The day came on its own in this world, something Celestia wasn’t quite used to. After all, she’d been guiding the sun of Mytharia for a long time. To experience a world where she didn’t have to do that was foreign to her. She didn’t know the full details of why Tortured was insistent that she was evil, but what she had to do was show him how wrong he was. Sure, she had to play his game to get him to listen, but that was a price she was willing to pay to show him that she had no ill will towards humanity. She was thrown out of her thoughts when the door to her guest room opened, revealing a human with a trolly of sorts that floated off the ground. The man was dressed in a fashion similar in design to that of a pony butler, but with obvious adjustments given the stark differences between the races. The man stopped the trolly in front of Celestia, and spoke. “Your breakfast. Our President insists that you be given nourishment, though as to why I will not question. He is a man of principle, always looking to show his good nature. Once you are finished, he has asked that you come with him to the trial site.”
Smiling, Celestia replied cordially. “Thank you, sir. I’ll be down soon.” The butler left the room, honestly a bit perplexed. Nevertheless, he repressed it and left Celestia to eat in peace- and the meal was rather good, too. She had not expected the food to be this good, considering that she was essentially a prisoner- but she supposed that Tortured was doing this to maintain his image to his people. After all, what better way to allay their fears that they might have about him being alien to their world than by showing that he would not treat their “common enemy” ill? Giving the “monster a treatment it doesn’t deserve” until it revealed itself was a tactic that she’d heard of before- but Tortured seemed to be using it very effectively to his advantage. After all, he had painted her as the villain indirectly through his book series. She made a mental note to try and get her hooves on it at some point, and allowed herself to be escorted to the Oval Office.
The hallways of the building were rather sparse compared to her home castle, seeming to ill-fit a ruler of a nation. Instead the building, though large, seemed rather like a standard dwelling as opposed to a castle or even mansion. There were however very beautifully painted pictures- and later on famed photographs- adorning the halls, most of various male figures of the human genome in what she presumed to be era-suitable “respectable” garb. Thre were a few females sprinkled in after the first one in the fiftieth frame. The last frame also contained a photo of a female in the group, near the end of the hallway just before the double doorway that led to the office. She seemed to be the most recent of the faces, and seemingly pretty young, too. Then, Celestia was led inside the office- and it indeed was shaped like an oval. There was an ornate desk made of some kind of wood- though she couldn’t guess which one. Paned windows were on each side, along with a flag. In the top left corner was a blue field that had a picture of what she knew was what Earth looked like when viewed from space. There were thirteen alternating stripes of red and white as well, though she was uncertain as to what they could represent. Above a chair that had its back turned to her, there was a very good photograph of Tortured himself in a suit and tie that was tailored to him to not clash with his dual skin tones.
Then, the chair turned to face Celestia, revealing Tortured himself. He had a smug smile on his face. “Ah, the monster has arrived. Are you ready for the first trial?” He stood from his chair, and came around the desk. He snapped his fingers, and one of his men warmed up a strange platform device. Tortured led Celestia onto it, and stood still as he arrived. He then addressed the operator of the machine. “Let’s take her to Madison Square Garden. I want as many people to see this as possible.”
The man nodded, and tinkered with some dials on what Celestia presumed to be some sort of Control Panel. “One trip to Madison Square Garden in New York ready to go, sir. Shall I contact the local news of the area?”
Tortured smirked. “Sure. Tell them we’ll be there by the time they reach it.” the operator nodded, and flipped a switch. He then went to make a call. As Celestia was about to ask, Tortured shook his head. “Observe. Energize!”
The platform started to emit soft light, and Celestia was caught off-guard as the energy encased them. “What is-” She was cut off as the high tech device whisked them off in beams of light.
The next thing she knew, she and Tortured were set down in a large area that looked reminiscent of parks back home, save for the vendor stalls looking more high-tech, among other things. Tortured smirked at her slack-jawed look for a microsecond before producing an orb of magic. He expanded it, form a portal a ways away, which he could see Canterlot through. Luna was in the throne room, and he smirked. “You seeing this alright? I can offer you a front row seat to the unmasking of the monster that is your sister, if you like.”
However, Luna just shook her head. “That is quite alright, Tortured. The citizens and I will witness Celestia prove you wrong from here in Equestria.”
