A Faraway Land.

Chapter 27

Interrogated From The Human

I could hear Twilight downstairs. I looked out of the window and saw it was still early morning. I looked up at the bed and saw Shining Armor and Cadence had already gotten up. I pulled the blanket over my head. I jumped as I heard a loud bang. It sounded like someone dropped a large book. I tried my best to ignore the noise, but Twilight started to yell.

"Just a test!" Twilight yelled downstairs. "Princess Celestia wants to give me some kind of exam and your trying to tell me to calm down, because it's just a test!?

It was too noisy for me, so I got up and folded my blankets. I stretched my back and placed the blankets on the bed. Twilight suddenly yelled and I was violently slammed to the ground. It felt like I was flying for a split second. I quickly got up and looked downstairs.

"What the hell is going on down their!?" I yelled as loud as I could.

I looked and saw Applejack, Rarity, Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash standing next to the door. Twilight was running around like a chicken with its head cut off. I see Spike against the wall covered in pillows. I walked down the stairs and towards Applejack.

"What is going on Applejack?" I stood next to her and watched Twilight.

"Twilight got a letter from the Princess this morning. It seems like she wants to test Twilight." Applejack adjusted her hat. "She also wants all of us to go to Canterlot with her; you included."

"Why would she want me to come too?" I scratched my head.

"I don't know, but I bet its important." Applejack gave me a smile as I looked at Twilight.

"Twilight!" I yelled to get her attention.

"What!?" Twilight yelled back.

"Calm down. Do you remember what happened last time you rushed into things?" I walked up to Twilight. "If you rush into this in a panic like you are now; only bad things will happen." I smiled.

"Maybe your right." Twilight turned around and grabbed the bag on the ground.

"Do you know were Shining Armor and Cadence is?" I asked as Twilight started to pack her bag.

"The royal guard came this morning and they rushed off." Twilight filled her bag to the brim and placed it on her back. "I couldn't ask where they were going. They seemed to be in a rush to get out of here." Twilight started to look worried.

"I bet they are okay." I smiled at Twilight. "Try not to think about it too much. It might affect how you do on your test." I winked at Twilight.

"Your right." Twilight Smiled. "Okay everypony; let's get going to Canterlot. The princess can't wait forever."

We quickly rushed to the train station and boarded the train to Canterlot. Something was off about this trip. Twilight seemed to be on edge and it made the others act strange too. None of us said a word the entire trip. It took us about a half an hour before the train started to slow down. I looked out the window and I see the Canterlot Train Station. I looked at Twilight as she got up.

"You all should wait here. I don't think it will take too long." Twilight smiled and turned to Spike. "Let's go Spike." Spike quickly ran up to Twilight.

"I'm proud of you Twilight. Keep your head high and take the test with a calm head." I smiled at her. "Don't over do yourself and I know you will do good."

"Thanks James." Twilight smiled and quickly ran off with Spike on her back.

I walked over to a small bench against the wall and sat down to relax. It worried me a little about my situation. I had no idea why I would be needed to come for a test. Did I do something wrong? Maybe Celestia just wanted to talk. I knew I shouldn't worry about it, but it was bugging me never the less. I looked over and saw Fluttershy walk up to me.

"Is something the matter James? You look worried about something." Fluttershy smiled. "You know you can talk to me about anything."

"It worries me that I was needed." I sighed. "I have no idea why Celestia needs me for anything and to be honest I have nothing to give."

"I don't think that's true." Fluttershy hopped up on the bench and sat next to me. "You are very kind and helpful. She might only want to talk to you." Fluttershy smiled.

"But what does she want to talk about? me not knowing is the only problem." I leaned forward and looked at the ground. "I guess it is the unknown that has me worried."

"It's okay James. I know you will be fine. You seem to have very good luck, so you can trust me." Fluttershy got off the bench and walked in front of me. "Don't worry; Okay?"

"Alright Fluttershy." I smiled and watched her walk off.

I wish it was that easy. There were too many unknowns when it came to me. It seems like Celestia still hasn't accepted me being here. Celestia is nice to me, but very cautious. I can say I understand her position; after all I am the only human in Equestria. We waited about twenty minutes at the train station. I got up as soon as I saw Twilight. She had five royal guards escorting her. I quickly walked over to Twilight.

"Everything okay Twilight?" I looked around at the guards.

"Yes James, but Princess Celestia wants to talk to you." The guards interrupted Twilight.

"James; you need to come with us." I watched as two guards walked behind me, one on each side of me and the one stood in front of me.

