture! We will stand as one! We will fight as one! And we will be victorious!”

A roaring cheer erupted from the gathered army, drowning out the thunder and the rain. Emotions flooded into Auraria. For a moment, she felt confused. She had never felt an emotion quite like this before. A shock of surprise flowed through her as she recognized it: Love! And it wasn't coming from just the changelings. It was coming from ponies and gryphons too. The love she was receiving felt more pure than any other love she had ever gotten. Not tainted like the love she was used to stealing. And this love was more powerful, more reinvigorating then she had ever felt before. Revitalization charged through her like a rushing river, washing away her fatigue and restoring her depleted magic reserves. She looked at the gathered changelings who had used the most magic during the last battle. Their shocked expressions mirrored her own. They too, had been revitalized! Her problem had been solved! The changelings depleted magic reserves had been restored! This is Dorylini's secret! she realized with a thrill of elation. This is how her armies maintained their magic without parasitically preying on emotions from others! All of it fell into place now. Dorylini and her empire had been friends with Equestria. And they had been able to draw off that magic of friendship without forcefully stealing from the ponies. Auraria now understood something that Chrysalis never had: True love and true friendship could not be taken. It could not be stolen. It could only be given and received freely. She drank in the well of love and friendship that flowed around her, feeling it satiate her thirst. And this love and friendship was so much more powerful than stolen love. Not like the muddy, stagnant, sulfur tasting pond she was used to drinking from. This love was untainted, and pure. A sparkling river fed by a clear spring. She scanned her gathered soldiers, basking in the communal love that surrounded the camp. The cold wind and rain was but a distant memory now, banished far away by the warmth of the love flowing between her gathered soldiers. The love that would bring power to them, and fear and defeat to their enemies.

72 - The Genesis Spell

“Now I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds.” – J. Robert Oppenheimer (quoting from the Bhagavad Gita)

The Council Meeting Chamber had an oppressive, heavy feeling to it. The air, hot and muggy. Or at least it felt that way. It was no wonder, given the magnitude of the decision the Council was facing after what James had just finished telling them about his plan to deal with the Beyond. Besides the councilors themselves, Twilight, Luna and the captains of the Lunar Guard, Celestial Guard, and Unicorn Guard were present. Notably missing, was the captain of the entire Royal Guard, given that Captain Swordstorm was on Earth, and Captain Skydart, as far as anypony in the room knew, was still MIA.

“Does this project even have a name? It’s difficult to discuss it without a name to call it by,” Councilor River Rock said. James could hear the tension in his voice. Perhaps even a slight note of hostility. He could hardly blame the earth pony stallion. Not given the enormity of what he had just dumped on the Council. James recalled that when Harry Truman had taken office and learned about the atomic bomb project, he had said that he felt like the moon, stars, and all of the planets had fallen on him. And he was talking about a weapon that could only destroy a city. How much worse must the Council feel with what he had laid on them? A weapon that could potentially destroy the entire Universe?

“A name?” River Rock asked again, bringing James out of his thoughts.

“I had thought of calling it the Genesis Spell,” James answered.

“The Genesis Spell?” River Rock asked, raising an eyebrow. “That’s certainly trying to put a positive spin on things isn’t it? Given you are talking about creating the mother of all weapons of mass destruction?”

“It will, in theory, create the building blocks for new life in the process of splitting the god particles.” James felt timid, small. How many more times were these ponies going to one-up the things he had previously thought were the most challenging and frightening experiences of his life? He recalled a time when life had been simple and easy. When the most nerve-wracking experience he had ever faced was defending his PhD dissertation in front of the university nuclear physics faculty. But that had been a walk through the park on a spring day compared to the grueling interview of the Royal Equestrian Academy faculty before he’d started working there. Now, both of them felt like they had been nothing more than a casual conversation where nothing at all had been on the line. This was like standing in front of some grand inquisition. In a way, he supposed it was. The outcome of this meeting might determine the fate of the universe.

“It will create the primitive building blocks for new life, maybe. But how much will it destroy in the process? How much already established advanced life? By your own admission, Councilor, you can offer no guarantees that this Genesis spell won’t destroy the entire Universe.” It was Twilight who responded.

“Councilor Peterson and I both understand and share your concerns. However, neither one of us sees a viable alternative.” James was glad that Twilight had come to his rescue. He was beginning to feel like an ant under a microscope. He supposed he should feel that way, though. Given the enormity of what he was proposing.

“Do you?” Storm Runner asked, the blue-green Pegasus flaring her wings a bit, her strong hostility to the idea evident in the way her ears were pinned to her head. “Despite pressure by some in the Royal Guard to do otherwise,” James thought she cast a slightly accusing glance at Star Flash, “Equestria’s long-standing policy has been that we will not pursue the development of weapons of mass destruction using magic or any other means, because we don’t want to start an arms race. And changing that policy now, when changelings, griffons, and ponies are all starting to come together, could be disastrous to future relations.” James opened his mouth to respond, but Luna spoke first.

“Let us hear the input of some of the others before we engage in further discussion. After all, right now, all we have is James’ opinion, knowledgeable thought it may be, that this will work at all. Councilor Moon Song?” Luna asked, turning her head toward the unicorn stallion who was considered the Council’s leading authority on magic. James was glad Luna had intervened. The discussion with Storm Runner had been dangerously close to degrading into trench warfare, with both sides dug in, neither making any progress. Moon Song’s horn was glowing slightly as he scribbled calculations frantically on the piece of paper in front of him. For a moment, James wasn’t sure he’d heard Luna address him. But then he put down the quill and looked up.”

“My opinion? It’s not gonna work. They’ll be able to split a god particle, but after that, nothing will happen. They won’t get the chain reaction Councilor Peterson thinks they will get. That’s what I think is most likely to happen.” He took a deep breath, his ears drooping slightly on his head. “But if I’m wrong and he does get the chain reaction he thinks he will? I don’t think it will stop with the Beyond. I think the chain reaction will emanate outward from the source at the speed of light, continuing until it has split every piece of matter in the Universe, causing a nuclear detonation of unfathomable power. We literally don’t have a unit of measure large enough to describe the amount of energy that would be released.” He added, almost as an afterthought, “Of course, I hope I am wrong on both counts.”

“Then you agree with the plan?” Luna asked.

“I think it’s a terrible plan. But sometimes there are no good plans. Only plans that are less bad than others.”

Luna nodded in response, then looked to Captain Star Flash of the Unicorn Guard.

“And you, Captain?”

“I think we have no other choice than to go ahead with Councilor Peterson’s plan, as distasteful as it may be to some.” The unicorn seemed to cast his own glare at Storm Runner for a moment.

James resisted the urge to frown. Although he was grateful for Star Flash’s support, the fact that the unicorn had responded with no hesitation at all made him think he had ulterior motives, such as simply wanting an extremely powerful new weapon for the Unicorn Guard. He was more certain now that Storm Runner really had cast that accusing glance at Star Flash earlier. It was Storm Runner who spoke again.

“Councilor Moon Song raises what I think is the heart of the concern here.” The pegasus seemed to have calmed down, and the possibility of an argument erupting to have receded somewhat. “A question we have to ask is this: Do we even have the ethical or moral right to pursue a project like this? If the only world we stood to destroy was our own – the only species we might wipe out ourselves – then this would be an easier question. But we’re talking about the entire Universe here. And we aren’t just talking about wiping out our own species. We are talking about the possibility of wiping out humans from James’ world, and every other species on every other planet we haven’t even discovered yet. What gives us the right to force them to incur this risk along with us?”

Moon Song said, “If we were doing this just to satisfy our own curiosity about deep magic, then yes, it would obviously be insanity. If we were doing it to prevent our own nation from falling to the changelings, then we wouldn’t even be having this discussion. There would be no question that it would be unethical for us to place the entire Universe at a twenty percent risk of destruction just to stop ourselves from coming under the rule of Queen Chrysalis … or whoever it is that’s ruling their empire now. In that scenario, it might be acceptable to take a risk that would destroy ourselves, but not one that threatened to destroy every species in the Universe.

“But the Beyond isn’t Chrysalis. It’s not a being who just wants to conquer and rule. It’s a being who wants to destroy everything. And if Princess Celestia is right, and I believe she is, The Beyond will not stop at destroying Equestria. It will plunge to the center of the macro-pattern and destroy every other species and every other world as well. That’s an absolute certainty if the Beyond wins this war. Believe me, I would not be supporting this if I thought there were any possibility at all of winning this war using conventional methods. But I don’t. Our forces, the changeling forces, the griffons, the dragons, and the humans combined cannot win this war using conventional tactics. At least James’ plan gives the Universe a chance to survive. It gives ponies, changelings, griffons, dragons, humans, and every other species that might be out there who currently has no clue what’s going on, a chance. If we don’t try James’ plan, then none of them have any chance.”

The room was silent for several long moments, although the tension was still thick. James still felt as if he were naked, having every single detail about himself scrutinized down to the strands of hair on his arms. Storm Runner’s ears were laid back slightly, and she was gazing at the table. She gave no further objections. Did that mean she had reluctantly accepted Moon Song’s argument? James wasn’t sure. After a few moments, Luna turned towards the Captains of the Celestial and Lunar Guards.

“Would either of you like to add anything?”

“Nothing, Your Majesty,” Captain Stardust said. “My focus is only on protecting you.”

Captain Sunflare of the Celestial Guard only shook his head in the negative. At least it’s good to see the two of them agreeing on something, even if all they are agreeing on is to do and say nothing, James thought to himself. The rift between the Celestial and Lunar guards that had been caused by the disagreements and subsequent fallout between the two Royal Sisters had never seemed to fully close.

“Very well,” Luna said. “Then I shall leave the room while the Council discusses and votes on the issue. Luna turned towards the door and two thestral guards pulled it open. James stood and bowed slightly as he addressed the Council.

“With all due respect to the Council, since this is my proposal, I feel that I should recuse myself from the discussion and voting. If you need me for questions, I’ll be in the hallway.” He bowed slightly again – respectfully and diplomatically, not the deep bow he would have given to one of the Princesses – then followed Princess Luna out of the room. Twilight, not being part of the Council, also stepped out of the room, as did the guard captains. The two thestrals standing guard closed the doors with an echoing boom that sounded ominously loud to his ears.

Once in the hallway, it was all James could do not to pace back and forth in front of the doors. He felt as if he were a defendant on trial who had just rested his case. Now, it was completely out of his hands and in the hooves of the rest of the Council. All he could do was wait while they deliberated his fate. He glanced at Captain Stardust and Captain Sunflare. The two of them had moved off on their own and were discussing something in quiet tones. His ears burned to know what was on their mind, because he couldn’t make out their whispers. For whatever reason, they seemed to have intentionally excluded Captain Star Flash from their huddle.

He tried to turn his mind from the decision that was being discussed behind the closed doors, but when he did, he found himself thinking of the tension that had existed between Storm Runner and himself in the room. He tried to tell himself it wasn’t personal, and the rational part of his mind knew that it wasn’t. He could hardly blame her for her reaction to the radical plan he had dumped on them. And in truth, he had been so excited about the possibility of finding a way to defeat the Beyond, that he really hadn’t thought through any of the political issues involved, such as starting an arms race, or straining relations between the various species of the world, given that traditionally, those relations had already been stretched. Only in the past couple of weeks, had tensions between the various nations softened as they came together to battle a common enemy that threatened them all. Pointing out things like that was, of course, why the Council existed in the first place. It wasn’t possible for one individual to always see all of the ramifications of a potential course of action; especially not when that individual was the one responsible for creating the potential action. He was glad that Storm Runner had had the presence of mind to bring up issues that hadn’t occurred to him.

He let his mind wander to other things. There was no sense dwelling on the fate of the Genesis Spell or what had happened in the meeting room. The outcome was completely out of his hands now. He thought of his relationship with Twilight Sparkle and the fact that he wouldn’t have to hide it from Celestia and Luna. That made him smile a bit. The thought lead him to think of Celestia herself. Where was she right now? What was she doing? Had Swordstorm been able to find her and deliver the information that would be so critical to getting her home? If so, had Eric been able to figure out a way to do it? There was no way to know right now. They wouldn’t know until they attempted to open the portal here to bring her back. Either they’d see her through the portal, or they wouldn’t.

James cast his eyes over Luna, then Twilight, as if hoping one of them would have all of the answers. But both of them had expressions of uncertainly on their muzzles as well, as if they were lost in their own ponderings. He returned to his own thoughts for an indeterminate amount of time before the clanging of the opening doors jolted him out of them. Storm Runner stuck her head out.

“The Council has voted,” was all she said. James attempted to read their decision from her tone of voice or garner something from her expression and appearance. But she was completely poker faced and unreadable. Her head disappeared back into the meeting room and Twilight, Luna, and James followed her in, all taking their places around the table again. If the atmosphere of the room had felt heavy before, now it felt crushing. Storm Runner waited for the thestrals to close the doors before speaking.

“The Council has voted unanimously to recommend that Councilor Peterson and Twilight Sparkle be granted authority to begin development of the Genesis Spell.” Storm Runner had said it with no emotion in her voice, no visible indication of her mood. James could glean nothing about how she felt regarding the decision, but the unanimous yes vote meant she had supported him in the end, even if she’d done so reluctantly.

James turned his attention to Luna, who nodded, but gave no other visible signal as to how she felt. Everything came down to her now. More often than not, the Princesses went along with a unanimous decision on the part of the Council, but Luna did have the power to veto any Council decision. She could still shut down this project. He wondered what must be going through her mind. One thing he knew for sure: He didn’t envy her at all. She was silent, looking at the floor, scraping her forehoof along it a couple of times, as she’d done so long ago in the early stages of their tense relationship when she’d kidnapped him and taken him out to the hill to stargaze. Minutes passed, which seemed like hours. Finally, she looked up, cast her gaze over the entire Council and the guard captains, and then began to speak.

“There were several reasons I turned into Nightmare Moon. One of them was simply because I wanted power and authority. I envied the fact that my sister was one step above me. That she could veto my own decisions, even though she rarely did so. But now, with the decision that has been placed before my hooves, I wonder why I ever wanted power at all. I wonder why I was ever jealous of my sister instead of pitying her. My sister should be the one making this decision. Not me. ‘Twould be better for me if I were a poor common farmer with no power at all.”

The midnight-blue alicorn looked at the floor, again scraping her hoof along it as if trying to dig a groove into it. She took a deep breath before continuing.

“Authorization is granted for Councilor Peterson and Twilight Sparkle to begin development of the Genesis Spell. And may the Sun and Moon help us … or forgive us as the case may be.”

Silence dominated as the weight of Luna’s words sank in, the unprecedented enormity of the decision they had just made pressing down and crushing the entire room, as if the ceiling were coming down and slowly flattening everyone and everything in the chamber. When James had been in the hallway, he’d found himself half wishing that the Council would shoot him down. Now, a part of himself wished that Luna would have vetoed the Council’s decision to support him. It was Moon Song who finally interrupted the silence.

“It goes without saying that the research required to develop this thing is going to be extremely dangerous, with risks ranging from radiation accidents that could poison entire blocks, to nuclear chain reactions that could vaporize the better part of a city. It cannot be conducted anywhere near a populated area.”

“And yet, the army of scientists who will work on this project is going to need the support of a small town. Food, transportation, medical services, and so on,” River Rock added.

“White Pony seems like the obvious choice,” Captain Star Flash said. “It’s far away from any other inhabited areas, and the population of the town is small enough that evacuating them to temporary housing is doable without creating a logistical nightmare.”

“They won’t be happy. Not given those ponies’ dislike of Canterlot intervention in their affairs. Now Canterlot is going to swoop in and tell them they all have to leave their town?”

James added, “Also, the evacuation could be for a fairly extended period of time. After the research is finished, they won’t be able to just go home right away. We’ll have to decommission the labs, perform radiation surveys of the town to make sure it’s safe for them to return, and so on. And I don’t have the training to do a proper radiation survey of a town, so there will be a learning and research period involved there.”

“You’re a nuclear physicist and you don’t know how to do a radiation survey?” Captain Star Flash asked, an incredulous note in his voice that caused James to bristle slightly.

“No, I don’t. I’m not an emergency worker now am I? Normally, radiation assessments are the kind of thing the military would handle,” James shot back accusingly at the Unicorn Guard commander. Fortunately, Luna intervened before the argument could escalate any further.

“There is no sense in squabbling over who should know how to do what, or whose responsibility it is to do what. And as far as the citizens of White Pony, they’ll just have to deal. The Crown will compensate them well for their trouble.”

James and Captain Star Flash both nodded in apology before Storm Runner spoke again.

“We still have another issue. Remember that Councilor Peterson and Twilight have to go into the heart of the Beyond itself to cast this spell. I doubt the Beyond is simply going to let them march right in. And we already know that only the two of them can go in, so we can’t simply send an army with them to protect them against aislings.”

“No, we cannot,” Luna said with a shake of her head. She frowned, laying her ears back. “I had hoped that we would be able to stop the Beyond before the barriers were breached and the invasion began. But it is apparent that we are not going to be able to do that. We are going to have to let the invasion happen. Our forces, and the human forces, will have to battle the aislings. Our goal, and the goal of the humans, must be to stop the aislings from getting back into the Beyond. Twilight and James will still face some resistance, but it will be far less than they would otherwise have to deal with.”

“That’s gonna be a tough one to sell to the humans, Your Majesty,” Captain Stardust said. “If we can even open the portal –”

“There’s no if involved. We will open the portal. We will bring my sister home,” Luna interrupted, her eyes narrowed slightly, her tail flicking once in anger. Captain Stardust nodded his head in apology.

“As you say, Your Majesty. When we open the portal, we can send all of this information through to Eric. But basically, we are going to tell the humans a massive invasion of extremely powerful supernatural beings is approaching their world, but that they must do nothing to stop the invasion. And then, once the aislings are in their land, rather than try to drive them out, they must do everything in their power to keep them there? Even if they are trying to flee back into the Beyond? It’d be easier to sell a rock to an earth pony who lived on a rock farm.” Luna’s expression softened as she responded, as if in apology for her momentary flash of anger over the suggestion that they might not be able to successfully open the portal to bring Celestia back.

“A difficult sell indeed. But it is what we must sell them. I will attempt to contact my sister in the dreamworld tonight and communicate the general idea to her. We will send details when we open the portal.” She looked at James now, her eyes softening in compassion. “And to put your mind at ease, I was able to contact my sister the other day. She has been warned of the impending invasion, and I suspect she has told Eric.”

“Thank you, Your Majesty,” James responded, bowing his head in gratitude. But with this new talk of trying to convince the humans that they must let the invasion happen and then, if need be, try to keep the aislings from getting back into the Beyond, the knowledge that Celestia knew of the impending attack brought little comfort.

Luna nodded in acknowledgment before turning and walking to the side of the room, staring at the wall as if she wished they weren’t deep underground and there were a window to look through. Her ears dropped against her head as she spoke quietly, seemingly to herself.

“I fear a sacrifice will need to be made in the human world. Only one will return …”

“Your Majesty?” Captain Stardust asked. But Luna only turned around and gave a forced smile.

“All of you have a lot of work to do. Captain Star Flash, contact the Earth Pony Guard and coordinate with them to send a squadron of guards to White Pony to begin the evacuation. Have someone notify the innkeepers in Canterlot that they will be receiving the evacuees. Let them know they will be compensated their normal rate for their rooms. If any inns are still closed due to the extended night and winter, tell them it’s time to reopen.”

“Yes, Your Majesty,” Star Flash responded. Luna turned her attention to James and Twilight.

“I suggest the two of you scour the Academy labs. I will send an order to the Academy commander informing him that you are authorized to commandeer any equipment you need. I’ll also send a logistics officer from Pegasus Guard Airlift Command to arrange for transporting the equipment, as well as any support ponies you need to White Pony. You will have as many transport chariots at your disposal as you need.” She turned her gaze towards Moon Song. “You go with them, Councilor.”

“Yes, Your Majesty,” all three of them responded at the same time.

Luna nodded, smiling briefly before her expression became grim again. “Good. You all have your tasks. The Council is dismissed.”

As the thestral guards opened the doors, a rush of cool air flowed into the chamber, but it provided little relief from the oppressive atmosphere that dominated. James filed out of the meeting room along with the rest of the councilors and guard captains, except for Captain Stardust, who James noticed stayed behind with Luna. Curiosity picked at James like an itch he couldn’t scratch, but it was obvious Luna wanted to be alone with her Commander. And besides, Luna was right. He and Twilight had a lot of work to do before they could leave for White Pony, and not much time to do it in. If the spell wasn’t ready by the time the aislings invaded, than Equestria, Earth, and probably the entire Universe itself would be lost.

Luna stared at the wall again, absently listening to the councilors and other guard captains leaving the room. The thestrals posted outside closed the doors and she heard the lock click into place. She swiveled her ears toward the doors, listening to the fading sound of hoofsteps. When she could no longer hear them, she spoke, still facing the wall.

“You and your Celestial counterpart are not happy with my decision. But you both chose not to say anything during the discussion.”

“Was it that obvious, Your Majesty?” Captain Stardust raised an eyebrow. Luna turned around and faced him now.

“To James? Probably not. To any pony who was more than a few meters away from you? Not likely. But to me? And to any other pony close to you? The disagreement of you both was prevalent in your scent. And there was an underlying smell of anger to it. Like sulfur rising from the crater of a volcano.”

Captain Stardust sighed, looking at the floor as he flicked his tail and lowered his ears. “The two of us discussed it in the hall while the Council was deliberating. We don’t like the prophecy. Especially that part about the Sun swallowing the Sun and the Moon swallowing the Moon. As Captains of the Celestial and Lunar Guard, our only job is to protect and serve you and your sister.” He flicked his tail again and pinned his ears to his head. “The Sun shall swallow the Sun and the Moon shall swallow the Moon? What does it mean? It sounds too ominous. We fear that you and your sister are in grave danger.”

Luna shook her head once. “I would be lying if I said that part of the prophecy does not frighten me. I do not know what it means. The whole prophecy is terrifying and I do not know what most of it means.” Luna forced a small smile. “It is good to see the two of you talking and discussing things, though.” Stardust’s averted eyes suggested he didn’t see the humor in it and only found it awkward. The smile faded from Luna’s face and she turned to face the wall again before continuing.

“I fear that the greatest threat Equestria has ever faced is not the Beyond. It’s the physics knowledge inside his brain, combined with her knowledge and skill at magic.”

“And what are we to do about it, Your Majesty?” Captain Stardust asked. Luna shook her head in response.

“We are going to let him do what he must. What he came here to do.” Luna took a deep breath, feeling as if the weight of the entire Universe were pressing on her, crushing her. In a way, it was. What if she had made the wrong decision in letting James go forward with this project? But there was no sense dwelling on it. She would be second-guessing herself until this was all over. She may as well focus on the other problem she still had to deal with. She turned around to face Captain Stardust again.

“But there’s no sense worrying about what we can’t control, Captain. We have other things that need to be dealt with. I have another assignment for Bat Team Alpha …”

Celestia stood in an open field, staring up into the night sky. It was a New Moon, making it completely dark. It appeared to be a clear night, but oddly enough, there were no stars visible. She sensed she was dreaming again and that Luna was probably involved. Her sister often placed little oddities in dreams, like a clear night with no stars, in order to let Celestia know that she was caught up in Luna’s dreamworld. There was only one light in the sky: A great, churning, glowing fog in the distance. In some ways, it looked like an aurora, dancing and twinkling like a bright green blanket spread across the sky. But this entity was much more sinister than any aurora. Lightning flashed inside of it so it was like looking at a distant thunderstorm that covered almost the entire horizon.

A particularly blinding flash radiated out from the center of the fog. Cracks began to spider web out from the source. A hole began to open in the middle that was like looking into nothing. Like staring into whatever non-existence there was before the universe had been birthed. The hole spiraled outward, growing larger, like the iris in some giant malevolent and all-seeing pupil opening up to allow in more light. Then, the cloud changed from green to a rolling lava like color. Aislings came pouring out into the field as if they were mounting a charge on a city. Celestia looked around, but other than the aislings, she seemed to still be alone. There were no human armies to stop the invasion. The aislings glided along on their legless forms, moving further away from the hole in the sky they had come from.

Then, seemingly out of nowhere, a human army arose from the ground between the boiling lava colored cloud and the aislings. The aislings turned around, facing the point they had come from. The two armies charged towards each other. Lightning flashed from the limbless openings where the aislings’ arms would have been. Bright flashes and loud cracks split the night from the human weapons. The two armies collided like freight trains, the open field exploding into a chaotic battleground, the humans doing their best to keep the aislings from returning to the hole they had crawled out of.

Celestia opened her eyes, finding herself in her bed in the cabin She quickly committed the dream to memory before she forgot it, as often happens in that half-state between sleep and wakefulness. She widened her eyes in confusion. Had the humans intentionally allowed the invasion to happen? Had they intentionally been trying to prevent the aislings from getting back into the Beyond? She shook her head slightly, bewilderment filling her mind. Luna, what is it you are trying to show me?

She climbed out of bed, shaking her long, flowing mane out of her face and stepping lightly as she made her way out of her room and to the front door. No sense waking any of the others. She channeled an ever so slight amount of magic into her horn, opening the door and stepping outside. The cool air felt good on her fur, the smell of the mountain air fresh to her nostrils. As expected, she found Captain Swordstorm standing guard beside the door.

