"Well, Sam, what's wrong? You can't have lost your appetite."
He looked at the table, and back at the smiling alicorn. It was a magnificent spread; plates of varying shapes and sized carried servings of equally assorted plants. Appealing to the eyes, but not for his stomach. Other than a bored nibble of celery and an apple slice, he did not touch any of food.
Frowning still, he turned to see Pinkie Pie gorging on a salad composed of hays and greens. It was almost torturous.
"Where's the meat?" he almost screamed in hunger.
Twilight blinked . Everypony at the table stopped eating to stare at him, even Pinkie, who had a piece of celery protruding from her mouth.
Celestia and Luna had given them a brief summary of humans while they had walked to the dining room, but that did little to dispel their fears.
Noticing the sudden change in atmosphere, Luna, sitting at the end of the table, pawed the floor indignantly. "I'm sorry to say," she said in a tone that was anything but, "but we have not stocked our kitchens with any meat. Our ponies are mostly herbivores, after all."
Unknown to Sam and most ponies, the griffin delegates' visit had necessitated a large supply of pork and chicken to be served during their stay in Canterlot. However, the meat would not be delivered to the castle until a few days before their arrival. The griffins were rather picky with their meats, and Celestia figured they would want it was fresh as possible.
Sam rested his head on his left hand and pulled the nearest salad bowl to him with his right hand, grabbing a fork as well. "Forget it," he muttered, blindly stabbing at his salad. He spotted a daisy stuck on his fork and grimaced.
"So...you really do eat meat, huh?" Twilight shared her friends' disgust, but she had a better time replacing it with intrigue. She kept her eyes glued to Sam's features, from his black arm to his canine teeth. She looked at the daisy he plucked out. "You don't eat flowers?"
Sam took another mouthful of salad. "No. We can eat plants, just not what your kind may have." He reached out for a large orange at the middle of the table. "And in case the rest of you are thinking," he pointed at the rest of the ponies, "let's just say I don't eat animals I'm not familiar with." He finished off with a small yet intimidating smile.
After a pause, Fluttershy was unable to hold her composure and relocated herself next to Celestia, who laid a hoof to her shoulder.
"Don't worry Fluttershy. He won't be harming anypony. But for now, will you please tell us what you saw in the Everfree Forest?" Despite her calm demeanor, she eyed Sam chewing on his salad with an angry look on his face.
As much as Sam wanted to listen in on the pegasus' testimony, Fluttershy was practically whispering and she was surrounded by her friends. However, Twilight remained next to Sam.
"Aren't you a princess or something? Shouldn't you pay attention to your subject's opinions?"
Twilight blinked in surprise. "The princesses know what to do. I've only been a princess recently, so I'm still getting used to my position." She smiled sheepishly. "Besides, I already heard what happened. You killed-" she hesitated for a moment "-a giant timberwolf."
Sam kept quiet, too busy stuffing himself with the orange to answer. He was hungry, and it was going to take a lot of fruits and vegetables to fill his stomach when meat was unavailable. Besides, it still felt awkward for him to converse when this strangely amicable pony was eyeing him.
"How did you do it?" was the ultimate question.
Finishing the orange and the salad, he reached for another salad bowl. "Does it matter?"
"It would be a welcome reassurance."
Twilight jumped at Luna's voice, but Sam gave no reaction. He did not even bother looking at her behind him. "Oh really?"
"Yes," Luna replied, stern as ever. She looked to Celestia and Twilight's friends surrounding her all looking back at her, their expressions either neutral or nervous. Disregarding them, she faced the human. "Everypony, even our Royal Guards are rather unnerved by your appearance, and the havoc you caused from your little escapade does not help your case."
Throughout this lecture, Sam had emptied the second bowl and was reaching out for a third. He remembered the Ponyvillians rushing themselves into their homes at the sight of him, but he preferred the desolation over hundreds of eyes gawking at him. "You don't look that afraid. Maybe I should give you a reason to be." He stabbed at the greens again.
Luna chuckled at his attempt at intimidation. "Even if you could, it would be a bad idea to aggravate the ponies that control the sun and moon." Sam's lack of reaction told her either he did not care about her ability or doubted her. "Regardless, until we can affirm you will cause no harm, we request you answer us."
"And why would I answer you?" Sam scoffed. "You think someone you arrested out of the blue would cooperate just like that?" He made sure that despite his smirk, his distaste in her was obvious. He remembered how Sky High referred to him as a "monster", and felt his anger rise. At least the rest of the townsponies left him alone.
