Somewhere above Equestria, a royal carriage – with two alicorns on board – was soaring through the sky. Both princesses were staring through the window in silence, almost admiring the beauty of the dawn… almost.
“Are you mad at me?” Twilight said, trying to break the awkward silence.
Celestia let out a chuckle and put on a gentle smile. “I have never been mad at you Twilight, even when you cast ‘want it, need it’ spell on the entire Ponyville. It is just…” She let out a slow deep sigh. “I am not convinced that what you did, was the best approach. Taking this matter to royal court seems premature, and those ponies may claim to have a connection with the land—”
“I respectfully disagree,” Twilight interjected, levitating a parchment, “Section five paragraph seventy of the border treaty, clearly indicates that those lands are part of Equestria—”
“Yes, I know, but—”
“Moreover, section five hundred paragraph twenty of the royal defense act, states that all borderlands can be taken by the right of eminent domain if necessary.”
“Twilight, this is not what—”
“There is also a loophole in the agriculture law that would allow us to—”
Celestia raised her hoof to interject but quickly decided to wait it out instead. She sat in silence, with a gentle smile on her face, watching as Twilight picked up a parchment, after parchment, quoting various laws and regulations. She must have read all the books about law. Celestia chuckled under her breath. Probably multiple times.
“—and there also is… um,” Twilight said, frantically checking a pile of scrolls in front of her. “No, I think… there is nothing else,” she wiped some sweat off her forehead with her hoof. “But, as you can see, the law is clearly on our side – I don’t see how we could lose.”
Celestia let out a sigh, her face turning blank. “Be that as it may – we must first exhaust all possibilities of finding a peaceful solution. We should consider using the law, as a last resort. You must learn to be patient.”
“Ugh! Respectfully, Celestia – after our last meeting, I don’t see the ‘peaceful solution’ happening! Those ponies are just… impossible!”
“You must have more faith – this is not the first conflict with some wild settlers, I had to deal with. It may take some time, but they will come around, trust me.”
“After a few days of negotiations with those ponies, James’s problem-solving… techniques seem so appealing,” Twilight let out a dark chuckle. “Five minutes of shooting and problem resolved.”
“Yes, ‘violence solves everything, and if it doesn’t you’re not using enough of it,’” Celestia said sarcastically. “I was not aware you like dark humor.”
“Me neither, until I began living with James… Sometimes I think he is crazy – during the past few weeks, he was sure that someone was snooping through his room and stuff. He also thinks that you send ponies to constantly watch him.”
“Hrmph, good old fashioned paranoia, I presume?”
“That… Or his weird sense of humor, hard to say. At least I didn’t find him beating on anypony in my dungeon yet…” Celestia squinted her eyes in confusion. “Yes, dungeon – he built one in my castle.”
“I hope you made it clear that we would never let him keep anyone locked in there?” Twilight bit her lip. “Please tell me you are joking now.”
“No, no I made it clear. It’s just… He didn’t build the dungeon for that.”
Celestia cocked her head. “Why then?”
“He said, and pardon me, but I quote: ‘When the white… tyrant will want to lock me up again for innocence, it will save her some bits on transportation cost’ unquote. He is weird.”
Celestia smile melted into a scowl, her eyes piercing Twilight like a dagger. “White tyrant?”
Seeing her mentor’s cold, intimidating gaze shot some tingling sensation down Twilight’s spine. Squinting her eyes, Celestia let out a very unroyal growl. The deep sound, leaving her mentor’s throat, made Twilight cover her face with her wings, expecting… well she wasn’t exactly sure, what – but with her imagination already warmed up, the visions of the moon, sun and… ruined libraries filled her mind. She waited in fear for what seemed like an eternity… until a light chuckle filled the air.
“I got you there for a moment, huh?” With one eye, Twilight glanced through her – still close – wings, to see a smirk on Celestia’s face. “You really need to learn to relax Twilight.”
“So… you are not mad?”
“Of course not, it has been a while since I was called a ‘white tyrant,’ it’s so… cute. Then again, I expected nothing less coming from James,” Celestia chuckled gently. “Makes me wonder if perhaps this is how humans normally behave. Maybe the name-calling is part of their customs.”
Twilight shook her head. “I don’t think so, I have studied a lot of data he brought with him, and as far as I can tell, the attitude of his people was pretty similar to that of the humans in the mirror world where Sunset is. James himself said he was always distant from the others. I just don’t understand why.”