“Can’t sleep, Your Majesty?” he asked, giving a respectful bow of his head. She bowed to the stallion in return.

“I had another dream.”

“From Luna?”

She nodded. “Walk with me.”

Captain Swordstorm fell in beside her as the two of them walked a short distance from the cabin, then turned on to one of the many mountain paths. The Moon was full and filled Celestia with warmth as it made her think of her sister. Its silver light sparkled off the snow-capped mountains, creating a fantasy-like scene that would have been breathtaking if not for the disturbing and confusing dream Luna had given her. As they walked, she explained the dream to Swordstorm. When she finished, she turned her head to look at the stallion. He wore an expression that was as confused as hers had been when she’d woken up.

“You say the humans appeared to intentionally let the invasion happen? And that they looked like they were trying to block the aislings from retreating back into the Beyond?” Celestia nodded her head.

“Yes. But retreat might not be the right word. I’m don’t know if the aislings were trying to retreat back into the Beyond, or if they suddenly realized there was a more important target they needed to engage behind them rather than in front of them. But the humans were definitely more concerned about keeping them from going back towards the opening than about preventing their continued march inland.”

“It doesn’t make any sense,” Captain Swordstorm shook his head. “It seems as if Luna is trying to tell us that we need to convince the humans to let the invasion happen. And that if it comes to it, they need to prevent the aislings from getting back into the Beyond. But why would she want them to do that? What sense is there in trying to keep the enemy in your own territory instead of trying to drive them out?” But Celestia had no answers to give. She was as confused as he was.

“I must admit I don’t understand what Luna was trying to tell me, Captain. I hope future dreams will clear things up.”

She looked away from him now, casting her eyes on the moonlit trail in front of her. Neither she or her Captain spoke. A gentle breeze rustled the leaves in the trees. Crickets sang, as if they were a Royal Court serenading her. Somewhere above them, an owl hooted. It was an idyllic night scene that would have been peaceful and enchanting but for the burning and unsaid knowledge in Celestia’s heart. No, she would not order Swordstorm. She would not broach the subject with him. She was certain the stallion had already come to the same conclusion she had. She would let him bring it up. After a few more moments, Swordstorm pierced the silence.

“We may as well not beat around the bush, Your Majesty. We both know that when Eric opens the portal to Equestria, I won’t be going through it with you.”

Yes, he was right. She had known. But hearing him say it pierced her heart as surely as his words had pierced the silence between them. She felt her heart sinking into an ocean of turmoil, as if it had been sliced open by an iceberg and was taking on water. She nodded her head in acknowledgment, but what she said was, “I won’t order you to do this, Captain.”

“You have my thanks, Your Majesty. But you and I both know that we cannot leave the humans alone to fight an enemy they know nothing about, and who uses combat tactics they have never encountered.”

Celestia only nodded. Yes, she did know. But that didn’t make it any easier. And it didn’t stop a tear from overflowing the banks of her eyelids, catching the moonlight like a drop of crystal as it fell to the ground and shattered.

73 - The Looming Battle

Chapter 73: The Looming Battle

The first storm had passed by without damaging the camp. But now, about a day later, another one threatened. Lightning arced across the sky like long, gnarled, skeletal fingers reaching across the heavens. Thunder peeled through the air, reverberating through the forest as if the trees themselves were pounding on large bass drums. To the west, dark clouds churned and rolled in the air. Commander Auraria stood facing to the southeast, the two Pegasus Guard scouts she had sent out flapping their wings as they flew against the oncoming wind from the approaching storm. The two pegasi landed in front of her, folded their wings, and gave her a salute that she returned.

“How was your flight?”

“Turbulent, ma’am” the higher ranking of the two guards responded. “Their army is on the move. Looks like they are trying to cover as much ground as they can before the storm stops them. If they keep up their current pace, they can be here in two hours.”

Auraria wasn’t sure how she felt about that. On one hoof, it probably meant a significant portion of the battle was going to be fought entirely on the ground. Neither the gryphons, changelings, or pegasi could fly in severe thunderstorms. But it also put a kink in her plans to use her Changeling Air Force to strafe the enemy soldiers from the air. That was unfortunate, but the gryphons would be grounded too, and the dragons, if there were any (none of the scouts she’d sent out had seen any), would be virtually useless in a ground battle. Not to mention that, even though the Changeling Air Force was very competent, changelings were still at their best in close-quarters ground combat where it was up close and personal.

“How are the Pegasus Guards in ground combat?” she asked, returning her attention to the two of them.

“We can hold our own as well as the gryphons can, if that’s what you’re getting at, ma’am,” the higher ranking of the two responded.

“Good,” Auraria said with a nod. “Because you might have to. If they get here during the storm, our plans will have to change.”

Ultimately, Auraria thought, those revised plans would benefit her and her army more than it would benefit the enemy. The enemy was foolishly setting themselves up for a ground battle against changeling forces from which there would be no retreat from the air and no air cover. That would help even out the odds a bit, given how badly outnumbered her forces were. Improve, adapt, and never fail to take advantage of an enemy’s mistakes. She doubted they’d have considered their current plan viable if they knew there was a changeling army waiting to ambush them. They’d probably wait until the storm had cleared.

Auraria heard a faint buzz from the west and looked to see the two Changeling Scouts she had sent in that direction returning. They landed in front of her, opposite the side of the two pegasi, folded their insect-like wings, and saluted. Auraria returned the salute.

“What’s that storm looking like?” she asked.

“Nasty, Should be here in about an hour. Probably gonna bring some hail. But it’s clear skies behind it. The storm’ll probably only last about thirty minutes.”

“We might need the air plan after all. Unless we can get a very quick and decisive victory.” She turned to the two Pegasus Guards again. “Fetch me a couple of Unicorn Guards. Since the enemy will have to approach on foot, I want to see about setting trap spells.”

“Yes, ma’am,” the two Pegasus Guards responded in unison, saluting and then going to the center of the camp to look for the requested Unicorn Guards. Auraria turned to the two changelings again.

“Find Sergeant Rasahus. Tell him to assign two full time Changeling Guards to Skydart. I don’t want him sneaking off in the heat of battle. We need him at least until we get to the Northern Fortress.”

“Yes, ma’am,” the two changelings responded with a salute before going off to their assigned task.

Now alone, Auraria turned and made her way back to her tent. A light rain had begun to fall, but the drops were heavy, splatting on her chitin and then running down it to fall on the ground. Once she stepped inside her tent, they made a smattering sound against the canvas like little stones. The warm glow of the brazier felt good against the cold outside wind. Auraria looked at her maps and scrolls, going over her battle plans one more time.

Ideally, she wanted to end this battle as quickly as possible, preferably before the storm cleared out. One way to do that would be to send all of her soldiers to the front, thus ambushing the approaching enemy with everything she had and hopefully forcing a quick surrender. This ground blitzkrieg strategy would also give the illusion that her forces were much more numerous than they actually were.

But there was a danger to this strategy. It would leave her forces vulnerable to attacks on their unprotected flanks. She didn’t think it was a serious risk. So far, all of her recon flights had said the same thing: No sign of any flanking movements. Only one massive forward attack force. No indication that the enemy had the slightest clue that there was an ambush lying in wait for them before they got to Hoofington. That and given the area she had chosen to mount her defense, it would be extremely difficult for the enemy to pull off a flank attack anyway due to the funnel-shaped nature of the terrain. That was even more true with the storm.

“Ma’am?” A voice calling from the front of her tent interrupted.

“Come.” Auraria stepped out from behind her table. A gray Unicorn Guard opened the flap, stepped in, and secured it before turning to salute her. His fur was slightly wet, glistening with rain. His rank insignia indicated he was a Private First Class – not particularly high ranked, but probably the highest ranking Unicorn Guard she had. She returned his salute.

“You requested to see me, ma’am?”

“Yes. Can your soldiers set trap spells?”

“Of course. What kind do you want?”

“What kind can you do?”

“Anything from collapsing ground spells, to exploding ground spells, to electric shock spells, to blindness spells.”

“Blindness spells?”

“Yes, ma’am. It’s called the Eye Blind spell. It’s most effective at night, but it’ll work reasonably well in dark overcast weather like we have here now. It emits a blinding light when triggered, making it difficult for the enemy to see for around ten or fifteen minutes. Good for causing mass confusion. Of course, the drawback is that if any of our soldiers are looking at an Eye Blind trap when it goes off, it will do the same thing to them.”

Auraria considered the options carefully. The blindness spells wouldn’t do as much damage as some other spells. But the impact would last longer and probably affect a larger number of enemy soldiers. She also had to consider that as soon as the trap spells were set off, their element of surprise would be gone. A trap spell that affected as many enemies as possible for as long as possible so that her own soldiers could swarm in and reek havoc among them seemed the best bet, even if the spell did less serious damage and had almost no chance of permanently removing any of the enemy soldiers from combat.

“Take some Unicorn Guards, go about four hundred yards in front of the front line, and ward the entire area with Eye Blind spells.”

“Ma’am,” The Unicorn Guard saluted before turning and leaving the tent. Thunder peeled across the sky as Ice Moon returned her attention to her topographical maps of the area.

The enemy had made both a tactical and strategic error, Auraria thought with a smile. The tactical error had been not waiting for the storm to pass before marching, which would force the gryphons to fight on the ground, something they were not particularly good at. The strategic error had been launching the attack on Hoofington in the first place. The enemy had thought that they could keep Equestria’s forces away from the borders by forcing them to defend Equestria’s small towns that didn’t have large defense garrisons of their own. But in the process, they had left the Northern Fortress dangerously undefended. Auraria intended to take full advantage of that fact. Ideally, she’d like to cut off their retreat, thus preventing them from running back to the fortress, but she didn’t have enough soldiers to split her forces like that. Not given the size of the invasion force that was heading towards Hoofington. Any enemy soldiers that didn’t surrender or die on the battlefield would flee back to the fortress, and she’d have to face them again when it came time to mount the assault on it. That is, assuming any of her forces survived this battle, given the numerical superiority of the enemy. This battle would determine whether she went down in history as one of the greatest changeling field commanders ever, or one of the most foolish.

She looked at the special flag she had made a couple of days ago (all changeling soldiers learned how to sew), currently sitting rolled in the corner of her tent. The flag had the coat of arms of Equestria, the Changeling Empire, and the Gryphon Kingdom all embroidered on it, all linked together as one. She hoped it would inspire her troops, unite them as one as the symbols were united as one. But she also knew it was a calculated risk. It could backfire on her if the soldiers thought she were appropriating their national symbols in a way that was inappropriate. But she hoped that since she hadn’t actually altered the symbols, only put them on the same flag, that it would have a bonding effect on her soldiers.

What to do about retreating enemy soldiers? That was the question that plagued her now. If she let them retreat, she’d have to fight them again at the Northern Fortress. If she pursued and killed them, she wouldn’t have that problem. But was it ever ethical to kill soldiers who were trying to flee? It was a question Auraria didn’t know the answer to. One that she spent the better part of the next hour pondering. Any enemy soldier that made it back to the fortress could potentially kill several of her own soldiers later on. And it would be much harder to defeat the enemy soldier when he was behind those walls. And besides, she wouldn’t kill them outright. She was planning to give them a chance to surrender. Only those who refused to do so would be killed. She had less time to think about it than she would have liked, though. She had to rally her troops. The enemy would be here soon. In the end, she decided that in this case, the ends would justify the means. The Northern Fortress was critical to Equestria’s defense and had to be recaptured. Without it, the aislings would be free to travel back and forth between their own dimension and Equestria. Unchallenged, unopposed. The decision made, she stepped outside to address her army.

“All units fall in!” she commanded.

Within a minute, all of her troops had assembled in formation in front of her. Maybe it was her imagination, or her own ego talking, but she thought the pony soldiers had become more efficient under her command than they had been before. With a feeling of pride, she noted that the various species hadn’t segregated themselves this time. There were ponies standing alongside gryphons, gryphons standing alongside changelings, changelings standing alongside ponies and gryphons. She supposed she’d have to consider that when determining how to punish the two Pegasus Guards who had leaked the information about the coup before talking to her. Yes, the little pep talk she’d given after that had been how they’d rediscovered Dorylini’s way of replenishing changeling magic reserves, and they might not have discovered that without the two pegasi’s act of defiance. Still, she couldn’t allow that type of behavior to go undisciplined. The assembled soldiers looked to her as if she were some kind of war goddess who were about to impart some divine battle wisdom to them that would ensure their victory. If only that were true, she thought to herself before beginning her second pep talk in as many days. She was going to have to wing this one. She’d already used up her best stuff the day before. How many more pep talks did she have in her? She took a breath before beginning.

“The enemy will be upon us shortly. Everything I said yesterday still applies. Yes, we are outnumbered. But if we stay strong, if we trust each other, and if we work together as one, then we will win!”

She had to pause while her gathered soldiers erupted in cheers, stabbing forehooves into the air, stomping forehooves and talons on the ground. But calling for quiet was inconceivable. They needed this. Let them get psyched and motivated. That and remaining true to each other would mean the difference between winning and losing the coming battle. She resumed speaking as the applause quieted.

“The battles we will fight over the coming days will never be forgotten. They will be recorded in history books for all time to come. When your children ask you how it is that ponies, gryphons, and changelings became friends. You’ll be able to tell them ‘I was there. I saw it happen. I helped make it happen!’”

Again, she had to pause as her gathered soldiers exploded in applause, forehooves and talons pounding the ground in thunderous accord. Already, she could feel their energy ripping through the air like the lightning that tore through the sky; the currents of love flowing between them like impulses traveling between connected parts of one body. Again, she waited until they were ready before continuing.

“Of course, I can’t promise that all of you will survive the coming battles. But what I can promise you is this: Glory and immortality await you in the next life! And your names will never be forgotten in the town of Hoofington, the Northern Fortress, and the annals of history! Let us fight as one! Let us show our enemy that they cannot break the alliance between us that they themselves forged! And let us show them that together, we are unstoppable! We cannot be defeated! Let us show them that we will win!”

Auraria grabbed the United Flag of the Three Nations that she had had sewn and began waving it, the wind caught the material, fiercely flapping it so that it looked as if it the coat of arms of the three nations were charging into battle. Applause rippled through the crowd. Energy surged like wildfire. A near worshipful adoration flowed towards her from the changelings, and even a few of the gryphons and ponies. She allowed the wave of emotion to take her, jumping down from her platform and into the gathered soldiers where she celebrated with them as she made her way back to her tent to go over her plans one last time. One could never be too familiar with their plans. The rain, although still light, was increasing in intensity, the light smattering now a steady drizzle of heavy drops. To her left, she saw Sergeant Rasahus fall in beside her. She turned her head, speaking loudly to be heard over the waterfall-like roaring of the gathered soldiers.

“Give the order to strike camp and hide everything. Make sure that everyone is aware that the Unicorn Guard is setting Eye Blind wards four hundred yards outside of the front line. Tell them to stay well clear. I don’t need anyone triggering those. And make sure none of them are looking out there when the enemy approaches.”

“Yes, ma’am,” Rasahus responded with a salute, then turned and left to attend to his assigned tasks.

Auraria entered her tent, shaking briefly to get the water off her chitin, then going over to her table. She took one last glance at her maps before rolling them up and placing them in her saddlebags. Then, she collapsed the metal folding table and began to strike her own tent, still every bit as efficient as she’d been when she was a raw recruit who had been taught to strike a tent and leave no trace of its existence in less than five minutes. When she’d finished, she stepped outside again, pulled the pegs for her tent, and let the canvas fall in on itself. When she’d finished rolling her own tent into a tight cylinder, she looked around. The tent city that had sprung up around her was nearly gone, as if the ground itself had swallowed it up or it had never existed at all. From the air, it would have been very difficult to tell that a camp had ever even been there. Approaching from the ground, it would be impossible. She smiled as she watched changelings, ponies, and gryphons working together to take down the tents for the Unicorn Guards, who were still out casting the trap spells. All she could do now was get her army in position, and wait.

o.O.o

Eric finished packing a small travel bag, then copied the photo of the grizzled sea captain from his laptop to his phone. He looked in the mirror, adjusting his sky-blue tie. Only then did he realize that he’d forgotten to shave. He’d been letting his beard grow out ever since they’d arrived at the Montana cabin.

“Shit,” he mumbled to himself, taking off the tie again and laying it out on the bed, then taking off his white dress shirt and doing likewise. He shivered as the early morning cold met his bare skin again. But it wouldn’t do to get shaving cream on his shirt or tie.

He went into the bathroom, doing his best to keep quiet and avoid waking Celestia or any of the students. Might as well let them sleep an extra hour. They wouldn’t be going with him anyway. Not on this trip. They had things to finish up here. He opened the cheap, metal mirror-cabinet having over the sink, took out a small can of saving cream, squirted some into his hand, and rubbed it onto his face. Then, he began to shave off the beard he’d let grow over the last couple of weeks. Was that a gray hair? It wouldn’t surprise him if the last couple of weeks had started to turn his hair prematurely gray. He stopped, putting down the razor and picking up a pair of scissors, cutting off the long stubble before going back to the razor to finish up. As he trimmed the hairs from his face, he continued to commit the information about the sea captain to memory. He was originally from Cuba, had served time in a Cuban prison for smuggling people out of Cuba and into Florida. He’d escaped with the help of some, then fled to Florida where he’d requested and was granted asylum on humanitarian grounds. Since then, he’d made his living as an independent cargo boat operator, running small loads back and forth across the Atlantic. But it was his smuggling history that interested Eric the most. He seemed the type who, for the right price, might accept a shipping container without asking questions about what was inside. Eric winced at the thought again. The idea of asking Celestia to board the boat in a shipping container was so absurd it was almost laughable. It was certainly no way for a Princess to travel. But what other options did he have? Walking into the port with a magical winged unicorn was clearly out of the question. And even if they were able to get into port unseen, even a smuggler might draw the line at taking a being like Celestia, perhaps out of fear. No, it was the shipping container or nothing. His current plan was to get her on board, then have her teleport out of the container and into his cabin once they were safely out in the ocean. She’d teleport back into the container just before they arrived in Europe, where she could be safely unloaded.

The plan was simple on the surface, but implementing it was laden with pitfalls. Celestia and her Captain couldn’t be in the container when it arrived at the port in Florida. The security scanners would detect them. He’d have to come up with some kind of legitimate cargo for the container and the two ponies would have to sneak into the port undetected. Then, once container, alicorn, and pegasus were in the port, they’d have to pull off one hell of a switcharoo. Celestia would have to teleport the legitimate cargo out of the container, then teleport herself and Swordstorm into it. All without being seen by anyone. There were way too many things that could go wrong with this plan, but right now, Eric didn’t see any alternatives. There was simply no legal way he was going to be able to get Celestia to Europe.

He finished shaving, rinsed the razor off, took it out to the bedroom and packed it in his travel bag. He put his shirt and tie back on, getting the length of the tie wrong the first time and having undo it and tie it a second time. He wasn’t used to wearing ties or to wearing dress shirts and a suit coat for that matter. But it was best to look professional if he was going to try to bribe the sea captain into giving him and his shipping container with its VIP cargo passage to Europe. He checked his travel bag one more time, ensuring everything was in it, then zipped it shut, picked it up, and stepped out into the main room. Michael was sitting on a chair, his head buried in a notebook.

“Can’t sleep?” Eric asked quietly so as not to wake up the others behind their closed doors. Michael started briefly, coming out of his absorbed state, then shook his head slightly.

“I’m a little bit obsessive compulsive, but with good reason I think. If these calculations aren’t perfect, this isn’t going to work. We have basically no margin for error. And we’ve only got two weeks left to make sure they are exact. As it is, we are going to be asking the unicorns back in Equestria to pull a lot. They’re going to need to produce more than a tera electron-volt of energy to compensate for the imperfect dimensional alignment. And that’s assuming we are perfect spot on with the beam. If we are off even by a fraction, there’s no way they’ll be able to compensate.”

“How long you been at it?”

“Most of the night,” Michael responded with a yawn.

“Well, try to get some sleep. You’re more likely to make a mistake when you are tired. And as you already pointed out, mistakes are something we can’t afford. Besides, I’m going to need all of you to handle things by yourselves for the next few days.”

“Where you off to?”

“Florida. I need to try to find some way to get us all, plus Celestia and her Captain to Switzerland. As I said, get some sleep.”

Eric didn’t wait for a response before opening the front door and stepping outside into the cool morning air. The sun hadn’t even begun its ascent towards the horizon yet. Eric looked up at the sky as he walked towards the rented van. Stars dotted the night sky like brightly shining snowflakes or ice crystals suspended high in the air. He savored the view. Stars were something he almost never got to see in Chicago. There was simply too much light pollution.

“Morning Eric,” the voice of Captain Swordstorm called out, startling him out of his revelry at the beautiful night.

“Captain,” Eric acknowledged. “Early start for you too?”

“Lot on my mind,” Captain Swordstorm said as he fell in beside Eric, walking next to him. “I have no idea how I’m going to prepare a group of college students with no infiltration experience at all to commandeer a high energy physics lab. Especially given I’ve had no time to work with them yet since they’ve all been too busy working on the project.”

Eric nodded in response. “What have you learned so far?”

“That it’s not going to be easy,” Swordstorm took a deep breath, let it out through his nostrils in an equine-like snort, his breath visible in the chill air of the night. “Except for the visitor’s building, all the entrances to the facility are protected with guarded gates. The parts that don’t have gates have high fences. Princess Celestia will probably have to teleport us through the fence.”

“If she can do that, then what’s the problem?”

“The problem is that teleportation doesn’t work under an invisibility spell. In order to teleport us, she’ll have to drop the invisibility spell. Sure, she can recast it as soon as the teleport is finished, but there’s a brief period where we’ll be visible to their security guards and their cameras. Not to mention that the flash from the teleportation spell will draw attention.”

“We’ll have to reveal ourselves eventually no matter what,” Eric pointed out.

“Yes, but I had hoped we’d be able to put it off until after we were inside of the building.”

Eric nodded and looked at the ground, scuffing his shoe on it gently. He wished he had some suggestion to offer Swordstorm, some helpful advice to give on how they might make their way into the accelerator control room. But he was blank. He looked up again when he felt Captain Swordstorm tap him on the arm with a forehoof.

“We’ll think of something. We always do. You better go or you’ll miss your flight.”

Eric placed a hand on Swordstorm’s shoulder for a moment. Then, he turned, climbed into the rented van, and started for the airport.

74 - Chariot Down

Chapter 74: Chariot Down

“Court Twilight Sparkle with my blessing, she says. Treat her every bit as well as she deserves, she says,” James quetched as he folded a forest-green cashmere sweater that Rarity had knitted for him, preparing to pack it into a suitcase that was laid open on his bed.

“Well, I don’t see what the problem is. She gave you what you wanted, didn’t she?” Rarity responded, levitating a pair of knit long underwear she had made for him over to the suitcase as she helped him pack for the long trip to the icebox town of White Pony.

“The problem is that with everything that’s been going on and with all I’ve had to learn and study, I haven’t exactly been able to make time to learn about Equestrian courtship customs,” James griped in response.

“Oh I wouldn’t worry about it, dear. From what I’ve seen, you already know how you should treat her and you’ve been doing everything right. Whether instinctively or because the custom isn’t that much different from your own world.” Rarity frowned now as she looked at the sweater James had just finished packing. “Oh no, no, no, dear this will never do. It doesn’t match any of the pants you have in here. You’ll look like a tree if you wear this,” she said with a shake of her head, starting to levitate the sweater out. James quickly reached out and put his hand on it, pushing it back down into the suitcase, ignoring the tingling, static electricity-like pull of her magic on his hand as he stuck it into the glowing field.

“I like that sweater,” he protested. “And you made it for me. And didn’t you tell me that everything goes well with black pants?”

“Well, yes dear, but you don’t have any black pants packed,” Rarity said, dropping her levitation spell, the sudden loss of resistance like someone had released a winch pulling James’ hand into the air. The sweater, along with his hand, plopped back down into the suitcase with a woosh of out-rushing air.

“So then I’ll pack some black pants,” James said with a hint of exasperation creeping into his voice. Really, how much simpler could the answer be?

“You don’t have any clean ones,” Rarity protested.

“I’ll wash them when I get there.”

“But you can’t possibly pack dirty clothes along with your clean ones!” Rarity exclaimed as if James had just suggested something that might very well cause the end of the Universe and the destruction of everything in it. He was reminded that what he was planning to do on the trip he was packing for might do just that. James huffed, throwing down the sweater he was currently holding, the fabric unfolding and landing in the suitcase in a mangled heep.

“Oh for Luna’s sake, then put the dirty ones in a different bag, Rarity!”

Rarity looked at him with an expression of surprise which quickly turned to one of hurt. Her tail drooped, her ears flattened on her head. She gave no response, merely turned around, levitated the closet open with her magic, and took out another bag which she started placing his dirty pairs of black pants in. Regret immediately flooded James that he had snapped at her. He took a deep breath, let it out with a frown, then picked up the sweater and gently started to refold it.

“I’m sorry, Rarity. I didn’t mean to explode on you. It’s just … knowing what I’m going up to that town to work on. What it might do. Something Star Swirl himself was terrified to go anywhere near. I’ve convinced Luna to let us go ahead with this. I’ve even managed to convince Twilight that Star Swirl’s apocalyptic predictions regarding deep magic are wrong. But what if I’m the one who’s wrong?”