Luna flinched at his tone, but turned to Celestia. However, she either seemed too engrossed in Fluttershy's words or was ignoring Luna’s chastising glare, and Luna tried to recover.
"If you will not answer us, what will you do then?"
Sam pondered. "Find a way to get back home, with or without Discord's help or consent. I don't care about you ponies."
Her frown deepened. "Then you will have to contend with us. If it is something that involves Equestria, we will hear about it, either from you or Discord
Sam growled. "And what makes you think you can keep me here?"
Luna and Twilight shuddered. Thankfully, nopony else seemed to have heard.
"We won't be keeping you here longer than we have to!" Twilight said frantically. "Princess Luna just wants to know all she can to help us. If you don't want to, there's always Discord."
He chuckled at her. "If this is supposed to be some "good cop, bad cop" routine, you're doing a pretty bad job." He dropped his smile and bent the fork in his hand. "But if I see that bastard first, I'm killing him again."
Luna scoffed. "You failed once already. He is not someone that can be killed so easily. Even with both my sister and my powers, we could not stop him when he reigned a thousand years ago without the Elements of Harmony."
"I take it you unicorns are pretty damn strong, with that whole magic crap," Sam spat. He wanted to see how everypony would react if he threatened to crush Luna's horn in his hand, but with her sister just a couple meters away, he could not risk it. "And "Elements of Harmony"? Ironic name for weapons."
It was Twilight's turn to frown. "The Elements of Harmony are artifacts the princesses used to defeat Discord in the past, when he ruled Equestria. Everypony lived in chaos because of him. The Elements were the only things that could stop him. But now, Celestia wanted to free Discord so he could use his magic for good."
"If by "good", you mean bringing me and those warmongers here, then he did a damn fine job."
Daunted, Twilight wondered how to approach him now. He was clearly agitated by his resurrection, and more so of Discord.
"Oh that's right!" she shouted, her nervousness causing her to raise her voice louder than she had intended. "I forgot to introduce everypony! You know me, Twilight Sparkle, from Ponyville, and this is Princess Luna." She pointed at the frowning alicorn.
Sam groaned at her insistence. "Is she always like this when she meets someone new?"
As much as Luna wanted to agree, Celestia was taking glances at the trio, So far, from what Fluttershy had told her, Sam was extremely powerful, not that she thought otherwise, but actually hearing the testimony eliminated some ambivalence on him as a potential threat. Her occasional peeks told her to not underestimate the human.
Taking both of their silences as a sign to continue, Twilight proceeded with introductions, albeit with less enthusiasm. "Uh, and the white alicorn is Princess Celestia, Princess Luna's older sister. And those are my friends: Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, and Fluttershy." she listed, pointing to each designated pony.
"Instead of telling me who they are, tell me why I should care." With her constant badgering, he lost his appetite and shoved another empty salad bowl away.
Twilight hesitated. Nothing she did was making a good impression.
If this keeps up, he's going to get angry, and if that happens, the princesses would probably think I don't know the first thing about making friends and that I haven't been taking my studies on friendship seriously!
"Because they are the new wielders of the Elements of Harmony," Luna spoke up. "They are heroes of Equestria, so show some respect." Tired of his acrimonious behavior, she pressed on. "We offer you nourishment and answers, and all you have to show for yourself is disrespect and discourtesy towards everypony!"
He clenched his teeth, trying to avoid saying something he might later regret. However, even as easy-going as he was outside of combat, her rather pompous tone was almost begging for a verbal tongue lashing. "Disrespect? Discourtesy?” he exclaimed, the bitter sarcasm dripping from his voice. “Let’s see now, you arrested me, not for a crime but to keep me in here and interrogate me, label me "creature" and "monster", your guards even threatened me in order to make me come with them, and you think yourselves hospitable? After you and half the castle guards chased me around the castle, screaming "Halt human!"?" It took all of his self-control to keep speaking out even further. He had more in mind to say, to see how much he could make her squirm, but with her older sister in the same room as him, he did want to test her any further.
Before Luna could say anything else in her defense, the scraping of chairs was heard and he turned to the group of ponies at the end of the table. Celestia has risen from her seat and was walking towards him with her ponies following behind. Her expression was neutral, but Sam and Luna knew their shouting match had something to do with her action.
