Celestia couldn’t consider herself surprised by the news. That trouble seems attracted to Ponyville and Twilight Sparkle managed to thwart it both seemed on par with her expectations at this point. What she was put off by, though, was that her former pupil managed to strike a deal with the human. She was sipping at her favorite tea in an attempt to calm her nerves when the message from Spike arrived with the news, which again, should have been expected.
With a defeated sigh, Celestia set her cup down and rose from her seat across from her sister, with whom she was regaling the recent events. “I—”
“Save your apologies, sister,” Luna interrupted as she, too, stood. “We can always have tea some other evening, and I do have my court to attend.” The two shared a nod of understanding before Luna strolled out of the solar, two of her guard falling in line behind her.
Celestia stared after her sister, a mixture of remorse and relief clouding her mind. There were times, when their bonding is interrupted like today, that she still felt the pain of trapping her sister in her namesake all that time ago. Every time it happened, she reminded herself that the pain will pass one day, but that didn’t help the current emotion from fleeing.
Building power into her horn, she looked to the south and thought of Twilight. The best course of action was to busy herself with work and let the feeling subside on its own. In a flash of yellow, she was gone.
Only to appear in the old castle, exactly where her thoughts didn’t want to be, yet also exactly where Twilight waited. In her state, the half-decayed half-restored castle only pushed her tears closer to the surface. Celestia breathed in deep, the smell of dust and mildew still present in the air, and let it out slowly as she willed herself back into her mask. Once she was sure every crack was sealed, she turned to see Twilight fully.
She sat between the two thrones, facing her direction but looking down at a form laying before her. Spike was leaning against a pillar with his arms crossed, looking on with disinterest as a pony frantically checked his patient over. There was the occasional hiccup where he would look to Twilight for help or advice, only for her to repeat a phrase quietly: “Assume pony anatomy.” As Celestia approached, she could see her former pupil’s eyes scanning the human’s body, most likely for some clue that she could use to help.
As for Chase, it was the first time Celestia has seen him quiet. Though, to be fair, unconscious beings tend to be silent, she thought. He was undressed, though a blanket had been brought over his groin, and Celestia could only think they found him to be hairless and exposed in more areas than they expected. The idea of Twilight blushing from the sight brought a slight chuckle to her lips, which just so happened to clue the group in on her arrival.
“Celestia!” Twilight cried, a mix of shock and happiness coming from her voice. She stood before flashing over, leaving the poor doctor to try his hardest on his unknown patient. “You didn’t need to rush over so soon. As you can see, Chase is in no condition to answer our questions.”
Sparing another glance at the human, Celestia could see bandages wrapped around his chest, head, and sparingly in other parts of his body. “Spike did say he met with a bear of the stars. He is lucky to have survived,” she mentioned off-hoof, then studied the surroundings further. “Is there a reason we are in my old castle instead of a hospital?”
Twilight shuffled her hooves, trying not to lock eyes with Celestia and be respectful at the same time. “Well, you see, Celestia, there was—is—a sort of agreement we agreed to before he collapsed. He won’t let us move him somewhere safer, or more sterile, but did say we could help heal him.”
“Spike also mentioned an agreement in his letter,” Celestia began, nodding to Spike when he was mentioned, ”but I cannot see Chase agreeing to much in return for our help. What were the terms, and are you absolutely certain he accepted the terms?”
Even more nervousness passed through Twilight, causing her shuffles to turn stiff. “He may have, possibly, avoided answering plainly.” She quickly raised a foreleg to stall. “But! He did tell us we should help him before he collapsed, which is close enough, right?” Before Celestia could speak a word, Twilight’s hoof interrupted her again. “And even if he didn’t agree, abiding by the terms can only endear him to us, which could help him in his decision.”
Silence passed for a few moments as Celestia waited to make sure Twilight was done. She may or may not have raised an eyebrow at some point, which may or may not have made her pupil keep quiet, but all she cared about was not being interrupted again. A gentle smile formed on her lips before she finally spoke.
“You speak wisely, Twilight, but if you only had the single term of healing him, he will not have reason to keep his side of the agreement.” Upon seeing Twilight open her mouth, she held her own hoof before her. “Ah-bupupup. It is okay. I think this will be a good chance to see what happens for yourself. Even if he does not agree, I am sure we can get a few answers out of him.”
“That… may not be possible, Celestia,” Spike said, stepping closer and unfolding his arms. “In return for our help, the terms of the agreement stated he would have to answer any questions we asked him, within reason.” His gaze turned to the human and the doctor fretting over him. “From what I understand, he could easily remember not to answer at all, if he decides not to agree, for the rest of his stay here.”
