Oh shit oh shit oh shit oh shi--
I looked directly at Celestia in panic. What I previously thought was a blank expression burst into so much more. The fur around her eyes and muzzle was creased with a slight snarl. Her eyes were wide, and her head was slightly lower than it would normally be, as if she were readying herself to charge and impale me with her horn. Her stance was slightly wider than usual, ready for a fight. And her eyes were like pinpricks. All the signs of rage were still there, just mostly hidden.
She's going to kill me...
My heart raced at a million miles per hour. My veins pumped ice.
I glanced slightly to the right, looking for a way out. I saw luna, her head was held low, but not in anger. She looked like she felt so guilty when she looked at me that she was having trouble hold her body up. Every part of her body was slumped, and her face looked as if it was locked in an eternal cringe. But she stared up at me, perhaps seeing if there was a way to right her wrongs.
Past her was a bookshelf, a desk with some paper, a magic light, and some nice wood. Not helpful.
Why did Luna feel guilty? Perhaps it was her nightmare moon episode, and she'd feel hypocritical if she didn't give me a chance.
Not good enough! Not Good Enough!
I'm going to die...
I looked to the left.
The headmast to the bed was there. Part of the curtains. More bookshelves. Clair.
...
Clair...
I stared at her as she wavered in and out of existence.
Instantly I remembered the reason I created her.
Age seventeen: I was having trouble communicating with people. I only seemed to talk to people when I knew almost every reaction my speech would give them, and then it felt more like talking to a brick wall. After all, what's the point in having a conversation if you already know everything that's going to be said? (I'm not a fan of re-runs.) But then came along a cute girl, and I found out what a crush was. It felt like destiny; it felt like I had a purpose. Unfortunately, I never felt like I could predict the way she would react, so I never felt comfortable enough to even approach her.
Age eighteen: I had my second crush. At first I didn't think it was possible, as it invalidated many of the thoughts I had about my first crush. But I didn't ponder this thought much; I had to act fast.
Since I was in college and had some control over my schedule, I made my food schedule the same as her's. Eventually, she approached me, and despite having to improvise much more than I liked, I managed to keep up a decent conversation...
Fast forward by several months, she left me without knowing why. I was driven partially mad trying to figure it out myself.
Age nineteen: I figured out why. It was never truly her I had a crush on, it was what I predicted she would become once she stayed in college for several years. If I had left her alone for a while, things might have been better for both of us, but I tried to guide her. I was too manipulative for my own good.
Age twenty: I saw another cute girl on the train, and I was temporarily lifted out of my depression. With the fading motivation I had, I did a mad dash of research to make sure it stayed back, forever. I added vitamin B to my diet, but it just made me feel hyper. I went to a therapist, but I could guide the conversation and make her conclude whatever I wanted. By chance I found some stuff about tulpas, so I created an alternate personality to both keep me motivated and to help me woo the next crush I found.
Unknown: I felt a presence. It was calm, relaxed, and happy. They were emotions I hadn't truly felt in combination for a long time.
Celestia closed the door at what seemed like half speed. Dom was surprised that a large part of his life could be viewed in only a few seconds.
Celestia grabbed Dom's body with her magic and slammed him down against the bed. If there wasn't a cushion below him, he might have broken a few bones.
Clair teleported in front of him. Unlike when she faded in and out, this movement almost created a blast wave around her.
Luna looked at her with raised eyebrows, impressed. Celestia looked amused and contemptuous. Apparently Clair wouldn't be powerful enough to do any damage even on adrenaline, but she was still going to do her best to protect Dom.
Celestia picked up Clair and threw her out of the way. The library would have had a new entrance had Clair not faded out right before she was to hit the wall.
"Luna!" Dom spoke up, interrupting the scene. This was the only way out. All possible conversations with Celestia led to the same ending. He could see it.
Celestia teleported forward in a flash of blinding light. When Dom's vision cleared, he saw a horn centimeters from his neck.
"You don't talk to my sister," Celestia spoke.
Dom inched his head back. Celestia inched her horn forward.
Clair faded back into existence with her arms wrapped tightly around Dom's chest.
'I'm going to try something new.' Clair thought.
Dom's eyes widened in realization. 'Behind Luna!'
Celestia noticed the arms, then pressed her horn forward, warning Dom not to try anything. But Dom wasn't there anymore.
Dom and Clair reappeared behind Luna.
"Look at your sister!" Dom pleaded to Luna.
Luna looked at Dom in surprise, then to Celestia.
Celestia's eyes widened in shock, "Luna, get away from it!"
Luna sighed regretfully.
"Tia," Luna looked at her sister with soft eyes, "we do not require thy protection. Nor do we request it." Luna moved in front of Dom and Clair, guarding them from her sister.
"Move aside Luna," Celestia demanded, glancing behind her sister. "It does not deserve your charity!"
Dom looked at Luna's butt in curiosity, but only found Clair sitting in front of him. She crossed her arms and sighed as she shook her head.
'What?' Dom thought, 'I just wanted to see if there was anything there at all.'
'I...' Clair looked back up, flummoxed, 'Dammit, now I'm curious.'
She was tempted to turn around, but stopped herself, 'But now is not the time.'
"They would not be an it even if they were sexless," Luna glared, "has thy grudge blinded thee to the fact that there are two humans in our midst?"