"I see you have made yourself comfortable." It was impossible for either Sam or the other princesses to read her face, but the sarcasm was apparent. "I have heard from Fluttershy, but her words are still not enough information."
Twilight perked up. "Oh that's right! Princess, I really should have brought Mayor Mare here! She was the last pony to see him before the guards!"
"The Mayor of Ponyville?" Celestia inquired. "Twilight, I understand your desire to help, but we cannot simply have everypony that witnessed the human come here." Having Sam waltz through Ponyville and being seen by its entire populous could have led to disastrous results, and everypony was right to be cautious of him.
"Oh her, the brown mare with greying hair?" Sam interjected, but only Celestia seemed to have heard him. She stared at him with interest.
"Yes. Have you had a more personal meeting with her?" She hoped Sam did not give her too much of a hassle.
Sam smirked at her question. "If by "meeting", you mean intruding into the town hall and shaking her hoof, then yeah." He turned to the remains of the spread, his hunger returning.
While Sam continued to eat and Luna and Twilight stared at him, Celestia pondered. She preferred to know as much as she could about a situation before trying to resolve it. Another testimony from a different pony would be informative, especially when the pony in question has had such a personal contact with him. It was proving difficult to coerce more answers from Sam and threatening him like Luna did would give him more reason to antagonize them.
Celestia sighed. Knowing her ponies, some were likely to panic at the thought of an alien creature in Equestria, but all of them would be curious, as proven by Twilight and her friends. "So you wish to invite Mayor Mare to testify, Twilight?"
Twilight shirked at being addressed. "Uhm, well, if you feel it's necessary, princess...do you?"
The giant alicorn smiled at her student. "Of course. As princesses, it is our responsibility to listen to our subjects and resolve crises like this." She turned to Luna. "Luna, leave Sam with me. Will you please send a letter to Mayor Mare as quick as possible?"
Luna sighed, but relented. She felt if she spent another minute talking with him, she would eventually break all the windows from their shouting. "Yes, sister. Excuse me, everypony." She smirked at Sam before leaving the room to search for the fastest mailpony in the castle.
"Well then, if you don't mind, Sam, some overdue questions must be answered," Celestia hoped some food in him would motivate him even if it did not sate his carnivorous hunger, but her sister conversing with him had placed him in an even worse mood than before, forcing her to be the peaceful mediator.
Sam looked at the plates he emptied and smiled at her, his appetite under control for now. Amazing how a sated stomach can improve one's mood. "Alright, but can we walk as we do so? I'm not used to sitting still for so long."
While Celestia was glad for his civility, she remained wary of him. "Of course." She faced everypony behind her. "Thank you for your time, all of you, And Fluttershy, your testimony was invaluable."
The yellow pegasus returned a small smile to the elder alicorn. While grateful for her princess's assurance and honored to help her, all she wanted to do now was to return to her cottage and cook Angel Bunny an overdue lunch.
"If anypony has any more questions, then you are free to stay and follow me. If not, thank you for your time. Once again, you have my apologies if I took you away from your busy schedules."
Twilight, expecting a more grandiose of a farewell, sputtered a mixture of a question and an explanation, but Celestia and Sam were already by the door. Before she could get off her chair to follow them, she was surrounded by her friends.
"So Sam's his name, huh?" Rainbow Dash uttered while hovering in the air. She crossed her hooves. "He doesn't seem that tough. Princess Luna sure taught him a lesson, huh?"
"Well, I'm just glad he went for the salad instead of us. Eating meat...ugh." Rarity raised a hoof to her mouth.
"Oh come on, now!" Pinkie returned to her normal bouncy self. "Don't you remember Gilda? Sure she was a mean meany-pants, but you were friends, weren't you Dashie?"
"Well, yeah," Dash muttered, "but at least she was reserved about it!"
"We get it! Can we just please stop talking about meat, please?" Rarity interjected, shaken by the topic. "Anyways, Twilight, I suppose you still want to talk with the princesses about him?"
Twilight was torn. If she left for Ponyville, she could continue on her studies of the Griffin Kingdom, but if she stayed, she could have more chances of learning about this new creature called a human. Celestia seemed overly eager to converse with him.
"Well, I don't know about you guys, but I'm sticking around!" Rainbow remarked. She eyed to door warily, "I still don't like the feeling of that guy. Although I still say he doesn’t look that tough.”
