//------------------------------// // Chapter 8 // Story: The First Journey: Feelings of Etherealism // by Kaille //------------------------------// ~Chapter 8: Interrogation~ When we left the library, I discovered I was not mistaken with my suspicions of something being next to the library; where I saw the shimmers, there was now a royal carriage, surrounded by 6 guards; two in front to steer, one on each side, and two keeping an eye on the back. They all had their gold armour on, arranged in a hexagon staring blankly in each direction, effectively seeing everything. Their seeming indifference and boredom of course, is just an incredibly convincing facade; I knew they were all on high alert, ready to spring in a fraction of a second to defend their princess. Speaking of the princess, she walked out of the library after Twilight and I, walking over to the carriage. The guard on our closest side, next to the door, stepped aside and pulled it open to allow our entry. The princess glanced at us and gestured for us to enter. I walked up to it, attempting to show as little emotion on my face as possible. The princess entered first after I reached the vehicle, following suit. She sat on the far side, being able to see out the window behind my head towards our direction of travel. Twilight entered next, sitting next to the princess, still appearing shocked. After Twilight sat down, the guard closed the door to the cabin and the six of them tightened into formation. I felt the first lurch of lifting off the ground, and then there was that feeling of weightlessness in your stomach I always got back on Earth, like when you were driving and took a decent sized bump, resulting in a second of being airborne. Well, this wasn't just a second. This was constant. And both unnerving and exhilarating at the same time. The flight was quiet for a while, until finally Twilight broke the silence. "Why didn't you just tell me from the beginning, Ink- or, Connor, I guess I should say?" I look down, my shame returning. "I had already told Nurse Redheart, and she laughed it off at first. When she started to realize how serious I was about it, it started to put her off a bit. Once she got to know me better she didn't seem to mind, but I thought it would be nice to just be a pony and keep that life to myself. But I can not refuse to tell the princess; she has a right to know, what with her having to defend the kingdom, and I knew she would learn eventually. If that came to be, and she learned of it after I hid it for a while, the repercussions would have been unpleasant, or at least more so, I am certain." "But. . . don't I have a right to know, if I am going to be your friend? It hurts when something like this is hidden. I know we just met, but this is the kind of thing you don't just hide." She replied, eyes starting to glisten. I fold in on myself even more, my eyes starting to glisten as well. "But the way I left off in my other life was not very fulfilling. There was a great deal of things I hadn't done, and not having that chance makes that life seem worthless to me." The princess spoke up now. "What do you mean, Connor? What sort of things, and how did you leave your other life?" I shut my eyes tightly for a second, realizing suddenly how much it actually hurt, now that I got to think about it a few days after the fact. "Well, I was alone. I didn't have someone to call my partner, and I had not even lived half the average life span of a human." Twilight spoke, in a very quiet voice, with sadness obviously in the background. "And. . . How did you leave your world? What do you mean. . . Had not lived?" I look up at them now, a single tear rolling down my cheek. "I died." Everything fell silent again, shock written upon both their faces again. "But. . . you died? How. . . how are you living here then? Did you get reincarnated in this new body?" "I don't think so. But I don't think I died because I separated my. . . lets just say spirit for lack of a better term, from my own body." Twilights look turned somewhat skeptical with this, but the princesses eyes narrowed. "I took classes, training in fighting, to learn discipline and control, and to keep myself fit. With that, I learned how to completely calm myself. When I entered these calm states, I seemed to drift. Not like nearing sleep, but. . . it was like I was leaving my body. When I died in an accident, at first I felt content with what I had accomplished, and relaxed. My body was destroyed; my conscience continued to exist where I separated. I then drifted into a black void for what seemed like days, and woke up in the Ponyville hospital." Twilight still appeared unconvinced, but the princess sighed. She signalled to the guard to stop the flight for a moment, and looked at me. "Would you care to demonstrate?" I gulped. "I can try." I closed my eyes and completely let my muscles relax, sitting on the couch somewhat awkwardly and with my chin resting against my chest, but I ignored the discomfort. I slowed my breathing, and thought of nothing. As my body completely relaxed and my mind went blank, I felt myself start to