“Hmm, if I recall, not so long ago, a certain student of mine also preferred keeping to herself – putting her studies above everything else,” Celestia winked. “It took a while to change her approach.”
A gentle blushed filled Twilight’s face. “Point taken, but you would think that if someone spent a few hundred years alone on a dead planet, he would be more willing to be around others. I just can’t figure this out.”
Celestia let out a slow deep sigh. “That makes two of us.”
Twilight tilted her head, to see that the smile Celestia had on her face just a few seconds ago, was gone now – replaced by a blank expression. “Princess Luna?”
“Yes. It has been seven years, and I can still feel that she is isolating herself from others – no matter what I do,” Celestia glanced at the silver moon still hanging above the horizon. “Luna was always less social than me, but… all that isolation has taken its toll. Every time I try to encourage her to get out of the palace and participate in something, she is always too tired.”
“Perhaps that’s true? After the latest… um, incident with Starlight and all – you told me yourself, that night shift wasn’t as easy as you imagined.”
Celestia put a gentle smile back on her face. “True, my perspective was somewhat misguided, but I can tell this is not the case here. I just… I wish she would tell me what is bothering her – can it be that she still fears rejection?”
Twilight bit her lip, looking for an answer. She had a first-hoof experience with Luna’s reaction around other ponies and her somewhat awkward behavior, but she never considered that a problem. On the contrary, if the incident in Ponyville during the Nightmare Night was any indication, then – after the initial misunderstanding – ponies enjoyed Luna’s silly behavior. If there was something wrong, the only way to find out was to ask someone close to the princess, someone she would trust with such secret, someone like…
“James,” Twilight said, getting Celestia’s attention. “I think you should ask James. He and Luna are close friends.”
“I realize that but… Somehow I doubt he will want to talk with me on such sensitive topics, especially after I locked him up.”
“Um, about that… Don’t you think that was a tiny overreaction on your part?” Twilight said.
Celestia tilted her head and arched her eyebrow, once again piercing Twilight with her eyes. “Twilight, contrary to what most ponies believe, I am an easy-going mare for the most part, but… Printing my scowling face on a bunch of t-shirts with a big ‘OBEY!’ word under it, and then selling those things to foreign delegations, is something I will NOT tolerate.”
“Well, they weren’t as bad as the other versions…” Twilight murmured.
“Other versions?”
Chuckling nervously, and with a sheepish smile on her face Twilight said, “Um, you know what… Better ask James about that.”
Celestia straightened in her seat, a different and slightly offended frown on her face. “Why do I have the feeling that if I do that, that dungeon of yours will get an occupant? Then again, thanks to your impatience, we did finish a day or two ahead of schedule. I guess I could take a few hours to talk with him before I return to Canterlot.”
“Why only a few hours? Stay in my castle for a few days! We would have a chance to catch up, and you could talk to James in the meantime.”
Celestia struck a thinking pose. I think Luna could handle things for a while longer… A few more days away from the nobles would be wonderful. ”Are you sure I would not be a bother?”
“Of course not! You are always welcome at my place… Speaking of which,” Twilight said, pointing her hoof at the Castle of Friendship, which was just few hundred meters away, their carriage already on the landing approach.
Celestia smiled. “I shall accept – on one condition. Please promise me you will not try to show me reports of any kind.”
“Um, actually I was hoping to…” Twilight started, but after seeing a frown on Celestia’s face, she let out a sigh of defeat. “Fine, no reports – I promise.”
“Then I accept your generous offer,” Celestia said, just as they hit the ground.
A few seconds later, carriage door opened and a middle-aged pegasus guard with a light grayish-blue coat and lightning bolt hitting the ground as a cutie mark, bowed his head.
“We are here, your majesties,” Lightning Strike said.
“Thank you, Captain. However, I will be staying in Ponyville for a few days, please inform my sister.”
He bowed his head again. “Yes, your highness. Shall we dispatch a royal escort from Canterlot?”
Celestia rolled her eyes. Yes, and the whole parade while we are at it – that is all I need. “That would not be necessary, I think I can manage without protection for a few days.”
As soon Without a word of protest, the pegasi harnessed themselves back to the carriage and flew away. Thank you, Lightning Strike – if only all of my captains were so obeying… I need to promote you one day. She smiled, as they began walking towards the castle door.
“You know, a year or two ago I would never think I’ll say this, but… It’s good to be home,” Twilight said, levitating some scrolls and documents in the air. “After losing the Golden Oak Library, I couldn’t get used to this place.”
