//------------------------------// // Chapter 46 // Story: The Bridge Between Worlds // by Artemis Orion //------------------------------// Chapter 46 "Keith?" "Hmm?" "You alright?" "I'm fine..." Twilight Sparkle sat opposite me, seating herself on the luxurious red velvet cushions that lined the sides of the first class carriage of the Friendship Express. After having rushed to pack our things, the Mane Six and I were almost at Canterlot already. But I hadn't said a word since we boarded. This must have worried the purple Unicorn, who had noticed me idly staring out the window for the whole trip. "You don't look fine." she pressed. "I'm just... stressed alright?" I retorted, not pulling my gaze from the majestic mountains that were home to the royal city. "Oh, Keith. We've told you this already," with a magenta glow of her horn, she pulled the blinds down, shutting out the view of the outside world. "the odds of you being responsible for this is really, really slim. The public outside of Ponyville has barely heard of you, and any other creatures may not even know your kind exist!" "But suppose they do know?" I persisted. "And what if it's not me? What if it's the medallion they've heard of? In the end, it'll still be my fault..." Twilight crossed sides, plopping down next to me. She stretched a reassuring smile across her face, even in these darkened times. "Hey, it doesn't matter. We'll help you find a way to get through this. We did the last time, remember?" "Heh, yeah, barely." I slumped against the wall, unable to shake the nervous guilt. "I've always had to handle things by myself, and bear my own consequences. But now, those consequences are life-threatening. Haven't you seen the rest of the passengers?" The majority of the Friendship Express' passengers were pegasi. Most of which had been deemed unable to fly... or walk. "I can't have something like that on my conscience. If it is my fault, I'm fixing it. And I don't want any casualties in that process." I turned away from Twilight, pulling the blinds back up to unveil the Celestia's setting sun of a darkened day. I felt a hoof lightly touch my shoulder. "Keith, you're putting too much pressure on yourself. You don't have to do everything by yourself. You have us." Twilight turned me around to the five other passengers of our carriage. I could hear mumbles of their conversation, most of which was encouragement to one another. "You have friends, and that's what friends are for." I couldn't help but smile at the purple unicorn. I felt my heart lighten with her words. She was right, I didn't need to beat myself up over something I wasn't sure of. And I didn't have to face my problems alone. I was forgetting one of the show's most important lessons. "Yeah... guess you're right..." I wrapped an arm around her neck, affectionately squeezing her. "Thanks, Twi. And if there's a war coming, I'll be helping you guys out." "Let's not think that far ahead just yet." Twilight chuckled, pushing out of the hug. "Which reminds me, before we meet the Princesses, there's somepony that I'd like you to meet." "Really now? And who would that be?" "Let's just say, you might want to stow away your weapons for the time being. Any creature that isn't a pony is being suspected, and we can't have you in prison just yet!" She hopped of the seat giggling, returning to her other friends. "Wait..." I called back. "What do you mean 'just yet'?" ======================================================================================== With the heated whistle of the horn, the train's rims screeched as it pulled up to its destination: Canterlot. The wheels soon drew to a halt, and a hiss of smoke escaped from the train's reliable engine. Barely a jolt was felt by the passengers when the Friendship Express stopped. But looking out the tinted window of the first carriage, the sight might my gut jump. All along the arrival station, rows of soldiers stood guard. Golden-plated units patrolled the platforms in a proud but vigilant gait. An occasional dark-armoured guard would be seen as well, but they were heavily outnumbered by the loyal soldiers of the day. On top of the increased security, civil servants rushed up to the arrivals, with all kinds of medication and first aid gripped in their mouths. Some even carried stretchers hooked up onto their backs, ready to carry the more severely injured ones to one of Canterlot's many hospitals. And I just stood gaping at them, with fear and awe. I wondered if their security measures took immediate action towards potential threats. I suddenly became very less sure of myself. The seven of us in the carriage stayed on board, letting those