drift. Suddenly, I hear a gasp from Twilight. I open my eyes, and realize something incredible. On Earth, whenever I entered these states, my vision just darkened into a tunnel and everything seemed distant, and no one noticed the difference in me besides my appearing spaced out or asleep. However, this was different. It must be my existence in Equestria, and the existence of magic here that resulted in the difference. The princess and Twilight stared at me, up away from my body, which I noticed was below me. However, I could tell how they were able to see me. When I looked down at myself, I saw a floating orb of pale violet light, smoke-like wisps trailing off and dissipating from it. Something else I noticed, was that there was an incredibly faint outline of my human body surrounding the orb, which was placed in the centre, around where my heart would have been. Well that couldn't be more cliche. I thought to myself cynically. Twilights jaw moved up and down a few times, but she said nothing. The princess however, nodded in understanding. "I recognize what you have done." I look at her, shocked, and due to my sudden emotion, I felt myself drift back into the perfectly still body. I took a sharp intake of breath and pant for a few seconds, trying to oxygenate the blood in my veins. After I recovered, I look to the princess, wide-eyed and questioning. She looked out the window and nodded to a guard, and our flight continued. "This is a talent I have seen other ponies exhibit over the centuries. However, it is incredibly rare. I have only seen it three times in two millennia." I hate the idea of being some special pony/person, simply because of how much more cliche it is, but I guess it kinda makes sense. "But, they didn't have this kind of control. When I saw them do it, they grew frantic, and after losing control, completely separated from their bodies. They dissolved in a flash before me. They ceased to exist." I gulped at the possibilities. I just did something that could very well have killed me. AGAIN. God, I should stop doing that. However, I continued to stare at the princess. "My training and control over myself must be what allows me to do this safely." Celestia nodded. "I agree. However, you must never try this again. We don't know what could happen next time; this is too new and unknown to simply play with." I nodded my head vigorously, prompting a slight smile from the sun goddess. "Well, it seems we have reached an understanding. But, we must see how it is you are a human 'spirit' in a pony body." Twilight spoke up again now, albeit in a near whisper. "I can run tests, and see if your body is that of a standard pony, and maybe see if you have parents." Princess Celestia turned to her pupil, nodding. "Good. This is a place to start. However, I would like to keep you at the palace for a short while to keep an eye on you. Also, this will be a good place for you to learn about our society." I smile slightly at this. "I already have a decent understanding, your majesty. On Earth, there was a T.V. show about Equestria and the pony residents of it." They stare at me like I grew a second head. "Show as in. . . like a play?" I suddenly remember, that Equestria likely doesn't have T.V.'s. "Well, yes, but played on a glass screen. We use technology to record the 'plays', and we can then watch them whenever we want on these screens." The continue to stare at me the same way. I sigh. "Is there a spell that allows you to enter anothers mind and see what they are thinking? I can show you." I smile to myself. Well we haven't drifted off track at ALL. They nod their heads, and their horns begin to glow. They lean forward and touch their horns to my forehead, and suddenly I feel their presence. I will show you a snippet of the show to demonstrate these screens I speak of. I think to myself, knowing they heard it when they nod slightly, being carful not to let go with their horns. I think for a second, and decide to play a snippet of the Nightmare Night episode. I show the part where Luna throws the toy spider at the webs, exclaiming loudly about the fun she was having. I try hard to imagine it on my computer, with the desk around and wall behind. The borders of the computer are easily seen, and I decide to do it with my Macbook. I use my imagination to re-create the object in my mind, rotating it to show it off. The to mares in front of me lean back again, spell dissipating. Twilight had a look of absolute wonder on her face, and I smile at what she was likely thinking. "That was not a T.V. I showed you, but a computer. A computer is even more powerful; it can not only play these shows, but you can access a databank of all the information known to mankind from anywhere in the world. Most people did away with written forms of information long ago on Earth thanks to this, but I still love the solid feel of a book in my hands." Suddenly the carriage jerked around a bit, and the guard knocked on the door before opening it. "We have arrived Your Majesty." The princess nodded and stepped out, followed by Twilight and then myself. We walked towards the door to the