"Alright." I gave Twilight a worried look. "I guess I will see you later Twilight." She smiled at me as I walked off with the guards.

We quickly made our way into the castle of Canterlot. I followed the guards to a large door. Two guards walked to the left of the door; two more walked to the right and the other walked off down the hall. I watched as the door slowly opened. I walked through and saw Luna and Celestia standing at a pink window.

"The danger to Canterlot is grave and the danger is growing." Celestia turned around and looked at me. "We can't wait for the next attack that could come in the form of your weapons. I have asked you to come here for your help."

"How may I help you?" I walked up to Celestia.

"Luna has told me that you have experience in interrogations. Is this true?" Celestia asked.

"If by experience; you mean being interrogated. The answer is yes." I raised an eyebrow.

"That would still help us." I watched as Luna walked up next to Celestia. "Will you help us James?" Celestia asked as I looked at them both for a couple of minutes.

"If I am going to interrogate the Changeling; I am going to need to do it my way. You can't interfere with my methods. I will also need yours and the guards full cooperation." I looked at them both with a serious face. "Knowing this; do you still want me to help?" I watched as Celestia looked at Luna. Luna gave Celestia a quick nod.

"We understand; what do you need us to do?" Celestia stood tall and looked at me.

"Put the Changeling in a room with no windows. The lighting doesn't matter; just as long  as the room has no sunlight." I quickly thought about what else I needed. "Two chairs and a table. Set his chair against the wall and mine against the door."

"Do you need anything else?" Celestia asked.

"No; the rest will be on me." I watched as Celestia walked over to the guard. The guard was quick to leave the room as Celestia turned around.

"Your room will be ready soon. All of the royal guard is at your disposal. Do you need anything from us?" Celestia smiled.

"If you would like to listen in; you can stay outside the door." I scratched my head. "I don't know how long this will take, but I believe I can get the information you need."

"That is all that I am asking from you." Celestia smiled. "Let's go start the interrogation."

"Okay." I followed Celestia and Luna out the hall.

I followed them down the hall and we came across a large wooden door. It had two guards standing at attention. Luna and Celestia stopped and faced me.

"It is all up to you now. Please don't let us down." Celestia smiled.

"I will do my best." I walked up to the door and opened it.

I walked through the door into the room. Sure enough it has a table in the center with two chairs. I closed the door and saw two more guards on the inside. I turned around and walked towards the table. I looked around to make sure no sunlight would make its way in the room. I slowly sat down at the table and looked at the changeling.

"You look surprised to see me. The only difference now is that I am free and you are in cuffs. Let's change that; shall we?" I turned to look at the guards. "Unshackle him."

"But sir..." The guards muttered.

"Don't question me; just do it!" I yelled and watched them both rush over. They quickly took off his chains and ran back towards the door. "Thank you; now you two can wait outside."

"But..." I quickly glared at them and they quickly ran out.

"Is that better?" I watched the changeling for a little bit.

"How... How did you escape?" The changeling asked.

"I got lucky." I smiled.

"You're not going to get me to talk. I'm not going to tell you anything!" The changeling yelled.

"I like to think that I am civilized. Just like most humans do, but we can never curve our need for violence." I slowly stood up from my chair. "I don't know how you were interrogated before I came into the picture." I walked up next to the changeling. "I am not here for an interrogation. I am only here to have a little chat. Nothing more; nothing less." I walked back to my chair and sat down.

"I don't believe you." The changeling gave me an angry look.

"What you believe or disbelieve is irrelevant now. It is only you and I in this room." I put my hands on the table and watch him for a little bit. "Why don't you tell me about some of the successful things you have accomplished in your lifetime. I would love to hear about it." I smiled at the changeling.

"What does this have to do with the interrogation?..." He asked.

"I already told you. I am not here to interrogate you. I just wanted to talk." I folded my hands on the table. I watched as he looked around the room.

"Where should I begin?" He paused for a second. "I was the best in training. I have always wanted to serve in the queens army, I rose through the ranks and I even served at the queens side for seven years." He looked me in the eye. "The queen trusts me; she knows I would never betray her, so why do you want to talk to me?"

"Why don't you tell me about your mistakes that you have made in your life." I raised an eyebrow.

"I have no mistakes. I have done everything perfectly." He quickly responded.

"Okay, so tell me something you would have done differently in your life." I said calmly.

"That is none of your business..." He shot me an angry look.

"I understand; you are not willing to talk to me about your mistakes. After all you don't even know me." I smiled.

I slowly got up from my chair. I turned to walk towards the door; I slowly opened the door and looked at the guard.