"Rainbow! Did you not hear what he said? He tried to attack Discord!" Rarity shuddered. "Now's not the time to be picking fights. As exciting this may all be, Princess Celestia is right. We should probably return to Ponyville if we don't have anything else to ask."
"Well I don't know about you guys, but I'm staying!" Pinkie beamed at her friends' aghast faces. "Why not? I need to ask him about how he wants his "Welcome to Equestria" party! Besides, if he's full of cakes and candy, he won't have any room left in his stomach to eat anypony!"
Twilight groaned. "Pinkie, he said he's not going to eat anypony." She looked at the door, and saw Sam and Celestia walking beside each other.
Just who or what is Sam? And why is Princess Celestia so concerned about him?
"So I take it you know everything about me from Discord?"
"Just what he told me. He showed me that you were a vagabond, a vigilante of sorts, before joining a company called World Marshal."
Sam growled at the mention of the name. "Is that all you know of me?"
"Well, Discord might have told me more about you if you didn't cause such a commotion in the castle."
"Well, excuse me for trying to help myself." Sam turned to her, ignoring the abnormally long hallway. "You said something about her back there?"
"You mean Mayor Mare? Yes. Right about now, I imagine our mailpony is on his way to deliver her an invitation here."
"So she'll be testifying for or against me?"
"About that. Let me apologize for your...poor reception. I sent those guards to escort you, not arrest you. I suppose some confusion was created in the chain of command. Please don't blame Sky High for this. He didn't know what he was dealing with, and he assumed to bring as many of our guards as he could. As for the castle guards, I had them on high alert. I never expected you to escape from them or outrun them."
"Well, let’s just stay I'm used to the authorities chasing me," he muttered.
"Of that, I have no doubt." Even though she smiled, the memory of Sam bisecting two policemen in his world made her shiver. "As for your situation, Mayor Mare's own testimony would hold less credibility over your own-"
"Hang on a sec." Sam stopped walking and turned around. "Why are you following me?"
Behind the pair, Pinkie Pie was silently walking behind, sporting an eager smile. Behind her, her friends followed, staring at Sam curiously while listening to Twilight as she quietly gave them her impression on the human.
"I'm not following you, I'm following the Princess, Minuany! Or should it be Sammy?" she pondered, unaware of his snarling.
"Call me Sammy, you die."
Pinkie pouted. "Aww. But then what kind of nickname am I supposed to give you? I give each of my friends a nickname, so you should get one too!"
Sam groaned and rubbed his head. It was as if her saccharine appearance, voice, and mannerisms were actually making him sick. "A nickname's supposed to be shorter than the name itself, and Sam's already a shortened version of my name," he explained slowly, his teeth clenched
"But Sam's too boring! And Minuano's too long, and Minuany-"
"Do you mind?!" Sam barked, glaring at the pink puff of fur. "If you really want to be friendly, then leave me alone. In case you haven't noticed, I'm having a private talk with your princess!"
"Hey!” Suddenly, a blue blur made its way between Sam and Pinkie. "Don't talk down to her like that! And if you think we're going to leave something as suspicious as you with the princess, you got another thing coming!"
Before Sam could proceed with ripping her a new one, Celestia wisely interrupted. "Rainbow Dash, please keep your voice down. We were having a very personal conversation. But Sam, understand that if we let everypony ask their questions to you now, you would spend less time answering them one at a time."
"And since when did I agree to answer them in the first place?" he demanded, folding his arms in defiance.
"Well, it's only reasonable you answer their questions after we've answered some of yours." Celestia responded, smiling at his crabbiness. "And I doubt you would want Miss Pie badgering you through the entire castle. I know how persistent she can be."
Her underlying intention was clear, but Sam saw her point. If there was one thing he knew, it was how good the pink mare was at catching and keeping up with him.
"Alright, I get your point. But!" He raised a hand to halt any eager ponies questioning him. "One question at a time. That means you, Pink."
"Ooh, good one!" Pinkie laughed, bouncing on the floor excitedly.
Twilight coughed and stepped forward from her friends, having caught up with Celestia and Pinkie. "Excuse me princess; are you and Sam finished talking then?"
"Don't worry, Twilight. I promised you would be able to ask your questions, didn't I?" She smiled down at her student, and beckoned the rest of the Element Bearers closer to Sam, much to his discomfort. "And don't worry about Sam. He won't be any danger while I'm here."