Rarity set the bag down on the bed, then stepped over to him, placing a foreleg gently on his arm.

“Then you’ll have tried. You’ll have tried to save the universe. Done everything you possibly could.”

“But what if there’s a less drastic solution? Something I’m missing? What if there’s a solution that doesn’t risk destroying the entire universe in an attempt to save it?”

“You could spend the next year asking yourself that question, darling. And in the meantime, the Beyond would destroy the universe and you would have done nothing to even try to stop it.”

James nodded slightly. Rarity was right, of course. He was a researcher, used to having all the time he needed to solve a problem. Looking for the right answer had been paramount in his work. If you weren’t sure you had the right one, you hypothesized, theorized, experimented, verified until you were as sure as you reasonably could be that you had the right one. And if it turned out you didn’t, you went back to hypothesizing again, trying the same steps with a different answer. But what did one do when you didn’t have time to find the right answer? What if you only had time to find an answer that might work, but was not ideal? What if that answer would be the only chance you had and would have disastrous consequences if it were the wrong one? Such situations were outside his realm of experience. But they were, no doubt, well within Luna’s realm, weren’t they? Would she have gone along with his plan if she didn’t think it were the best option in the limited time they had? Luna also turned into Nightmare Moon once, a little voice inserted in the back of his mind. And besides, Luna also trusts you to come up with the right answer, the same voice reminded him. But there was nothing for it except to continue with the plan he had unveiled. To backtrack now would not only waste time that they didn’t have to waste, but would call his judgment into question. Would give the impression that he were careless, hasty. Perhaps a bit like Theory Point. Luna might not be so willing to sign off on any future plans he had. No, there was no turning around now. The only direction was forward.

But that wasn’t the only thing on his mind. It wasn’t even the most immediate thing. It was distant, like a mountain that he’d have to climb eventually. But there were more immediate obstacles to overcome first. Obstacles that if he failed to overcome, would render his fears about the Genesis Spell irrelevant since there would be no one to cast it. He looked at the sweater he’d been holding onto for several minutes now without realizing that his hands had stopped moving, finished folding it, then set it in the suitcase as gently as if he were handling a newborn foal. He lifted his eyes to Rarity again.

“I’m supposed to protect Twilight,” he said. He knew that was part of what was expected of him if he were to court her. But more so than that, it was the essence of Luna’s prophecy about him. He was the protector. She was the one who would need to cast the Genesis Spell.

“I don’t think you have to worry about that, dear. Twilight is more than capable of protecting herself,” Rarity said with a slight dismissive note in her tone. She finished folding the dirty pair of pants and placed it into the new bag she’d gotten from the closet. Even dirty laundry had to be folded in Rarity’s world. It must be nice when your worries were so trivial that all you had to concern yourself with was proper folding of dirty laundry. He shook his head, reminding himself that Rarity was one of the Elements of Harmony. She’d saved Equestria several times in the past and definitely had a lot more to worry about than dirty laundry.

“Normally, yes. But … don’t you dare tell Twilight I said this … but I’m not convinced even she is capable of drawing forth the kind of power that will be needed to make the Genesis Spell work. If she’s not, then all we are going to do is produce one hell of a nuclear blast and that’s gonna be it. It won’t be nearly enough to destroy the Beyond or save the universe. In the grand scheme of things, it will be like a firecracker. And even if she is capable of calling up enough power to do it, it’s going to take her a long time. Several minutes probably. She’ll be vulnerable that entire time. She won’t be able to focus on anything else. I have to protect her.”

“You’ll find a way, James. I have faith in you, Twilight has faith in you, the Council has faith in you, Luna has faith in you. And Celestia has faith in you too, even though she’s not here. She wouldn’t have put you on the Council if she didn’t. The only thing that’s missing is faith in yourself.”

James said nothing in response, only giving her a small smile that he hoped showed his appreciation. Inside, he hoped she were right as the two of them finished packing the suitcases in silence, then zipped them closed. He strapped on his sword belt now, checking that the sword was securely in its scabbard. Over the past weeks, it had become a part of him. Like some kind of critical fashion accessory that he couldn’t leave without putting on. When the sword belt was secure, the two of them made their way outside to the waiting chariot.

The cold air bit through his Council robe like thousands of stinging insects as they stepped out of the castle. Even though Luna had been able to raise the sun every day since her rescue, they’d decided a gradual warming was best in order to avoid a rapid snow melt and the consequent flooding that would follow. The magic lighting that lit the castle walkways glared brilliantly off the few remaining piles of snow in the courtyard. The smell of wood smoke and the heat distortion rising from the chariot’s chimney told him that the small heater inside was already lit and that it would be warm inside. The two of them stopped at the chariot and James turned, pulling Rarity into a hug.

“Thank you Rarity. Given that I can’t exactly buy clothes off the shelf in Equestria, I don’t know where I’d be without you to make a wardrobe for me, other than running around naked.” He tried to chuckle at his own joke, but found humor difficult to bring up given the gravity of what he was doing.

“Oh, you’re very welcome, dear. I’m elated that I was able to help,” she said, returning his embrace.

The two of them released each other after a few seconds and James opened the door to the chariot, the warm air from inside flooding out and feeling good against his exposed skin. Twilight was already inside. She smiled, but said nothing as he climbed in. He gave one last wave at Rarity, then pulled the door shut to avoid letting all the heat out. The warmness of the small stove felt good against his skin, but not nearly as good as Twilight’s fur felt when she moved towards him, snuggling up next to him.

“You’re late,” she quipped.

“Packing with Rarity is a journey in itself,” James responded with a slight chuckle, wrapping an arm around Twilight as the chariot bumped across the ground for a few seconds before pitching up and climbing into the sky, clearing the walls of Canterlot Castle before turning north.

The two of them leaned back against the wall, arm in foreleg. A slight whiff of wood smoke from the stove reached James’ nostrils, reminding him of camping as a child – a time long before lectures, labs, and research projects. When was the last time he’d actually been camping? He couldn’t remember. The feel of Twilight’s soft fur leaning on his chest brought him out of those thoughts. He leaned his head against hers, like two lovers leaning against each other in front of a tree trunk. The trip to White Pony was long and arduous. He frowned as it reminded him of Theory Point. What was she doing right now? Despite what she had done, he found he still considered her a friend and he hoped she was safe. If he ran across her again, would he turn her in? Call the Royal Guards on her? He honestly wasn’t sure. After all, she could have killed him when they’d encountered each other in the armory, but she didn’t. She had said it was because she still had hope that he would see things her way and come over to it. But he didn’t believe it. He thought she still considered him a friend. That she simply didn’t have it in her to kill him. He imagined her alone, hungry, her career ruined, a fugitive on the run from justice. Damn it, why had she thrown everything away like that? She’d had everything. A prestigious job at the most respected educational institution in Equestria. She’d held the world in her hooves, her future full of limitless potential. But now, all of it was gone. She was the one who told him he had to take risks. That it was the only way to move forward. Ha … if only she could see him now, about to take the mother of all risks. A single tear tickled his eyelid, rolling down his cheek. Twilight shifted, looking up at his face, frowning.

“What’s wrong, James?”

“I was just thinking of Theory Point. The last time I came up here was with her. I can’t figure out why she did what she did,” he said, running his hand absently through Twilight’s mane.

“Do … do you care about her?” Twilight asked, raising an eyelid. James shook his head back and forth once.

“As a friend, yes. But not the way I care about you.” He leaned his face into her mane, inhaling her scent, his sorrow over Theory Point forgotten, as if simply being near Twilight were a magic cure for all of his ailments.

“She betrayed the Princesses. She betrayed all of Equestria,” Twilight said. James nodded into her mane.

“I know. But she also helped me a lot. She was the first friend I had in Canterlot. The one who helped me come out of my shell. All of the friends I have in Canterlot, I met through her. I mean I knew she was a bit of a maverick. But this … this was out of left field. Maybe I should have –”

Twilight put a forehoof to his lips, pressing gently and stopping him. “We already talked about this. You can’t blame yourself for not noticing.”

James looked into the deep pools of her eyes, then leaned against her again, running his hand through her mane once more. It helped having her tell him that it wasn’t his fault. After all, no one else had noticed either. Not Celestia, not Luna, not the commander at the academy. And it was Celestia herself who had assigned her to work on this project, with no input from him. Still, of all involved, he was the one who had spent the most time with Theory. The one who should have noticed something out of the ordinary. That small thought continued to bite at him like a pesky insect. He tried to focus his thoughts on the Genesis Project instead, but there was little he could do until they had data flowing in. Until they had the lab set up in White Pony and were able to start conducting experiments. Assuming those experiments don’t kill you and everypony near you, the dark part of his mind reminded him. James leaned back a little further, closed his eyes, and allowed himself to drift off into thoughts of simpler times.

o.O.o

A blinding light pierced through his closed eyelids. At the same time, an explosive crack split the chariot, as if a stick of dynamite had exploded underneath them. The chariot shook as if it had been thrown into the middle of a violent storm. For a moment, James thought they had been hit by lightning, but as the chariot dropped out from under him and his head smacked the ceiling with a thud, he knew something far worse had happened. The chariot rolled, he and Twilight tumbling into each other before slamming onto the far wall, the window forming a spiderweb of cracks from their impact. They tumbled around like they were inside of a washing machine as the chariot entered a violent spin, pitching down roughly and slamming them both against the back wall. An icy chill ripped through his robe as the walls of the chariot peeled away like the walls of a barn inside a tornado. And then, the chariot was gone, leaving him and Twilight falling through the air as if they’d been tossed out of an aircraft. James’ heart pounded in his chest, adrenaline surged through him like a gazelle running from a pack of hungry lions. His fingers felt frozen as cold air assaulted him like thousands of glass shards piercing his skin The ground rushed up to meet them, spinning in circles like some kind of insane carnival ride that had come off its mountings and was now careening out of control towards disaster.

And then, it was quiet. A transparent violent ball surrounded them and their descent slowed. The spinning slowed and came to a stop like an airplane leveling out of an uncontrolled spin. James turned his head, looking for Twilight, spotted her. Her eyes were screwed shut, her horn glowing with a near-blinding light as she struggled to get control of their free fall. Her muscles shook with tension, sweat poured from her fur. The ground rushed at them, making James feel like a skydiver with no parachute. They hit with a jarring thud, the air rushing from his lungs, pain searing through him as he felt a sharp snapping in one of his ribs. The lavender bubble around them burst like a balloon that had been poked with a pin. But they were alive. Or at least he was. He rolled quickly to his side, down a slight hill. His ribs flared with pain, as if someone had stuck a sword between them and twisted it. He winced, resisted the urge to cry out, pushing the pain out of his mind as all his thoughts focused on Twilight. He spotted her, lying on her side, wincing and breathing heavily. But she was alive.

A ripping, roaring sound broke out in front of them, as if someone had opened the cabin door of an airliner at thirty thousands feet and it had depressurized. A tear appeared, like an opening zipper, like someone ripping a hole in the fabric of reality itself. Looking beyond the rip was like looking into nothing if nothing were somehow given form. A black hole that consumed everything near it … except for the one thing that was emerging from it. Two glowing embers, red like blood, appeared in the tear in the fabric of reality. A black hood materialized around it, as if a figure were approaching through dark smoke, or as if some macabre and demonic artist were drawing it from the head down. Slowly, the rest of the figure formed, the black robe, the holes where the hands and feet should be so that looking at the holes was like looking into non-existence. The aisling floated out of the rip, its bloody yet bloodless eyes turning to James, then to Twilight, then back to James again. A feeling of doom overcame James, as if death itself were staring him in the face.

Twilight stirred, rose to her feet, shaking as if the ground were heaving underneath her. Her horn lit with a dim glow as she tried to conjure up her magic. The aisling lifted a handless arm, pointed it at her. Lightning flashed from emptiness, striking Twilight in the shoulder. She cried out, the electricity arcing around her as her horn went out and she collapsed to her side again, smoke rising from the singed spot on her fur, the smell of burning hair sickening to James’ nostrils.

“Twilight!” James cried out with a blood-curdling yell, feeling as if he’d been kicked in the stomach by an earth pony. He looked at the downed unicorn for a moment, then turned his attention to the aisling. His eyes narrowed, anger boiled inside of him, a volcanic caldera on the verge of exploding and tearing up everything near it. He rose to his feet, stepping between Twilight and the aisling, drawing the Sword of Equestria from its scabbard. The pain he had felt earlier was gone. There was no room for any emotion except anger and rage. The world disappeared around him as if he had stepped into the Beyond itself. There was no existence except for himself, Twilight, and the aisling. He raised the sword, holding it in front of him, the point reaching towards the sky.

“Step aside, human. I will finish her,” the aisling growled. It’s voice came from everywhere at once, like an explosion echoing off a mountain range.

“You will not touch her,” James responded in a low voice, his tone devoid of emotion. There was no room for fear. Only for all consuming rage. The aisling laughed, like thunder rolling through a landscape.

“And who are you to stop me?” it growled, a sick sort of amusement in its booming voice.

“I am the Protector of the Chosen. I am the Servant of the Sacred Flame of the Sun and Moon,” James responded like he were speaking a mantra. A spiritual truth that were indisputable.

“You are nothing. And I will destroy her after I destroy you.” The aisling turned its burning eyes onto James now and began to raise its armless sleeve, lightning cracking around the dead opening, ozone filling the air.

“You will not touch her!” James shouted, his voice erupting in rage as he raised his sword higher, seeing nothing but the aisling now.

The sky exploded in blinding light, the Sun flaring an angry white as if it were about to explode in a supernova. A rumbling reached across the heavens, stretching from horizon to horizon, drowning out the thunder-like voice of the aisling. The ground shook as from an earthquake, the trees quaked, the mountains vibrated. A roar seared across the sky, coming from behind James and nearly splitting his eardrums. Flaming orbs of fire, like comets crashing to the earth arced over his head, trailing long tails of fire and plumes of black smoke. Heat slammed into James, nearly searing his hair from his head as he felt as if he might burst into flames itself. The aisling’s eyes widened, brightening with terror and turning their attention towards Twilight again. But James still saw nothing except for the aisling.

“It cannot be!” the aisling shouted, barely audible over the ear shattering roar and shaking of the ground. The flaming orbs rocketed over James head, splitting and rending the air with sonic booms as they slammed into the base of the aisling’s robe, exploding into piercing, blinding light as if they were exploding stars.

“It cannot be!” the aisling shouted … no, screamed this time, as its robe burst into flame, black smoke rising from it as from a burning pit of tar. Nothingness became flesh. Burning, stinking, charred flesh, like meat that had been left on a grill for way too long. The aisling howled in agony as the robe burned away, its entire being consumed in flame as if it had been soaked in gasoline. It collapsed, rolling down the hill like a flaming log, its screams dying away as it was consumed into nothing. And then, there was nothing except a charred black path where the aisling had rolled, the after-stink of burning flesh, and the echo of the fireballs continuing to reverberate off the trees. The sky glowed red, the Sun flaring with an angry orange color before slowly returning to something the resembled normal. But for several seconds, angry fingers of fire continued to reach out from it; giant solar flares snaking away like striking, hissing, spitting cobras millions of miles long. But James’ thoughts were only for Twilight now. He rushed over to her, sinking to his knees and taking her head in his arms. She coughed, moaned slightly, but her eyes were open and she was breathing. The tip of her horn looked charred, as if someone had dipped it in the flame of a dirty candle.

“Twilight!” James said, concern flooding him, his heart beating only for her.

“I’m okay, James … Or at least I will be after I’ve had a few minutes to recover.” Only now, did James notice the look of wonder in Twilight’s eyes.

“Twilight, I thought you were … how did you –” he stopped as Twilight shook her head.

“I didn’t do that, James … You did …”

Author’s Note: Well, there it is. I hope you all enjoyed the latest chapter. Also, as promised, here are the first two chapters of my new story, Truth and Judgment.

1 - Lab 49

Chapter 1: Lab 49

Workaholic. at least that's how his friends described him. The few friends he had anyway. He wasn't known for being the most social person in Chicago.

It was late in the evening on a snowy cold December 21st. Most of the windows in the buildings of the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory campus were dark. Almost all of the scientists and engineers had already gone home for the Christmas holiday. Other than the occasional security patrol, the only sign of life, was the fluorescent glow from the frosted window of Lab 49.

Inside, Dr. James Peterson, a twenty seven year old double PhD in physics and nuclear engineering, sat huddled over a Linux workstation. The glow from the system's LCD display provided the only substantial light in the room as he examined the parameters of the experiment one final time. He raised a hand, rubbing it through his unkempt brown hair. He had forgotten to comb it again that morning. It was easy to forget when the lab was virtually deserted anyway. Shaving was also something he seemed to have forgotten that morning. His hand moved down to his chin, feeling the sandpaper like stubble of two days of unchecked hair growth. The faded blue jeans and simple black t-shirt he wore over his stereotypical nerdy build would have looked more at home on a farm laborer than on one of the top theoretical physicists in the world, but the lab didn't have much of a dress protocol. What little protocol it did have, he was ignoring right now. After all, surely a scientist of his prominence had far more important things to worry about than what kind of clothes to put on in the morning. His brown eyes glanced over the final column of data on the screen in front of him. Everything looked ready.

"It's late, James. And it's four days before Christmas. You really should pack it in and go enjoy the holidays," his colleague, Dr. Eric Thompson said, walking into the lab from outside. James could see his reflection on the black background of the LCD panel in front of him. His shoulders were covered with a dusting of snow. "I was just leaving myself. Waiting for my car to warm up. It's damn cold out there."

"I've got too much work to do and we are running out of time," James answered without ever looking up from the screen in front of him. "And if we want any chance at all of getting more funding to keep this lab running, we better find something good. And we better find it soon."

"Yeah, yeah. I know. But it's Christmas. You can at least afford to take a few days off for the holidays. You should be visiting family. Obsessing about work all the time is going to cause you to burn out. You don't want to end up like Thomas, do you? Trading a promising legacy of becoming one of the most prominent scientists in the history of physics for a cabin in the woods? Away from any form of technology at all?"

"Thomas never had the mindset for this kind of research," James responded, shaking his head.

"Thomas burned out. A very promising young career cut short because he didn't know how to pace himself."

James was silent for a moment. He'd had this discussion with Eric before. He definitely didn't want to have it again. Not right now. Not when Eric was supposed to be leaving to go visit his family for the holiday. Not when he was looking forward to getting this latest experiment started. "Make sure you keep an eye on the time, Eric. You don't want to miss your flight. You'd have a hard time getting on another one with as full as the planes will be right now." The hint wasn't very subtle, he knew. But he also knew that Eric was fully aware he was tired of having the burnout conversation.

Eric scoffed slightly. "You think I was gonna risk a flight cancellation? In this city at this time of year with the weather as unpredictable as it is? There's probably already major delays at the airport from the snow. I'm playing it safe and driving."

"You be careful then, Eric. The roads are going to be bad."

"You know I will be. Born and raised in the frozen North," he said, chuckling. "You don't have to worry about my winter driving skills."

"It's not your winter driving I'm worried about. It's the people from down south visiting family up here who have never driven in snow before."

"I'll watch out for them," Eric responded. In the reflection from the display, James could see him turn to peer out the window for a moment. Then he turned back. "Looks like the ice on my windshield has finally melted. Don't work too late, James. Really, you need to take some time off. Enjoy life a little bit. And have a merry Christmas, okay?"

"I'm only going to be here about another hour. I just have one more experiment I want to run. You go ahead and go, Eric. Go see your family, but drive careful. And you have a merry Christmas too. I'll see you after the holidays when you get back."

"Thank you. I'll see you then," Eric responded, turning for the door.

James nodded absentmindedly, never having turned his focus away from the Linux system in front of him. The footsteps of Eric walking down the hallway, the beep of the electronic lock on the door as he badged out, the sound of the door closing and latching. Finally, peace and quiet, and he could focus entirely on his research. It's not that he didn't like Eric far from it Eric was, without a doubt, his best friend, and an exceptionally intelligent scientist. It's just that he didn't like any distractions that came between him and his research. And as far as going home to visit family for Christmas, well, it wasn't like he was married or had any children to go home to. And he didn't particularly get along well with his parents, sister, and other members of his extended family. There was no better place for him to be right now than in the lab.

After the distraction, he scanned over the parameters for the Tevatron and its massive particle collision detectors one last time before selecting the option to start the experiment. After a built in thirty second safety delay, the BEAM ON sign in the lab came to life as the Tevatron started to accelerate protons and antiprotons around the massive four mile ring at speeds approaching the speed of light, energy levels approaching one trillion electron volts. He leaned back in his chair and relaxed a bit now, watching the numbers start to increase and change on the display as the collision detectors began to record their data. This was the boring part of the experiment. It would take awhile for the detectors to collect enough data for analysis. As he waited, he picked his iPhone up from the desk, sticking the earbuds in his ears. Browsing through the music on the phone, he decided on Antonin Dvorak's Symphony No. 9 - From the New World. He closed his eyes, letting the music carry him into a daydream like state.

Suddenly, he was brought out of his trance by a violent shaking. His eyes opened wide. The entire lab was shaking around him, equipment falling off of shelves. He jumped backwards, nearly falling off his chair as an overhead light broke loose from the ceiling and came crashing down next to him, nearly hitting him. Glass exploded and shattered around him from the fluorescent bulb in the fixture that had fallen. He'd never experienced one before, but a chill ran through his entire body as he realized the only thing it could be: An earthquake! He quickly looked at the screen, discovering numerous warning, failure, and error messages. A flashing red warning in all caps read ATTEMPTING EMERGENCY BEAM SHUTDOWN.

While he was still trying to process that, a bright blue flash nearly blinded him. He yelled out in terror as he felt his body being pulled in multiple directions at the same time felt himself being sucked no, pulled, as if by gravity, into some kind of vortex. A horrible sensation of falling overcame him. Falling at an ever increasing rate of speed. He could see several pieces of the disintegrating lab falling with him. Immediately, he raised his arms to shield his face as debris began to slam into his body. Dizziness and light headedness began to overcome him. Shortly, he slipped into unconsciousness, that awful sensation of falling the last thing he felt.

James awoke to the sound of nothing but quiet. As his vision cleared, he realized it was still dark out. Gradually, things started to come back to him. The shaking the earthquake the pulling sensation. Suddenly, the magnitude of the quietness hit him. It was all wrong. There should be commotion, and lots of it. There should be sirens and firetrucks. There had just been a major earthquake that had caused a serious accident at the lab.

He frantically reached into his pocket, looking for his iPhone. To his relief, it was still there, and appeared to be intact and functioning. Quickly, he dialed the 911 emergency number and was rewarded with a single beep. He pulled the phone away from his ear, looking at the display: zero bars, and the middle of the screen displayed No Signal. That was strange, he thought. But then again, maybe the earthquake had knocked out power to the mobile phone towers.

For the first time since awakening, he started to really look around him. In the immediate area, various types of debris that he assumed must be the remains of the lab he had been in. Underneath him, however, was just dirt, grass, and forest undergrowth. But that couldn't be right. These grounds were obviously untended, and had been for quite some time. Beyond the area of debris, all he could see was forest a mixture of deciduous and broad-leaved evergreens. Like the undergrowth, it appeared these trees had never been disturbed. Now, it dawned on him that it was no longer snowing, nor was there any snow on the ground, and the temperature was more like summer far to warm for a December night in Chicago.

"Well, maybe I can't get a cell phone signal, but I should at least be able to find out just where the hell I am." He looked at the phone again, turning on the GPS.

Searching for satellites

Unable to acquire satellites

Cannot determine position because a GPS lock cannot be acquired.

"What the hell?" He could feel panic starting to build inside of him now. Quickly, he scanned through his entire brain and all its knowledge of theoretical physics, trying to come up with any scientifically logical explanation that would explain the situation he found himself in. That there had been some type of accident with the Tevatron caused by an earthquake was obvious. What ever had happened inside that accelerator tunnel after the earthquake started was, no doubt, well outside of the experiment's design parameters. But that brought him no closer to any kind of hypothesis about what might have happened. "This isn't possible It's not logical. It's not possible. It's not possible," he repeated to himself over and over again, worry filling his voice as he started to hyperventilate, the panic taking deeper root inside of him. He tried to catch himself. "Calm down Calm down. Panicking won't do you any good," he said to himself, forcing himself to concentrate on his breathing and slow it down.

The best thing he thought he could do for now is try to take an analytical look at the situation he was in, and what could be done about it. The first concern was obvious: There didn't seem to be anything near by that resembled civilization. He could hear none of the usual noises that would indicate he was still near the bustling city of Chicago. No traffic noise, no aircraft taking off or landing at O'Hare International Nothing. How that was possible, he didn't know. But it was the situation he found himself in, and he would have to deal with it. That would be a problem in and of itself. He was a scientist who had spent his entire life on research campuses, in labs, and in major research cities. He was ill-equipped, both physically and mentally, to survive in the wilderness environment he found himself in now. He simply didn't have the wilderness survival knowledge or physical stamina for this kind of environment. He knew it was unlikely he would survive for more than a few days if he could not find help.

