Celestia looked around, at a place that seemed familiar. The world below her ethereal consciousness was large and vast, full of lush Forests, pristine Lakes, vast Seas, large Mountains, ambient Valleys, deep Oceans, winding Rivers, rolling Fields, and much more. As she drew closer, she could see that this world was populated.
On one half of the Globe, there were ponies of every tribe, ruled by an Alicorn King that she almost recognized, but not quite. This king had two daughters, who she instantly recognized as herself and Luna. Was this a memory of her father, then? She supposed that could be so, but that made little sense. Why wouldn’t she recognize him?
The other half of this world that she was whisked away to was populated by humans and ruled by a Human King, who himself had only one son. This young boy looked oddly familiar to Celestia, however. But how was that so? She hadn’t seen a human before meeting Tortured… right?
She was awakened by a knock on the door. What’d that dream meant? Some clue as to what was going on here? Celestia was unsure. She pushed the thought aside to answer the door. She blinked as she saw the Secret Service at her door. She then recalled what they were likely here for. “Time already?” She rubbed her eyes. “Can I at least get some breakfast first?”
They nodded. “President Soul is busy right now anyway. He asked us to show you to the Library.”
They led her through the halls, ensuring to not go “too fast”. Celestia rolled her eyes. She was faster than both of them, but she decided to humor them. It wasn’t much longer until they reached the library. When she saw it, she was amazed. The doors themselves were made of what was considered back home to be some pretty expensive wood- Sandalwood. Above the double doors was a golden plaque that read: “The Josephus M. Cartwright Presidential Library”. She was let in, and she saw bookcases lined with thousands and thousands of books- though there was a chair near the door that had what was likely her breakfast on a plate. Near said chair was a pile of peculiar books. Celesita sat on the chair and grabbed her food. The Secret Service addressed her. “President Soul will be along once he is no longer busy. Until said time, you are free to peruse the books provided near the chair; but no others.” The two left Celestia alone.
She took a chance to look upon these books, and saw their titles. “Earth Defense Saga: The Legend Of Atlantis”, “Earth Defense Saga: The Glory Of Rome”, “Earth Defense Saga: The British Crown”, and “Earth Defense Saga: The Revenge Of Solaria.” These were all books in Tortured’s book series, all based on his past. Though, she noticed something odd. The earliest book there, “The Revenge Of Solaria” was book number two. That meant that the one containing the first Celestia was not among the collection that she’d been allowed to peruse. She took the second book, and looked to the list of others in the series. However, much to her surprise, there was no book listed above “The Revenge Of Solaria”. Filing that away for later, she started to read. She read on and on, getting pretty far in the anthology of the second book before the Secret Service came back.
She summoned a bookmark and placed it in the book and stood. She followed them out, and they took her to the Oval Office. She saw that the telepad was still being fixed, so she addressed Tortured. “So where are we going today?”
He was in some sort of white bulky suit, and he turned towards her and handed her a modified version. “Luna City. We’re going to the moon.”
At his response, Celestia balked. “The moon? How?”
He smirked. “Put that on. I’ll show you.” He turned and left the room, and she put on the suit as best she could. Once she figured it out, she left into the hall, and followed Tortured’s lead. They took a few more turns through the halls before they reached a long hallway that she had noticed from the airplane yesterday. It was gray and had rims going across the ceiling. They walked on, and entered a large room. Inside was a giant metal machine unlike anything that Celestia had seen before. Tortured walked up to the stairs that protruded out of the door of the machine. He stood atop the stairs, and looked back. “Behold, Space Force One!” He gestured to the dart-like machine behind him. He jerked his head towards the door. “Come along now.”
He went inside the ship’s door, and Celestia hurried up the stairs to get inside. He gestured to the seat on one side of the vehicle, and she had to twist herself a bit to get in and secure herself. She looked to see that he had already done the same. She felt her blood pool briefly as she heard a voice call out as the machine began to rumble. “10… 9... 8... 7...”
Celestia quirked her head. “What happens when it reaches zero?”
“6… 5… 4…”
Tortured grinned. “Just wait.”
Celestia huffed and rolled her eyes, but complied. “3… 2… 1…! Blast off!”
The rumbling continued for a bit as Celestia felt herself pulled into the back of her seat. In mere seconds, they shot higher and higher as Celestia could see from the window. The city got smaller and smaller, and soon she could no longer see any distinct building. As the machine went higher, she saw the full beauty of the Earth come into view. She had seen it through the projection when she showed it to Twilight and the others, but that view paled in comparison to what she now saw. A massive blue and green sphere with dots of brown and gray. Her eyes could hardly process the full majesty of Earth. She turned towards Tortured. “Your planet is beautiful from this view… So beautiful…”
Tortured raised an eyebrow as the gravity of Earth dispelled as they coasted through space. “Hm? It’s not mine, but yes. Earth is beautiful, regardless of the version that I wind up on.” He turned to look at her with a perplexed look. “You are very insistent to stick to this shtick, aren’t you? Not even a mention of how ‘you humans have twisted its beauty’ or something to that effect? Just admit defeat now, and your end will be less painful.”