that needed help get it first. "Oh my, just look at all those guards." Rarity said. "You'd think there was another royal wedding being planned!" "Yeah..." I gulped. Good thing I took Twilight's advice. I had safely kept my weapons away in the luggage. I hadn't brought many arms to begin with; just the short sword and crossbow, just in case. I had removed my hoodie; it just made me look more suspicious anyway. Had I left everything strapped on, I think I'd have been sent for my second interrogation in Equestria. "Alright, girls... and guy... we can go now." Twilight instructed. "Somepony special will be escorting us to the palace." Twilight stepped out first. Murmured greetings were given to Celestia's star student as her friends followed one by one. "Scared?" Of all the ponies that would ask this question, it was Fluttershy. She was definitely a lot braver than when the series began. "I'll be fine. All I have to do is play it cool... right?" "Yeah!" Pinkie Pie bounced cheerily out the door. "I thought you liked the attention?" "Not this kind of attention!" I replied. "Just follow our lead, Keith. Once they see you're with us, they will no longer see you as a threat." Fluttershy said softly. "Or a terrorist." I added. Following closely behind the yellow pegasus, I slowly stepped off the carriage. I saw as guards carefully eyed each and every passenger. I wiped a cold bead of sweat from my brow. Here goes nothing... Both my feet landed on the platform, drawing my human figure from the shadows of the carriage and placing it in the crimson sunset. That same second, the royal guard reacted. I felt dozens of suspecting eyes rest on me in an instant. "HALT!" "Stop right there!" I found myself at the wrong end of an arc of sharp metal spearheads. The guards fanned out, surrounding me. I slowly and carefully raised my arms in surrender. Perhaps they didn't treat others so harshly. Maybe it would be a different procedure for zebras, donkeys and other hoofed creatures. But I didn't have hooves. I had hands, and that made me a monster to them. "State your order of business, creature!" a gruff voice from the guards commanded. "Keith Conway, resident of Ponyville, requested presence by Princess Celestia." I stammered, looking around for the Mane Six. They disappeared since we stepped off the train. Civil servants and the even the wounded lay their fearful gaze on me. "Hah! Listen to this crazy... thing!" Mocked another. "Oh goddamnit, where'd Twilight go..." I muttered to myself. "At ease, soldiers!" From beyond the wall of weapons, the command bellowed over their heads. At the sound, the guards held back their weapons in disbelief. I lowered my arms and let our a sigh of relief. I had heard that voice before, but I couldn't recall where. "This human isn't the enemy." The colt's voice was stern and authoritative. He didn't have to shout, yet he was shown utmost respect, and it was so familiar. The guards then proceeded to separate, forming two lines and creating a path. The soldiers stood at attention, but never peeled their eyes off of me. At the end of the path was a stallion that I had the greatest honour of meeting. The Mane Six had gathered by him, in his purple gold-lined armour. He removed his helmet to reveal his three-shaded blue mane and a white unicorn horn. On his chest was the same symbol that was on Twilight's and his flank. I smiled as the I remembered where I had seen it all. The Captain of the Royal Guard's face was expressionless at first whilst examining me. He didn't move, so I did. I shook off the rest of the anxiety and casually strolled up to the captain. I stopped a meter from him, and raised my right hand to my forehead in salute. I was attempting to make a good first impression. The stallion stood strong at my height Twilight jumped between us with an excited expression on her face. "Shiny, this is Keith Conway, the human I told you about. Keith, this is-" "Shining Armour, Captain of the Royal Guard." I completed, "It's an honour, Sir." I said calmly. The captain's expressionless face stretched to a smile, and returned the salute. I could hear the other guards, still murmuring in suspicion. "Pleasure to meet you, Conway. And please, call me by my name." Shining Armour grinned. He turned to the guards and commanded, "Back to your stations!" They took heed immediately, dispersing back to their respective patrols. "The Royal Guard seems very efficient." I complimented. "In the storm ahead, we have to be." Sighing, the white stallion turned around, beckoning us to follow. "We should get going. The Princess has specifically asked for all seven of you!" There were still a couple of guards