castle, and an awkward silence hung in the air. Twilight was obviously contemplating what she could do with something like this, current situation apparently completely shoved from her mind, and I can't help but smile through the discomfort of the oncoming situation at this. A guard opened a door into the hall and the princess nodded to him. After a few steps inside, Celestia turned around to Twilight. "I'm sorry Twilight, I should have let you alert your friends of your absence. Would you like me to send a message?" "Hm, what? Oh, yes please, sorry Princess." Being spoken to brought the mare out of her thoughts, and her mood immediately darkened. I frowned; causing this discomfort for her was painful to me. We walked the rest of the way to the throne room in silence and the ruler of Equestria ascended the dais to her throne, sitting in it gently. She quickly levitated two cushions over for Twilight and myself, placing Twilights up next to her throne. I was left at the base of the dais. Understandably. I haven't exactly garnered much trust from her so far. I thought to myself. The princess stared at the floor for a few seconds, eyes closed in thought. She looked up and stared me straight in the eye. "Connor." She turned to Twilight for a second. "Twilight. What I say here must never leave this room. This is knowledge only Luna and I have been privy to here in Equestria." The princess turned her to the main of the room and dismissed the guards. After they left she cast a spell, and a flash of blue light flared through the room, stopping at the walls, floor and ceiling, leaving us in a sparkling bubble. "All outside forces will now find it impossible to enter the room or do anything to overhear us." The princess looked down again, sighing. She cleared her throat and looked up, yet again, directly at me. "We have always been aware of the presence of humans; however, we never thought we would have to worry about them. They appeared to be in another dimension. But now that we know of the extent of this power that we have seen every so often, we must prepare ourselves in case this situation is to arise again. Our biggest fear, if humans ever were able to make it to Equestria, was if they turned our home into the same thing that they did to Earth; a war zone, a hundred fold worse than anything Discord was capable of. The human nature to better themselves no matter the cost to others is simply something that is unforgivable in our world." She pused for a moment to allow this to sink in, and formulate her next words. "Connor, we will allow you to reside in Equestria, but we will observe you. I would also like to examine more of your life on Earth, to see how trustworthy you can be on important issues, or minor ones. I refuse to let someone roam the world I maintain for my ponies with the intent to do harm or anything akin to it. Am I making myself perfectly clear?" I nodded; these felt like reasonable terms. "Absolutely, Princess. I have no objections; you can observe my memories to your hearts content. I have nothing to hide." She nodded in response. "Good. I will hold you to that. Twilight, if you would not mind getting the information needed to conduct your research? I will allow you to solve this issue from your home in Ponyville; any resources you require, inform me of. This is something we must be COMPLETELY prepared for in the future." Twilight stood up and walked over to me. "I don't know what this spell will do. I know the expected results from studying it, but have never needed to use it, and the effects were not documented." I smiled slightly to the mare. "I have complete faith in you, Twilight Sparkle. Like I said earlier, from watching the show on Earth about Equestria, that I think I have a fair understanding of you. Any harm that comes of this, I know is not intended. But I also know that any which comes is justified, for what it can protect Equestria from, and from my lying to you." She smiled back in thanks, and then closed her eyes. Her horn began to glow, and I felt the pressure of a spell forming around me. Everything went smoothly for a few seconds, until suddenly I started to feel some slight pain throughout my body. It was nothing major, just discomfort, and I alerted them to it. Twilight nodded once. "This will only take another moment. I nearly have what I-" Suddenly, I let out a a cry as there is a sharp stab of pain at the base of my neck, and I fell to the floor. I lay there, grimacing, sweating, and twitching, as the spell finishes up. I hear a clamour of hooves after my yelp, but can not open my eyes to see who it was. The pain was excruciating; it was like millions of icy cold needles were being stabbed into my neck, and then bolts of electricity were being shot from them through me. I had no idea how long this lasted. It felt like ages; when the pain finally abated, I opened my eyes. It must have been hours later. It was midday when we started; the moon was just starting to rise now. I look around and see that the princess is standing over me, concern evident in her eyes. I may be a potential threat still in her eyes, but I am