He stood up now, wincing and stumbling as he worked the stiffness out of his legs. At least they seemed to be alright. There was some bruising, soreness, and minor cuts where the debris had slammed into him. But no serious lacerations and nothing fractured or broken.

He started to examine the debris he found lying around him, looking for anything that might be useful to aid in his survival. Burned out electronics, electronic components such as resisters, capacitors, and transformers, none of which were likely still functional. A metal placard laying upside down. He reached down to turn it over. Etched into the other side of it, was Lab 49. Other than that, he found a few long pieces of steel, twisted, bent, and some with sharp edges part of the building structure itself. He frowned. The only thing he could see being of any potential use at all was one of the bent pieces of steel with its sharp jagged edges. If need be, it might be able to serve as a makeshift cutting tool, or even a very crude weapon. He examined a few of them, picking up the one that seemed to be the most suitable for that purpose.

He walked towards a tree, stopping and leaning the length of steel against it, taking his iPhone out of his pocket again. He pointed the camera at himself, snapped a picture. It was difficult to see in the darkness, but the camera was working. The only option he had at this point was to search for some form of help. A town, village, hut, anything. He reasoned he could use the camera to take pictures of landmarks along the way to help him find his way back to where he started. But that would have to wait until morning. Setting off at night, he knew, would probably only get him hopelessly lost and unable to find his way back to his original starting point. Not that he was sure that mattered. One place here seemed like it was probably just as good as any other. But on the off chance someone came across the debris, or knew where he was, he wanted to be able to get back to this spot.

Well, it seems there's nothing else I can do until daylight, he thought to himself. He found the softest patch of ground he could and laid down on his back, attempting to get some sleep. He'd need his strength once the sun came up.

He looked up into the night sky. The full moon shined down through the canopy of trees, casting long shadows around him, and on to him. The moon itself looked strange to him, as if it were the wrong size bigger than he were used to seeing. Furthermore, he didn't recognize any of the crater formations. If the thought didn't seem so silly and ridiculous, he would almost say it wasn't the same moon he was used to seeing. Completely illogical, he chided himself. The trauma of the situation must be causing his mind to play tricks on him. Yes, that must be it. He closed his eyes, attempting to get some sleep. But despite his best efforts to convince himself his mind was playing tricks on him, he still found himself opening his eyes every few seconds, looking back up at the moon again. The moon stared back down at him, as if mocking his attempts to find anything at all familiar about where he was. No, not even the moon could look familiar. He forced his eyes closed, rolling over on his side so that next time he opened them, he wouldn't be able to see it

Suddenly, he was falling. Falling through time, space, and dimensions. He looked down and screamed out as a giant hole opened up as if to swallow him. An orange glow appeared in the hole, rolling and churning like a thundercloud made out of fire. Like the vent of an erupting volcano. Suddenly, a being with leathery wings and a head that seemed to be a combination of human and warthog burst forth from the hole. It opened its mouth. Where its throat should have been, there was only an intense orange glow. Suddenly, a stream of flame shot forth from the creature's mouth, jetting into the night sky. As he yelled out again, the being turned its head. Empty glowing eyes, like a skull with flames burning in the eye sockets stared at him. He tried to run, but falling through space as he was, there was no where he could go. The last thing he saw was the being's mouth opening, followed by another burst of flame, aimed directly at him.

He bolted upright in a panic, sweat dripping from his forehead as he looked around frantically before finally realizing it had only been a nightmare. He was still outside, and his hopes sank as he realized that part of it, at least, had not been a dream. The sky was a canvas of pink and orange as the sun was just starting to become visible over the horizon. He looked at it, raising his hand to shield his eyes from the increasing intensity of the rays, feeling a sense of comfort as the sun's light and warmth began to fall on him. Despite everything that seemed to be wrong with the world he found himself in, the sun rising was the one thing that still seemed to be working completely reliably the one thing that that couldn't possibly go wrong.

He stood up, raising his arms over his head and stretching, looking around for the first time with daylight to help him see. No particular direction really looked better than any other. "Well, I might as well just pick one at random," he said to himself as he began walking.

As he walked, the vegetation became taller and more dense. Thorny branches and weeds began to catch on his clothing and tear it. He cursed as one of the thorns ripped into the flesh on his arm, leaving a shallow cut that started to bleed. The vegetation in this direction was quickly starting to become impassible. That probably meant he was going the wrong way, he reasoned. If the forest was getting thicker in that direction, it probably meant he was getting even further away from civilization. Further away from an area that ever saw any human activity.

He turned around, trudging his way back in the direction he came from, fighting off branches, weeds, and thorns as his clothing became more and more shredded. His foot suddenly caught on a tree root, sending him tumbling to the ground face first, popping out of the vegetation into the little clearing that had been formed by the debris of the lab. "Damnit!" he cursed again in frustration as his ankle twisted from the fall. Then he heard a short started cry ahead of him.

He looked forward from his position on his stomach. Next to some of the debris from the lab, stood a small yellow pony? At least that's what he thought it was. But it was no ordinary pony. From its back, feathery yellow wings protruded from both sides like a pegasus from legend, although smaller than a full size horse. More like the size of a large deer, he thought. It stared at him, appearing to be as startled as he was at what it had seen. It looked like it was about to whirl and bolt, but then, it hesitated.

"Who What are you?" it spoke in a timid, quite, and feminine voice.

He was so dumbfounded he didn't respond. This wasn't happening. It couldn't be. He was dreaming. That had to be it. Or he was hallucinating because of post traumatic stress after the earthquake and lab accident. Yes, it had to be one of those two things. This couldn't possibly be real.

The yellow pony seemed to gather some courage as she he had determined it was a she from the sound of her voice started walking towards him. "Who are you?" she asked again.

He started to panic. What if she intended to harm him? Lying on the ground as he was, with his ankle twisted, he was vulnerable. In desperation, and without really thinking, he pointed his iPhone at her. "S Stop! Or I'll shoot!" he said, even though he knew how cliche it sounded.

The pony keep walking towards him. "Are you hurt? I just want to "

Before she could finish, he tapped his thumb on the touchscreen of the iPhone, activating a Star Wars blaster app. The shy pony's eyes went wide and she gave a whinny before bolting around in the other direction. He watched in awe as she spread her wings, leaping into the air like something from a child's fairy tale. Then she turned in the sky, flew off, and was gone.

He continued lying where he was, breathing heavily, iPhone still pointed in the direction she had gone. Slowly, he calmed down and his senses started to return to him. Had that actually worked? He could barely believe it. And to think he had nearly deleted that app.

Putting the phone back in his pocket he tried to collect his thoughts, which might as well have been papers flying around in a hurricane at this point. Flying horses only existed in Greek mythology and children's fairy tales didn't they? Surely, he was dreaming, or hallucinating from stress. Nevertheless, he had to allow for the possibility, no matter how remote, that he had actually seen what he thought he had. And that brought up another problem. If he really had just seen a sentient talking flying pony, she probably had friends. They might have even built some form of society. She would go back to her herd or whatever it was they called their societies, and tell them what she had seen and that he had threatened her and shot at her. They would be coming for him. And they probably wouldn't be friendly or sympathetic to his case when they found him …

14 - Fly Into the Night With Me

The God Particle

Chapter 14: Fly Into the Night With Me

Somepony had already kindled a fire in the fireplace of the guest room James was staying in. He was glad for that, as the warm glow of the fire fought off the chill north wind that tried to force its way through the closed window. But despite the warmth of the fire, James still felt chilled. It was not a physical chill, however. Rather, it was the chill of feeling completely alone. He finished unpacking and then stood up from the bed, walking over to the window and looking down on the castle court yard below. The last of the sun's light was just beginning to drop below the horizon—the sky towards the sunset taking on a brilliant hue of pink and orange before gradually fading to purple, and finally to grayish black as the night took over. As the night increased its grip on the land, James began to feel even more alone.

He turned and opened the large door leading out of his room. There was no guard posted there as there had been the first time he had stayed in the castle. Fortunately, he was starting to get a basic sense of direction in the castle. At least he knew how to find the grand foyer from here. He turned right and started walking down the corridor towards the staircase leading down to the grand foyer, then walking out of the main doors into the court yard. Immediately, he was assailed with the icy north wind that threatened to bite through his robes and chill him to his core. Still, he went further out in the court yard, finding a bench to sit down on near the garden. And still, he was alone. Other than the occasional royal unicorn guard making their rounds, the court yard was deserted—no doubt everypony with any sense who did not have to be be out on such a cold night was inside where it was warm. The guard ponies, of course, were too occupied with their duties, and paid him no mind.

He pulled his robe a little tighter around him against the chill wind and looked up at the clear sky. But even that seemed to mock him tonight, refusing to comfort him. The ever present lights of Canterlot made all but the brightest stars impossible to see. He sighed and pulled his knees up closer to him, looking down at the ground.

"James? What are you doing out here so late?" a feminine voice startled him from behind.

James jumped in surprise, turning to see the Princess of the Night standing behind him. "Princess Luna," he knelt before her and bowed his head. "You startled me. I didn't hear you approaching."

"I am the Night Princess. The ability to disappear in the shadows and approach in silence is one of my many abilities," she smiled at him gently. "Please, as you were."

James stood back up and sat down on the bench again, remaining silent.

"So what are you doing out here anyway?" the alicorn asked again.

"I was trying to look at the stars, Your Highness. But alas, the ambient back lighting from Canterlot makes them nearly impossible to see ... They were much easier to see from Ponyville."

"Ah, yes. They are much harder to see from within the boundaries of Canterlot," she paused for several moments. James could sense a certain amount of tension coming from her. "I will not lie to you James ... I don't fully trust you yet. I believe my sister does ... But I do not."

James thought for several moments before responding, feeling that he had to be much more carful with Princess Luna than with Princess Celestia. "... I can't say that I blame you for that, Your Highness. I would probably feel the same way if a sentient being that I knew virtually nothing about arrived from another planet, or dimension ... or where ever it is I am from in relation to here."

The Princess nodded her head and then looked at the ground, absent mindedly digging her right forehoof into the ground a few times. James thought it might be some kind of nervous habit when she was uncomfortable—one that the castle gardner no doubt hated given the rut she was putting in the garden soil. Finally, she looked at him and continued. "But that being said, I do want to thank you."

"Thank me?" James looked at her with a somewhat surprised expression. "... For what, Your Highness?"

"The astronomy articles you and Twilight wrote," she looked at the ground again and resumed digging the rut she had started even deeper with her forehoof, another long pause. "I still sometimes feel that not many ponies appreciate the night," she lamented.

"I think that more ponies appreciate the work you put into creating the night than you realize, Your Highness. The nights here in Equestria are very beautiful. More so than where I am from."

"You are just saying that," she still looked at the ground.

"I am not."

"Do you really think so?" she looked back up at him.

"I do."

She smiled a little, "Thank you," then the smile turned into almost a childish playful look. "Come with me," she said.

"Come with you? To where, Your Highness?" he raised an eyebrow.

"Outside of the city, where we can see the stars better."

"I'm not sure that would be such a good idea, Your Highness."

"We could have thee locked in the dungeon for disobeying a direct request from us, thou knowest," her voice was more austere and assertive now as she switched to the royal "we" usage, her playful look replaced with a stern gaze. She stomped her hoof lightly once in a hint of aggression.

And there it was, James frowned. The essence of why he didn't like this diarchy system where two rulers wielded absolute power. She had just threatened to imprison him for suggesting that wandering around at night outside the castle walls might not be the best idea. He wanted to tell her that he was not one of her subjects—not one of her servants that she could just order around. But this was not like being in a foreign country where he was guaranteed certain rights by international treaty. And there was no American embassy he could plead his case to if his rights were being violated. Here, she held all of the cards. And he had no choice except to play by her rules. She had said she didn't fully trust him. He wondered if she was trying to trap him now—to give her an excuse to lock him back in the dungeon—an excuse that Princess Celestia would not easily be able to disagree with. He knew he had to tread very lightly here, and be very careful. Finally, he responded.

"You could do that if you wish, Your Highness. But you would not need any reason to it if that is what you want."

"That is true, I do not ... Why don't you want to come with me?" her stern external shell betrayed a hint of hidden emotional pain now. Something he said had hurt her.

"Concern for your safety, Princess. I do not think Your Highness should walk outside of the castle walls at night with no guard escort. You are too important to Equestria to take such risks."

That was the truth, but it wasn't all of it. The distrust that Luna had for him was mutual. He didn't fully trust her either. Her history as Nightmare Moon, combined with her aggressive and threatening attitude towards him served to make him somewhat frightened of her. He knew she was nearly as powerful as her sister, and that if she got truly angry with him, he would be at her mercy.

"Concern for my safety? I own the night, remember? I will be perfectly safe ... And besides, I have you to escort me," she smiled again.

"I'm not a soldier or fighter ... I do not think I would be particularly useful if any situation were to develop where you needed an escort, Your Highness."

"None the less, I assure you I will be fine," she tapped her hoof on the ground impatiently, leaving another rut for the gardner to fix.

"What of the guards? The gate is closed and the drawbridge up. They aren't going to let me leave the court yard with you and without any guards."

"They will do whatever I command them to do," a hint of annoyance in her voice again. "Besides, we aren't leaving that way. I'm going to teleport us out of the court yard. Place your hand on my back."

James hesitated and didn't do anything.

"Thy Princess commands thee to place thy hand on her back!" she said, her expression becoming stern, another aggressive stomp of her forehoof.

"As you wish, Your Highness," James lowered his head submissively and complied with her demand. Then he was on the other side of the castle walls, vertigo taking over as the world seemed to spin circles around him—circles that alternated up, down, left, and right. Sometimes all directions at the same time. He brought his hand to his head, both to try to stave off the vertigo as well as relieve the pounding headache he had suddenly developed.

"It will pass in less than a minute," Luna informed him, seeing his distress. We teleported a fairly long distance for someone who has little experience with it. The further you teleport, the worse the vertigo and headache. But it passes quickly."

True to The Princess's word, the headache quickly subsided, and the vertigo eased and went away. They were in a small secluded park surrounded by trees. But they were still inside the city, and the lighting was still to bright to see many of the stars.

"We fly the rest of the way," she stated. "It would be too dangerous for me to teleport you all the way to where we are going. Climb on," she flicked her muzzle over her shoulder, motioning to her back.

"Your Highness, I could never!" James balked, the idea of riding on The Princess's back as if she were a common horse seemed unthinkably disrespectful to him.

"Relax, James," she rolled her eyes slightly. "It's ok, really. And besides, I'm asking you to do it. Do I need to command you again?"

"As you wish," he said again before moving back to her side. Very slowly and carefully, he started to climb on to her back.

"I'm not made of glass you know," the alicorn rolled her eyes impatiently. "Just get on."

James nodded and then climbed fully on to her back. She made sure he was secure before leaping into the air, the two of them starting to fly into the night over the city, further away from the castle. She stayed very low to the ground, barely skimming the tops of the carefully manicured trees that lined Canterlot's streets, slipping silently over the tops of houses and barely clearing the pointed rooftops. He wondered why she was flying so low to the ground, but upon looking back at the castle, he found his answer. Pegasus Guard patrols circled around the castle, scanning the skies for any airborne threats—probably looking for dragons or griffins. Luna was staying low to avoid being spotted by the guards. He also noticed that despite the chill air outside and the fact they were moving through the air relatively fast, he was not cold, and did not feel any wind. He looked forward again and saw the alicorn's horn glowing. She must be using some kind of spell to keep him warm and protect him from the wind, he thought.

The tall buildings of Canterlot gradually began to thin out as they reached the outskirts of the city, the bright lights giving way to dim specs of light here and there. Until the ground was no longer visible at all due to lack of any lighting sources. A few more minutes of flight, and Luna flared her wings, coming to a graceful landing on top of a hill in the middle of an open meadow, no trees around to block any part of the full panoramic view of the sky. James climbed off of her back and she sat down on on her haunches on the grass, motioning with a forehoof for him to sit next to her. He did so, and looked up at the sky.

The view from here was truly amazing. Not even from Twilight's observatory in the Ponyville Library did he have such a beautiful view of the Equestrian night sky. The moon had not yet risen, allowing every star to show off its full potential—each point of light displaying Luna's work on an endless astral canvas.

"It's beautiful up here, Princess," he commented, continuing to scan the night sky, looking forlornly at the many stars.

"Thank you ... But yet, something bothers you. I can sense it."

"Everything is fine, Princess."

"You are a terrible liar, James. Tell me what is bothering you," she looked at him with an expression that was assertive, yet also caring.

"It's just that I look at them all ... And I can't help but wonder if there is a chance one of them is the sun from my own world ... The tiny wobble of one of the planets Twilight and I detected orbiting some of those stars ... If one of them could be Earth."

Luna just remained silent, listening to him.

"But then, what does it matter anyway. Even if one of them is my own sun. It's hundreds of light years away. Maybe thousands. It will never be possible to get there from here. At least not in my lifetime," he looked at the ground. "We should go back ... The full moon will be rising in a few minutes. We won't be able to see many of the distant stars then."

"You presume to tell me when the moon will rise? And what phase it will be in?" she poked him in the shoulder with a forehoof.

"Th ... That's not what I meant, Your Highness ... I just meant that ..." he fumbled over his words nervously, worrying that he may have offended her.

"Relax, James," she smiled softly. "Equestria is not going to end if I raise the moon thirty minutes late tonight so we have more time to stargaze."

"You'd do that for me?" he had a surprised expression on his face.

"Yes. It's not very often that I have somepony else to watch the stars with. That ... and I know what it feels like to be alone. To feel helpless, and hopeless," she scratched at the ground with her forehoof again while looking down, unpleasant memories coming back to her.

"How ... How did you deal with it, Your Highness?"

She looked even more uncomfortable now, digging her forehoof deeper into the ground with each scrape, James getting more nervous with each scrape of her hoof. The last thing he wanted to do was anger the powerful alicorn by asking the wrong question, or saying something that upset her.

"In the worst way possible," she finally responded. "I became even more bitter and spent almost the entire one thousand years plotting my revenge. The evilness and bitterness that was Nightmare Moon consumed me, but also gave me power. When I returned from my banishment on the moon, I was even more powerful than my sister. But it was an evil, twisted power, tainted by corruption. It took the Elements of Harmony wielded by no fewer than six ponies to rescue me from the corruption that had consumed me."

James listened intently to her story, picking up her own nervous habit and adopting it as his own as he dug a finger into the ground, scraping it back and forth slowly. He looked at her again. "Can I ask you a question, Your Highness?"

"Yes, of course."

"How do you ... not resent your sister? You know ... for doing what she did in the first place?"

"It was resentment that got me into the entire mess. Resentment that forced my sister to do what she did. My sister didn't do anything wrong," she shook her head gently side to side, her ethereal mane flowing gently with her movement. "I learned how wrong resentment was," she continued looking at the ground, a troubled expression still on her face.

"But something still bothers you, Your Highness," he risked prodding her on further.

"Yes ... Yes, it does," she nodded her head slightly. "I feel that ... my subjects still resent me. And they still fear me ... In fact, you fear me."

James resumed nervously tracing his finger on the ground. "Is it that obvious, Your Highness?"

"I can smell fear. All equines can," she looked at the ground sadly.

The scientific part of James's brain made a mental note of that fascinating fact. Like their feral counterparts from where he was from, the ponies here had heightened sense abilities and could smell certain emotions in other animals. He quickly filed it away for later. The scientific side of him took a back seat to the compassionate side of him that was more concerned for Luna's emotional well being.

"... Can I speak freely, Your Highness? And offer an opinion? Without ... Being locked in the dungeon or something?" he said the last part in a lighthearted tone in an attempt to lighten the mood a little bit.

"I will not lock you in the dungeon for offering your opinion, James ... Unless you want me to, that is."

"Princess!" he exclaimed, taken aback by her ... unseemliness.

"What? Must I be serious all of the time just because I am a princess? Am I not allowed to make a joke once in awhile? Especially at your expense?" she had a sly smile and giggled slightly.

He breathed a sigh of relief, both for the fact that she had been joking as well as the fact that his attempt to lighten the mood somewhat had apparently worked. He regained his composure. "I think, perhaps, that you have some issues with self confidence, Your Highness."

"What do you mean?" she flicked her tail once, somewhat rapidly.

He wished he knew how to read equine body language better. Other than the tail flick, she had a poker face expression. Did that tail flick mean she was annoyed? Should he fold and back off? He decided to take his chances and raise instead. "You feel that your subjects don't respect you, or respect your authority. So you feel the need to assert your authority, sometimes with intimidation."

She looked at the ground, apparently deciding the rut she had been digging with her hoof was deep enough and starting a new one. "Yes ... I suppose you are right."

"But this causes your subjects to fear you ... It causes ... me to fear you. I mean well ... I stated I didn't think it would be a good idea to come out here, and you immediately reminded me that you could have me locked in the dungeon for disobeying you. That makes me fear you. And if you use that kind of aggressive assertiveness with your subjects, it makes them fear you too."

She hesitated, staring at the ground. "I think I understand what you are saying ... But is it so bad to want to be appreciated for what you do?"

"You know, Your Highness, I think your subjects love you and appreciate you for what you do a lot more than you realize. It's just that ... well, it's harder for an observer to see the appreciation that others have for the night than to see the appreciation they have for the day."

"Explain," she looked at him again and stopped her rut digging for the moment.

"Do you know what inspired me to become a theoretical physicist? It was the night. The moon. The stars. As a child I would stay up late at night just staring at them for hours. Wondering what was out there. What made them work. How everything fit together. The awesome vastness of the Universe is only visible at night, Your Highness. It was the night sky that inspired me to become who and what I am today. The desire to unlock the secrets of the Universe and understand how it all worked. Countless scientists have been inspired to become what they are thanks to the night."

"Really?" she gave a small smile at him.

"Yes, Your Highness. And how many colts and fillies have wished upon a star for their dreams to come true? We even have a song about it where I am from."

"Will, you sing it for me?" she had a look of hopefulness in her eyes.

"Uh ... actually, I have a very horrible singing voice, Your Highness," he started to panic. He was pretty sure she wasn't going to let him out of this.

"I want you to sing it for me anyway," she said flatly.

"Please don't make me do this, Princess," he pleaded.

"I'm not going to make you ... I'm just asking you ... Please sing it for me?"

He winced at the thought, but it seemed he had actually gotten through to her. His company and words really therapeutic to her. He hesitated for only a few moments. He surrendered. "Who am I, to deny a princess of Equestria?" he smiled nervously before starting to sing softly:

When you wish upon a star

Makes no difference who you are

Anything your heart desires

Will come to you

If your heart is in your dream

No request is too extreme

When you wish upon a star

As dreamers do

Fate is kind

She brings to those who love

The sweet fulfillment of

Their secret longing

Like a bolt out of the blue

Fate steps in and sees you through

When you wish upon a star

Your dreams come true

He winced after he finished singing, knowing he had probably sung it horribly. He was probably off key, hadn't been able to hold the tune properly, and well ...

Luna, however was smiling and had a tear in her eye. "That was beautiful, James. We thank you ... I mean, I thank you for singing it to me."

"I'm glad you enjoyed it, Your Highness" he smiled back, feeling like even if she didn't fully trust him yet, that they had at least broken the ice.

"We should probably get back to the castle. You scientific types are going to be upset with me tomorrow for throwing off your precise lunar schedules as to when the moon is supposed to rise," she giggled a bit.

"I'm sure we will get over it," he chuckled.

"Climb on," she flicked her head back over her shoulder again motioning for him to get on her back.

He started to walk towards her, thinking to himself about the song he had just sung for her. 'Fate steps in and sees you through'. Maybe it was fate that he was here? As Twilight had suggested when he first got here? And maybe fate would see him through and everything would work out? "Your Highness? I was wrong about one thing."

"What is that?"

"It wasn't a bad idea to come out here. It was a good idea," he smiled. "And I thank you for bringing me out here."

He climbed on her back. The two of them flew into the night towards Canterlot.

25 - The Summer Sun Celebration - Day 1

Author's note: Well, the overwhelming majority that responded said they prefer the double spaced paragraph format. I'm actually somewhat surprised by this, given that most fiction is published in indented single space format, with double spacing only used for scene breaks. I guess it says something about how much influence the Web and html formatting has had on our preferences. The readers have spoken, so I will stick with the original format. Thanks to all who gave their input. And now, onto Chapter 25. Hope you enjoy it!

The God Particle

Chapter 25: The Summer Sun Celebration - Day 1

James anxiously waited at the train station. According to the board, the train was on time and should be arriving in about five minutes. Shortly, he saw a light in the distance down the track, shimmering in the waves of the summer heat. Slowly, it grew brighter as the train approached. Steam from the locomotive's drive cylinder flooded the area around the track as the front of the train passed him, as if he had entered a cloud, the dense white vapor obscuring the rest of the train. Once the engine had passed, the cloud quickly dissipated and the train came to a stop, the cars gradually becoming visible through the steam. He was standing roughly in the middle of the train.

He looked up at the cars, trying to see through the windows and spot which car Twilight and the others were in. Eventually, he spotted Pinkie Pie bouncing towards the door of the fourth car. Quickly, he walked over to it, jogging slightly to get there before the door opened. Once it had opened, he politely extended a hand to help the girls down.

"Jamesey Wamesy!" Pinkie Pie called from the door of the car, ignoring his offered hand and jumping out of the car. She ignored the stairs as well, landing on the ground with her hind legs, her forelegs wrapped around him, nearly knocking him off his feet.