“Hmm.” Celestia started for the dais, leaving Twilight and Spike to watch her. With a short nod from her, the doctor scurried away, and she looked down on the newest foe to Equestria.
Using the moment she had alone with him, she let a scowl slip, only to hide it again. Chase was a nuisance, just on the edge of really being a threat, but she could see his status degrading if he stayed on his current path. If he had even a chance of changing, it would have to be under the terms Twilight set for him, but she just gave him the best excuse not to fall in line.
She should get Luna involved, watch his dreams, learn his intentions. She should use this chance to hold him and force him to answer her questions. She should do many things any other leader would do without thought. But she won’t. It would be easy to do any of those things, but she wasn’t a tyrant, no matter what some fringe groups said about her.
Looking him over, Celestia lit her horn and scanned his vitals. They weren’t in line with what she knew of ponies, griffons, or even minotaurs, but they also weren’t erratic, steady even. Sending a pulse of healing magic over him, she watched the blood recede from the bandages as it returned to its proper place.
She could imagine seeing Twilight looking on in awe. The spell she cast was never recorded, and she wanted it to stay that way. It was a wonderful skill for the right ponies, but easily abused. If one had the right technique and power, death could be defeated again and again, because unlike the aging spell which relied on illusions, she could completely reverse organ failure and revitalize cells. Unfortunately, the spell passes life from one to another, but she was as limitless as the sun anyway.
Celestia was tempted to leave him with Twilight, let her work whatever magic she did to get every other threat neutralized with peace and friendship, but she had a feeling there was more to Chase than she once thought. “Twilight,” she started, “I will stay here with him until he wakes. I recommend you return home and rest.” Looking up and seeing the stars, she smirked. “It is way past your bedtime.”
Twilight looked like she was going to complain, but thought better of it. “Very well, Celestia. I’ll return tomorrow, as this seems to be his home as well.” Celestia turned her head to nod, watched Spike lay a hand on Twilight’s back, and blinked away the stars as they teleported away.
“You can open your eyes now, Chase.”
“Ugh, finally! I swear, you ponies take so long, I could take over in the time it took you to decide to send troops to the east or the west!” Chase whined as he sat up and rubbed his head. “Hey,” he said suddenly. “What happened to the doc?”
No matter where she looked, Celestia couldn’t find hide or hair of the doctor. She would have seen him if he went with Twilight, and she didn’t hear any doors, but he was definitely gone. Worried he ventured deeper into the castle, she cast an old spell, one she hadn’t used since moving to Canterlot, since it was designed only for her present location. Even with it, she couldn’t sense any life forms except Chase’s and her own within the castle.
“I am not sure,” she stated plainly, causing the human to raise an eyebrow.
He stood and stretched. “Well, if you don’t care, I really don’t,” he replied before flopping down on her sister’s old throne. “Now, if you don’t mind, take your stupid life force back. I don’t want any pony cooties sticking around when I die.”
Ignoring the last bit, Celestia replied, “If I take it back, most of the healing will go away as well.”
“I was healthy enough after that Twilight pony worked her magic. I’ll live, and that’s what she wanted, so take it back and leave me alone.” He turned away from her and laid across the armrests. “I’m in no mood to be answering questions or entertaining ‘royalty’ at the moment.”
She studied his face, looking for anything she could use to convince him, but he was as stony as the Pie family. Thinking it over, she decided she might be able to reason a few questions out of him first. “You want me to take my life force back, and I want answers. Agree to the terms Twilight gave you, answer two of my questions, and I’ll do as you said.”
Chase narrowed his eyes, letting out a slight growl as he watched her, then sighed. “Fine. I agree to her stupid terms, so get out of my soul before I start thinking in sunshine and rainbows.”
“Why are you here?” Celestia asked before she could stop herself. She wanted to know, but it was more important to find out what his goals were, and she wanted to use her second questions to guarantee his loyalties. Of course, as long as she asked the second one properly, should always return later.
“Because I died,” came his tart reply. When told to elaborate, he merely stated that it was against the terms of the agreement to add anything further. Sighing in acceptance and vowing to figure it out on her own, she let it go.
“If harm were to come to my ponies and evidence pointed to you as the culprit, would you submit willingly for questioning or fight and damn yourself?”