“Trust me, I know how you feel. When I had to move to Canterlot, after the… incident with Luna, I missed my old castle as well for a while.”
“Really? How long did it take to finally let it go?”
“Oh, I don’t know… thirty… forty years?” Celestia said, forcing a hollow expression on Twilight’s face. “Why so shocked? I was very sentimental about that place. The location, no nobles in sight coming to you with every whim, fresh air… Did I mention, there were no nobles—”
Their conversation was abruptly interrupted by a scream coming from above…
***
Sometime earlier at the castle…
John’s eyes opened, revealing a blurry image. Oh… my head. With the world around him spinning, he slowly sat up on the bed, only to be blinded by the rays of the sun that was just moving above the horizon. Too bright! Trying to block the annoying sensation he put his hand in front of his face and lost his balance – his arms reached out trying to hold on to something, but that only took the content of the nearby table down with him.
“What in tarnation?!” Applejack shouted, alarmed by the noise. “You were supposed to sleep, darn it!”
Too preoccupied with picking himself back up, John didn’t notice her. Ugh… what the hell did I drink last night? And where the hell is a bathroom? With some significant effort, and the room still spinning, he managed to reach the exit. The door opened with a loud shriek, revealing the twisted corridor outside, sparkling in the morning light.
“When did I get to Disneyland?” He said to himself, glancing at the crystal structure.
Applejack stepped in front of him trying to block his path, but he only chuckled mumbling something to himself. He tried patting her on the head, but with his mind still drugged, she was able to avoid his hand with ease. “We are not in the mood for petting today I see… Fine, run along,” he said, moving away.
“Are you listening to me?!” Applejack attempted to get his attention, but without the universal translator nearby it was pointless. He just kept walking or at least tried to – staggering from side to side and hitting the floor every few seconds... Oh, nelly, like Rainbow Dash after my strong cider… I better follow him.
John continued his tour for some time, opening one door after another, what started as a search for a toilet, quickly change to a hunt for a way out. With every passing minute, his step was getting more steady, as the drug was leaving his system. Applejackobserved him from some distance away – keeping low, but ready to burst into action if necessary.
John opened another door and stepped inside a room, and the next thing Applejack saw was a green flash feeling the corridor in front of her, immediately followed by the loud scream.
“What in Equest— Whoa!” She jumped away, as a figure engulfed in green flame passed her with blurring speed.
Before she had processed what happened, Spike stepped in front, his body shaking. “Applejack?! Who was that?!”
“Spike? … Oh no,” she said, her eyes going wide, “I’ll explain later, we need to find that thing before something bad happens – follow me!”
***
Current time – front of Twilight’s castle…
Following the scream, Celestia glanced up only to notice a black figure, engulfed with green flame in free-fall – now just seconds from impact. Before she could even wholly process what was happening a sphere of magic surrounded the victim – her mind working on autopilot, stopping him just a few meters above the ground. That was too close… Now the fire. With another spell, she quickly extinguished the green flame, gently placing the singed body on the ground.
For a moment Twilight was lost for words – until the smoke vanished, revealing the familiar looking figure. “James?! Have you completely lost your mind?!” She shouted, but the only response was a yelp of pain. “This is getting ridiculous! What was it this time? You were testing if your armor is dragon-fire proof?”
Initially, Celestia let out a chuckle and rolled her eyes as pulling all sorts of dangerous stunts was James’s specialty. This time, however, something seemed different. “Why is he shivering?” Using her magic, she gently flipped the body over, and her eyes widened. “Twilight… that is not him!”
“Huh?” Twilight glanced at the person and froze. “But… who… how—”
The door to the castle swung open with a loud bang, snapping Twilight back to normal. “Twi? Your Highness? Have any of you seen—” Applejack paused, noticing the motionless body on the ground. “Is he… dead?”
“Fortunately no, I was able to grab him just in time,” Celestia said, “do you know who he is?”
“Somewhat your highness, he is a friend of our local human. He left him sedated and went to look for the other one.”
“What? There are more?” Twilight said.
“One more I think, at least that’s what the one here said.”
“We need to get him inside,” Celestia said, levitating the body beside her. “I still want to know what happened – why did he almost fall to his—” What in Equestria?!
She turned to find the partially awaken human, weakly poking at her cutie mark and mumbling something she couldn’t understand. He was still shivering, and his breath was labored, but a gentle smile filled his face.
Twilight chuckled. “I think he likes you Celestia.”
“More likely he is hallucinating… Let us bring him inside.”