With a grunt, he wrapped his arms around her and smiled, laughing. "It's good to see you again too, Pinkie Pie."

Twilight was next to exit. Unlike the ever bounding Pinkie Pie, she accepted his offered hand, smiling as she leaped up on her hind legs as soon as her feet were on the ground, hugging him tightly. "It's so good to see you again, James. I've missed you."

He hugged her back just as tightly. "I've missed you too, Twilight, and been really looking forward to seeing you again."

He hugged the rest of them in turn, and then shook Spike's hand when he got off the train.

Then, AJ spoke up. "James? This is my cousin Braeburn. From Appleloosa on the Western frontier."

"Pleased to meet you", the western earth pony responded and extended a forehoof.

"Likewise," James responded, extending his hand and shaking. "Any family of Applejack's is a friend of mine."

"Looking rather sharp in that uniform, there," Rainbow Dash said.

"Well, that's cause Rarity designed it." He smiled. Rarity blushed slightly.

"Well, I … Thank you, James," she smiled.

Eventually the baggage handler ponies finished unloading all of their baggage onto a large cart. Even though they were only going to be in Canterlot for four days, it appeared that Rarity had packed enough for four weeks. Applejack started to tie a rope around it and he knew she intended to pull it.

"Oh no you don't, AJ. I got it." He smiled and unwrapped the rope from the cart's poll, tossing it back to her, then getting behind the cart and pushing.

"That's mighty nice of ya, sugarcube," she said, trotting along side of it. "We'll have to come back later today. All of the food we made is arriving on a different train. T'wernt enough room in the baggage car of this one for every pony to bring all their stuff."

"It's my honor, for the Elements of Harmony. And I'll come back with you later and help you get the rest of the stuff, AJ. So I believe you are staying at the castle as honored guests?" he asked, maneuvering the cart through the large crowd of ponies at the train station. It was turning out to be somewhat of a challenge, and he thought there was no way AJ could have maneuvered it through by towing it.

"Well, I don't know about honored," Twilight said modestly. "But yes, Princess Celestia has asked us to stay at the castle. Will you be joining us there?"

"I'm afraid not. I've got my own place to stay now in the Academy faculty dorm. But don't worry, we will be able to spend plenty of time together … So I imagine none of you have had breakfast yet? I know a good place. Theory Point showed me. We can unload all this stuff at the castle and then go get breakfast."

"Sounds great!" Spike said. "I'm starving!"

Twilight chuckled slightly. "You're always starving, Spike. But yes, breakfast sounds great. None of us did eat anything this morning before getting on the train."

The other ponies nodded in agreement.

"Breakfast it is then," he said as he kept pushing the cart towards the exit of the train station.

It took nearly twenty minutes to maneuver through all of the crowds from the arriving trains, but eventually, he made his way out of the station. Bright summer sun shown down on them, warming them as they stepped out from under the station's roof.

Braeburn looked around and gave a short whistle. "Ain't never seen so many ponies in ma life. All of 'em rushing around like their ain't no tomorrow."

"He's never been to Canterlot before," Applejack commented. "In fact, he's never been anywhere outside of Appleloosa."

"Ah. Well, welcome to Canterlot then," James smiled. "If I can be of any assistance, just let me know. Been here about seven months now and got a pretty good grasp of the city."

"Thank ya kindly," Braeburn responded.

Thirty minutes later, they had managed to maneuver their way through the downtown crowds and arrived at the gate to the castle courtyard. A pegasus guard stood on one side of the gate. On the other, a unicorn guard.

"Ah, James. Good morning," the pegasus guard smiled.

"And good morning to you too, Storm Chaser. And you, Star Sword," he nodded at the two guards.

"Good morning, James," the unicorn responded. "And to you, Elements of Harmony. It is an honor and privilege." He nodded politely, the six ponies responding in kind.

"The Elements of Harmony, and their guests, will be staying in the castle as guests of Her Majesty," James said.

"Yes, of course," Star Sword said. "I'm afraid we must search all of their baggage before it can be allowed into the castle though. Captain's orders. Please don't take offense, my ladies. It's not that we don't trust you. It's that others could have tampered with your bags while they were in transit."

Twilight and the others nodded their consent and stepped to the side along with James to allow the guard ponies to do their work.

"This is going to take awhile," Rainbow Dash grumbled.

He nodded and went back over the guards.

"Good sirs, might I impose upon you to have the ladies things taken to their guest rooms when you are finished?"

"Not a problem, James. We'll take care of it," Storm Chaser responded.

"Thank you," he smiled and nodded, then walked back over to Twilight and the others. "Lets go get some breakfast. Your bags are in good hooves."

As they walked back toward the downtown area, he noticed Twilight giving him a strange look out of the corner of his eye.

"What?" he finally asked.

"Please tell me the reason you're on a first name basis with the Royal Guards isn't because you're getting in trouble with them a lot," she gave a short nervous laugh.

He chuckled and shook his head. "No. It's cause I bring them hot tea on cold winter mornings. And iced tea on hot summer afternoons. Well, when they are assigned to the Academy buildings I work at anyway."

"Oh," she laughed in relief now. "That's nice of you, James … I don't remember them wanting to search my things at last year's Summer Sun Celebration."

"There were … rumors of a nonspecific and non-credible threat, from what I hear. But I also hear that both Princess Celestia and Princess Luna don't think it is really anything to worry about. Probably just some teenagers trying to cause trouble. But you can never be too careful."

"Oh … Alright then," she smiled a bit and continued trotting along next to him. Thankfully, it seemed she had bought his explanation.

He hated lying to her. But what else could he do right now? It also didn't escape him that despite both princesses assuring him that what he had seen in his dreams could not harm either him or any of the ponies, they apparently thought the threat was serious enough to warrant extra security when it came to the Elements of Harmony.

They arrived at a small restaurant near the Academy campus—one where he and Theory Point often got breakfast in the morning. Tea, fresh bran muffins with melted butter, and pancakes were served while they exchanged the latest news from Ponyville and Canterlot.

After breakfast, he took them back the castle and a guard escorted all of them to their guest rooms. Their baggage had been searched and was waiting for them in their rooms, apparently with no suspicious items having been found.

"Oh, James," Twilight spoke up. "I got a present for you."

Her horn started to glow, as she removed something from one of her bags, floating it over to him.

"My iPhone? So you did manage to get it back together!" He took it out of the air and looked at it, turning it over and over in his hands as if he had never seen it before.

"I did. Well, I think I did. I haven't tried to turn it on."

"Thanks, Twilight," he smiled, but he was also apprehensive. There were a lot of pictures on that phone. Pictures from home. Pictures of Fermi Lab, of Eric, and other friends from the lab. Pictures that were going to drag up a lot of painful memories.

"Well, here's hoping the battery held a charge that long." He pushed the power button. To his amazement, the screen lit up as the phone came to life. "Wow! It actually turned on!" he smiled.

When the phone had finished booting, he made a note of the time on the clock. "Well, assuming the clock hasn't drifted too much, that's what time it is in Chicago right now." He walked over to the desk in the room, taking a piece of paper and the quill, writing down the time. Then, doing some quick math in his head, he figured out the time difference between Central Standard Time and Equestria time.

He also made a note of the battery level. Amazingly, it was nearly full. That should give several hours of use before the iPhone became a paperweight.

"Four hours difference. With Equestria being four hours ahead. Well, again, assuming the time on the iPhone didn't drift too much without having been able to contact a tower for the last ten months." He wasn't quite sure why it mattered. But it was an interesting fact to know. And just possibly, in case it ever did become possible for him to go home, it might be useful to know what time it was in Chicago before he left Equestria.

After he noted the time difference, he folded up the piece of paper and put it in his pocket. Then, he walked over to the middle of the floor.

And now came the part he wasn't sure he was looking forward to. The pictures from home. Could he get through them without crying? Well, I guess it'll be better to look at them when I have somepony around to cry on, he thought to himself.

"Alright … so who wants to see pictures of home?" he said in a nervous tone of voice.

All of the ponies immediately gathered around him. He started the camera mode on the phone and began to go through the pictures as the ponies looked on in wonder at the little electronic device.

The first picture, was of him and Eric at work, huddling over one of the computer consoles in the control room of Fermi Lab. "That's Eric … My friend I told you about. And that's the main control room for the particle accelerator at Fermi Lab, where I worked," he explained.

All of the ponies seemed transfixed by the images on the electronic screen. Other then the family picture he had shown Twilight several months ago, this was their first glimpse into a different world—perhaps even a different universe, or different dimension.

The next picture, the outside of a tall building with many windows in it. "That's the apartment complex. Eric and I actually live in the same building."

It amazed him now to see that building again. By Chicago standards, they were very nice apartments. But the exterior of the building itself was so vastly different from the architecture in Equestria. It had neither the country charm of the warm cottage type construction with the thatched roofing that was common in Ponyville, nor the grand, imposing, and beautiful Roman / Gothic type construction of buildings in Canterlot. Instead, it was designed mostly with pure functionality and lower cost of construction in mind. Aesthetics, and coordination with other surrounding buildings had been an afterthought—if it had been a thought at all. Chicago was a city that had grown up piecemeal around a core. Unlike Canterlot, which seemed to be the result of planned construction—every building designed to give a certain visual impression, coordinated with the buildings around it to produce a mosaic of architectural art.

He continued flipping through the pictures on the iPhone. Rainbow Dash was particularly interested in a series of photos he had taken at a Blue Angels show when they had come to Chicago a year or so ago. There was also a photo of the Chicago skyline he had taken during sunset at one point. The ponies were fascinated by how large the city seemed to be. Even larger than Canterlot or Manehatten. He wasn't sure if they even believed him when he told them that there were other cities in America much larger than Chicago.

Then, he came to the hardest ones. Pictures of his family that he had taken on the rare occasions he actually visited them, or they visited him. As he stopped on each picture, he explained where the photo had been taken, what the occasion was, and so on. But he was having a hard time holding it together now. Shortly, Applejack spoke up.

"Ah hate to cut it short an all, but the train with the rest of our stuff should be getting to the station soon. We better go down there to pick it up." She looked at him with a compassionate look. There was more than enough time to get to the train station. He knew she had interrupted the photo sharing session for his benefit—so he wouldn't have to relive painful memories.

"She's probably right. Wouldn't want all that food you worked on to spoil in the hot sun," he said, turning the iPhone off to conserve the battery, his eyes going back over to Applejack and giving her a look he hoped conveyed his thanks.

"Rarity has some final alterations she needs to make for the outfits of some of the girls and for Big Mac and Braeburn. You'll come back to the station and help me, James? Then we can go set up the stands where we'll be selling tomorrow."

"Of course I will, AJ." He smiled "I'll see the rest of you whenever we get done then," he said, opening the door for Applejack and waving to the rest of the ponies in the room."

"I'll see you in a few hours then, James." Twilight smiled. "And thank you for showing this pictures to us."

"Oh … You're welcome," he forced a smile as he left with Applejack, closing the door behind them.

Once the door was closed, and he was sure they were out of earshot, he turned his head towards AJ as they walked down the corridor. "Thanks for … bailing me out there," he said, a hint of sadness in his voice.

"Well, Ah could tell it was gettin' to ya. Ya don't need t'be goin' through that when you're supposed to be enjoying the Celebration."

The two of them made idle smalltalk as they continued to the train station. As luck would have it, the freight train carrying the rest of their things was late, having been delayed because of excess passenger train traffic. They ended up waiting for about an hour for the train to show up. When it finally did, they loaded all of their packages onto a wagon and then went to set up the various stands where the Apple family and Sugarcube Corner would be offering samples and selling all sorts of baked goods.

By the time they were finished and arrived back at the castle, it was early evening. He walked Applejack back to the room the other girls were currently in.

"Sorry we're late gettin' back," Applejack apologized. "The train was late. I suppose we better be gettin' dressed for the Solar Ball, huh?"

"Well, I suppose I should probably leave you girls alone to get dressed," he smiled. "I'll see you tonight?"

"Take care James, I'll see you this evening," Twilight smiled. "I'll be arriving a little earlier than the others so I can meet my parents there. Why don't you come early so I can introduce you to them?"

"Your parents? Sure. I'd be honored. Alright, I'll get there early." He smiled.

The others added their own nods and see you's as well as he stepped backwards and closed the door. It was still almost three hours until the ball actually started. But he knew how Rarity would be with wanting to make sure each one of them looked absolutely perfect.

He left the castle, then the courtyard. He was already dressed in his class 1A uniform and didn't have much preparation of his own to do. But there was somewhere he wanted to stop before it closed.

He turned left and walked until he came to the area of town where The Underhoof was located, realizing this was actually the first time he'd been in this part of town while it was still daylight out. The contrast between the aristocratic high class mainstream Canterlot was stark and glaring. Here, buildings were more like the piecemeal uncoordinated construction in Chicago, without regard for visual appeal or matching architecture. Some of the buildings appeared abandoned, in various states of disrepair. The difference between here, and the other side of the tracks as Theory Point had called it, was like the difference between night and day.

The Underhoof was closed right now. He turned down a side street that went past it, looking left then right, he was sure it was down here somewhere. Then, he spotted what was he was looking for. A plain single story gray brick building with a single door on the front. The lawn outside was unkempt, grass growing tall as if it had not been cut since the snow melted. A sign across the top read DJ Pon-3 Audio Production and DJ Services. He turned, walked up the path to the door. A sign tacked to the surface read Please don't knock on this door. Recording may be in progress. Push button next to door instead. He did as the sign instructed, then backed up a few steps. Shortly, the door opened, the white furred, blue maned unicorn DJ from The Underhoof answering it.

"James, my man! Seen you at the club a bunch of times. What can I do you for?"

"Hi, DJ. I had a favor to ask of you." He pulled out his iPhone. "There's a bunch of music stored on here. I was wondering if you could … get it off of here and onto some kind of media that can actually be played on the music players you have here in Equestria."

"If I can't, nopony can." She waved towards the inside of her studio with her horn. "Bring it in here. Let's have a look at it."

"Thanks." He smiled and followed her inside. "The thing is … there's nothing here to charge the battery with. So once the battery is dead, this thing becomes a brick. So I was hoping to get at least some of the music off of it before then. It's mostly classical stuff. But Octavia is interested in it."

"Oh that's how it is," the DJ pony snickered. "Been cheating on us and hanging out with the snooty ponies over at the symphony have you?" she grinned.

"Well, I was—" he started to say defensively.

"It's cool, man," she chuckled. "I'm just jerkin' your chain. I like all types of music. Never know where inspiration can come from. Here, bring that thing over here." She motioned to her control room with her horn. Excuse my mess."

He nodded and followed her into her control room, stepping over various crumpled up pieces of paper that looked like music notes she had started working on, then abandoned in wadded up balls on the floor. On a table in the room, audio components were spread out in various states of assembly or disassembly. Boxes lay strewn about the floor filled with equipment, various cables and wiring, partially assembled speaker cabinets, and so on.

Finally making his way through the obstacle course, he set the iPhone down on the small desk next to her mixing board.

"Ooh … Futuristic looking. Space age and shiny," she remarked, lifting it with her magic and turning it in every direction in front of her eyes, marveling at it.

She quickly found the headphone jack and one of the boxes on the floor started to glow with magic. She seemed to know exactly which box to look in. He assumed the apparent mess was a type of organized chaos. "See if I got a patch cable that'll fit the jack," she said. "If I don't, I can splice one together easy enough."

He watched as a few cables floated out of the box over to her and passed in front of her face. "Too big," she said without trying to see if it would fit. "Too small," as the next one passed by. "Ah! I bet this is the one." The other two stopped glowing and simply fell to the floor as she took the one she was interested in and moved it to the jack on the iPhone, plugging it in. "Got it!" she grinned.

"So you can do it?"

"No prob, my man," she said, plugging the other end of the patch cable into one of the input jacks on her mixing board. "You'll have to show me how to run this thing and let me know which tracks are the ones you want the most. If you don't think the battery will last long enough to get all of 'em."

"You got a piece of paper? And a pen?"

She nodded and pointed to a spot on her desk with her horn that had some scratch paper and a quill on it. He went over and picked up the quill. Just as he was about to start writing down the names of the tracks he wanted the most in Equestrian script, it occurred to him that the iPhone's user interface might as well be in Japanese as far as the DJ pony was concerned. She wouldn't be able to read it at all.

"Right … That's a problem," he mumbled to himself.

"What's that?" she called over to him as she continued setting up mixing equipment.

"It just occurred to me … You aren't going to be able to read anything on this display. Or be able to read the track names. Different alphabet."

"Can you draw a diagram of the interface? With Equestrian labels? And then just write the track titles in your language?"

"I can try …" He started writing down the most important tracks, trying his best to write legibly in the Latin alphabet. A few times, he had to stop and remember what the characters looked like, and how to write them. Had it really been that long since he had written anything in his own alphabet? Between letters to Twilight, research notes in the lab, class material for his students, and papers he had worked on with Twilight, he had easily written over a thousand pages by hand since arriving in Equestria. But it was all in Equestrian script. After ten months, it had become natural for him to think in Equestrian, and write in Equestrian—as natural as writing in the Latin alphabet had been before he arrived here. He was amazed at how rusty it had gotten with ten months of complete disuse. It came back to him fairly quickly, of course. But still, he found that it took more effort now to write in Latin than it did in Equestrian.

Eventually, he was able to finish writing the track list. He made a note to himself to write down another translation table between Equestrian script and Latin alphabet, and give it to Princess Celestia to put in the Royal Archives. He didn't think he would ever completely forget the Latin characters. But even so, he wanted to make sure the knowledge was never lost to Equestria. Somehow it was comforting to him to think that even a thousand years from now, that little translation table would still exist in the Royal Archives as proof that he had been here.

He brought his mind back to the task at hand, taking another piece of paper and drawing crude diagrams of the iPhone's user interface from memory, labeling the buttons with Equestrian script.

"Got it. I think," he said, putting the quill away and taking the two pieces of paper over to her. "I'll verify I got the interface right from memory and make any needed changes once we turn it on."

He took the phone again, showed her the power button, then turned it on. Like the other ponies, she stared in wonder at the screen as it booted up. When it had finished, he briefly showed her how to operate it and use the music player.

Interestingly enough to both of them, the touchscreen did not respond at all to attempts to operate it by magic.

"Well, I guess we'll just do this the old fashioned way then," she said after trying a couple of times. Then she used the tip of her horn to activate the various buttons on the touchscreen. That worked as well as a finger. Better, in fact, because the pointed tip of her horn was more like a stylus, and more accurate than a wider tipped finger.

It made sense when he thought about it. The touchscreen wasn't pressure sensitive like a normal keyboard. So using magic that tried to operate it with pressure wouldn't work. He supposed if she had more time to try, she could figure out a way to operate it with magic. But touching it with her horn worked just as well.

"How much I owe you for all this?" he asked.

"We'll talk about that later. Don't sweat it. I'll give you a good deal. So you coming to the club tonight? Gonna be one heck of a party with the Summer Sun Celebration and all. Party's gonna go all night. We have outdoor tents set up to handle the overflow crowd. Place 'll be packed with tourist ponies."

He shook his head slightly. "I can't. Attendance at the Solar Ball is required for all Academy faculty. And Twilight Sparkle is gonna be there."

"Aw. I feel for you man. Way too formal for my tastes. Well, maybe you can stop by later tonight? Bring your friends from Ponyville with you?"

"I'll consider it," he said, imagining the reactions of the six. Twilight would be analyzing the properties of the laser beams. Pinkie Pie would be thrilled and bouncing off the walls. Rarity would be horrified at the place and its patrons. Fluttershy would be too afraid to enter the building once she heard the pounding bass outside, and saw the flashing strobe lights through the windows. Applejack would determine that whatever was coming out of those speakers was not music, but rather, was noise pollution. And Rainbow Dash would probably get into a fight and they would all get thrown out by the bouncer ponies. He shuttered internally. "But I have to be up really early tomorrow and I don't do all nighters nearly as well these days as I did in my early college years," he added.

"It's cool man. If you can't make it," she said, using her magic to pick up something that looked like a DAT tape and load it into one of her decks.

"There's no rush on this, by the way. Don't start working on it until the Summer Sun Celebration is over. I probably better get going. Have to stop back at my place, and don't want to keep the ladies waiting."

"No problem, James. Take care of yourself. I should have this done by next weekend. I'll bring it to the club with me and you can pick it up there."

"Thanks again for doing this. I'll see you next weekend if I don't see you sooner," he said, making his way towards the door and leaving.

Arriving back at the Academy dorm, he still had about a half hour before he had to leave and meet Twilight at the ball.

He climbed the stairs, entered his room, closed the door. Then he opened his closet door and stood in front of the full length mirror on the inside. Nervousness returned to him, although now it was over the ball. Never in his life had he even dreamed he would be at an event as formal as a royal ball in honor of the ruler of a country, much less be expected to dance with the ruler's protege student.

He made a stylish bow, the way Octavia had taught him. "Lady Twilight, may I have this dance? … Cliche and corny," he shook his head and grumbled to himself.

He did the bow again. "Lady Sparkle. May I have the honor of a dance? … No, that still sounds corny … Is it Lady Sparkle? or Lady Twilight? Been here almost ten months and I don't even know if they really have a concept of first or last names."

He repeated this process several more times, trying different combinations of words, proper address forms, and so on, not quite finding one he was completely comfortable with. He glanced at the clock again. Time to go.

The sun was setting as he left the dorm. Brilliant pink hues mixed with blue and cotton white clouds floating lazily along the horizon to the west as he made his way to the castle. The setting sun lit up the golden spires on the castle's towers, causing each one to shine as if they themselves were miniature suns. Passing through the courtyard, he arrived at the entrance to the grand ball room, where he waited outside, for Twilight to arrive. As he waited, he continued going over various forms of asking her to dance in his mind. He wished now, he'd asked Octavia for the proper words to use.

As the minutes ticked down on the clock, he became more nervous. He waited about five minutes, then he saw Twilight on the white stone path leading to the ball room entrance. His eyes widened slightly as they fell on her.

Her dress flowed behind her like fine silk, its dark purple color matching her namesake. Silver highlights reflected the setting sun, like stars twinkling on a clear crisp night. On her hooves, crystal shoes reflected the light like water sparkling in a clear mountain stream. He never thought the word beautiful was what he would use to describe any pony. But that's exactly what she was.

He walked down to meet her. "You look … absolutely beautiful, Twilight." He smiled, getting a blush from her. "Shall we go inside?"

She nodded, and the two of them went inside the ball room. A string quartet played on a stage at the front for ambiance, but there was no dancing yet. In the middle of the high ceiling, a large crystal chandelier gave light to the place, its golden rays shining like the sun itself. On the walls, crimson tapestries depicting the golden sun—symbol of Princess Celestia, along with tapestries depicting unicorns pegasi, and earth ponies in various regal poses, others depicting battle scenes with victorious ponies defeating Discord and other various enemies. Three large statues of ponies, made from solid crystal, stood over banquet tables containing hors d'oeuvres, most of which he couldn't identify, and various drink refreshments.

He continued to look around, marveling at the opulence of it all. So this is what a royal ball looks like, he thought to himself. He felt a gentle nudge in his side, looked over at Twilight.

"Over there. My parents," she pointed with her horn, then started trotting over to them. They spotted her at almost the same time and started trotting towards her. "Mom! Dad!" She said excitedly when they came together, hugging both of them at the same time.

"Twilight!" they both said in unison. After a long hug, they finally let go and Twilight backed up a few steps.

"Mom, Dad, this is James. Dr. James Peterson."

He made a respectful bow to them. "It is an honor to finally meet the parents of the one who has done so much for me."

Before he could even straighten back up from the bow, Twilight's mother was hugging him.

"It's nice to finally meet you too, Dr. Peterson. Twilight has told us a lot about you."

"Please, just call me James," he said, hugging her back. Then he extended his hand and shook her father's forehoof. "You have a very remarkable daughter, sir."

Twilight's parents beamed with pride at his compliments, while Twilight herself blushed again.

"So, how has life in Canterlot been treating you?" her father asked.

"Very well, actually. I work with a great group at the Academy."

The four of them made smalltalk for a few more minutes.

"I'm going to let you three catch up for awhile," James eventually said. "If you'll excuse me."

They nodded and he left Twilight with her parents, looking around the ball room a bit more. More ponies were starting to arrive, some in various official uniforms, others in dresses and tuxedos. Some he recognized from the Academy, others he had never seen before. Finally, he spotted Theory Point and walked over to her. See trotted towards him when she saw him.

"Hi, Theory. Glad to see you made it."

"Hi, James. Trust me, if it weren't required that I be here? I wouldn't be. I despise these formal functions."

"Oh come on, it's not that bad."

"It's different for you. It's your first one. It's a new experience for you. After you've done it for several years? Trust me, you'll grow to loathe coming to these things too. And after this, we have the Grand Galloping Gala to look forward to. It's even worse as far as being a bore because only the elite ponies are invited. But as Academy faculty, we're required to attend that one too. By orders of Princess Celestia herself. I think she does it just to make it look like ponies actually go to that thing. Force Academy staff to attend, so at least somepony actually shows up."

"Well, at least there's free food," he said, trying to find something she might actually like about it.

"The food here is amazing. I'll give it that much. Still, I'd much rather be at The Underhoof, eating mediocre food but having a fun time doing it."