behind, and heard this. I smirked at their shocked expressions as I followed their captain and the Mane Six off to the palace. Turning around, I shouted to them, "I told you!" ======================================================================================== I couldn't say that I wasn't carefully observed that day, even by the side of Shining Armour. Having my probation end at this time was a bad idea. Everywhere I walked, ponies regarded me with fear or disbelief. I hadn't been to Canterlot for over a year by now, but with the whole town on edge, it was barely what I remembered. Then again, I barely stepped foot outside the castle for the few days I was here. "The ponies are really on edge aren't they?" I asked Shining Armour, with the Mane Six trailing behind us. "You bet they are." We crossed an overhead bridge, slowly making our way to higher ground. "Our unknown enemy has swiftly taken out an entire city, and without detection too. With almost no information on who it might be, who knows where they'll strike next!" With the sun almost down, a red shadow was cast on every building and pony. From our high point, we could see the frazzled masses. There were even some snobs visibly sitting by with a cup of tea, as the wounded were carried off to the hospital. "A red sun..." Twilight murmured lamentably, "... Celestia isn't very happy..." Nopony said anything after that. According to Twilight, a red sunset meant that Celestia was in distress, one way or another. We were almost at the palace before anypony spoke again. "Twilight's told me quite a bit about you, Conway." The captain had a comforting smile spread across his face. Being the Captain of the Royal Guard meant staying strong in any battle, and it was clear Shining Armour had that attitude. "Has she now?" I turned to the purple unicorn, blushing and smiling sheepishly. "Indeed she has. Sounds like you can take care of yourself huh?" "Only if I have to..." I grinned. "Tell me, have you ever been a soldier?" "Not voluntarily." I continued, "Where I come from, everyone has to do a mandatory two years of military service. Nothing too much, just basic national service." "You never told us that!" Pinkie Pie chimed in. "There seemed to be no need until know." I shrugged. "Interesting..." Shining Armour quipped, "So I shouldn't be surprised if you can fight, then?" "I wouldn't say that." I began to blush in embarrassment, "The weapons we used are very different from here." "How so?" "Um... I'll tell you another time." I dodged the subject, having reached the drawbridge of the royal palace. At the raise of Shining's hoof, the guards swiftly opened the gates. "I don't suppose Princess Cadence is here too, is she?" Twilight asked. "Actually, she is. She's with the other Princesses as we speak." The castle was just as I remembered it. The royal colours and architecture remained unchanged, and scholars and guards briskly made their way about their business. Some ponies even recognized me, from one year ago. "Hey, it's the human!" I heard a scholar murmur. "What?! I thought he left a year ago!" "Why is he back?" Behind me and Shining, I heard the girls giggling. I turned my head around and shot them a cheeky glare. "So... do we have any idea at all who it was?" Rainbow Dash hovered above Shining. "Any hint? Any clue? Anything?" "Well..." Shining Armour hesitated, looking away from the cyan pegasus. "... we do have one lead..." "Really?! Who are they?!" She pressed her head against his with insistence. "Hold it off, Sugarcube!" Applejack pulled Rainbow Dash away by the tail. "There's a reason we're seein' the Princesses now." We headed deeper into the royal palace. I recalled the entire compound being the size of a small town, full of large corridors and a variety of rooms for different purposes. At every corner there stood guards. However, as the sun was going down, the shifts were changing. The nocturnal soldiers began to take the places of the golden soldiers, carrying on their endless duty. Scholars, in royal brown robes, carried scrolls, books and even chemical substances through the corridors to their destinations. The palace was no short of activity. Finally, we reached our destination. Shining Armour stopped at a humungous white and golden door, stretching to the roof. It was guarded by two heavily-armoured units; one was a diurnal soldier, while the other was a nocturnal soldier. I assumed it meant that both Princess Luna and Princess Celestia were present at this council meeting. "Here we are." At the nod of the captain's head, the magic of the Heavy soliders swung the tall doors open. I let out an exasperated sigh, "Let's get some answers."