"There is only one human Luna" Celestia glared, "The other is only a powerful illusion..." Her eyes widened in realization, "Did you really walk into a room with a human without any preparation?"
Flustered, Luna powered her horn and scanned Clair and Dom. Clair doubled over and clutched her stomach during the two second scan.
"Strange..." Luna mused, "Tis neither human, nor illusion..." She double checked her findings, "Tis neither single entity, nor two separate beings."
Celestia furrowed her brow, "That's nonsense Luna, of course it's an illusion."
Luna stomped her hoof, annoyed, "We are an expert in the field of the mind. We know what is and what isn't illusion magic. Nay, what we felt was more akin to two minds sharing one body."
"...So it is insane," Celestia concluded.
Luna snarled, "Tia we hath not seen thee so... so closed minded, ever before!"
"Why are you protecting them!?" Celestia bellowed.
Luna looked back at the humans. She looked for the deception and greed she remembered in the ancient raiders, but instead just found two humans staring at each other. She had to admit, something about them seemed... manipulative, but then so did her sister sometimes, especially in desperate times. And those eyes as they darted around, obviously listening to her and her sister, were filled with both hope and fear. There was no rage in those eyes, like there would be in an animal backed into a corner. No, they looked like they were trusting her to protect them. Many of her subjects would have had that same look in their eyes if they found themselves in the current situation. She was sure of it.
She remembered right after she had her power and all the rage behind it blasted away by the elements. She fully expected to be killed in that moment of weakness, and she accepted that. Yet she was still alive.
"Because it would be the height of hypocrisy not to," Luna answered her sister and stared at her intensely.
...
The standoff lasted an uncomfortably long time.
'What should we do!?' Clair asked, close to panicking, 'Should we do something!?'
'No.' Dom answered, also on the verge of panicking, 'it doesn't feel right; anything could set them off.'
Finally, Celestia softened, and considered Luna's reasons.
"Fine," she sighed, "but let me talk to the humans."
Reluctantly, Luna stepped to the side.
Celestia trotted forward, "Humans--"
"I'm Dom," Dom glared at Celestia, then pointed at Clair, "She's Clare." Clair smiled and waved nervously.
Celestia took a deep breath and let it out, calming herself, "Dom and Clair," She glared, "How do I know you will not harm any of my ponies?"
"How do you know any of your subjects will not do the same?" Dom asked back.
Celestia squinted, not liking the human's attitude, "I can trust them not to, for the most part." She looked off, remembering Sombra, then resumed glaring at Dom, "I cannot trust any of your species; as every single human before you partook in the killing of more than half of our race."
"You saw only the worst of our race," Dom looked down, regretting some of the worse times of humanity, then looked back up, as ponies were no better, "What if Sombra came to us? What would we assume of ponies?"
Celestia stepped back, surprised. "How do you know of Sombra?" She asked.
This was it, he had to use information he couldn't know. But he already thought about what to do in the situation before he arrived in Equestria. After all, it was history and news available everywhere. It was just luck that his lie was exactly the same as last time.
"I passed by an old castle on my way here, it was filled with books. I skimmed a few." Dom answered.
Celestia paused, but accepted the answer. She pondered the question.
Dom answered his own question before Celestia could answer, "We would think the same of your species as you apparently do of ours. Heck, we may even have similar laws against your kind."
Celestia considered it, but shook her head, "There were hundreds--"
"How many ponies live currently? I mean, what is the current population?" Dom asked.
Celestia paused, she took a second to remember, "roughly five hundred thousand." She answered.
'100/500000' Clair thought.
1/5000 translates to percentage... take away 100... Dom thought.
'Too slow,' Clair interrupted, 'one in five thousand is good enough.'
'...no, no it's not good enough.' Dom grimaced. He thought some more. 'Sombra may have had slaves, but Rome also had slaves...'
After a long pause, Dom looked back up, "If Sombra and his kind stayed in power for generations, the ponies he ruled might have been exactly like the humans you fought."
Celestia grimaced in disgust, and tried to make a quick retort, but paused for a better argument, "Ponies would never become such monsters. Sombra was unique in his--"
"How?" Dom interrupted, "His genes? His upbringing? He would force both onto the ponies around him, whether they resisted or not!"
Celestia stomped in outrage, she didn't have anything to counter the argument, but it was too...
"That's horrible! How can you think of such things?" She yelled.
"Nature tends to be that way," Dom leaned forward, "I mean, from the standpoint of creating offspring, Sombra would have been way more successful than most ponies."
Celestia and Luna grimaced and gagged.
"Like I said," Dom concluded, "You met with the worst of humanity."
...
Celestia stared at Dom warily. Luna stepped in front of Dom and Clair again. She wasn't sure who's benefit it was for the most. Dom and Clair immediately came to mind, but after seeing how distraught Pinkie and Fluttershy looked after dealing with Dom, she realized she was doing this for Celestia's and the element's sakes as well.
Dom and Clair waited for an answer with bated breath.
Celestia looked at Luna, then Dom and Clair behind her, then back to Luna, and her imploring gaze.
Celestia slumped, letting go of her tense muscles. She would not fight her sister.
But she knew she would never feel safe letting that thing roam freely.