"I talked to DJ Pon-3 earlier today. She said the party there will be going all night. You can still hit it after you get done here."

"Yeah, I think I might do that. But not until I get to see you dance with Twilight," she grinned.

"You're just hoping to see me crash and burn, aren't you."

"I'll be here to lend you moral support afterward," she giggled slightly.

"Thanks a lot for the vote of confidence," he shook his head.

"I'm just giving you a hard time, James. You'll do fine. So is she here yet?"

He nodded. "She's with her parents. I'm letting them catch up."

"Ah. Well, I wouldn't want to interrupt. You can introduce me to her later."

"You seen the others yet? Ele, Delta, or Autumn?"

She shook her head. "They're the smart ones. They'll show up just in time to avoid having the colonel chew their tail off about being late, making the whole Academy look bad, and so on. And then they will leave just as soon as they know they won't get their tail chewed off for leaving too early."

He looked around again, noting that still more ponies had arrived. In addition, there was some activity starting on the dance floor. He watched the ponies that were dancing, refreshing his memory with the things Octavia had taught him.

"So what are you waiting for?" Theory Point nudged him in the side with her muzzle.

"For it to get a little busier. Protection of the herd, you know? If I screw up, fewer ponies will notice if there's a lot of activity on the floor."

"I'm sure you'll do fine," she reassured him again. "Oh, there they come." She pointed with her horn.

He looked and saw Ele, Delta, and Autumn coming over to them. He exchanged greetings with them, talked with them for a few minutes, then looked out at the dance floor again. The quartet was getting ready to start their next piece.

"Well, I guess I better get to it," he said more to himself then to the four ponies near him "If you'll excuse me." Then he started walking to the other side of the room, his heart beating faster as he got closer.

He stopped a few paces away, made the stylish formal bow the way Octavia had shown him. "Lady, Twilight. Would you do me the honor, of dancing with me?"

She smiled and nodded her head. He led her out towards the dance floor, stepping out onto it, extending his arm. She raised her forehoof, placing it gently in his hand. Carefully, he led her out onto the dance floor.

As the music started playing, he made a formal bow to her, then placed his hands as Octavia had shown him. To his relief, he felt her take the lead, allowing him to follow. And together, they danced, his nervousness fading away under her lead. He remembered the steps better then he thought he would, responding nearly automatically to her guiding movements. She led him into an outside turn. Everything else seemed to fade into the distance and all he saw was her. An inside turn. Her dress flowed and rippled behind her as she turned, like fine silk in a warm summer breeze. Time seemed to have no meaning as they danced. Had it been two minutes? Or had it been twenty? He wasn't sure. But he found himself not wanting the moment to end. Vaguely, he thought that should be disturbing to him. But it wasn't. And even if it was … he didn't care.

Round and round they danced. Everything else in the ball room was a million miles away—distant objects in space that didn't exist in his world. There was only one thing in his world: Her. She was all there was. And she was everything. To be cherished and protected at all costs. For without her, he would have nothing.

The band finished playing, and with it, the rest of the room reentered the atmosphere of his world, in a sort of dull roar closing in on him—like the sensation of sound returning after surfacing from under water. He stepped off the dance floor, leading her off of it gently.

"I didn't even know you knew how to dance," she smiled at him.

"It's another thing I learned how to do here in Canterlot," he said, his heart still beating slightly faster than normal.

Now that he was no longer on the dance floor, and the moment had passed, it was starting to disturb him. He had a very close friendship with Twilight, yes. But on the dance floor, he had felt something more for her. Was it love in a romantic sense? Or did it just have something to do with this intertwined fate that Luna spoke of? He wasn't sure. Perhaps the very fact that Luna had told him their fates were intertwined had caused the feeling? He hoped she hadn't picked up on it, and he wondered if she felt the same way.

Really, he still didn't believe in fate. The idea that he was not in control of his own life and some mysterious thing called fate had already determined what his life meant, and where it would go, was not a comforting idea for him to ponder. Nevertheless, the concept of a self-fulfilling prophecy was well established in modern psychology—the idea that simply knowing something is supposed to happen can ultimately cause it to happen through subconscious actions on the part of the one who knows.

Even though he rejected the idea of fate, was it possible, that somewhere in his subconscious, he hadn't entirely convinced himself that Luna was wrong? Or that she had just been trying to manipulate him by claiming his fate dictated certain inevitable paths that his life must follow?

"There they are," Twilight said, interrupting his thoughts and pointing with her horn. He looked to see the rest of the ponies from Ponyville, along with Spike, on the other side of the floor. The two of them started walking towards them, and he was glad for the distraction.

All the other ponies looked stunningly beautiful in their custom dresses that Rarity had made as well.

"You all look beautiful," he smiled. "You really outdid yourself, Rarity."

"Oh, thank you," Rarity responded, blushing and fidgeting, as if not sure what to say.

"So I was gonna introduce you all to Theory Point, but it seems she already took off, along with the rest of the ponies from the Academy."

"Where do you think she went?" Twilight asked.

"Well, she said these types of formal parties weren't her thing. No doubt she left with the others and went to The Underhoof. That's a trance club in a different part of town … There's always tomorrow I guess." He looked at Twilight. "So, Twilight, I need to pick your brain for a little bit."

"Sure, what's up?" she smiled and motioned with her horn to a quieter area of the room, started trotting towards it. He followed, stopping by the refreshment table first and getting two glasses of sparkling water for them. Then, the two of them sat down at an empty table.

"So what's on your mind?" she asked, sipping her water.

"Well, I'm working on this paper with Theory Point. I can't say exactly what it is, of course, but I'll make sure to credit you for helping. You know how the journals are about keeping a lid on everything until they publish the paper … But I have some questions about how magic interacts with physics."

"Oh, I understand," she nodded. "So what can I help you with?"

"Well … is it possible, using magic, to bend, or even break, mass-energy conservation?"

"That's a little non-specific," she gave him a strange look. "I'm afraid I'm going to need a little bit more detail than that to go on."

"Alright … Is it possible using magic, for an object to gain mass, even though there doesn't appear to be any outside energy or matter input?"

"Well … I'm going to give you a qualified no. The qualification being that Star Swirl the Bearded claims in one of his papers that he did it once. But … well, all the modern science scholars here reject the paper as fabricated. Most magic scholars won't go that far, but they think he didn't understand, or wasn't aware of the energy-momentum relation. So the majority of both schools of thought believe that he didn't really break mass-energy conservation. There's also … well …"

He waited several moments for her to continue, when she didn't, he prompted her.

"Yes?"

"Well, I don't really like to say it. Cause he's kind of one of my main inspirations … But a lot of scholars think that by the time he wrote that paper, he was starting to get a little bit senile in his old age." Her eyes shifted a bit nervously.

He nodded. "And what do you think?"

"Well, Star Swirl lived during the time when Discord ruled Equestria. The Pre-Classical Era. I think there was a smear campaign to discredit him and pass him off as the writings and rantings of an insane pony during that time because he was seen as a threat. Much of his work didn't survive. Much of it that did survive was altered by Discord. And much of it, he never even published—both because he feared for his safety, as well as feared that his work could be dangerous if it fell into the wrong hooves."

He nodded. "Alright. I think that should be all I need. I'll let you know tomorrow if I think of anything else. Thanks, Twilight."

"You're welcome. Shall we rejoin the others?"

He nodded, picked up his drink, and walked back with her to where the rest of the ponies from Ponyville were waiting.

Later that evening, they said their goodnights. The ponies went to their guest rooms in the castle, and he left to return to the Academy dorm.

He made a brief detour, heading towards The Underhoof. Several blocks away, he could already hear the thumping bass of DJ Pon-3's set. Laser beams lit up the sky, and strobe lights lit up the night like lightning during a thunderstorm. The pounding bass was occasionally drowned out only by a firework streaking into the sky and exploding.

As DJ Pon-3 had predicted, the club was packed when he arrived. Almost all of the activity was outdoors. At the front of the large crowd, he could see the DJ pony on stage behind her gear, hard at work churning out thundering bass, and electronic beats.

After a fair amount of scouting, he finally spotted Theory Point and the others, walking over to them.

"You left before I could introduce you to my friends from Ponyville," he commented. "What? Once you saw I wasn't going to crash and burn at dancing you decided it was no fun anymore?" he teased.

She chuckled. "I blame these three. They were anxious to get out of there and come over here. Glad you could make it though. Why didn't you bring them?"

"They were tired, after the long trip from Ponyville. And they have to be up very early tomorrow," he lied, not wanting to tell them that he was afraid of how some of them would behave at a place like this. "I'm probably not going to stay real long myself."

"Well, you can introduce me to her tomorrow. I'm looking forward to meeting Twilight."

"Don't worry, I will. Oh, and Delta," he said looking at the aeronautical pegasus, "I think Rainbow Dash would really love to meet you."

"Sounds like fun," he smiled and sipped his drink.

He stayed at The Underhoof for a few more minutes, before deciding to call it a night.

Back in his room at the dorm, he undressed. He'd been on his feet in the most formal of uniforms all day, and it felt good to get out of it.

Flopping down on his bed, he exhaled a sigh of relief. He could still hear the dull thunder of fireworks throughout the city. Occasionally, brief flashes lit up the night sky as one went off not far from the dorm.

Lying in bed, he began to think about his conversation with Twilight earlier. But when he did, the time he had spent dancing with her came back to him. He tried to force that out of his mind and focus on the conversation. So, it's unlikely the object is gaining mass from its own energy … Unless Star Swirl was right. At least now he had a starting point. The only problem was that most of Star Swirl's writings were not in the Academy library. Instead, they were locked away inside of the Royal Archives deep underneath the castle. He'd need permission from either Princess Celestia or Princess Luna to get in there. He wasn't sure they'd grant it. But hopefully, at least they would allow the Royal Archivist to talk to him and get the requested papers for him.

Within a few minutes, he had started to drift off to sleep, the sound of exploding fireworks serenading him like a Fourth of July night back home …

...

Spike looked at Twilight as the six ponies and one dragon sat at a table in one of the castle guest rooms, sipping on evening drinks of sparkled water flavored with lemon. He could detect a hint of a sour look on her face—sour like the lemon itself in the drink.

"Is there too much lemon in the drink?" he finally asked.

"The drink is perfectly fine," she snapped back rapidly.

"Come on, Twi. It's obvious something's a buggin' ya," Applejack added.

"Nothing is bugging me," the unicorn responded unconvincingly and in a slightly aggressive tone. "I'm perfectly fine."

Applejack raised an eyebrow, looking at her dubiously, pausing a few moments before responding.

"Look, Twi … I know ya ain't the type to get romantically involved an all. But is it possible that you're a little bit jealous of Theory Point?"

"Jealous? Why would I possibly be jealous of her," she said dismissively.

"Well, you're obviously a tad bit upset."

"Just because I'm supposed to be the one he's writing those papers with? Like the two astronomy papers we published when he was still in Ponyville? But instead, he's writing papers with her now. And he has the nerve to ask me for magical advice that he can use in the paper. The nerve! 'I'll make sure to credit you,' he says." She slammed her glass down on the table. "What could I possibly be upset about?" she said, her voice laced with sarcasm.

"Yep … She's upset," Spike said, getting strange glances from all six ponies that he thought said learn when to keep your mouth shut.

"… Right," he said sheepishly. "… I'm gonna go … See how Big Mac and Braeburn are doing," turning towards the door and leaving the girls to deal with Twilight.

...

As James slept, he vaguely became aware of a pounding sound, as if somepony were using a hammer. In that strange state between being fully asleep and fully awake, he first took it to be more fireworks going off outside. That is, until he heard his door open, and saw light through his closed eyelids.

"Sir? Their majesties require your presence at the castle," a royal guard unicorn stated, standing in the doorway.

He opened his eyes, sitting up. Glanced at the clock on the wall: just after one o'clock in the morning.

"Princess Luna?" he said, assuming it must be Luna in the middle of the night, rubbing the sleep out his eyes with the back of his hands.

"Both of them," the unicorn guard responded. "Make haste. Your field uniform will be fine. Do not keep the princesses waiting any longer than necessary."

He nodded and climbed out of bed, quickly throwing on his field uniform. "Did they say what it was about?"

"I'm not at liberty to say, sir," the guard pony responded.

He blinked, but finished dressing quickly. Then, the royal guard unicorn led him downstairs, outside, and toward the castle …

36 - Return to Canterlot

Author's note: Sorry this chapter took so long to get out. And sorry it's a bit short, but this seemed like the best place to end it. I should have chapter 37 out before the end of the week. Hopefully, that will make up for the fact that this one is a bit short.

The God Particle

Chapter 36: Return to Canterlot

James and Twilight continued to look out the chariot windows in horror, the orange blasts of flame piercing the night sky in the distance. He glanced over at Spike who was sitting on the other side of the chariot, his young eyes filled with terror and fear. Suddenly, the chariot dived sharply, nearly throwing James off of the seat. He quickly braced himself against the walls. They leveled out again, and although he could see nothing below them, he assumed they must be skimming the treetops now. Turning to look out the window again, he could no longer see the orange jets of flame, although he did see an occasional eerie glow in the sky above them, like that of flames reflecting off smoke from a distant fire. He felt himself pushed backward as the chariot increased speed. Slowly, the glowing bursts of orange above them started to move off behind them.

"The Pegasus Guards must be trying to keep the fight above and behind us," he said, turning to look back at Twilight while hoping the pegasi pulling the chariot had some type of built in terrain avoidance radar. Every once in awhile, in the shadow of one of the orange bursts, he thought he could see the top of a tree whisk past the bottom of the chariot, nearly touching it.

As the orange glows continued to disappear further behind them, he thought, perhaps, they were safe. But his concern now was for the Pegasus Guards. How long could they hold off at least three, and maybe even more, dragons? And he wasn't sure if there might be griffins as well, or possibly rogue pegasi helping the dragons.

Suddenly, the chariot banked sharply. G-forces threw him against one wall and held him there, Twilight slamming into him shortly after as they made a knife edge turn. His ribs jolted painfully as the wind was forced from him with a gasp. He heard a thud next to him, turning his head to see Spike slam into the wall beside him. Outside the window, a ball of orange flame trailing a tail like a comet whipped past the chariot, barely missing it. Vaguely, he could see another wing of Pegasus Guards break off from the escort formation and turn sharply, rising rapidly into the night sky to engage whatever threat had appeared above them, or broken through the defense line of the pegasi behind them. The chariot came out of the turn as suddenly as it had entered, the three of them falling to the floor in a heap.

James sat up quickly, and helped Twilight back to her hooves as well. He reached out to check on Spike, who was also scrambling back to his feet. Suddenly, he felt invisible restraints form around him, as if unseen ethereal ropes had bound him. For a moment, he panicked and struggled against them, but then he noticed Twilight's horn glowing with a lavender aura.

"I magically anchored all of us to the floor," she said in an anxious tone of voice. "So we don't get tossed around if there's another sudden turn like that."

He said nothing in response, instead, simply wrapping his arms around her protectively as the battle continued to wage on in the sky outside. As well, he hoped that his arms around her might help calm and reassure her. But he wondered if perhaps he needed reassuring more than she did. After all, she was one of the Elements of Harmony. No doubt, she had seen far more danger in her life than he had in his, having faced Nightmare Moon and Discord.

Suddenly, the air in chariot lit up as bright as noon, accompanied by an ear splitting roar. A blast of flame surrounded them as if the chariot had been tossed into the middle of a burning forest. He wrapped his arms tighter around Twilight as the chariot shook and shuttered around them. The smell of burning paint filled the air as the outside walls blistered and boiled. They pitched and rolled violently, erratically. Loud scraping sounds assaulted his ears as tree branches whipped at the bottom of the chariot.

The inside of the chariot lit up again, but this time with a lavender aura. Twilight's horn glowed brightly, almost blindingly so. A sphere of light quickly expanded outward from it until it contacted the walls, then seemed to flow right through them rippling slightly like water in a pond. He felt the chariot slowing rapidly, felt the pitching and rolling come to a stop. They hovered now, the trees motionless below them in the glow of Twilight's powerful spell. Slowly, the chariot started to descend towards the ground. Tree branches brushed against its side, cracking and scraping. Finally, a small thump and jolt as it touched down on the forest floor.

James sat in silence for a moment, breathing heavily. The glow from Twilight's horn winked out and he felt the magic restraints anchoring him to the floor release suddenly. Twilight breathed heavily and stumbled before collapsing onto the floor of the chariot.

"Twilight!" he and Spike both called out out, his heart racing as he instinctively held her tighter.

"It's alright … I'm alright," she said between gasps of breath. "Controlling two spells at once and stopping the chariot from crashing just really drained me. I'll be fine."

He breathed a sigh of relief. Although the flames surrounding the chariot had gone out, they had heated the metal sides like an oven. The temperature inside was rising quickly as the heat transferred through the outside walls into the inside. He leaned back and kicked at the door latch with his foot, unlocking it, then kicking the door outward. Scrambling outside, he turned back towards the chariot and wrapped his arms around Twilight, cradling her like he had the night he carried her up to her bedroom. She started to protest that she was capable of walking, but he ignored her and quickly darted away from the chariot, the young dragon running close by them. He set her down a safe distance away, where she almost collapsed again, but then recovered on shaky legs.

"Are you sure you're alright?" he asked with a frown, worry for her flooding his heart.

"I'm fine," she said, her breath starting to slow down as she seemed to start recovering her strength. "It takes a lot of energy out of a unicorn to work magic that powerful. That's all. I'll be fine in a few minutes." She paused, and a moment later, her muzzle took on a surprised look. "Come to think of it … That's the first time I have ever controlled two spells at the same time … I'm not even sure how I did it and I don't know if I could do it again …"

He nodded, breathing heavily himself from his sudden dash away from the chariot while carrying a full grown pony in his arms. "Well, I'm just glad you were able to do it," he responded. Then he turned and looked back, frowning deeply and lowering his head sadly. Like the last chariot that had been hit with a blast of dragon fire, the outsides were completely black and charred, the paint having boiled off. But far worse than that, there was no sign at all of the pegasi that had been pulling it. He winced and tried not to think about what he knew had happened to them.

He turned back towards Twilight to find her looking at the chariot as well, a deep frown etched on her muzzle, her ears flattened against her head. For several long moments, neither of them said anything, mourning the loss of their Pegasus Guard compatriots in silence. The air around them was eerily quiet and still, but in the distance, occasional blasts of orange, followed by deep rumbles like distant fireworks told of the battle for the skies that still raged on somewhere above them..

He looked down at Spike now. The young dragon stared at the chariot. His eyes wide with fear. "Are they … Are they …" he stammered. James frowned and nodded his head solemnly, reaching down and placing a hand on the young dragon's scaled shoulder to try to comfort him, all the while still trying to keep the thoughts of what had happened from invading his head. Twilight still looked distraught as well. But Spike … No one so young should have to be exposed to that. But dwelling on it would do no good.

He turned his attention back to Twilight now. "They'll come looking for us … once the battle is finished. It wouldn't be safe for them to attempt to rescue us while the dragons are still around. All they'd do is draw attention to us and pinpoint our location on the ground for the dragons to blast away at. But they must know we went down," he said, sadness still in his voice as unwanted thoughts about what had happened to the Pegasus Guards pulling the chariot tried to force their way into his mind again. Twilight only nodded her head slightly and remained silent, looking towards the burned chariot as if still in shock over what had happened.

James took a deep breath and let it out slowly. He could only hope none of the other Elements of Harmony had been shot down. In an odd sort of way, it was fortunate that if one of them were going to be shot down, at least it was he and Twilight. The only reason they had likely survived the crash of the chariot was because Twilight had been able to control the impact with magic. The other Elements would not be able to do that.

Despair started to flood through him as the world unraveled around him. For perhaps the first time since arriving in Equestria, it really started to hit him: Up until now, he had largely taken this whole experience as some kind of epic fantasy fairy tale. A tale with beautiful princesses, magical unicorns, and wondrous castles. It had almost been like he was living out some type of dream fantasy. He had become the knight in shining armor: Serving the princesses, protecting the kingdom, living the good life, dancing with royalty. Upholding the values of the knight's code: Chivalry towards mares and the elderly. Towards others who could not defend themselves. But now, what had seemed like some grand fantasy with an assured happy ending had become cold, hard reality, as if it had suddenly dropped on him from above and knocked the wind out of him. There was no longer any assurance of a happy ending. Indeed, it was starting to look like there would be no happy ending. Are you sure you really wanted to play the role of the knight in shining armor, James? He thought to himself. Well, whether it's the role you truly wanted or not, it's the role you have now. He gathered his resolve and turned to look at Twilight again, sitting down on the ground and leaning his back against a tree. Another distant rumble, and he looked to the sky to see another brilliant flash of orange in the distance before looking back at Twilight again.

"Alright … I have a lot I must tell you. We may as well get started."

He proceeded to tell Twilight everything, starting all the way back to the trip he and Theory Point had made up to Whitepony. She listened intently, her ears flicking every once in awhile. Occasionally, she stopped him for clarification or further explanation. But mostly, she simply sat wide eyed, in seeming amazement. Eventually, he finished. The only thing he had not told her about yet was Luna's cryptic prophecies regarding their intertwined fates. There were several moments of awkward silence before she spoke.

"… James, you were involved in all of this? And I never knew? You never told me?" Again, she had a hurt expression on her muzzle.

"I wanted to, Twilight. I really did. But I couldn't. Again, we had to protect you. No one except Their Majesties, me and Theory Point, the Royal Council, and certain key members of the Royal Guard knew any of this. Even my superior officer when I was still at the Academy didn't know what it was Theory Point and I were working on in the basement of that physics lab … I'm sorry, Twilight. I really am. For not telling you … And for sometimes flat out lying to you," he finished, looking at the ground now.

After a few moments, he felt her forehoof on his shoulder. "It's okay, James. I understand. And there are things I didn't tell you either that I should have. Like … the portal … trying to send you home. I—" She stopped in mid sentence to sniffle.

He shook his head and pulled her into a hug. "Don't start on that again, Twilight. Not now. We've been over it. It wasn't your fault. I don't want you blaming yourself for it … And besides, there is more."

She wiped her eyes once with a forehoof and the tears seemed to stop as she looked back up at him, her ears perking curiously.

"I don't understand this whole Beyond thing very well … I'm not even sure either of Their Majesties fully understand it … But Princess Luna told me that my fate is intertwined with yours … That together, we must be the ones to stop it."

The unicorn's eyes went wide now, and he could see her visibly shutter. "What … how … what did she mean?" she finally stammered out.

"He shook his head. "I don't know, Twilight. Her prophecies were vague and cryptic. And neither Princess knows how we are supposed to stop the Beyond. We must be the ones to find a way."

Twilight appeared to be lost in thought for a moment, then she visibly shuttered and he could see fear in her eyes. "James … Does that mean that if I had sent you home … I could have destroyed Equestria?" she said in a nervous voice.

"We don't know that, Twilight. So you can't dwell on that. But we may have dodged an arrow, yes." He could see her start shaking slightly about what she may have almost caused and he put a hand on her withers again. "It's not your fault, Twilight. You didn't know. And Their Majesties couldn't tell you … I couldn't tell you. There is no blame to be assigned here for anything that happened."

Twilight didn't seem convinced. Her legs started to shake slightly and she quickly sat down to prevent herself from collapsing again. "James, I … I … I can't handle all this!" she suddenly shouted out, causing him to wince.

She's gonna snap under the pressure of everything that has just been dumped on her, he thought to himself. Not that I'd blame her for doing so. For a moment, he thought he would snap as well. That he would follow her down like a domino. But then he quickly gathered his resolve and grabbed both her withers with his hands gently. "Twilight, you have to get a hold of yourself," he said in gentle, yet firm tone. "You are the ruler of all of Equestria now. You have to find the strength to lead us through this."

"I just … I feel so alone all of the sudden. Without either princess to advise me on what to do. I don't know what to do, James! I don't know how to rule a kingdom!" she shouted again. He could feel her tensing up and see tears of frustration beginning to fill her eyes.

"But you aren't alone, Twilight. You have the full backing of the entire Royal Council to advise you. You are the one Her Majesty chose, and all of us on the Council will be as loyal to you as if you were one of the princesses themselves. The entire Royal Guard is also at your service."

She took a deep breath and seemed to loosen up a bit, but still looked and sounded nervous when she spoke again. "James … I don't know that much about the Royal Council … And having the entire army of Equestria at my command is not exactly a responsibility I think I am ready for. That's part of what makes me nervous."

"Well, you will have Captain Swordstorm, Captain Stardust, and the Council to advise you on any military actions that need to be taken. And as far as the Royal Council. Trust me, most of the rumors you have heard are not true."

"I've only had any real interaction with one other Council member besides you, James. And it wasn't exactly a pleasant experience."

He raised an eyebrow? "Oh? When was this?"

"After I left the castle when I saw you last. She followed me to the hotel I stayed at. I never saw her until she was right at the door to my room. No pony else saw her either. She was light green and had a blue mane. Blue like the sky."

He pursed his lips, letting out a breath slowly before responding. "That would be Storm Runner … She's actually a very nice pony. One of the ones I am closest to on the Council. Once you get to know her a bit, I'm sure you will really like her."

She nodded slightly. "So you said earlier you thought both princesses are alive … How do you know?"