Celestia sighed. “I’m not like the Celestias from your past, Tortured. They all had tells, at least from the book I’ve managed to read. I think that maybe you’re being a bit harsh, painting me with the same brush as them. I might be a Celestia, but there is a non-zero chance that I am not like them.”
He blinked at first. “You sound so much like…” He shook his head. “Nevermind. I will admit that you are the most clever one that I’ve encountered, but your charade will soon end.” He perked up as the moon came into view. “Here we are.”
Celestia looked upon Earth’s moon and gasped. She hadn’t seen in detail what it had looked like through the projection, but nothing could possibly compare. The moon was a sea of white rock with craters strewn about. Inside the biggest was a large domed city, complete with several skyscrapers carved from large trees. Everywhere she looked, each building was carved from a different tree. From super-sized oaks to super-sized maples and everything in between, the city was full of them. She turned to look at Tortured as they drew closer. “It’s like looking at a forest of Twilight’s library. Are they… still alive?”
Tortured grinned. “Yes. All of them are spliced with the longest-living and sturdiest tree known to man. Tree-splicing tech used to be pretty difficult. But we broke through because of our desire to colonize the Solar System. Sure, it’s only a few moon cities and the odd towns on Venus and Mars, but it’s a start.” They then set down at a metal door that was connected to a small hall that was jutting out of the dome. The ship was docked carefully so that the door of the ship connected flush with the extended hall. Tortured looked to Celestia. “Well, that’s our cue.”
He got out of his seat, and Celestia did much the same. They went to the door and went through once it and the one it was connected to opened. Once on the other side, the doors closed and they were greeted by a person in a white suit much like Tortured’s. He spoke cordially. “President Soul! What an honor it is to see you here in the Lunar Colony! Please, right this way.” He turned, and led them down the hall. It wasn’t much longer before they reached another door. It opened, and they went through. Once it closed behind them, Celestia felt the gravity shift, and the suit was heavy again. Their erstwhile guide chuckled. “Ah, I see the artificial gravity has kicked in.” He gestured to a pair of bathrooms. “Please feel free to take those suits off now, as here in Luna City, the pressure’s fine!”
Tortured walked off towards one of them, and Celestia found her way to the other one. Celestia took off the bulky suit, and breathed a sigh of relief. Though she was certain that she would have to put it on again when they went back to Earth, it was good to be out of it. She exited the bathroom to see Tortured in his suit, and their guide had changed into a more casual attire. Tortured spoke. “Alright. Now, to business.” He turned to Celestia. “Your task today is to find those that have had a bad day before the East Coast of North America has nightfall. As for what you should do with them? I’ll let you figure that out.”
Celestia took a deep breath, and once more travelled into a large city. It wasn’t long before she found somebody that was down on his luck. She helped him by going up to him and having a cheerful chat. At first, he was a bit put off. But after a while, he was smiling and laughing. She had to say farewell, but that was fine. That man had a new outlook on the day. Not long after, she found a crying girl. She played a game with her until her parents showed up. The glowing smile on her face and her chuckle as she waved good-bye were precious. She scoured the city a little longer, racing against the clock. She managed to find one more, a woman that had just lost her job. Celestia did her best to ensure her that it would be alright, but the woman didn’t seem to believe her at first. But Celestia helped her look for another job, and one of the places she went did accept her application and schedule an interview. After that, the woman smiled softly, and nodded.
Then, time ran out. Celestia was forcibly teleported back to Tortured, and there was a crowd now. Tortured looked upon her for a moment before speaking. “You did it. Once more, you passed. With flying colors.” He paused as he massaged his head. He then continued. “Ask away.”
Celestia considered for a moment. Could she ask about her dream this morning? Or was that too out of line? She shook her head, deciding to ask something else. “You said that you were a king once. The Celestia that took that from you… were you close to her?”
The crowd gasped as Tortured clenched a fist. He fumed slightly before catching himself, and calming down. “You could say that. I don’t elaborate on it. It’s why I never published a book for my Earth. It’s too painful.” He shook his head. “That’s enough. We’re getting back.” He channelled his magic, and the next thing Celestia knew, they were in the Oval Office. Their suits lay on the ground, and Tortured had his back to her. He spoke firmly, a tad of venom seeping in. “Get her out. All of you will keep an eye on her tonight.”
One of the Secret Service spoke out. “But sir! What about you?”
Tortured huffed irritably. “GO.” The Secret Service members stood straight as they all escorted Celestia away. The last thing she saw through the door was Tortured clutching his head.