My shoes thumped against the soft grass beneath me. The sun was at my back, lighting the way into Ponyville, but that light was fading fast with the approaching evening. I didn't care that I would be seen now. What mattered was staying safely away from the ponies chasing me, and the only place that could offer refuge was Twilight Sparkle's. I glanced behind me for a brief moment as I finally hit the dirt path leading into town. The soldiers weren't far behind; two unicorns and a pegasus. Rainbow had to be dealing with the fourth one somewhere. I felt my leg muscles stretch like guitar strings, and my lungs were beginning to burn. I hadn't had this much activity for weeks, and my body was beginning to protest. I shut it out, running over the bridge towards the outer edge of homes and shops leading into the town's center. I sprang off one foot to the other, gliding around ponies in my haste to get away. Some looked back at me in wonder, some gave a quick startled cry, but all gave way to let the soldiers through. What did they know? They might think I was a loose animal or something, and that they were just trying to protect others from me. I can't say I would blame them.
As I neared the center of town I blazed past a grey blonde maned pegasus cleaning the area in front of what I guessed was her shop. I left her spinning in mid-air, with a quick "Sorry!" Alarmed, she flew back into the shop without saying a word. I was close now. The Library was right there: I felt like I was just a few steps away!
"Twilight," I yelled desperately on my run up to it, then quickly yelled her name again, "Twilight!"
A window on the second floor opened up, and the pony I was happiest to see at that moment peered out. She saw me, then my pursuers. I saw her horn light up, and she yelled back into the library, "Spike, gang way!"
A bright violet-pink aura appeared around the front door, and it quickly swung open. I saw safety was just ahead, and without thinking I gave my last burst of energy to get there. I blasted into the library, only now remembering I had to stop at some point. I just missed the reading stall at the center of the first floor and only managed to come to a halt by nearly running face first into the far shelf walls, my hands bracing against the frame.
The door had shut fast behind me, with Spike taking the finishing measure of locking up. "Woah," he exclaimed in an alarmed tone, "What's going on Adam? Why'd you come in like a hellbat out of Tartarus?"
"What on earth-" Twilight was asking in bewilderment as she rushed downstairs, when heavy rapping hoofbeats at the door cut us all off.
Out of breath and barely able to speak, I pointed to the door and simply said, "Them." I was heaving for air as she approached the front door, trying to wave her away, "Keep them out!"
Keeping the bottom part of the stall door locked tight, she swung open the top half to see what was going on. Outside waited five ponies of the seven, who seemed now to be a little bit more reluctant about continuing after me. In a tone I'd never heard her speak in, Twilight looked each of them face to face with a formal but angry demeanor, "Good evening. Is there something I can help you with?"
"Indeed you can," the labcoat pony declared as he stepped forward, "You will release the entity who just entered your library into our custody immediately."
"And what is he accused of," she asked with a small snort of frustration.
"Being an agent of an alien power, with intent to harm the Equestrian herd," he replied.
"And should I refuse to allow you to have him?"
Here the earth pony remained silent. Twilight was a clever pony, as most understood, but she was well aware of who she knew, and so were they it seemed.
"Please wait while I have a moment with him," she finished without waiting for a reply, then closed the top stall door. She then turned to me, "Adam, what have you done? Those aren't just soldiers out there; they're some of the most well equipped ones I've ever seen!"
"All I ever did was fall through a roof by accident," I exclaimed back, agitated that she could think this was somehow my fault, "but it's not just me they're after. They were taking away Bon Bon, and they were thinking about taking Rainbow Dash too!"
Spike's face screwed up for a second before he looked at me in confusion, "Why though? The only thing they've ever done is be near you."
My hands went to my forehead and my head craned up as I closed my eyes, "I don't know. I feel like that's all I've said all day now, but it's where I'm stuck right now; a great big ditch full of 'not knowing!'"
Twilight's eyes narrowed, and she tapped her hoof to her chin, "There's only one way we can fix this now I think, and that's to go through with our plan to appeal to the Princess. At this point it might be the only thing that can get these other ponies off your back."
"But a letter will take too long," I said, my frustration building, "You might as well get on a train and hand deliver it, all the good that would do!"
Twilight looked at me with a confident smile, "We won't have to worry about waiting: Spike's breath is enchanted to deliver messages directly to her. It'll only be a matter of minutes!"
"Oh," I exclaimed, sheepishly. It seemed I was still used to a world without the everyday miracles of magic. Spike, in the meantime, had retrieved a quill and parchment and was readying himself for Twilight's dictation. While I'd never noticed it before, it was clear to me now how much of a team the two of them were.
"Dear Princess Celestia," she began, walking around the small room to follow whatever her thought process was. There was another knock at the door, and we all knew then our time was running out before she had to return with an answer.
She restarted, "Dear Princess Celestia, I'm writing to you with an urgent matter. A member of a hitherto undiscovered race has come to me seeking asylum. We spoke briefly of him before: his name is Adam, and he is being oppressed by members of some military squad. I would ask that you intercede on his behalf, and act as an impartial arbitrator between him and these other ponies. Your faithful student, Twilight Sparkle."