"Because if they weren't, the binding spell would have broken. All of the Council members would have felt it happen."

"Can you be sure of this?"

He looked at the ground for a moment before responding. "Not completely … No. But we are almost certain that Princess Luna is alive. We didn't feel any disruption in the Lunar Source … Princess Celestia … The Solar Source is there, but it's weak. We don't know what that means."

Twilight winced and he could see fear and dismay filling her eyes again. "She's alive, Twilight. We'd know if she wasn't. You have to believe that. And we can't dwell on the possibility that's she's not. We have to be strong for her and perform the tasks she has set before us."

"Alright." She nodded slightly. "Alright … So what do you think our first priorities should be?"

"Well, other than the obvious ones of finding Their Majesties, I think we have to assume the sun isn't going to rise in the morning. So our next most pressing problem is going to be harvesting all of the food we can and storing it in non-perishable form. I estimate that if we have to go more than a week without the sun, the temperature all over Equestria will drop below freezing. That will destroy all of the crops. And then we will have a famine to add to our list of problems."

"I … I can put AJ in charge of that." She nodded, seeming to gain a little bit of confidence.

"Second, I think we should have every weather pegasus we can find start working on producing a dense low cloud layer over all of Equestria. The idea is to create a greenhouse like effect and trap whatever heat we already have close to the surface. That will buy us some extra time.."

She only nodded again. "So we have Rainbow Dash covered … What about the public? What do we do about them?"

He sighed a bit in frustration. "I haven't had much time to think about that. But obviously, we can't keep this a secret from them. The sun is scheduled to rise in about three hours. If it doesn't, they are going to know something is wrong. Also, unless every pony in Canterlot is deaf and blind, there's no way they missed more than a hundred Pegasus Guards and six armored chariots leaving the castle. Even in the dark, they would have seen them. Trying to keep panic to a minimum is going to be important."

"Fluttershy might be able to help with that. She's fairly good at calming down tense situations … at least once she gets passed her own fear."

He nodded slightly. "And then … we have to find Firewing."

She raised an eyebrow. "Firewing? The Elder Dragon Ambassador?"

"Yes. Her Majesty told me he can see the pattern. We need to find out what he knows."

"Do you think he will come to Canterlot looking for us?'

"I fear he might do just that, Twilight … Given there were multiple dragons involved in the attack on Princess Luna's convoy, and they killed twenty Lunar Guards, I fear that the rest of the Lunar Guard will be in shoot-to-kill mode if any dragon gets near Canterlot … If he tries to come to Canterlot, I don't think he will get away alive."

Twilight was about to respond, then closed her mouth and her ears swiveled upwards. Overhead, the distant sound of approaching Pegasus Guards drew nearer, like an approaching wind. The sounds of battle seemed to have stopped and there were no more orange flashes visible.

"Twilight, Spike, close your eyes," James said looking back to them as he reached into the inside pocket of his robe, removing the magic flare that Captain Swordstorm had given him earlier. He made sure both of them had done so, then removed the cap from the flare and closed his own eyes. He pulled down with both hands, breaking it in half. Unlike a traditional pyrotechnic flare, this one seemed silent, but even through his closed eyelids, he could see a brilliant red light form near his hands. Instinctively, he almost dropped the flare fearing it would burn him. But the flare generated no heat at all. Only light. The brightly glowing orb rose past his eyes rapidly and into the sky. He opened his eyes to see it hovering over the treetops above them. Shortly, the glowing red light reflected off of golden pegasus armor, giving the golden armor a macabre crimson tint like that of blood. It was not an image he wanted, given the circumstances. Six Pegasus Guards circled over the area once, then landed roughly.

"Are the other Elements—" James began.

"All of the other Elements of Harmony are safe," Captain Swordstorm responded. "I suppose we should thank Celestia it was you and Twilight that went down, since I don't think any of the other Elements could have controlled the crash like Twilight did."

"What about casualties, Captain?" James asked.

"I lost five of my ponies, including the two pulling your chariot. We killed one dragon and four griffins. The remaining griffins and the other two dragons fled once they had lost one of their main sources of firepower."

Spike suddenly had a pale look on his face. "You … You killed them?"

The Captain looked down at the young dragon for a moment, then responded harshly. "Would you have rather we let them kill you?" Spike said nothing in response and just looked at the ground.

James winced slightly at Captain Swordstorm's response to the young dragon, but said nothing for the time being. The wind noise from above started to increase and he looked up to see one of the armored chariots landing. He blinked as one of the guards opened the door: It was empty.

"Rainbow Dash has agreed to fly the rest of the way to Canterlot herself. In truth, they practically had to drag her into the chariot in the first place at Ponyville. 'Why should she ride in a chariot when she had two perfectly good wings of her own,' she insisted, according to Counselor Storm Runner.

"That sounds like the Rainbow Dash I know," James said before turning to look at Twilight. "Take Spike and board the chariot. I'll be with you both in a moment."

Twilight gave him a curious glance, but then simply turned. "Come on, Spike," she said, putting a forehoof around the young dragon momentarily before the two of them walked away, climbing into the chariot.

James turned back to Captain Swordstorm and spoke quietly. "Captain, you know I'd never question you in front of others. I respect you too much … But don't you think you were a little hard on Spike? He's just a kid. And it's gotta be hard on him, ya know? I mean yes, the dragons were attacking us … But they are still dragons .. his own kind. The fact that you killed one has to be hard on someone so young."

The pegasus captain let out a sigh. "You're right, Counselor. I'm sorry. I was frustrated about the loss of my guards and a bit annoyed that he seemed to have more concern for the dead dragon than he did for the guards that died protecting him from it."

James nodded. "I understand, Captain. But he is concerned for your guards. Before you got here, he was very shaken up about what happened to the guards pulling the chariot."

"I'll talk to him about it when we get back to Canterlot," the Captain responded.

"Thank you, Captain." James nodded respectfully before turning and walking towards the chariot, climbing on board and closing the door behind him. Then the chariot pitched up into the night sky, and resumed the long journey back to Canterlot …

51 - Betrayal

Chapter 51: Betrayal

James awoke early the next morning. At least, he thought it was morning. It was impossible for him to keep track of time anymore. What little sleep he had managed to get had been tortured by nightmares of battle and death; nightmares he was certain he couldn't blame on Luna this time, or even on an aisling.

A chill hit him as he pulled the blankets off of himself, a dull glow through the grating of the stove telling him that the fire had burned down to smoldering embers sometime in the night. There was no reason to stoke it. He wouldn't be around to enjoy it as they would be on their way to war within an hour or two. War. The thought made him shiver again, as if an icy blast of arctic air had suddenly rushed down a mountain slope and slammed into him. He was no longer sure it was the cold in the room that was chilling him to the bone. He stood up, glancing at the only other bed in the room. It was empty, Lieutenant Swift Wing up already, no doubt making plans for how they would enter the battle.

He stepped out into the common room, finding it empty. Most of the changeling soldiers and royal guards were likely still asleep. Battle, even if not routine for them, was something they had known was a possibility ever since the day they had become soldiers. Some of them had almost certainly seen battle before. Some of them had probably even faced off against each other in the Battle of Canterlot several years ago when the changelings had launched their surprise attack on the capital city of Equestria. He, on the other hand, would have thought anypony crazy only six months ago if they had told him he would be leading an army into war. What am I doing here? he thought to himself for what must have been the hundredth time.

A fire blazed in the large stone hearth, providing some flickering light for the common room, but it was of little comfort. The unsteady light caused shadows to dance and writhe on the wall. He tried to keep his imagination from running wild as it changed the dark shadows into attacking griffins, writhing ponies, and terrifying entities from The Beyond; a macabre dance of death and suffering. The fire provided little warmth in contrast to the chill of anxiety that had an icy grip on his core. A large kettle of water hung over the flames, steaming and boiling.

He stepped into the kitchen, looking around and eventually finding a mug, tea ball, and some tea. then, he went back to the common room and ladled himself a mug of hot water from the kettle hanging over the fireplace. He began to walk toward a table in an isolated corner of the room. He changed his mind, walking toward one in the center of the room. Better to let any soldiers, changeling or pony, see him as soon as they entered the room. After all, he was their leader, and they needed to see his presence. It would not do for him to hide in a corner.

A million thoughts swam through his head like schools of fish in an ocean as he idly bobbed the tea ball up and down in the steaming cup of hot water. He was their leader. He was supposed to give them some kind of pep talk before they went into battle, wasn't he? But what should he say to them? Talking about oaths and duty to their Princesses and to Equestria was obviously unlikely to have a motivating effect on the changelings. If anything, it might have the opposite effect. He wished he knew more about changeling culture now. About their ideas of honor among soldiers, and so on. Did changelings believe in an afterlife? Would it do any good to talk to them about honor that would await those who fell in battle? Or would they simply look at him as if he had lost his mind?

"A bit for your thoughts?"

The voice made him jump, splattering hot water onto the table as he almost overturned the mug. A second mug of hot water set on the table now, and Lieutenant Swift Wing stood next to him. The pegasus wasn't wearing his plate mail yet. Only the heavy cloth undergarments. The cloth was thick enough, and of a heavy enough stitch, to hold off griffin talons and sharp beaks for quite some time.

"I really don't have any business being here," he confided to Swift Wing with a frown. "I know little of military tactics or strategy. I don't know why -" He had been going to say he didn't know why Celestia had asked him to join the Council, but he bit his tongue. It wouldn't be good for morale if the guards were to see that the Council member with them was questioning Princess Celestia's judgement.

"You were a scientist before you joined the Council, weren't you?"

"I still am a scientist," he responded in a more defensive tone than he had intended. He didn't know if that were actually true or not. He knew he could never be just a scientist again. But he didn't want to admit to himself that he had changed that much, and that going back to a life of cozy labs and sheltered academic life was no longer in the cards. Deep down, he knew that life was gone. And he could never get it back. If Swift Wing had been offended by the tone of his response, he didn't show any sign of it.

"Then you have a very deep understanding of logic. You've played Chess, haven't you?"

"Of course," James responded.

"And you've played the various other strategy games that the councilors play?"

"Yes." Chess was the only game the Royal Council played that he had already been familiar with. All of the other ones, they had had to teach him. All of them were strategy games, but most of them were much more complicated than Chess.

"They aren't just games, Councilor. They are exercises designed to teach strategy and logic. They're the same games that students in the Royal Officer Training School at the Academy play."

He nodded once. It made sense. But still, playing strategy games was a lot different than actual warfare.

"Besides, the other officers and I will be there to advise you. Don't worry. We'll let you know if you suggest anything stupid." Swift Wing had said the last part of it with a slight chuckle, as if trying to break the icy mood and put James' mind a little more at ease. But he doubted that even Twilight Sparkle could put his mind at ease right now. Not even if she were to cast a sleeping spell on him. He hesitated for several moments before nodding once.

"So what can you tell me right now, Lieutenant?" he asked, trying to get himself into the right mindset for war planning. Not that he had any idea what kind of mindset he was even supposed to be in for such things.

"It's stopped snowing, and the wind has let up some. That means we'll be able to fly there."

"That's good news."

"Also, I sent scouts out a couple of hours ago to look for the flank attack forces."

"Flank attack forces?"

Swift Wing nodded. "A favorite tactic of griffin military forces is to use a frontal attack force as a decoy, and then launch a surprise flanking attack from one side or the other. The problem is, unless we can find their flank attack forces in advance, we don't know which side it's going to come from. That means we are forced to split our own forces to guard both sides. But the ones we send to the wrong side will likely see no action at all. So having to deal with the surprise flank attack greatly weakens our own capabilities."

James listened intently, putting the mug to his lips and sipping the tea. It was still too hot, but it felt good going down his throat and into his stomach, helping to take the internal chill off, even if only slightly.

"The scouts should be back before we leave. If not, they know where to find us en route. Of course, if they are spotted by the griffins, then anything they learn is useless to us because the griffins will change their attack plans if they know we found their flank forces."

James held the mug to his lips a moment longer, taking in the warm steam before lowering it and setting it on the table. "Lieutenant ... What should I tell the changelings? I mean I'm supposed to give some kind of motivating talk before we go into battle, right?"

"Tell them the truth, Councilor. This battle isn't a battle for Equestria. It's a battle for survival of every living thing. The changelings have just as much vested in it as we do. Their hives, their families. I suspect even the griffins will see it sooner or later, and abandon King Aetos for the fool that he is. I just hope they see it before it's too late."

"I didn't think changelings formed families," James said.

"Not in the sense that we do. But they consider the entire hive their family. And they have a very strong sense of loyalty and duty to protect their hives."

James nodded slightly, sipping his tea again and turning his attention to the rest of the room. In the time the two of them had been talking, a few other royal guards had shown up and were occupying some of the tables. At other tables, changelings had gathered. The room had naturally divided itself in half, the royal guards sticking to one side, and the changelings to the other. Tension hung in the air like a thick fog, and every once in awhile, a changeling or pony would cast a glance towards the other side of the room; glances filled with a kaleidoscope of emotions including fear, anger, and contempt. He winced slightly, half expecting a battle to break out right in the inn's common room. The faster he could get them into battle with the griffins, the better, he thought. He hoped giving them a common enemy to fight would allow them to take out their aggression and anger on something besides each other. At the same time, maybe it would unite them and lessen the contempt they felt for one another.

Lieutenant Swift Wing finished his mug of tea, setting it down on the table and drawing James' attention back to him as he stood up. James quickly downed the rest of his own tea and stood up as well, speaking with as much confidence as he could muster.

"Rouse the rest of your guards, Lieutenant. We'll leave here in twenty minutes and meet the rest of the changelings and guards at the armory."

Twilight Sparkle walked down the spiral staircase leading to the Canterlot Castle dungeons for the second time in the last week; the third time she had ever been in the dungeons. The first time was when James had first arrived and she had met and interrogated him. The reminder caused her thoughts to drift toward him again and worry poked at her heart.

He should have been back by now if his diplomatic mission to the Changeling Empire had succeeded. What if Chrysalis had taken him prisoner and locked him in her dungeons? The thought caused her stomach to turn queasy. Chrysalis's dungeons weren't exactly known for their hospitality. In fact, they were known for being intensively uncomfortable, designed to break the will of prisoners until they would agree to virtually anything the Changeling Queen demanded if it would get them out of the dungeon. The Royal Guards sometimes quipped that it wouldn't take more than a few weeks in Chrysalis's dungeon before a changeling or unicorn would cut off their own horn, or a pegasus cut off their own wings if it meant being released. The guards would always laugh slightly afterwards, but she wasn't certain whether it was because they intended it as a joke, or because there was a little too much truth to it.

Or even worse, what if Chrysalis had locked him inside a feeder cocoon? Then again, given the reputation of the Changeling dungeons, maybe a feeder cocoon would be a mercy compared to them. Guilt at having sent him on the mission competed with fear and unease now. Had she sent him on a suicide quest?

She shook her head slightly, forcing her mind back to the task at hoof. There was nothing she could do to help James right now, and it had been a necessary risk to send him. He understood that as well as anypony. And besides, she had more than her share of problems to worry about right now. Problems she actually could do something about. Like the Elder Dragon Ambassador that was currently confined in one of the special dragon holding cells in a rarely used part of the dungeons. In fact, it had been so long since Equestria had had trouble with dragons, that nopony could remember the last time there had been a dragon in the dungeon. Captain Swordstorm had said there had never been a dragon in the dungeon during his entire watch as Supreme Commander of the Royal Guard.

She reached the heavy, reinforced door at the bottom of the staircase, which two spear-armed guards opened for her. She nodded her thanks, walking into the main corridor and taking several turns down different paths along the way. It was easy to get lost in the Canterlot Castle dungeons. They had been intentionally designed that way in order to confuse prisoners and help thwart escape attempts. Most of the cells she passed were empty, although occasionally a pony would glare at her from behind the bars, sometimes demanding her, sometimes pleading with her, to let them go. Mostly, the ponies down here right now were the few looters and rioters who the Royal Guard had picked up. They were the exception, though. Most of the ponies had remained calm and shown the best side of Equestria as they helped each other through the crisis they were now facing.

Finally, she came to another door, the guards posted there once again opening it for her. As she began to descend another set of stairs, a musty smell assaulted her nostrils and a thin haze of dust formed ghostly halos around the magical glowing orbs that lit the walls, the smell and dust both reinforcing how long it had been since this part of the dungeon had been used.

She passed through one more guarded door, this one much bigger than the others, as well as made from solid, reinforced iron. Then, she started down an enormous corridor. Looking up, she couldn't see the ceiling, the walls seeming to disappear into darkness, as if the height of the hall went on forever. Looking to her sides, she marveled at the width of the hall, easily able to accommodate twenty ponies walking abreast. Enormous doors, the tops disappearing into the darkness, were spaced far apart on each wall, again, made of solid iron; the size of both the hall and the doors a testament to the size and power of the creatures they were designed to hold.

For awhile, she thought the hall would never end, stretching on until it became nothing but darkness, as if it were tunnel leading to nowhere. Eventually, though, two magical, glowing orbs, like giant eyes, faded into view from the darkness, followed by an enormous cell door. No fewer than ten unicorns guards waited for her outside the door.

"My Lady," the commander in charge of the guards acknowledged, all of them saluting as she approached. She still hadn't gotten used to being saluted.

"As you were," she responded, politely saluting the guards in response. "Has he said anything?"

The captain in charge seemed to hesitate, then responded with a hint of nervousness in his voice. "That ... would be a little difficult in his present condition, My Lady."

She raised a questioning eyebrow. What was that supposed to mean? Had the guards done something to him? Abused him? She opened her mouth to ask, but then changed her mind.

"Unlock the door," she commanded, in a slightly stern voice.

"Yes, My Lady," the captain responded before turning, towards the door, all nine other guards turning in unison with him. He inserted his horn into the lock on the massive door. It glowed briefly, the huge lock disengaging and echoing off the hall like the sound of a cannon shot. Slowly, the massive door crept open, the guards stepping backwards and out of the way, a sliver of light spilling from the widening crack between the door and the wall.

When the door had finished opening, the guards entered first, spreading out to surround the dragon. She followed them in. As the guards continued to spread out, allowing her to see passed them, she got her first glimpse of the massive dragon, stopping in her tracks.

No, the guards hadn't roughed him up. But what they had done, is bind him so tightly that he couldn't even move. All of his limbs were bound tightly to the floor, as were his enormous wings. Four enormous chains looped over his back, holding him tightly to the floor. Two more chains over his head and muzzle held his head to the ground. Yet another chain bound his muzzle shut tightly. So that's what the captain meant when he said it would be difficult for him to speak in his present condition, she thought to herself angrily, rounding on the captain with her eyes narrowed.

"This is how you treat the Elder Dragon Ambassador? Her Majesty's friend and trusted confidant of more than four thousand years?" she said in a raised voice, causing the captain to flinch and take a step backwards.

"My Lady ... We thought ... I mean we didn't know ... What if he tried to breath fire?" the captain stammered.

"Reasonable precautions are one thing, captain," she responded, her voice still angry. "But binding him to the floor so tightly he can't even move his limbs at all? Surely you are aware that excessive restraints are normally considered cruel and unusual punishment under Equestrian law? And that the use of excessive restraints can only be authorized by one of the Princesses, or the Regent? And only with very good reason?"

"My Lady, I -"

"We'll speak of this more later captain ... at your disciplinary action hearing. Now, unbind his muzzle so he can speak! And remove all of the restraints except the ones holding his limbs so he can't lash out at anyone!" she ordered angrily.

"Y ... yes, My Lady," The captain stammered before motioning three of the other guards to him, the four of them working diligently to fulfill her order.

"Leave us," Twilight said sternly, once the guards had finished unbinding Firewing and loosening some of his restraints.

"My Lady, I'm not sure -"

"I said leave us. And close the door behind you." she responded in a caustic tone, narrowing her eyes again.

"Y ... Yes, My Lady," the captain responded nervously, taking a step backwards before turning and stepping out of the huge cell, the rest of his guards falling in behind him and marching out as well, before closing the door with a heavy bang that echoed off the huge walls and high ceiling of the cell. When the door had closed, Twilight turned back to Firewing with a frown.

"I'm ... deeply sorry for how the guards treated you. Are you hurt from the prolonged restraining? Do you need any medical care?" she asked, trying to sound calm and collected, although her heart beat rapidly as she tried to keep fear at bay. But deep down inside herself, she was confident that Firewing had not betrayed Celestia.

"I'm fine. I've been through worse, recently," Firewing responded in a deep voice that had a distinct note of sadness in it. "Don't punish the guards too harshly, My Lady. I suspect they've never seen a fully grown dragon up close and were terrified." He sighed -which coming from a dragon and echoing off the walls of the enormous cell, sounded more like a strong gust of wind than a sigh- and looked at the floor. "And given recent events ... I can't say I blame them. He raised his huge head to look at her again. "And tell me, My Lady, why do you trust me any more than they?"

She looked back at him, his gaze catching hers, trying not to shudder slightly. Just one of his eyes was larger than her entire head. She hesitated a moment before answering slowly.

"Please ... Just call me Twilight ... I ... I couldn't believe that you'd betray Princess Celestia. Not after more than four thousand years of loyalty to her. Not after all you have been through with her. I knew something else must have happened. Something that kept you from coming here sooner."

His eyelids drooped heavily and he averted his eyes to the floor at her statement. Were those tears she saw him trying to hold back? He appeared to be searching, as if looking for the right words, or as if he had the words, but trying to say them was extremely painful. After several moments, he responded, without returning his eyes to her.

"Five of my Council members betrayed me and joined with Cinderfang. The other three are dead. I'm the only one who is still alive. I tried to come sooner but they were constantly looking for me so I had to remain hidden. They wanted to kill me too." A single tear slid from his eyelid now and rolled down his large muzzle.

A wave of emotions flooded Twilight, like a tsunami washing up over a beach. Fear, knowing that some, if not all of the dragons were now at war with Equestria, and sorrow for Firewing and his loss. It was several seconds before she found the strength to respond.

"Then Cinderfang is the new ambassador?"

Firewing shook his great head slowly once. "There is no ambassador anymore. Cinderfang proclaimed himself King of the Dragons, dissolved the Council of Nine, and broke off all diplomatic relations with Equestria ... It pains me greatly to say it, Twilight, but Equestria and the dragon clans are officially at war."

Twilight looked at the floor, her worst fears confirmed. A feeling of hopelessness flooded through her. The dragon clans, the Griffin Empire, both at war with Equestria. The barrier weakening and forces from the Beyond threatening to enter Equestria any day now, both Princesses missing, James missing, which could indicate the Changelings were also at war with Equestria, or at least, not willing to help them. Fear, and despair wrestled with anger for control of her emotions. What she said next, was a mixture of both.

"The fool! Doesn't he realize that if we don't get the sun back soon, the dragons will likely be the first race to go extinct? Their cold-blooded systems won't be able to tolerate the chill nearly as well as mammals, or changelings who can hibernate through it!"

"I tried to tell him, Twilight. I did," Firewing responded desperately. "But he wouldn't listen. He's convinced the artificial sun project the rogue ponies are trying to create will work."

"But it won't!" she responded in frustration. "I discussed it with James at length. We even considered using it as a backup plan in case we can't figure out how to get Princess Celestia back or free Princess Luna in time. And we came to the very confident conclusion that it won't work. No combination of science and magic can make it work!"

She stomped her hoof once in frustration. Ironically, the thought crossed her mind that perhaps the dragons wouldn't be a problem for Equestria after all, even if they were at war with them. It wouldn't be much longer before the increasing cold put the dragons completely out of commission, and then started killing them fairly rapidly.

"I tried telling him that too, Twilight," Firewing responded in a pained tone of voice, causing Twilight to flinch, only now realizing she had been taking out her frustration by raising her voice with him. That wasn't fair. He hadn't done anything wrong. In fact, he had done everything he could to try to stop this ... Hadn't he?

Her stern look softened and she responded in a calmer tone of voice. "I'm sorry I yelled at you. It's not your fault."

Firewing looked away from her again. "There is one thing I could have done differently that might have averted this ... I could have turned Cinderfang over to Equestria when I had the chance ... Although I would have had to go against the rest of the Council of Nine to do so ... Celestia knows I had the opportunity and let him go. I told her when I contacted her."

For a moment, Twilight felt anger rise in her. He had had a chance to turn Cinderfang over to Equestria, and had let him go instead? But the more she thought about it, the more she realized it probably wouldn't have helped. In fact, it might have made things worse. If Firewing had gone against the will of the rest of the Dragon Council, it probably would have only made them resentful and caused them to declare war on Equestria sooner. Obviously, war with the dragon clans was not a situation she wanted under any circumstances. But if it had to happen, it was better that it happened now when the lack of a sun and the increasing cold would put the dragons at an increasingly serious disadvantage. Her anger had dissipated before she responded.

"I suppose it wouldn't have made a difference in the long run if you had turned him over. It might have only made things worse."

"You may be right," Firewing agreed with sadness in his voice.

"Is there anything else you can tell me?"

He shook his head once. "I don't know anything about what their plans might be. But as you said, we dragons will be some of the first to suffer the most serious effects of the cold. If Cinderfang is going to lead an attack against Equestria, he's going to have to do it very soon, or the dragons will be in no condition to do so."