Instead of being insulted, Tortured merely shrugged. “Suit yourself. Just know that the offer is always open.” He then shut the window to Equestria, just as the reporters showed up. He grinned. “Time to get this show on the road.”
A crowd started to gather, and one of the reporters went up to Tortured, a strange object in hand. The lady spoke into it, and her words were made audible to the masses around them. “Mr. President, what is the trial that you will put Celestia through to find her true nature?”
The lady extended her arm so that the object was near enough for Tortured to speak into. He chuckled slightly, and spoke candidly. “I call this first one the trial of burning loyalty. Fairly straightforward, to be honest. I have a volunteer from Equestria here ready to participate. Isn’t that right, Miss Sparkle?”
From behind the treeline, Twilight became visible to the humans. She took a deep breath, and came close enough for the object to be directed to her. “Yes, I am ready. You may not have faith that Celestia is not a monster as you claim, but I-”
Tortured cut her off abruptly. “That’s quite enough, Miss Sparkle. You, as well as all the ponies that are watching through scrying orbs back in Equestria, will soon be faced with the truth. Celestia is a monster, and we are here to prove that. Sure, many have passed the first test- but none ever pass them all. Regardless of if she ‘succeeds’ in this test, I will be proven right in the end.” He then snapped his fingers, and Twilight was encased with his gray magic. “Let’s get to the point, shall we?” He paced some sort of black ring on her horn, and tied her wings with metal cord. He then levitated her high in the air. He turned to the audience, ensuring that everyone got the point. “This test is rather simple.” He snapped his fingers once again, and rings of fire came into existence in a line beneath Twilight. The audience gasped, but Tortured held up a hand. “Relax. It isn’t real fire. It’s… symbolic. I’ll explain at the end. Let’s begin.” He then suddenly let go of Twilight, causing her to fall.
The people gasped, and Celestia showed no hesitation in going to catch Twilight. But Tortured wasn’t done with her just yet. He snapped his fingers, and the rings of fire started to move constantly so they couldn’t be avoided. Celestia huffed with determination, using her innate grace to safely guide Twilight and herself through the rings. Once she was through all of them, she set on the ground, and turned to Tortured. He snapped his fingers, and the rings disappeared. He also released Twilight from her binds, and smiled. “Well done. Of course, if you hadn’t stepped in, I would have ensured that she wasn’t hurt. I’m not a monster, after all. Though, you did react the fastest of those I’ve tested, so that is marks in your favor. A promise is a promise. What would you like to know? Just one question, though.”
Celestia had to consider this carefully. There were many things that she wanted to know, but she could only ask a single question. After a bit of deliberation and considering which ones he would likely answer, she made her decision. “What atrocity did the others commit that you presume I will? You only took one look at me in the previous world and judged me the same as them. I think it’s only fair that I know what you accuse me of being capable of doing.”
Tortured blinked. For a split second, he almost saw… He shook those thoughts away. No. He would not be tricked again. He couldn’t afford to give her an inch. He shrugged, a nonchalant smile on his face. “Xenocide against humanity. Forcing them into pony bodies with a magic potion. General acts of terror. Need I go on?” He glared at her for a while, burning hatred in his eyes. She was the same as the rest, he was sure of it. She may have had the best results from the first test, but that meant little. There were seven more- and if she was like half of those he’d met, she’d fail the next test. Then again, there was the other half that went on to the third test. He’d just have to see which category she fell into. He opened the portal to Equestria. “Miss Sparkle, you may go home now. As for Celestia, she will stay here.”
As Tortured guided Celestia away, Twilight looked on with concern. Tortured had issues, that was for certain. He would stop at nothing to prove himself right. Even so, Twilight had faith that Celestia would win the trust of the humans- and perhaps even the respect of Tortured. With this thought, she went through the portal home.
Tortured closed the portal, and turned to the audience. “Now to explain the rings of fire from the trial- Put simply, each represents a hurdle that tests true loyalty. Conflicts of interest, differing opinions, scepticism, trust issues, the works. This Celestia may have passed with the best score I’ve seen- but so what? Loyalty far from proves her innocence. We will meet again tomorrow for the next trial. But for now, adieu.” Tortured and Celestia were then teleported back to the Oval Office, and stepped off the platform. Tortured adjusted his tie. “Escort Celestia to her room. The rest of you, stand guard. I’ll be right back.” Celestia was taken from the room, and only just managed to get a glimpse of Tortured lighting his hand before the doors closed.