"Alright then, first question!" Rainbow flew up to Sam so they were eye to eye. She ignored his glare while she flapped her wings in tandem with his footsteps. "Can I see that sword you took out that timberwolf with?" She eyed the metal sheath hosting the weapon like it was made of gold.
Sam lifted his eyebrow in amusement while Celestia's eyes widened. His sword was the last thing either of them expected to be asked about. "Sorry. But I only pull out my sword when I'm working. That is, unless you want to be sliced into pieces faster than you can blink."
"Uh, maybe we can hold off on that for later!" Twilight shared her mentor's apprehensiveness and pulled her friend back to the ground. "What about your arm? And your armor? Can you tell us anything about them?"
"Before I answer that, let me ask you this first: what do you know about cyborgs?" When he saw everypony's blank faces, he groaned.
Of course. With a country that still uses castles, cybernetics would be the last thing on their minds.
"Alright, what do you know about robots?"
"Robots? You meant electronic machinery? Those kinds of things?" Twilight had only read about them in science fiction novels from her library, but with her most recent studies focusing solely on the Griffin Kingdom, she could not accurately recollect their definition.
"Oh! Like the kind Daring Do had to fight in Daring Do and The Metal Menace where she fights an evil robot copy of herself! Wait..." Rainbow turned to Sam, awestruck. "You're a robot! That's so cool! I bet that face of yours is just a fake and that you have all kinds of wires and stuff under that suit, just like in the Exterminator!"
While Rainbow explained the plot of the aforementioned movie to her befuddled friends, Sam faced Twilight. "Is she always this excitable?"
"Don't worry, it's just that Daring Do is her favorite book series and Exterminator is one of her favorite films. You're...not really a robot, are you?" Although the idea was fascinating, she did not share her friend's level of enthusiasm towards a killer robot.
"If I was, do you think I would have eaten anything back there?" Sam picked up his speed, causing everypony to nearly jog to keep up with him. The ponies' comments only annoyed him further. "A cyborg is basically a person with both organic and artificial parts."
Twilight "Ooh"-ed at the display. "So they're more than just a prosthetic? If so, what happened to your original..." She realized what she was saying and covered her mouth with a hoof.
He detected her regret and nodded. "Let’s just say I lost it and leave it at that, okay?" A door was finally in sight, one that led to the courtyard. "Besides, I checked the "lost-and-found" bin, and my arm wasn't there."
Everypony was petrified while he walked to the exit. A few seconds passed before a chuckle broke the silence, eventually building up into laughter.
"Hahaha! I get it! Lost-and-found! Hahahaha..." Despite laughing so hard, she noticed none of her friends joined in. Immediately, the realization kicked her in the gut and her mane lost some of its puffiness. "Oh...that wasn't supposed to be funny, was it?"
Sam turned around but did not stop walking. Everypony was horrified by his smile; it was not the soft smile of amusement, but a broken one. "So I suggest you watch what you say, otherwise you might end up laughing so hard you lose your head."
As the group silently walked through the field, everypony, especially Twilight and Celestia, could not help but ponder more and more about Sam. His joke destroyed the atmosphere for questions, but it did not prevent them from trying regardless. However, before they could, Celestia approached him.
“Discord said he brought your friends here?"
His smile slowly inverted and his eyes pierced her own. "They're not my friends. Far from it. The best you could call them would be coworkers."
"You mean they were associated with World Marshal? You never did tell us what the company specialized in."
"Before that, I must ask, does this Equestria have organized military? Surely those guards can't be all you have."
"Why do you ask?" She tried her best to remain neutral. Her guards were the best she had and she knew her guards' were up to any task assigned to them. Besides, if all else failed, herself and Luna would join them in opposing the threat.
"It's obvious Discord was talking about the Winds of Destruction before he left." In the distance, he saw a pair of guards marching by. He imagined how the Desperado Enforcement commanders would individually eviscerate them, causing a small smile to appear on his face.
"With a name like that and the military context, I assume they are soldiers with quite the reputation."
Sam and Celestia looked up to see Luna flying towards them, landing gracefully on the grass in front of them. She leered at the human before facing her sister. "We have sent out our fastest pegasus to deliver the letter to the Mayor. If there are no problems, she should arrive in a few hours by train."
"You seem rather eager to have her here, Luna," Celestia inquired. "Is something the matter?"
"Very!" She stomped the ground and pointed to Sam. "This human is clearly dangerous, yet you have decided to keep it here unbound! Simply letting him outside, is that not endangering our subjects?"