She nodded once, her tail drooping slightly as she looked away from him in thought. So that was it, then. The dragons had betrayed Equestria, and there was nothing else Firewing could tell her. She returned her attention to him.

"I'm sorry for the way the guards treated you. You should stay here, in the castle. You'll be safe here."

He shook his head slowly. "I thank you for the offer. But I must return to the dragon groves. I must try to rally whatever dragons are left that still remain loyal to the Princesses."

"But Cinderfang and his followers will kill you if they find you!" she protested. "And if they don't, the cold eventually will."

"All mortal beings die eventually, Twilight. Even we dragons don't live forever. And I can't let fear of that stop me from doing the sacred duty that Her Majesty has entrusted me with."

She frowned and looked at the floor. For a moment, she pondered ordering that he remain held in the dungeon for his own safety. But only for a moment. It was his decision to make. Not hers.

Reluctantly, she nodded her head, walking towards him before lowering her horn to the shackles binding one of his limbs. She touched the locking mechanism, her horn glowing briefly as the shackle opened and fell to the floor with a clang. After repeating the process with his other limbs, she looked over her shoulder and called loudly to the guards on the other side of the heavy door.

"Open the door!"

The huge dragon stood up, completely dwarfing Twilight as the door began to open. Then, the two of them left the cell, walking down the corridor abreast of each other. They took a different way path than she had taken to get down here; one that lead directly outside from this part of the dungeon. Firewing would not have been able to fit through the main dungeon corridors that she had taken to get down here.

After passing through several guarded doors, they climbed a massive set of stairs. The guards at the top opened the door, and a blast of snow hit them along with the biting cold wind. Twilight shivered slightly at the sudden icy assault, but she knew it must be even worse for Firewing. As the two of them stepped outside into the cold darkness she turned to him.

"Be careful, Firewing ..." was all she said.

"I will be as careful as I can," he responded. Then, he spread his massive wings, and took to the sky, a gust of wind pressing down on Twilight and raising a miniature blizzard from the snow on the ground as he flapped his wings and gained altitude. He banked to the north, and within seconds, was lost from her sight, consumed by the driving snow and inky dark sky.

Chrysalis found herself standing in front of the Shrine of Queen Dorylini the Great, although she didn't remember how she'd gotten there. She definitely hadn't walked into the room. Furthermore, a strange fog seemed to fill the room, obscuring her vision so that all she could see was the shrine of the great Changeling Queen, founder of the Changeling Empire.

She blinked as the shrine seemed to change before her eyes. Gray stone gave way to shiny, black carapace, stone eyes giving way to reflective green. One hoof moved forward, then the other, as the shrine, seemingly come to life, looked down on her. She quickly lowered herself to the ground, prostrating herself before the Great Queen of the Changelings.

"Great one," she said, trying to hide her surprise and shock. Although the changelings believed the shrine of Dorylini the Great contained the immortal spirit of the Great Queen, never before had the shrine actually come to life for her. In fact, she had never heard tales or read of any previous changeling queens having similar experiences with the shrine.

The Great Queen stopped, placing a forehoof dangerously close to Chrysalis' lowered head. It was all Chrysalis could do not to pull backwards on reflex. Then, the Great Queen spoke to her, in a voice that seemed to come from nowhere and everywhere at once.

"I'm very disappointed in you, Chrysalis. Did my writings not teach you that the changelings have no friends? That all the world is your enemy? And you make an alliance with the ponies of all species?"

Chrysalis winced, flattening herself to the floor even further in supplication, trying to keep the tremor out of her voice as she answered.

"G ... Great One ... Their human counselor was right. We won't survive without ... Celestia's sun." Even now, it was hard for her to say the word Celestia, her bitter enemy who she had nearly defeated at the Battle of Canterlot. The name of the solar pony princess rose like bile in her throat every time she said it.

"The ponies are your enemy, Chrysalis!" The Great Queen spat. "Now is the time to strike them. When they are at their weakest!" She chuckled darkly for a moment before continuing in a calmer voice. "But perhaps you aren't such a fool after all. Didn't I teach you in my writings on war that all war is deception? And that is even more true for we changelings. What greater act of deception then to send military aid to them and let them think you have an alliance with them?"

"Great One?" Chrysalis, questioned, raising an eyebrow now and daring to lift her head from the floor slightly.

"Equestria's military is being pulled in too many directions," Dorylini continued, pacing around Chrysalis now in a circle. "A large portion of their army is headed east to fight the griffin invasion. Another part, headed north to guard the barriers against agents of the Beyond breaking through."

"But Great One ... Even if I could take Canterlot, changelings still need the sun or we will not survive," she protested.

"I can teach you to raise the sun Chrysalis, and the moon. I can make you more powerful than Celestia and Luna combined. But first, you must claim the seat of power in Equestria."

Chrysalis blinked and raised an eyebrow again. Was it true? No changeling history text she was aware of mentioned Dorylini having the power to raise the sun or the moon. But, Dorylini was a goddess, and the texts did say she had many powers and did many things that were not recorded. Still, there was another problem.

"But Great One, even with Equestria's army being pulled to the north and to the east, Canterlot still maintains a very formidable defensive force."

"The Royal Guards in Canterlot will surrender quickly enough," The Great Queen responded, stopping in front of Chrysalis again.

"The Royal Council will never surrender. Their oaths are too strong. And if the Council doesn't surrender, neither will the Royal Guards," Chrysalis objected.

Dorylini gave a slight, dark, chuckle at that, looking towards the ceiling for a moment before returning her gaze to Chrysalis.

"The Royal Council will bow to you, kiss your hooves, and swear absolute and total allegiance to you. After all ... It's what Celestia would want them to do ... if it's the only way to save her ponies." Chrysalis chanced lifting her head a little higher as the Great Queen continued. "And when the Council surrenders, so will the Royal Guard. They will swear allegiance to you just as the Council members will, and will become yours to command."

Dorylini lowered her muzzle towards Chrysalis now, her green eyes boring directly into hers. She spoke again.

"You will rule the world, my daughter. All species will become your subjects. Even your bitter enemies the griffins will bow before you. All will worship you, Chrysalis ... as the savior of the world ..."

62 - Gilda's Demands

Chapter 62: Gilda’s Demands

James sat in front the fireplace in a sparsely furnished room in the castle. It was a small meeting room with only two sitting cushions, fit for dignitaries with their royal-red plush upholstery, and a small, ornate walnut table with the images of the sun and moon carved into the top of the legs where they joined the table top. A fire crackled in the marble hearth, the light of the flames dancing with shadows and causing the finely woven tapestries covering the walls to have an almost lifelike quality to them. But the fire did little to warm him. He had a blanket wrapped around his shoulders and was sipping on a cup of hot oatstraw tea. It tasted like eating hay, but Fluttershy had told him once that oatstraw was good for calming nerves. He didn’t think it was helping very much right now, though. His hair was a disheveled mess, and a shiver went through him as he took a deep breath and let it out with a sigh. A casual observer might have thought he was sick. In a manner of speaking, he was, but not physically so. His eyes were fixed on the table, although he wasn’t really looking at it. He was just trying to avoid the gaze of the pony on the other side.

“It’s not your fault, James,” Twilight reassured him again, sitting on her haunches on the cushion across from him, having just finished listening to his report of what happened in the armory with Theory Point. “She had everyone fooled. Nopony saw what she was doing.”

“Maybe I should have,” James responded, pulling his eyes away from the table and looking at Twilight. “There were signs. Signs that should have been a warning. Her risk taking nature … Her anti-establishment attitude … Her cultural rebellion. Her resistance to authority at the Academy. Her —”

“A lot of those qualities apply to Rainbow Dash too. Do you think she’s a traitor? Should I order the Royal Guard to bring her in for questioning just based on those traits?”

“No,” he said, looking down at the table again.

“When something like this happens, it’s natural to reflect on the past. To start looking at things and interpreting them as signs or warning signals that you missed and should have acted on. But we can’t start assuming someone is planning treason just based on risk-taking, or anti-establishment traits, or counter-culture interests. There was nothing, James. There were no warning signs you could have reasonably acted upon.”

“You’re right, Twilight. And I know that. But still, I wonder if there was something I could have done to prevent all this,” he said, forcing his eyes away from the table and looking at her again.

“You could spend the rest of your life wondering and never find the answer. So you need to stop focusing on that and focus on what we can do now. Do you think we can still catch her?”

James shook his head. “That was definitely something I should have done differently. I should have come to you right away instead of stewing in my own self-pity for the next ten minutes. I’m sure she’s left the city by now.”

“Again, what’s done is done. And you need to focus on what we can do now. Do you have any idea where she might have gone?”

“No. But even if we found her, I don’t think we’d learn anything from her. I did at least have the presence of mind to ask her if she knows where Luna is. She said she doesn’t and that no one involved knows anything more than they need to know to do their job. On that, at least, I believe she’s telling the truth. So I already know everything she knows about what her role in the whole thing was.”

“Then the fact that we probably won’t be able to find her isn’t a huge setback anyway,” Twilight responded. She opened her mouth to say something more, but the sound of a hoof knocking on the door stopped her.

“Enter,” she said, standing and turning toward the door. James also did the same thing, shedding the blanket he had around his shoulders to make himself look at a least a bit more presentable. The door opened and a junior Royal Guard messenger appeared, giving a salute to Twilight.

“My Lady, Gilda has returned. She knows where Princess Luna is. She’s currently in the infirmary and has … demanded that you attend to her.”

Immediately, James forgot all about Theory Point. Relief washed over him, sweeping away the darkness and gloom as a giant ocean wave sweeps away debris from a beach shore. Warmth flowed through him, banishing the chill that had taken hold of him and he began to feel almost hot in the small room with its glowing fireplace. The logical part of his mind tried to temper his elation by interjecting various pessimistic thoughts. Knowing where Luna is wast not the same as actually having mounted a successful rescue after all. And if Gilda had been discovered, they could move her before any rescue mission ever got there. He stomped those thoughts down in his mind, though. This was the first glimmer of hope they’d had in a long time. Like the first ray of sunshine penetrating through a small hole in dark clouds after a hurricane had past. And he wasn’t about to let those negative thoughts close up that hole.

“Tell, Gilda I’ll be right there, Private,” Twilight responded, bringing James’ attention back to her. The twinkle in her eyes, the way she held her ears, and the position of her tail all told him she was as elated as he was, and having just as difficult of a time concealing it.

“Yes, My Lady,” the guard responded with a salute, before turning and leaving.

As soon as the door had closed, Twilight turned to James and lept up on her hind legs. Impulsively, the two of them embraced each other, both of them releasing their excitement now. In their joy, they kissed each other briefly, before releasing their embrace. No words were said. None needed to be. Not that they had time for words anyway. Both of them wanted to get to Gilda right away and find out what she knew. Twilight magically opened the door and trotted out, James having to jog a bit to keep up with her.

“Where are you going?” she said, slowing slightly and turning her head to look at him.

“With you?” he responded, raising an eyebrow. At least he hoped he was. He really didn’t want to have to wait for the briefing to find out what Gilda knew.

“No you aren’t,” she responded, shattering his hopes, although that disappointment was nothing compared to the elation he still felt that Luna had been found. “You have a mission to the Changeling Empire to get ready for, remember? We still need to know whether Chrysalis really has been overthrown and the changelings have betrayed us.”

“The changelings!” he exclaimed. “I completely forgot about that! What with the whole thing with Theory Point, and now the good news about Luna.”

“You’ll know everything I know soon enough,” she said, resuming her trot down the hallway. “Inform the rest of the Royal Council to be in the briefing room in one hour!” she called out as her trot became a canter and she rounded a corner, disappearing from his sight. He stood for only a moment, watching where she had gone before turning and heading for the Council living quarters. In his excitement, he started at a fast walk, but then broke into a joyous run, nearly colliding with a patrolling guard as he rounded a corner.

“Sorry!” he called out behind him in an exuberant voice at the guard, who now had a confused look on his face. But James did not slow down. The guard just shook his head and continued on his patrol …

o.O.o

“Nurse!” Gilda yelled out again, impatience building inside of her as she sat up in the infirmary bed. She heard the clip-clop sound of hooves coming down the hallway. Shortly after, a sea-green unicorn mare appeared at her door.

“What is it now?” the nurse said, her ears plastered back on her head in annoyance.

“More hot cider, since you lame ponies don’t have mulled wine,” Gilda demanded.

“You haven’t finished the mug I brought you earlier,” the nurse responded, nodding at the bed table and then looking sternly back at her.

“That mug is cold,” she responded nonchalantly, dismissively waving a talon at it.

“It’s cold because you asked for it half an hour ago, and you never took even one sip from it!” the nurse responded, narrowing her eyes and stamping a forehoof slightly.

“I want a fresh mug that’s hot!” Gilda demanded again.

“Fine,” the nurse said, rolling her eyes and sighing in exasberation before turning and starting back down the hallway, walking passed the two Royal Guards stationed outside the door to the private room Gilda was in. The doctor who was taking care of her — a brown earth pony stallion — approached from the other direction.

“Can’t we discharge her, Doctor?” the nurse said, as the two of them stopped in the hallway. “You said yourself there was no reason for her to stay in the hospital.” Gilda had no doubt the nurse had intentionally said it loud enough for her to hear.

“I wish I could,” the doctor responded, glancing towards her room and then returning his attention to the nurse. “But I have orders from the Commander of the Castle Guard that she’s not to leave this room until Lady Sparkle gives her okay. Even if I discharged her, the guards outside her door would never let her leave.”

“Can we at least sedate her, then?”

He glanced into her room again, giving her a stern look of his own before returning his attention to the mare. “Don’t tempt me,” he said before returning to his rounds, the nurse continuing on her way to hopefully get the mug of hot cider she had requested.

Gilda sighed slightly, digging her talon into and out of the sheet on the bed, hooking a thread and slowly unraveling it, gradually destroying the sheet. Her wound had not been as bad as she had initially feared it was. The doctor had used some stitches to close it, given her a saline IV to rehydrate her after her long flight, and then had wanted to discharge her. But the guards at the door had forbidden it and said the orders from their commander were that she wasn’t to leave the room. Her demand that they bring Twilight Sparkle to her instead of take her to Twilight Sparkle had backfired on her, it seemed. If she hadn’t made that little demand, she could be out of the infirmary by now and meeting with the unicorn regent in some cosy, luxury meeting room in the castle. But now, she was stuck here until they had indeed brought Twilight to her. Given they wouldn’t let her leave, she had resolved to be as annoying to the staff as possible. Asking for multiple cups of cider that she didn’t drink. Asking for food only to then declare that it wasn’t fit for a peasant's dog to eat and ordering it to be taken back to the kitchen. If she was stuck here with them, she was gonna make sure they felt stuck here with her too. It was childish, she knew. But at least it gave her some small satisfaction of knowing she wasn’t the only one who was miserable right now. With any luck, she could unravel the entire sheet before Twilight got here. Then she could demand a new sheet as well, she thought as she plucked at the thread with her talon, continuing to pull it out.

The nurse returned a few minutes later, controlling two mugs of hot cider with her magic instead of just one.

“You have a visitor. Lady Twilight is here to see you, thank the Goddesses,” she said with annoyance before setting the mugs down on the bed table and turning to leave.

The nurse rounded the corner, and then Gilda saw Twilight walking towards her room, accompanied by a bat pony officer. The rank insignia on his armor indicated he was the captain of the entire Lunar Guard. Well, isn’t that special? I can command both the Regent and the Captain of the Lunar Guard to appear before me, she thought to herself with a chuckle as she prepared to rattle off her list of demands before she would give them any information. She might not have held any cards at the last meeting with Twilight, but now she held all of them. She smiled to herself, barely able to contain her excitement and desire to completely turn the tables on the purple unicorn.

“Ah yes, Twilight Sparkle. I’ve been expecting you,” Gilda stated regally. “Do come in. I have information that may be of interest to you.”

The bat pony with Twilight gave Gilda an incredulous look that clearly demonstrated how aghast he was that she would dare address the Regent of Equestria in such a disrespectful manner. Twilight herself just rolled her eyes, and neither of them said anything as they marched into the room. Only after they had stopped, did Twilight speak.

“The doctor tells me you were injured, but that he’s treated it. How are you doing?”

Gilda raised an eyelid slightly at she looked at the unicorn. Was that concern she had had her in her voice? Perhaps even a twinge of guilt about having forced her on this mission. For a brief moment, she was caught off guard, and her plan to make her demands started to unravel as surely as the sheet she was pulling the thread out of. But she quickly caught herself. If Twilight felt guilty? All the better for her, and the easier it would be to ensure her demands were met in exchange for the information she had.

“The wound was not serious. Not by gryphon standards anyway,” she responded.

“I’m relieved to hear that, “Twilight responded. Gilda was somewhat disappointed she had ignored the insinuation.

“Did anyone see you come here?” This time it was the bat pony that had spoken. His voice was gruff. The voice of a grizzled veteran accustomed to giving commands and having them obeyed. She also presumed he was accustomed to asking questions and getting answers.

“Yes, but he won’t be telling anyone else.”

“How can you be sure?”

“Because he’s at the bottom of the Sea of Tears. Assuming he had time to sink to the bottom before the sharks got him. How you think I got injured?”

Twilight winced slightly at her response, but the bat pony only nodded, apparently satisfied with her answer. When neither the bat pony or Gilda said anything more, Twilight spoke.

“We may as well get right to the point, then. Where is Princess Luna”

Gilda smiled. It was time to play her trump card now. “We’ll get to that in a bit. Before we do, I have certain demands. You may have held all the cards when you had me in a dungeon cell, pony, but now it’s my turn. And no doubt you will agree that all the cards are in my talon now.”

The bat pony narrowed his eyes and opened his mouth, no doubt getting ready to chastise her for her disrespect to the Regent. But Twilight raised a forehoof, stopping him before responding in a calm and collected voice.

“I expected you would, Gilda. Well, what are they?”

Damn, she’s hard to fluster, Gilda thought to herself with disappointment. She had hoped to get more of a rise out of the unicorn and cause her to lose her cool. But she was proving much more patient and in control than she’d anticipated. Oh well, she might as well get on with it, she decided.

“First of all, you and I both know that thanks to all this, I’m guilty of treason as far the King is concerned, and I can never return to my homeland.” She was about to continue, but Twilight responded before she got the chance.

“You’ll be given full political asylum in Equestria, and a full housing and living allowance by the Royal Treasury. The housing and living allowance will be paid for the rest of your life, and you may live wherever you choose. Furthermore, if you wish it, you will be given full Equestrian citizenship, with all the rights and privileges of any other Equestrian citizen.

“As if I’d want to swear allegiance to your pony Princesses,” Gilda spat.

“I said if you wish it, you may become an Equestrian citizen. You will have political asylum in Equestria for the rest of your life, whether or not you choose to become a citizen,” Twilight responded calmly.

Gilda blinked, again caught off her guard not only by how easy this was turning out to be, but also how hard it was to rattle Twilight. But she still had one more demand. Surely the pony would balk at this one, wouldn’t she?

“Given my career in the Gryphon Army was cut short by this little escapade, I’m also going to lose my pension. So I —”

“Whatever your pension would have been, I’ll double it. Consider it Equestria’s thanks for the invaluable service you’ve provided to us. You’ll be able to live the rest of your life in luxury if that’s what you want, Gilda. Although I don’t expect it is. It’s not your style. I expect we’ll see you joining the Royal Guard or something.”

Gilda’s beak almost dropped to the floor, but she caught it and closed it again. That had been way too easy. Disappointingly easy. She had been prepared for a fight. She’d wanted to toy with Twilight. Instead, she’d given her everything she wanted without any fight at all. In fact, more than she wanted or had intended on asking for. Maybe the pony really did feel guilty about sending her on this treasonous mission? Maybe she really did care about her wellbeing? She felt all of her resolve to be argumentative and uncooperative melt away from her, like the ice melting from her wings when she’d been brought into the warm infirmary. Any desire to be confrontational left her as she responded in a calm, conversational tone.

“I know where she is. But rescuing her is going to be very difficult. The facility she’s being held in is concrete mixed with cold iron.”

“Cold iron? What’s that?” Twilight asked, raising an eyebrow.

“It’s one of our most closely guarded military secrets. It blocks unicorn magic. We’ve never actually deployed it in battle yet, so you’ve never seen it used before. But suffice it to say, the facility Luna is being held at is a trap for unicorns. They could teleport into the facility, but they couldn’t teleport out again, nor would they be able to use any magic while they were inside of the facility.”

Twilight frowned, clearly dismayed by this new development, and Gilda couldn’t help but feel a small twinge of satisfaction that the unicorn apparently hadn’t known anything at all about cold iron. At least it was one military secret the gryphons had been able to keep the ponies from ever discovering.

“Tell me more about the facility,” Twilight prompted.

“Most of it is underground, so it’s hard to spot from the air. In addition, there’s a canopy over it that prevents any of the light from the courtyard from shining into the sky. But the light is visible enough from the ground. The perimeter around it is guarded, but not heavily. They are relying mostly on the belief that the location is secret and that it’s very difficult to get into, even for unicorns. You won’t have any trouble taking out the guards around outdoor perimeter before being discovered. But getting inside is another story. The fence is tall, and rimmed with razor wire at the top. There’s only one gate in the fence, but that gate is also the only part that’s guarded full time. The rest of the fence is patrolled by a few roving guards.”

Twilight nodded once. “Does the facility itself have any weaknesses?”

“There are no windows. There are only two doors, opposite each other in the building. Both are heavily reinforced. The only potential weaknesses are two air vents on the roof. They are probably large enough to crawl through, but they are covered with thick screens and heavy bars. Getting them off without detection probably won’t be easy.”

“Could unicorns teleport in with the understanding that they’d have to fight their way out without being able to use magic?”

“Possibly, yes. But I know absolutely nothing about the interior layout of the building.”

“So they could end up teleporting themselves into a wall or something,” Twilight said with a frown. Gilda nodded in response.

“There’s one other thing that might be useful,” Gilda continued. “I found the facility by following a guard rotation there from Gryphon City. One of the guards that was due to rotate out — his name is Albinus — requested to stay there. Claimed he was having problems with his wife and didn’t want to go home. Thing is, I know Albinus and his wife, and they have the most loving relationship any two gryphons could have. And no gryphon in their right mind would request to stay on that duty. They are all terrified of Luna, despite the fact that for now, her power is contained. They all think she’s just biding her time, and could find a way to unleash her full wrath on them at any moment with no warning. Anyway, I think Albinus has befriended Luna, and may try to help her escape if a rescue comes. That’s the only explanation I can think of for why he would request to stay there after his unit was due to rotate out.”

“That will be useful, when the time comes,” Twilight responded.

There was silence in the room for several long seconds as Twilight and the bat pony processed the information she had given them.

“Is there anything else?” Twilight finally asked.

“Nothing, except the map in my pack, which is over on the chair,” Gilda responded, shaking her head.

Twilight nodded and then said, in a surprisingly compassionate tone, “Thank you for your service Gilda, I’m truly sorry I had to force you into this. But the survival of our entire world, and perhaps even the entire universe, hangs in the balance.”

“I’m starting to think I would have made same the decision even if you hadn’t forced me into it,” Gilda responded quietly. “The King may really be insane, or simply completely deceived by whatever it is that is communicating with him. What will he be king of if the world freezes to death? King of nothing, that’s what he’ll be … I would like to go on the rescue mission. I might be of some help.”

Twilight smiled, but shook her head. “Thank you for your offer, Gilda. But we already have a Bat Team Alpha unit deep inside the Gryphon Kingdom. They are just waiting for maps and orders.”

Gilda only nodded in response, feeling a slight tinge of disappointment.

“I’ll tell the doctor it’s okay to discharge you, and I’ll order the guards to take you to a guest room in the castle. I’m afraid you might have to share it for now, though. We’re pretty pressed for space with all that’s going on. Is there anything else you need right now?”

Gilda, thought for a moment before responding.

“Can you send the nurse in one more time?”

Twilight nodded. “I’ll do that. Do you mind if I get the maps from your pack?”

“Go ahead,” Gilda responded, motioning towards it with her beak.

Twilight used a little bit of magic to open Gilda’s pack, finding the maps neatly folded along the outer edge. She took them out, then closed the pack and turned her attention back to Gilda.

“Thank you again for your help, Gilda. I’m sure I’ll see you around the castle.”

And with that, she turned and left the room, the bat pony guard with her turning and walking alongside her. Gilda watched them until they disappeared around a bend in the hallway, then rested her head back against the upraised bed, picking up the hot cider and tasting it for the first time. It was still warm, although not hot anymore. It had the flavor of fresh apples, cinnamon, and nutmeg. She finished the drink quickly, wishing now that she’d tried it sooner instead of used it to torment the poor nurse. It was incredibly delicious … well, for pony food anyway. It wasn’t long before the unicorn nurse came walking down the hallway towards her room again, her ears back, her tail stiff, and a very annoyed look on her muzzle.

“What is it now, Gilda?” she asked in a voice that was every bit the match for her annoyed expression.

“I just wanted to thank you for taking such good care of me, and apologize for being such a pain in the ass to you.”

The nurse raised an eyebrow, blinked, and her expression took on a look of total conclusion. Then she simply shook her head a bit and turned, walking out of the room again and mumbling something about gryphons and their strange customs and behaviors. Gilda chuckled lightly, and got ready to leave the infirmary.