"Could you get me two glasses and a canteen of water please." I watched as the guard quickly ran off. I closed the door and watched the changeling. Soon after I heard a knocking on the door. I opened the door and saw the guard had what I requested. "Thanks." I grabbed the two glasses and the canteen. I walked back to my chair and sat down.

"Can I offer you a glass of water?" I fill up both glasses with water and pushed one to the changeling. I watched him as he just watched the glass. "Trust me; its only water." I picked up his glass and took a small drink.

He quickly took the glass and drank the water. He put the cup down then looked at me.

"Did they not give you any water?" I raised an eyebrow.

"No; they haven't..." He looked back at his glass.

"Here; have some more water." I poured him more water from the canteen. I put the canteen down and took a drink of my water.

"Don't expect any thanks from me." The changeling looked at me while taking a drink.

"Can you wait for a second; I will be right back." I get up from my chair and walked out of the room.

"It doesn't sound like it is going in your favor James." Luna said with a concerned look on her face.

"Why do you say that? I think it is going good." I smiled.

"If you say so James." Luna sat next to Celestia as I looked at the guard.

"Don't let anyone in this room. I am the only one allowed to enter and no one will take the changeling out. No one is allowed to talk to him but me alone. I will bring him food and water. That being said; anyone that disobeys that order will be severely punished. Do you understand?" I waited for an answer.

"Yes sir!" I watched as all the guards saluted.

"Now that's settled; I need to get back to work." I gave Luna and Celestia a smile as I walked back in the room.I turned and walked back to my chair. I sat down as the Changeling watched me. I grabbed my glass of water and took a small drink.

"Did you know that I am also military?" I smiled at him. "I was in the Navy; I flew a Hornet." I waited for him to respond.

"How can you fly without wings?" He gave me a puzzled look.

"The Hornet was my wings. We use machines to travel in my world. We have cars, trucks, busses, planes and trains. It is rather fun; I have a truck back home. It is a 1974 K5 Blazer." I smiled at him

"What is a 1974 K5 Blazer?" He looked on in a curious look.

"Well; it's just a large box with huge wheels. It has a huge engine that allows it to travel very fast." I took a drink of my water. "Hell; I bet with my blazer. I could drive from Canterlot to the Badlands in thirty minutes."

"Wow that is fast. It took us four hours to fly to Canterlot." He put his hoof to his chin.

"Yeah; our planes are even faster."

"How much faster?" He asked.

"That's a hard one to explain..." I rubbed my chin with my hand. "I haven't explored this world much, but if I had to guess you could fly from the Badlands; all the way to Vanhoover in ten minutes."

"Wow... Your world sounds fun." I was surprised to see the changeling smile.

"Some parts of it are fun, but we have a lot of war." I pulled my gun out and made sure the chamber was clear. I dropped it in the center of the table. "With fast travel; we also have very deadly weapons." I watched as the changeling looked at my gun. "Go ahead; you can look at it."

I watched as he started to fumble with my gun. It was strange that he didn't use his magic. I didn't pay much mind to what he was doing, so I just watched.

"We have much stronger weapons than that one. It's called a Nuclear bomb. It can level any city to the ground in a blink of an eye." I took a drink of water. "The country I served for has over 6,000 Nuclear bombs and that alone could kill everyone on my planet."

"Then how are you all alive!? If you have weapons like that. How can you survive a war?" The changeling pushed my gun back in the middle of the table.

"We have only used those kinds of bombs twice in our history. It ended the biggest war we have ever had. ever since then; they are used more for a deterrent." I smiled. "I have told you a little about me. Now can you tell me a little about yourself?"

I watched as he started to fumble around. I had to take a small chance on what I would say next. I had to be very careful on the next words I say.

"Why don't you tell me about Queen Chrysalis? I ran into her a couple of times." I raised an eyebrow.

"Why do you want to know about Queen Chrysalis?" He watched my reaction.

"Its simple." I stood up and pulled my shirt up. "Last time we met; she almost killed me." He looked at the scar on my stomach. "I know changelings are nice." I put my shirt down and sat in the chair. "I talked to one of the children. He was so excited about wanting to join the army. He was also very taken to me." I picked up my gun and placed it back under my belt.

"I can't remember much of my childhood." I watched as he looked at the table.

"That's alright; not many of us do." I leaned back in my chair. "So Queen Chrysalis has a very nice city. Geothermal heat is a very smart way to heat a city in that cold." He quickly cut me off.

"I know; I was the one that found out about it. You don't want to know how we heated it before." He quickly looked at me. "It was a major pain."

