Human Hostage
The sun was still high in the sky. Celestia's sun to be exact.
And it was beating down on me, not to mention the six other ponies, of which I gave blank expressions.
But inside, I was filled with different emotions! I was happy that I got to see Equestria! I was excited and scared at the way the Mane Six were looking at me. I was sad at the thought that I may not return to Earth, and my family and friends.
And I'm anxious for someone to do something already!
It felt like a really long time since I presented the Harmony Stone to them. In fact, it was still raised up, in front of their faces. They showed no interest in it , and instead, kept their gaze at me.
Finally, Twilight's eyes diverted her gaze from me, to the Harmony Stone. She then turned, very slowly, towards Applejack.
"Applejack?"
My face showed an expression of confusion. It was soon followed by surprise as Applejack suddenly spun round on her front hooves, and readied her back legs for a kick. It was just like in the show when she was applebucking!
Only this time, the kick was aimed at me...
THUD!
My head felt like it was slammed against concrete. A dozen times in an instant.
I felt my knees buckle as I collapsed once more. I struggled to remain conscious. I was half-expecting this to happen. Hopefully they don't do anything too bad to me. I heard a little conversation as I slipped into blackness for the second time today.
"Oh, Twilight! What do we do with him?"
"I don't kno...aybe...rincess...go..."
"You...o go...anterlot?!"
Canterlot?
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I slowly came back into consciousness. Everything that had happened earlier came rushing back, followed by the painful throb that the entire front of my head had experienced from hooves.
Where am I? What Time is it?
Oh yeah, Canterlot... oh the the pain...
I attempted to lift my hand to rub the pain away, but I was...restrained... at a rather odd angle...with my eyes still closed, I felt my through whatever position I was in.
My legs were at a ninety degree angle, with my back lying down. My arms were raised upwards, almost like it stretched out to hug something. In all, I felt like I was in a squatting position, only lying down.
I'm being held down!
I opened my eyes slowly, only to be greeted by a bright white light shining right at my face.
I squinted, and moved my head at whatever angle it could, avoiding the light.
I was in a barren white room, with a single light above my head.There was only one entrance, a shiny metal door, held by a strange mechanism I have never seen before. I was down on a metallic chair. I almost panicked when I assumed that this was a Ponified version of a torture chair! I struggled wildly for a moment, but the steel restraints were no joke. It hurt after a while and I decided to just give in. I gave out a sigh, waiting for whatever was to happen next.
At that thought, I heard sounds of hooves clopping. Somepony was coming this way...
"Please Princess! We don't have to hold him against his will like this! What if he's a good pony-er...person?"
Twilight Sparkle?
"Twilight, of all my years as your teacher, have I ever been wrong about my judgement?"
That voice! It seemed somewhat royal, majestic...
"And if he is a good person, I'm sure he wouldn't mind giving a few explanations."
I'm about to be interrogated by Princess Celestia?
The door's mechanism moved slowly, as if teasing me about my fears and anxieties.
It swung open, to reveal Princess Celestia, almost glowing with magic, glaring at me with eyes that didn't seem trusting.
She definitely looked her part as royalty. From estimating, she was a whole head taller than me. Her mane and tail seemed to disobey the laws of physics at it swayed in a breeze that could only be felt by it. Maybe it's a privilege to be interrogated by royalty...
I felt no fear, only curiosity, if not a little agitation from the pain of my position.
She trotted in slowly, almost cautiously, not taking her eyes off me for a single moment. She was followed by Twilight Sparkle who seemed more afraid of what the Princess would do rather than me.
We stared at each other in silence, fully accessing the situation. Until at last, the Alicorn spoke.
"Human. Why are you here?"
I noticed as Twilight quivered at the word 'Human'. She still looked unaccustomed to having an alien in her world.
However, Princess Celestia seemed to be taking it rather well...
"Speak, Human!"
The volume of which she said this made me cringe. I was pretty sure she was using her Royal Canterlot Voice. She took in a deep breath and calmed herself.
"Human," she began " I apologize. I know you are overwhelmed by everything you have heard and seen. But for now, we are in need of your assistance. What is your name Human?"
"My name is Keith" I said, trying to keep the hoarseness from my voice. It struck me on how thirsty I was.