still also currently in pony form, and she can't help her worry for one of her subjects. Her eyes soften a bit and she sighs in relief finally, after seeing my eyes open. She looks up and turns her head to the side and says something, but then I notice that there is still a constant ringing in my ears, preventing me from hearing anything. The ringing starts to make the leftover headache worse, and I clutch the sides of my head. I open my eyes and look up to see Twilight standing over me, eyes red and puffy with the fur on her cheeks matted and wet. She sees me in pain and clutching my ears, and casts a quick spell which the princess increased the power of through her magic, causing the ring to abate and the migraine to lessen to tolerable levels. I roll over onto my back with a groan, hooves dropping to the floor. I lay there panting, covered in cold sweat as well as some more recent bullets of it from the migraine I suffered seconds ago. I start to hear muffled voices growing louder. ". . .-ner? . . Conn-? . . Connor? . . Are you alright?" I nodded in assent, resulting in synchronous sighs from the two ponies. Another tear drops from Twilights cheek, landing on mine. I wiped it away with a hoof and looked Twilight in the eye, who broke the gaze instantly. "Please Twilight? Look at me?" She does, and I see more tears on the brink of falling. "I'm sorry. . . I should have researched the spell more. . . I had no idea it would cause so much pain. . ." She fell onto me bawling. I start to stroke her mane weakly. "It's alright, Twilight. You could never have known the effects of the spell without having tried it first. It's better to have undergone it's trial on me than another." I turn her head to mine, staring her right in the eyes inches away. "You have my complete forgiveness." She sniffled a few times. "I still can't forgive myself for causing so much pain. . ." I look at the princess and look back to Twilight. "I want you to. Did you at least get the information you needed?" ". . . Yes. . ." "Then it was worth it. I am glad that my pain can result in the protection of a place that I never wish for humans to taint." Twilight smiled weakly in thanks. "Thank you Connor." The princess walked closer and rested a hoof on my shoulder. "And you have my thanks as well. Lets take you to the infirmary now; we should find out if there is any lasting damage." I grin a bit. "Hospitals seem to be becoming a habit of mine." We all chuckle a little in unison, breaking the tension somewhat. ~ We reached the infirmary and they got me situated on a bed, running the least invasive tests possible to make sure I am alright. Everything comes back positive, and they prescribe me some strong headache and migraine relief pills, which I gratefully accepted. We returned to the throne room and began the process of examining my memories with the princess, and Twilight went to assemble the gear she would need to run her tests back in Ponyville. We suddenly got interrupted as a pony entered the throne room. "Sister, what has thou and the castle in such dire straits at the moment? We would wish to speak with thou on this matter privately." The sun princess and I look up, Celestia breaking off her spell and I turn to see who entered, though I am certain I already know who. Only one speaks with that dialect in this day and age of Equestria. And I gotta say, I always thought Princess Luna to be beautiful on the show. She is absolutely drop-dead gorgeous in person. Standing there at the base of the dais is the Moon Princess, staring at me for a few seconds with an indescribable look before turning to her sister and fellow ruler. "Please, sister?" Celestia smiled slightly. "I think this one has a right to be here when we talk about why he has caused the commotion." Lunas eyes widened slightly and she glanced back to me. "And thou art alone with this one?! How canst thou risk thy own safety so?!" Celestia closed her eyes and continued to smile. "Because he is not a threat. Please, Connor, if you would kindly explain yourself to my dear sister?" I turn back to the midnight blue alicorn and smile, offering a bow. "Good evening, princess. My name is Connor, or soon to be Ink." She looked at me quizzically. "We beg thy pardon, young colt?" I continue to smile, and explain my story of how I am human and came to Equestria. I have to give props to the princess; her expression stayed the same throughout my entire tale. She is obviously skilled in masking her emotions. By the end of my account, she looked away for a few seconds in deep thought. When she looked back towards her sister, there was a mixture of different types of concern in her eyes; concern for her sister, concern for Equestria, and there appeared to have been some concern for me as well; she must share Celestia's sense of worry for all ponies. But she has trust in there as well, towards her sister. "We understand that thou have this situation under control, dear sister. But we will offer all our aid that is possible." Celestia smiled warmly, stepping down to her sister to embrace her. "Thank you Luna. I am truly blessed to have you as