Celestia frowned. "What would you suggest I do, Luna? Keep him locked in the dungeons that haven't been maintained in centuries? Besides, I am with everypony. Sam, how would you react if we truly did arrest you and threw you in a cell?"
Sam caught on and smirked. "What do you think? Imagine what I did to Discord, multiplied by the number of guards you throw at me." When he saw her grimace, he started chuckling. "What? Did you expect any less? You sound like you've seen humans before, so what's the hubbub?"
When both princesses froze at this, Twilight interrupted. "Pardon me, Princess Celestia, but he raised a good point. How do you know about humans?"
Celestia and Luna looked at each other worriedly. This was not a topic they wished to discuss; the Winds of Destruction garnered more of their attention. "If we were to say we have encountered humans in the past, would it suffice as a suitable response?" Luna said curtly.
Twilight flinched at her bitter tone. "Well, I suppose, but can't you be more specific? What happened between you and them?"
Celestia sighed. "As much as I wish to tell you, we have more pressing matters in the present. Discord had brought not only Sam, but other humans as well. With a name like "Winds of Destruction", I assume they are quite the nefarious group?"
Sam laughed at the adjective. "That's putting it lightly, to describe them." He continued marching, the ponies following suit. "They're members of a PMC called Desperado Enterprises. You do use the alphabet here, right?"
Celestia nodded. "The Equestrian alphabet, yes. It's used throughout the world. It's the same as your English."
"Then you'll probably wonder what PMC stands for: Private Military Corporation. Or as they decorate it nowadays, Private Military Security Company."
Luna nodded slowly in comprehension. "A provider of military services? Like mercenaries?" She grew anxious at the idea of humans wielding swords and armor waging war with her ponies.
"Now you see why I asked about your military. But they aren't simple barbarians. They assist in all aspects of an army, including logistics, defense, transport, things like that. All of them follow the law, so they are more than average mercs. Most of them provide security for political heads, like Maverick Security Consulting, or cause riots and assist terrorists like Desperado." He finished by tapping on his right shoulder, emblazoned on it the company's logo.
"So you worked for this Desperado?" Celestia asked, narrowing her eyes at his words.
"No. As you've said, I'm a vigilante. I merely got this arm from them and occasionally worked with them," he remarked casually, not caring for the tension pervading their group.
"Sister, now do you doubt him? A self-proclaimed terrorist!" Luna pointed to him, trying to replace most of her anger with annoyance. It was enough to let something so dangerous walk freely, but associating herself with him so closely was suicidal.
"Be that as it may, so far, he has not broken any laws of ours. He has not committed any crimes during his time here, except maybe running away from the guards. I'm also worried about these "Winds of Destruction". If they are as dangerous as Sam, we need to know all we can about them," she countered. Discord had shown her how the human world fared just by introducing Sam. The number of those cyborgs he mentioned shown on the television worried her, and it gave her a migraine to think about what that colossal bipedal robot was.
That was when Sam decided to end it. "Now if you may, here's another question: how do I get back home?"
Celestia blinked. “What do you mean?"
"My home? My planet, dimension, universe, whatever the hell you want to call it." He crossed his arms, frowning at them.
Celestia stammered, not in fear, but in astonishment. "Did you not hear from Discord? He can't send you back, and magically, he is more powerful than even us, Sam, and we are the most magically imbued ponies there are."
"And just how do I know you're all telling the truth?" Sam countered. "That monster's more than insane if he brought those killers here. You think someone like that's trustworthy? Blacky, you said it yourself, you don't want me here, and I don't want to be here any longer than I have to be."
Luna snarled at the nickname, but focused on the current topic. "Were you not listening? We can't send you back!" she shouted exasperatedly. "Believe us, we are more than doubtful of Discord, but he is right in saying he cannot teleport you home. If we knew of a way to send you back, we would, along with the rest of these Winds of Destruction."
"Then there's no point in me staying here any longer," and without warning, he changed his direction to a nearby gate guarded by a pair of earth ponies.
"Wait, what?"
Sam did not respond, and instead glared at the guards beneath him. Even though earth pony guards were known for their unsurpassed physique, when they saw Sam up close, their stoic faces slightly faltered.
"W- what do you think you're doing?" one of them asked, trying to keep his stammers to a minimum.
"Taking my leave. Either open the door, or step aside. If not, I'll just cut you and the door down." Sam was no longer in the mood for games.