"Keith, would you care to answer a few questions?"
"Sure."
"How did you arrive in Equestria?"
And so I began the story once more, from the Whirlwind clouds on Earth, to the Harmony Stone, to the Portal. I told her everything up to being knocked out by Applejack. I watched with hidden amusement as I saw the expressions of Twilight's face change with every part of my journey. Her mouth lay open as I spoke of the whirlwind clouds, which seemed to be the same thing that happened during the Unicorns weather spell, which happened at the exact same time. She smiled as I told of the Harmony Stone and it's symbol, along with the portal that came soon after. She blushed as I recalled her telling Applejack to kick me in the head.
Celestia on the other hand, just gave a blank expression, one that could only be given by authority.
"And so now I'm here," I ended, "Restrained in a table that I now feel that there is no need for..."
Twilight gave a nervous laugh, "eh heheh... Princess, may I...?"
She gave a simple nod, and Twilight slowly approached the table, flashing me a nervous smile. Her head disappeared beneath the table, and I was jolted up to an angle, almost upright, facing the door. The latches were then released, as my arms and legs were released. I stretched my feet out just before I could slide off the table and hurt myself. My limbs were a little sore. Twilight approached from behind the tilted table.
"Sorry about that... safety precautions you know..." and she returned once more to Princess Celestia's side, just as she was about to speak.
"Keith, we sincerely apologize for bringing you here. Now, it is our turn to explain..."
"A few months ago, our scholars of magic had created a spell that could control all weather in Equestria. If it went successfully, all weather could be controlled with ease from Canterlot. Cloudsdale providing the clouds, and us controlling it to wherever part of Equestria we saw needed it. It would have changed Equestria for the better!"
"However, the scholars had not fully perfected the spell yet. There were major issues with it the first time round..."
"We thought we lost Rainbow Dash, but we got her back about fifteen days later." Twilight added in.
"However, it has been quite a while since the first experiment, so we decided to try it once more, this time with the help of me, Twilight and my younger sister, Princess Luna. Everything went according to plan at first, but we soon lost control of its output. Knowing where we got it wrong the first time, we managed to cancel the spell before it got any worse. But just as we did, a bolt of lightning struck at the edge of Ponyville. We all felt a strange magical pulse emit from it once it struck, so I sent out Twilight and her friends to investigate. And that's how we found you, Keith."
I stood there, taking all the information in. It all made sense now... at least more sense anyway... then I remembered. There was something that I was meant to keep safe.
"The Harmony Stone! Where is it?!" I panicked slightly. It was after all, my only way out of here.
A lavender glow emitted from Twilight's horn, she telekinetically levitated my black hoodie from behind the table.
"Everything that is yours is in your coat, including the Harmony Stone. We haven't touched it since we brought you here." She smiled. she seemed to be getting used to me more and more.
"Speaking of which, when was I brought here? How long have I been out?"
"About fifteen hours now. It's almost dawn."
"So I have been here for about a day?"
"Yup."
Remembering my family and friend's from Earth, I wondered what they were thinking right now?
"I know you may be concerned about your own world, Keith, but I'm sure we will find a solution." Princess Celestia seemed to be reading my thoughts.
"That stone... the Harmony Stone. It has some strange properties we have never seen before. Our scholars are doing their best right now to understand this phenomenon."
I gave a sigh of relief. Sure they might miss me, but maybe I could explain things when I got back. I pushed it to the back of my mind. I stretched upwards and yawned. I didn't care if royalty was watching, I just felt aching.
"So I'm in Canterlot I presume?"
"Indeed you are. And speaking of dawn, it's about time I raised the sun."
"And you must be really thirsty..." Twilight chimed in. At that said, my stomach gave a loud rumble.
"...and maybe hungry" she said giggling.
The princess gave a warm smile. "I suppose we have held you in this chamber for far too long already, Keith. I must leave you now, but I assure you, we will be speaking with the Scholars of Magic later. Until then, maybe Twilight can show you around Canterlot?"
Sounds like a great idea!
"Oh I wouldn't want to impose..."
"It's fine, Keith! Come on, there is no time to lose!"
The heavy metal door swung open once more, as the three of us left, as if the interrogation never happened.