It was a loaded question. She didn’t say he was the perpetrator or an innocent party, but it does force him to tell her exactly where his mindset lay. If he submitted, he was only a prankster, one that valued justice above his own freedoms. If he fought, he valued freedom above all, even if it caused others pain. Of course, the psychology behind his answer would be more complicated, but she could work out the intricacies later.
Chase thought it over, shifting his gaze from Celestia, to the windows, to the open sky above him. “Remove your influence.” At her raised eyebrow, he continued. “I can’t think properly with your pony-ness clouding my mind. Take your lifeforce back now, and I’ll answer your question.”
Keeping her eyebrow raised, she spoke. “If I do, you have no reason to answer it, as your terms would be met. If I do not, you will be in violation of my terms and I will not remove my spell. Give me some assurance you will answer.”
He smirked in response. “You aren’t as naive as I thought, Celestia. Not like that other one. Very well, what would convince you?”
She couldn’t rebuke his statement of Twilight being naive, not if she was being truthful. Her pupil had a few more lessons and years to go before she was really ready to lead, but that wasn’t the issue at hand. Thinking it over, she nodded and said, “Give me your jacket.”
“What?!” Chase exclaimed as he subconsciously reached for the leather that wasn’t there. He looked down in horror to find himself nude, with only the blanket somehow still protecting his dignity. “WHAT?! What the hell did you ponies do to me? Why am I naked? Where are my clothes?”
Celestia watched him spring up, only for the blanket to finally dislodge itself from his person, chuckling in mirth. He quickly placed a hand over himself in an attempt to hold the cloth still as he frantically searched for his trousers. In what was most likely luck for him, he found his belongings folded neatly in Celestia’s old throne, but she chuckled even more when he started for them, only to freeze.
“Turn around,” he demanded.
“Now, now, Chase. We are both adults here. I will not be offended if you address me as you are, and we most certainly do not have a rule against nudity in Equestria.” Her smile grew wider as a thought occurred to her. It was her chance to get back at him for Canterlot. “In fact, I prefer my subjects to take a relaxed mentality around me, so I’m sure your nudity will only help facilitate relations.”
“You only want to see how I compare to you horses! I know your game, pony princess.”
A fake gasp with a hoof over her mouth spoke volumes of how much fun she was having. “Moi, a pervert? I could take offense to that, you know, and have you turned to stone for besmirching a princess’s name!”
Sighing in obvious frustration, Chase glared at her with as much hate as she has ever seen from him. “Turn. Around. Celestia.”
She turned around. The smirk was still on her muzzle, but she felt she might have went too far as well. When she thought about it, she didn’t have a clue what his customs were, or any other humans to draw experience on. For all she knew, she may have just stepped further than she wanted to, and all for a joke. There was a very good chance he wouldn’t open up to anypony after that.
Something tough and slick smacked her in the back of the head and draped over her horn.
“There. Take your life back, let me answer the damn question, and give me back my jacket.”
He was definitely angry with her now. She could feel the hidden threat he wanted to add, but was thankful he didn’t. It gave her hope that he wasn’t an evil being bent on taking over. Sighing in relief, she turned around, only to be met with a glare worse than before. A meek “Sorry” left her lips before she straightened and lit her horn, though he didn’t seem to hear it.
Reversing the spell took more time and effort than it did to cast it. Not only was the subject awake, she had to find the life force she gave him under his own as it swirled in emotion. She could see the red of anger, the yellow of irritation, and the orange of controlled hate covering every other emotion all sapient beings live with every day. Trying to find her own blue, pink, and—
Wait. Something was wrong. Sure, she found her own gifted life force with every color as expected, but taking them out should have made the colors of his shift to fill the void. Instead, there were black spaces, areas where emotion was swallowed.
Everypony had one or two small circles, as they helped control emotion, but Chase had hundreds. She could see if he had five, even up to ten, as soldiers are conditioned to keep their feelings in check more than civilians, but hundreds? She couldn’t even keep count of them, as they kept shifting, growing larger or shrinking. They multiplied and shrank in number. Sometimes, she could see an emotion strike through one, only to be devoured or destroy the void entirely. And all the while, the three flaring emotions overpowered everything. It seemed he was in no mood to control his anger tonight, so she quickly pulled away and re-entered the waking world.
Tossing his jacket back to Chase, Celestia shook her head. “Do not worry about answering tonight. I will return tomorrow, and you can do so then.” Without another word, she jumped and spread her wings. Her powerful flaps pushed her into the air, through the open roof, and above the trees as she watched Chase’s glare diminish with distance. When she was clear, she disappeared in a flash of yellow.