my sister." I smile at the love obviously shared between the two. Luna then looked towards me, a very penetrating stare indeed. "We wish to examine thy memories as well, along with our sister. We hope this is not asking too much." I smile at her. Yet a-freakin'-gain. "Absolutley Princess Luna. I would be honoured to allow you to do so." They examine me for hours, going through the majority of my life; the spell being casted by them obviously allowed the quick assessment of this sort of information. When we finally stop it is because it is time for Celestia to raise the sun. After doing so the Sun princess yawned. Obviously such immensely powerful ponies required the same amount of sleep as any other. Lune went to her and put a hoof to her shoulder. "Rest, sister. Thou needest thy sleep. We shall hold court in thy stead for the day." Celestia smiled to her sister and hugged her. "Thank you. We shall only rest as long as necessary; you need yours as well." Celestia began to walk out of the room and stopped by me. "Connor. Thank you very much for your cooperation during these events. From what I have garnered of you from your memories so far, I am able to place trust in you. You may return to Ponyville with Twilight, and reside in Equestria for as long as you wish. I look forward to getting to know you as a pony, and hearing of your new memories made with my student and her peers. Farewell." I bowed to the princess, thanking her and wishing her farewell as well, plus a good sleep. She smiled and left the throne room, passing by her sleeping pupil. I only just noticed her; she must have come in at some point while we went through my life as a human. She was sleeping in front of a pile of bags and cases of various sizes, likely filled with equipment, scrolls and books. I walked over to her, nudging her gently awake. Her eyes opened groggily, and she looked up to me. I smiled at her. "Come on Twilight. We are returning to Ponyville now." She smiled back and stood up, stretching out, a few clicks sounding out as her back settled. We both looked up to the throne, seeing Luna relaxing on it. She smiled down at us. "Thou have our trust as well, Connor. We hope to hear more of thou soon." I smiled and bowed to her. "Thank you, Princess. But please, for the purpose of my making new memories, I would also like to start this new life with a fresh slate. Please; call me Ink." The princess inclined her head to me. "We shall make note of this, Ink. Fare thee well." Twilight and I both bowed now and we walked out into the castle halls, Twilight carrying most of the equipment with her magic, me resting some of it in saddlebags upon my back and carrying another case in my teeth. ~ We reached Ponyville a few hours later, and found all of Twilights friends waiting for her at the library, worry written in bold letters across their faces. "Twi! We were worried sick about ya'. What was all a' that about, anyhow?" Applejack asked, walking up to her. The other ponies followed suit, asking what was wrong as well. Twilight smiled and looked at me, and I nodded to her. "Well, it would be best for Connor to explain this." The five ponies looked at me, completely confused. "Connor? But you said your name was Ink?" Rarity asked. I smiled. "It's both, I guess. Allow me to explain it to all of you; I have been holding a fairly large secret from you all." ~ We entered the library, and I began yet another account of my story. Twilight prepared tea and snacks for us, and the five other ponies grew more and more shocked as the tale wove on. Upon yet another completion of the story, there was complete silence for a few moments. Then suddenly, all hell broke loose. A chorus of concern, hurt, distrust, and numerous other emotions welled up from all the ponies around me, washing over like a wave. I quieted them all down, and simply stated. "I know. I am sorry. I realize now I should have told you from the get go. But I wish for that life to be a thing of the past now; I want to live my second chance here to the fullest. And I would love if you would all be my companions for it, if you wish to." Silence reigned for a few moments more, with the six ponies looking around to each other. Finally they all looked to me and nodded, Rainbow Dash being the first to speak up. "Okay. You are a great guy, and despite your lying to us, you regret doing it and showed enough of an apology by explaining everything. I will give you a chance." There was a chorus of agreement, and I smiled, thanking them. Things were starting to look up again. By now, it was night again. The other five ponies left to go home, and it was just Twilight and I left. Twilight looked at me and said, "Don't worry about going to the hotel tonight; you can stay here. I will see you in the morning, okay?" I smiled and nodded, offering yet more thanks to the lavender mare. "The couch is the only spare bed I have; I hope you don't mind using it." "Not at all. I slept on many a couches as a human." We both laugh a little, and retrieve a blanket and a pillow for me. I bunk up on the sofa and wish Twilight a good night, her offering one back.