With a final swirl on the 'e' of her name, Spike was finished and he nodded to her. Twilight once again walked to the front door, while I watched Spike roll up the parchment and seal it. With the scroll now immaculately ready, he then lightly blew on it, green flames sparking along its length, before it vanished in a small puff of smoke. The smoke drifted upwards, as though with a sense of purpose and direction. Though she had tried to comfort me, and she was confident in her teacher, I was still nervous. Celestia was the head of the government, so wouldn't these ponies already be acting with her orders? I supposed that Twilight trusted they were out of line, but I had no inherent trust. I didn't know what was going to happen, but I knew that I'd be meeting my fate soon enough, whatever way things went.
The door had just closed on Bunsen Burner and his squad. He knew Twilight would never give up on this cause if she saw him and his squad as anything but defenders of the public safety. Fortunately he had accounted for a number of possibilities, and he launched his plan B.
He turned to the pegasus soldier with the long bore rifle, "Set up, and look for my signal. I'll be near the southwest window." He then turned to the others, "Maintain a perimeter should things escalate and he finds a route to escape."
The ponies nodded and replied with quick, "Sirs," and variations thereof, before breaking for their positions. The pegasus soldier flew above the library, about fifty feet up, before he spotted a low-lying cloud a few hundred feet away that would prove the ideal vantage point. Placing himself down on the cloud, he rolled it halfway over himself, giving him a concealed snipe box from out of which he had eyes on both the target area and his window. Settled in for the right moment, he prepped his rifle, placed the war saddle's trigger just inside his mouth and waited, ready for the moment when his jaw had to twitch into the ready position. The others created a triangular perimeter around the library, all eyes pointed in, prepared for the target to flee.
While there were now many curious eyes looking their way and many murmuring voices among them, there were two sets of eyes that stuck out from all the rest. One, the grey pegasus mare, Ditzy Doo, who was looking straight at the army ponies: the other set were the brown eyes of one Dr. John Whooves.
"What do you think's gonna happen, Doctor," she asked quietly.
He stared at their armor, sizing it up, judging its chemical makeup at a glance, and gauging the muscle density of each soldier's body. He breathed in deeply through his nose before he replied in a low murmur, "I do not know, Ditzy. I do not know."
"Isn't there some way we can intervene," she asked quietly as she looked to him, "With all you've said about them, surely this human can't be all bad."
"Oh, dozens," he replied off-handedly, "A few successful ones, and one even involving a unicycle. Right now, however, it would be best to watch and wait."
While he didn't turn to look at her, his face momentarily flashed in her direction, revealing a few points of light shining out of the afterimage, and a much larger form behind the shape of the pony in front of her. It was a momentary flash, one which you'd have to have been looking at him in the moment it occurred for it to be noticed. It was a singular error, and then it was gone, replaced once again by the more comfortable equine facsimile projection.
"We don't want to spread undue panic," he finished.
The library door swung fully open, and Twilight stood in the doorway between the earth pony and her home. He was a half head taller than her, but she didn't allow this to intimidate her one bit, and let him know for certain with a pronounced frown on her face. She noticed the other ponies were gone, until she saw one standing sentry looking in at the library door a few yards away. The building was surrounded it seemed. She meant to show everypony that such a measure was unnecessary and insulting.
"I'd like to invite you inside," she said with a very evident agitated tone, "I've asked the Princess to help mediate this...harassment."
He noticed her pointed choice of words, but dismissed it, "Very well. If conflict mediation is what you're seeking, though, there is no need. There is no conflict, except that which I hope to avert."
Surprised by his words, she tried to open diplomacy by meeting him in common ground, "Then we're of the same mind it seems, Mr.-"
"Bunsen Burner," he replied, "and I very much doubt we are. The entity you're championing is as much a danger to itself as it is to us all."
Her frustration grew with the obstinate stallion, but she contained her feelings behind an air of civility, "I was taught by Celestia that every species deserves its chance to prove itself, and to be offered the friendship of other races."
A light appeared in the library as a teleport flash dissipated. Bunsen leaned a tiny bit forward to say in a quieter tone, "Not too long ago, so was I."
Twilight's eyes grew wide as her mind quickly processed the meaning of his words, but she was interrupted by a sweet familiar voice, "Twilight, so good to see you. Bunsen, I'm surprised to see you so far from Canterlot."
“A necessary cause drives me,” he replied as he stepped around Twilight to enter into the library, “I’m afraid, my good mentor, it has to do with the strange being among us.”
When my eyes had adjusted to the bright light that had spontaneously appeared nearby, I saw the form of a great white horse. Her horn was the longest I had ever seen, and her wings, though tucked snuggly away, were bound to have an enormous span. Her mane flowed like aether in the air, its pastel colors complimenting her serene disposition. I could most definitely see the family resemblance between her and Luna. Working off that thought, I hoped to personally reach out to her, without the intervention of this ‘Bunsen’ pony. Opening my mind as I had before during my last royal experience, I thought as loud as I could, I’m innocent; please help me. I’m innocent; please help me!