"Wait!" Luna cried out. "We are not done with you yet! Surely you still don't think-"
The guards moved out of the way and he grabbed the door. "Yes, I do! And you're both idiots for believing him!"
"Now wait just a minute, bub!" In a blink, a blue pegasus flew up to Sam's face. "Just because you're cool and all doesn't mean you can talk to the princesses like that after all they've done for you! Sam, Minuano, I don't care what you call yourself, but you better apologize to them right now!"
"And I don't care what any of you damn ponies think of me." He turned and looked at the ponies, causing them to flinch at the menace in his eyes and voice. "If your princesses can't get me back, then I'll just have to find my own way back." When he tried to pull back the gate, he could not get it open. A gold aura surrounding the door, keeping it stuck in place.
"Please wait, Sam." Furious, he turned around and saw Celestia marching calmly towards him. “If you cannot trust Discord's words, then it's fair to say that I cannot trust your words as well. How do we know you will only be trying to get back? How do I know you won't be a threat to Equestria?"
Angry as he was, he let out a tired laugh. "A threat? That's all I am to you? I thought Discord told you-"
"You were right," Celestia interrupted. "After what Discord has done, he has earned our doubt. Everything he told me may have been fabrication and lies, and with little evidence from either him or you, we are left with Ms. Mare's and your testimonies. We ask that you stay, Sam. At least until Ms. Mare comes by."
Sam looked at his sword. As a freelance, he never stayed in one location for too long, and being told he had to stay in a castle filled with guards was bothersome to say the least.
So as long as I stay here, I'm free? So all I have to do's wait until that Mayor Mare comes by?
Let's see just how much I can milk out of this.
"So you want me to stay here until then? Is that it?"
Celestia sighed in relief, but stopped when she saw an inquisitive frown. He was no longer angry, but curious. "Yes, that's what I said," she replied hesitantly.
"And how long until Mayor Mare arrives?"
Celestia looked up at the sun. As the one who had at least partial control over it, she knew nearly everything about it, including how to use its position to deduce the time. "Luna, when did you send the mailpony?"
"About an hour ago, why?" the darker alicorn replied.
"Then along with the two hour train ride, it should take about at least three hours at the most, before dinnertime."
"That's perfect." Sam smirked, pleased with the timing. "Alright, I'll stay. But on two conditions."
Luna frowned at Sam. "And just what are these conditions? And what makes you think we will provide for you?"
"Either that, or you can have me blindly running around the castle, up to who knows what." Sam walked back to join the rest of the Element Bearers. "Just...keep me entertained, will you?"
Before Luna could raise her voice, Celestia placed a hoof on her shoulder. "I know how angry you are, but his impudence is not something that we can punish. He has not harmed anypony, and even allowed the guards to come here. What do you say we just hear him out?"
The dark alicorn hung her head and groaned in defeat. Her sister almost always sounded more reasonable than she intended. "You are far too lenient, sister. But that's why you have me now." She faced Sam with grimace. "Very well. What are these conditions of yours?"
Sam crossed his arms. "First, a tour around the castle. Easy enough so far? Second, I want a fight with your guards."
"What!?" Luna exploded, actually knocking Sam back a step. "You will do no such thing!"
"It's not like I'm going to kill them or anything. It will be good experience for them, for if they ever fight the Winds of Destruction." This was partially true. He thought it would be wise for everypony to see firsthand how a cyborg fights, although it was just an adequate excuse for him to let loose.
Luna looked at Celestia, but she reluctantly nodded, telling her to accept. Although she would never admit it, even she was somewhat curious to what Sam was truly capable of. However, she would be careful to stop him from causing any permanent injuries to her guards, and trusted Luna to keep on guard.
"Very well, but that fight will have to wait until the end of your tour. You wish to fight with all of the guards?" Luna asked, her patience straining at the seams.
"Only those that volunteer. For some incentive, tell them there is a prize for them in the end. I'm sure some of one of you'll like it." He tapped his sword for emphasis, and saw Rainbow's eyes widen. He faced Luna, who still hesitated at the request. "What's the matter? Afraid your guards, the almighty defenders of Equestria, can't handle a single human?"
The two guards' eyes narrowed at this comment, but did not speak or move from their positions. The princesses nevertheless felt their indignation.
Sam looked at the five ponies huddled around their purple alicorn. Some had looks of awe, while some like Fluttershy were petrified by his stature and attitude. "Lead the way. You never did give me an official tour of this place."