"I wouldn't doubt that one bit... So how does the queen treat you? From what that child told me. She treats her soldiers with the upmost respect." I waited for an answer.

"She treats us well, but lately it's been hard. She can't seem to find enough food for us now a days."

"I know the feeling. Our government has a problem feeding its military too." I watched him carefully. "Where I was; we had 1,000  people. It was a pain getting myself some food. We would even have fights over it sometimes, but we had it good. I know of a place that had 2,500. I heard stories about the fighting that went on and trust me. You don't want to know..." I continued to watch for a response. "I heard more stories about an island. They had 4,000 people and they were starving for food." I noticed him glance at me. I finished off my water and grabbed the canteen. "I am going to get some more water; be back in a second." I get up and walked out of the room.

"Is it going any better?" Celestia asked.

"They have around 4,000 troops ready to fight. It takes them about four hours to get to Canterlot and they have no idea on how to make my kinds weaponry." I smiled. "I don't think they will attack full force. It takes too long for supplies, so I am betting they have sleeper agents."

"What does that mean?" Luna cocked her head.

"They have maybe one changeling hiding in a couple of towns. They gather information about weak points and other vital information. I don't think they have a large network of information; if they did. Canterlot would be under new rule by now." I crossed my arms. "Do you need any more information?"

"You got the information in a couple of hours when we tried it in a couple of days. I don't think we need anything else." Celestia gave me a smile.

"Are you sure? If you find something you need later on; the methods will need to change and it won't be nice." I watched as Luna and Celestia talked amongst themselves.

"Could you find this sleeper agent in Ponyville from him?" Luna asked.

"No. He said he served by the queens side. We have no idea how long the sleeper agent was in Ponyville, so I don't believe he will have that information."

"Then I do believe we are done here." Celestia looked at the guards. "Take the prisoner back to his cell."

"Yes your highness." The guards bowed and walked in the room.

"Luna, James; please follow me." Celestia turned around and started to walk down the hall.

We followed Celestia into a large room. It was the same large room I was taken to when the guards escorted me. I walked up to a large blue window. It appeared to have Twilight and her friends on it. They appeared to surround some kind of gems. I looked over and saw Celestia walking towards me.

"Is something wrong James?" Celestia sat next to me.

"Nope; nothing is wrong. I was just admiring this window." I pointed to the center. "What are those gems in the middle?"

"They are the Elements of Harmony." Celestia smiled.

"They must be powerful if you wanted them to be used when we traveled to the Badlands." I crossed my arms and continued to look at the window. "I still don't understand the magic in this world." I held out my right hand and channeled my magic. "Can I only make things glow with this ruby?" Celestia watched as my hand glowed blue.

"It takes a lot of hard work and dedication to learn how to use magic James." Celestia looked at the window. "Twilight has had years of practice. She has always loved to study and hone her magic."

"You must really like Twilight." I put my hands in my pocket. "I have to ask you. What do you think of me?"

"You have been proven to be trustworthy." Celestia smiled. "I believe you will become a very good friend to our nation, but I have to ask you something." Celestia put her hoof to her chin. "Is what you said about your military true?"

"What; how our government starves us?" I laughed a little.

"Yes; and your large numbers." Celestia looked at me and waited for a response.

"Our government keeps the military well fed." I laughed. "For our numbers; it was a lie to get a response from the changeling."

"That's a relief." Celestia sighed.

"What is?" I asked in a questionable tone.

"That you have an army with 7,500 strong." Celestia looked at me while I laughed.

"Our military numbers in the millions. Why would you think our army is so small?" I turned to Celestia and saw she was worried. "What's wrong?"

"It's nothing..." I watched Celestia walk next to Luna.

I thought it to be a little strange to see her react like that. I walked over to the window on my right and looked out at the night sky. I suddenly see a aurora explode through the sky in vibrant yellows, blues and pinks.

"What is that?" I looked over at Celestia and Luna.

"It means that Twilight succeeded in her mission." Celestia and Luna smiled at me.

"Will you be needing me for anything else?" I walked up to them and smiled.

"I don't think so." Celestia put her hoof to her chin. "You already helped us out a lot today." Celestia smiled. "I think we are done."

"Alight." I smiled. "I am going to go home. If you need anything; all you need to do is ask. You know where I will be."

I turned and walked out of the room. I made my way to the train stations while staring at the sky. The aurora was very captivating to the eye. I watched it the whole way home. I could only think how it would look if I was with Twilight and the others, but all in all it was just another day.