//------------------------------// // Chapter 5. Going to Canterlot // Story: The Choice // by Not_available_now //------------------------------// Martin woke up with  pounding headache. He looked around him. He was in a padded room and his hands were cuffed. There was one window in the room. The small window was barred and the outline off a door was visible around it.   He tried to stand up, but he stumbled back to the floor. His hand and feet were cuffed together with a tick chain in a x shape. He tried again and slowly crawled to the door and knocked on it.   He yelled. “Hey, Hey, is someone there?!”         A gruff voice answered from the other side. “Keep yer trap shut, ya ain’t going anywhere until the Princess is here. When she heard of yer action she ordered to lock you up in a crazy room until she arrived. So shut up, ya filthy monkey.” The voice went quiet.   Martin slumped back to the back wall of the room, trying to remember the previous day. It all was a blur in a mind. He thought asking the pony outside the door, but because the way he talked to him he left the idea for what it was, an idea.   He just sat there, waiting for anything to happen. At what he thought was the evening a plate of food was shoved through a small hole in the bottom of the door. It contained some sort of ground up stuff that smelled awful and probably also tasted that way, but it was all he had so he clamped his nose shut and slowly ate the bitter tasting food. If he complained he didn’t think it would be listened to.   After a lot of boring hours, in which he was only allowed outside for sanitary necessity’s and a small walk, he heard a click on the outside of the door. It slowly swung open and a very angry looking pony.   “What were you thinking when you killed my subject, why would you do that?!” The pony that walked into the room was no other that Princess Celestia and she immediately began shouting at him before she regained her composure.   “Sorry for that, but would you like to answer my question now.” She asked, looking at the frightened human in front of her.   The human stammered something quickly and scrambled to the corner. “I.. I don’t know. I don’t even remember what happened?”   “You don’t know!?” She repeated in a very angry tone. “You were strapped down because you were acting dangerous to yourself in your sleep. You escaped, ran from the doctors and the guards. When you were down a corridor you grabbed an active defibrillator and pressed it against a pony and fried his head. This a crime I can’t not understand, and is usually followed by banishment or execution, but you. We were treating you for your injuries and this is you how you repay us, by killing somepony. Now, I would like to hear your side of the story.” She stood up, expecting an answer from the human.   The human slowly stood up and thought for a moment for something to say.   “I.. I thought that they were keeping me strapped down like an animal. I got angry when they followed me I just put my common sense to zero and ran. When I got to the end of the corridor I panicked. I ran into the closest room and grabbed the nearest thing that I could defend me with. And the nearest thing was a crash cart. I pressed the peddles to the pony’s face and just killed him. I.. o god.. I just killed him.” His expression went blank and he sat down again and thought about his actions.   “I didn’t want to kill you kill him. I just wanted to get away. I’m sorry, I’m so sorry.” He said to her, trying to apologise, but clearly failing.   “That you’re sorry is not going to do anything. You have committed a crime and you will be convicted for it, but you are a special case. You will get a trial in the Royal Courthouse in Canterlot. I myself will be present at the court as a secondary judge. You will be expected at court in one week, until then you will reside in a cell in Canterlot Castle. Your wounds are healed and you do not need to be in the hospital anymore. This evening you will be moved to your cell in Canterlot.” She turned around and trotted out of the padded room and closed the door behind her with her magic. She left Martin all to himself.     After some hours of thinking when there was a knock on the door. “Stand up and turn your back to the door with your front feet visible on the sides.” A voice said.   Martin thought a while about what the pony said. “Uhm, ok.”  He stood with his back to the door and his arms outstretched.   The door clicked a couple of times and it opened, several ponies stepped in. One was a pegasus and the other a grey unicorn. The unicorn put magical cuffs around his wrists. He tried to move his arms away from his body, but as soon as he moved his arms more than 75 cm away he got a short chock that fried the hairs on his arms.   “Move it, monkey, and quick.” The unicorn gave him a push and escorted him out of the cell.   They walked down the corridor. Every time they passed a window the ponies behind it looked at him in horror, fear of anger, some even ducking under desks or beds.   When he came to the lobby he saw Twilight sitting there, looking at him with large sad eyes. As soon as she saw him she stood up and walked out of the lobby, through the door and outside.   He was escorted outside and he saw many ponies grab their foals and pulled them inside. He even heard someone say: “ The foals.. The foals.. someone think of the foals!!” The street was deserted save for the guards and Martin.   They led him to the armoured carriage that was in the middle of the road. The unicorn undid Martin’s cuffs.   “Huh?” Was the only thing he could say before the pegasus opened the door and practically threw him inside. He heard several loud clicks outside  and there he was locked up like the an animal. He only had a small window through which he could only see the empty road and Twilight slowly walking away.                      He felt a tug from the front of the carriage, as he looked out of the window he saw Ponyville get smaller and smaller until it was but a mere speck on the horizon.         As they flew of he tried to sleep, but the rocking of the carriage kept him awake. His mind also wouldn’t give him a moment of peace as he kept thinking about what he did and the word the Princess said to him. Eventually he fell asleep, about halfway of the day long trip.                     ‘Hmm, maybe I shouldn’t have him delivered into the hooves of Celestia, maybe I can execute my plans a bit earlier. I couldn’t have imagined what kind of things reside inside the mind of this human, it’s so wonderful, so much chaos. He even killed a pony when I played a bit with his mind, the nightmares I could make with this knowledge. Now back to scheming.’ The disembodied mind of Discord though as he flew aside the carriage.                  Discord rummaged a bit in Martin’s mind, plucking some ideas from them. He then flew of and left Martin and the Pegasus for themselves     He woke up with a hard bonk as he fell off the bench he was sleeping on.   “Hey, what’s going on?” Martin yelled while pulling himself onto the bench again.   “We’re in Canterlot, monkey. Now stand with you back to the door and hold your arms to the side.” The guard growled back to him as he opened the door.   As soon as he turned his back to the guard, he put metal shackles on his arms. “These are anti-magic shackles. You won’t be able to make even a scratch on these, also any magic you might possess is blocked and your energy is kept at a low. You have the right to remain silent. Everything you say can and will be used against you. You have the right for one visit of anypony. You shall stay shackled until you are moved into your cell. You cell is in Canterlot Castle per request of the Princess. Understood?” The guard said to Martin while he escorted him from the platform they were on into the tower that it was attached to.   “Yes sir, understood.” He said and he followed him through the large double door of the tower.   “I don’t meant to kill somebody, but I still did. I hope that the princess or Twilight will get me out of this mess. Please, god, please get me out of here and bring me back to Earth.” Martin thought as he followed the guard through the long hallways.   He passed a window and he stopped when he looked at the night sky. He simply stopped and admired the view. He felt a slight tug at the shackles, but he just kept standing were he stood.   “It’s beautiful, isn’t it?” A soft voice behind him said. He turned his head and saw Princess Celestia standing there.   “My sister does do a better job than me at making the night sky look good, but that’s something else. I ordered for you to be brought here, in the castle, instead of the prison, where the guards are a bit too rough. Follow me, I’ll bring you to your ‘cell’.” She turned around and started to walk to another hallway, leaving the guard flabbergasted. Celestia turned to the guard. “And you’re dismissed for the evening, goodnight.”   “Whoa, you’re letting me stay here instead of a cell?” He asked her, as he, still surprised, started to follow her.   “Yes, I don’t think that you’ll do anything against anypony. I can see that in your eyes. Besides I’ll still be able to keep an eye on you, because you’re sleeping in the room next to  mine.”   “Thanks, at least I don’t have to be in that padded room anymore.”   She chuckled. “The hospital decided to put you in there. Most of the staff wanted to do some surgical experiments on you, but Twilight stopped them from doing so and convinced them to take you to the psychiatric ward and lock you up there.”   “I’ll thank her when I see her again, she saved my life. But what if the court decides to kill me.”   “That won’t happen. I am the only one who can give that order and I won’t kill a newly arrived species. Besides I have gotten you of the best ponies around for a lawyer. His name is Right Rights and he’s a very good lawyer, so you’ll be fine” She said.   “Well, thanks for doing that for, I didn’t think someone would represent me.”   “Twilight did offered to defend you, but I turned her offer down. As smart as she is, she doesn’t know all the dirty little tricks of the lawyers. As for any motive you may have, Twilight will go through the event with you and take a visit to your mind.”   As they talked they arrived at 2 large double doors. “This is my room, yours is next door. It has a bed that is fitted to your size and some other things have been enlarged. Goodnight.” She opened the large doors with her magic and walked through the doors and closed them behind her.   He sighed and looked around. He saw the door to his room next to Celestia’s one. The door was a lot smaller, as the large double doors dwarfed his door. He walked up to it and tried to open it.  He tried to twist the knob that was attached to the plain wooden door, but it wouldn’t turn.   After a couple seconds of struggling like an idiot he decided to look at the knob. It had a simple button on the top. When he pressed the button the door casually swung open..   He stepped in, located the bed, paid no attention to the interior and just let himself fall down on the bed and fell asleep almost immediately after a couple of long days.     When the morning came he felt a nudge in his side. He didn’t really wanted to get up. He finally slept comfortable for the first time in a few days.   He felt another nudge. This time he shot up and shouted. “What?!”   The white alicorn that was standing next to him shot backwards and almost hit the wall, startled by the human’s shout.   “Oh, sorry Princess. Shouldn’t have shouted at you like that. I’m kinda grumpy in the morning and I was sleeping quite good for a change.” He sat on the side of the bed, still dressed. He looked around him.   He was in a small half round room. The flat side was toward the side that Celestia’s room was. Besides his bed was a small table. The room had 1 table with a large chair and a drawer. I was kinda empty.   “It doesn’t matter, but I had to wake you. Your lawyer is here. We need to speak to you, so get ready and do what you need to do. When you’re ready knock on my door.” She turned around and started to walk towards the door.   “Uh, Princess, I’m already done, soooooo.”   “Oh, curious. I see why Twilight was so interested in you. Alright follow me.” She walked towards the door.   “Sure, I’m coming.” He followed her through the door and the long hallways to the room where they would be having a meeting with his lawyer and discuss his near future.