When she turned to scrutinize me I thought I’d done it, but when no obvious reply came I began to worry that perhaps she wasn’t as much like her sister as I had hoped. She did seem to notice the intense look I was inadvertently wearing on my face, but she smiled all the same, “Hello there! I take it that you are the Adam that Twilight mentioned?”
I nervously chuckled a little and replied, “Uh, yep! That’s me.”
She took a step to my left, looking over me, examining my physical form as if I was some sort of zoo animal. It agitated me, but given the situation it was best to let things slide. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Bunsen’s left hoof return to the floor, and he cleared his throat, “Princess-”
“My apologies, Bunsen,” she declared as she looked back to the old stallion, then to me, our faces practically at the same height, “and my apologies to you as well: it’s been a long time since I’ve seen something new. I’ve forgotten what that kind of awaiting curiosity feels like.” I felt a subtle anger begin to burn inside me, but I buried it deeper and held my silence. She looked back to the other two ponies in the room, and addressed them, “My students, I trust the both of your judgment, and I believe you are each acting with only the best of intentions in mind. However, I’d like to hear Adam’s testimony first.” She looked to me again, and smiled, “He does, after all, have the unequivocal right to defend himself.”
Though an informal court, there was now no more important case for me than proving myself. I gave a sigh of relief, “Thank you, Princess.”
“Please, tell us what is going on here,” she asked, her dulcet tones putting me at ease, her voice somehow carrying with it a sense of wisdom and maternity that I’d never experienced. It actually felt like everything was going to be alright, now that she was listening. “Just tell me how you see what’s happening, and don’t worry about any ill will: there’s none here.”
While I wasn’t so sure about the stallion in regards to that last bit, I felt like I at least had her ear. Now I saw why Twilight spoke so highly of her. “Well,” I began after a small cough, “to make a long story short, I was sent here from another world, and I want to live here peacefully. Given how nervous others might be about me, Twilight gave me an invisible shroud to able to move through Ponyville and meet with her friends. I was in Canterlot a few days ago with two friends, Lyra and Bon Bon, when I messed up and a lot of ponies saw me.” My anger was growing again, but somehow it felt like not all of it was mine. I pointed to the stallion standing by the window, “Now Lyra is missing, and Bon Bon’s been carried away, thanks to him!”
The Princess’ smile had faded, and was now replaced by a thin pursed line as she listened to my account. She then turned to the earth pony, “Bunsen, what have you to say in regards to this matter?”
He straightened up a bit, adjusting his glasses, and spoke in the most condescending tone I’d ever heard, “This ‘Adam’ was seen by a group of ponies in a Canterlot nightclub, when he fell through the pane glass roof above them. No substantial injuries were reported, but he’s a threat to the public, aside from the property damage already perpetrated.”
How could they stand his talking? It was making my blood boil! I fumed in silence. He continued, “As for the two mares he mentioned, we’ve taken Ms. Bon Bon in for questioning. She is not being charged with any crime, as we are taking her into protective custody. The Lyra he mentioned is Lyra Heartstrings. She’s been missing for several days now.”
“And so what,” Spike blurted out furiously, “You think Adam’s responsible somehow for her disappearance? That’s idiotic!”
Bunsen offered no comment. Twilight shot Spike a look that told him he had overstepped his bounds, but he defiantly looked back at her before addressing the Princess, “Look, I might not have been in his company for very long, but Twilight and I have talked with him. We took notes for hours! He’s no kidnapper. Besides, he lives with Lyra and Bon Bon; if he had wanted to take them somewhere he didn’t have to wait to do it in Canterlot!”
“I fully agree with Spike’s observation,” Twilight declared, before adding with a bit more bite than I would have expected from her, “Despite his apparent lack of tact!”
Finally, something was going my way! Though still frustrated with him, she did seem happy with his calling out of the old stallion. I’d not really paid him much attention before, but I was counting my lucky stars now on account of that little dragon!
“A high profile abductee was initially the reason we were tracking him,” Bunsen replied as he yet again adjusted his glasses, “but information has come to light which has increased our wariness of him. Being a member of the Ruined, we understand the seriousness of the threat he represents to all other beings.”
There was a now a strange audible thrumming sound in the air. It felt like it was focusing on the back of my head. I then angrily yelled at the stallion, “What the hell is a ‘Ruined?’”
The Princess looked at me, and I glanced at her, then to Twilight. Princess Celestia’s eyes had grown wide, while Twilight’s mouth had come slightly open in alarm.
“It is what you are,” Bunsen declared, his hoof coming up to his glasses again, “You enjoyed the pain of our ancestors; you hid them away in dark holes. You crave dominion but poison everything you touch.”
A fire burned inside me like I’d never felt before; anger so hot it turned my blood to acid, and my eyes felt as if they were masked in red. I roared in frustration, and I meant to run towards the stallion and rip him apart. I was sick of being told who I was and who I should be! Why couldn’t I have my friends back? Why couldn’t things be the way they were? I felt a sharp blow hit me in the back of the head. I heard the sound of glass shattering nearby. My knees hit the floor, and I slumped to the side, crumpled on the library floor. As my mind drifted away, I tried to mentally call out to Luna for help, but it was beyond me. Why couldn’t things be...right...