//------------------------------// // Nine // Story: Only Just A Dream // by Desert Nocturne //------------------------------// Edwin's emerald eyes widened at the unexpected appearance of Princess Celestia. He blinked a couple of time unable to speak, both in surprise and in awe at her appearance. The Princess was enormous in comparison to Spike's diminutive frame and her flowing, multicolored mane and tail were mesmerizing in their beauty. “Princess Celestia,” he said finally, standing up on the exam table and lowering his head in acknowledgment of her. “Can you close the door please? We have urgent business to discuss.” When Celestia had closed the door, Edwin continued. “Forgive me for getting straight to the point Princess, but you are just the person, um, pony, that I need to speak to.” He took breath and spoke again. “Do you know why your royal guards would be attacking Spike? Because I think that they are. I was just telling Twilight Sparkle here all about it, but she doesn't believe me. In fact, she thinks that I am Spike. Perhaps you can better convince her of the truth.” He wasn't sure if Celestia had ordered the beating as some inquisitorial form of interrogation or not and he was not about to trust her yet. He was also making the rather large assumption that Celestia herself knew that Spike was not currently in his body, although he thought, based on her entering statement, that she probably did. Princess Celestia of Equestria, who had lived a long and eventful life and considered herself well prepared for most circumstances, nonetheless gasped as fear stabbed at her heart. “Why would you say such a thing!?” she said urgently, then closed her eyes and shook her head briskly before looking at Edwin coldly. “And who, exactly are you may I ask, for it is clear to me, if not my pupil, that you are not the dragon, Spike.” “I am rather concerned about Spike, Princess, and I would like to check on him personally. Can we have this conversation on the way to Canterlot?” he asked, relieved that he wouldn't have to convince her of his true identity. “Myself, I wouldn't want to be in his situation but I could probably handle it. Spike, however, well he's just a kid. No child should have to endure such violence.” Celestia sighed and bowed her great head, again closing her eyes. “I must insist on hearing your answer now-” She looked at him expectantly. “Edwin, Edwin Montero,” he supplied. “Yes, Edwin.” She paused to consider the name; it was not one she had heard before. “I must know if you are a danger to my little ponies and my land of Equestria. If you are truly concerned about Spike, as I am, then please speak and speak swiftly!” Celestia said. “I have the capability to transport the three of us to Canterlot immediately. The speed of our travel is now incumbent on you. Now Edwin, what exactly are you and why are you here? How do you have knowledge of what is happening to Spike?” Her heart was racing; she was also very anxious about Spike. “He called himself a human or a homo sapiens, Princess,” Twilight interjected. She gazed at her mentor in worry. “You don't think he could actually be telling the truth, do you? I mean couldn't he have walked through a patch of poison joke or something? It had severe effects on me and my friends.” “Hush, Twilight, please,” Celestia scolded. “If you must know, there is a strange creature currently in the Canterlot dungeon that has said enough to me to convince me that he is our Spike. He knows facts that only Spike could know.” Edwin glared at Twilight. The meaning in his eyes was clear. I told you so! He turned his gaze back to the Princess. “Twilight is correct, Princess, my species is called human. I come from a planet named Earth. I don't believe that it's even in the same dimension as Equestria,” Edwin said. A thought occurred to him. “Princess, am I correct in assuming that your proposed method of transport to Canterlot is a teleportation spell? Because ever since I've been here, no kind of magic has had any sort of effect on me. Magic doesn't exist on my world, you see.” Princess Celestia frowned. “It is fortuitous then that I keep a team of pegasi stationed within Ponyville. They will have a chariot that can transport us in relative comfort. Do you mind if I attempt a test spell on you, Edwin. I would rather not disturb them if I do not have to.” Edwin frowned himself, but shrugged and nodded at Celestia. Without preamble a bolt of light shot at him so bright that when Edwin closed his eyes he could still see it clearly. Nothing happened. Celestia strained harder. Edwin could hear her grunting and panting in a most unladylike manner. Incredibly, the light grew brighter still as Celestia put all of her considerable power into the spell. She ended the spell with a gasp. “Very- Very w-well,” she said sounding winded, “Please excuse me.” She left the room. Edwin smirked at Twilight and shook his head at her. She returned his action with a cold look twinged with unease. “Were you telling the truth about Spike?” she asked tentatively. “Unfortunately, yes,” he said, sobering at once. “Though I would hope that such behavior wouldn't go on for long. There are ponies that have sense in the Royal Guard, right? Still I want to get moving as soon as possible.” Twilight looked indignant and opened her mouth to reply, presumably in defense of the Royal Guard, but before she could, Princess Celestia entered the exam room again, closing the door behind her. “I have sent a runner to notify the chariot team. They will meet us outside the hospital. Canterlot is only a short flight away. We do, however, have some time before they arrive. Would you please explain some more about yourself, Edwin.” She did not mention that she had also sent an message to the Royal Guard in Canterlot, inquiring about Spike. The Royal Guard had their own methods of long distance communication using mirrors to transmit flashes of light in patterns. Canterlot was close enough that the Guard could communicate without relays. When the pegasi arrived with the chariot, they would hopefully have news of Spike's condition. “Do I really have a choice?” he said sarcastically, then blanched slightly. “Sorry, Princess. It's been a hell of a day. What do you want to know about me again?” “How is it that you came to be in Equestria? How did you end up in Spike's body? Do you have some sort of connection with him? Why would you think he was being attacked?” she asked keenly. She was also interested in the human's species and world, but that information was mostly trivial she judged, and could wait for now. Edwin sighed. “Honestly, I was hoping that you could help answer those questions. The last thing I remember on my world was going to sleep in total exhaustion. Then I had some sort of weird dream.” “A vision, perchance?” Celestia suggested. “Were you in a dark void? Did you see Spike there?” Edwin gaped in a manner that would have been comical in other circumstances. “How did you know that!? Yes, I saw Spike. He was just hanging in space, looking at me. Then we were drawn toward each other and-” “-and you collided,” Celestia finished. “Spike told me a similar story but whereas his story ends in Canterlot's dragon nursery, I cannot say where you ended up, Edwin.” This was not entirely true. She was sure it was somewhere in the Everfree Forest but she wanted to hear it from the horse's mouth, so to speak. “After Spike and I collided, the first thing I remember was seeing colors and textures that didn't exist on Earth; they were too perfect, too deep, too flat. Then I noticed that there were wolves around me, or us I should say us since I noticed Rarity as well,” Edwin said. “Time appeared frozen and I was able to examine one of the wolves as he hung in mid-leap.” “Time was frozen, you say!?” Celestia asked sharply with an eyebrow raised. “It appeared so, Celestia,” Edwin replied. “That's Princess Celestia!” Twilight exclaimed, jabbing Edwin hard in the ribs. He fell over sideways as the jagged edges of his broken ribs ground against each other. He had suppressed a scream with difficulty, but he could not stop a few stubborn tears from leaking from his eyes. The pain was enormous; his chest felt like it was caught in the jaws of some horrific beast. His vision flashed orange, then grayed slightly as a galaxy of stars appeared in front of him. He sighed in soporific stupor as his consciousness threatened to slip. Suddenly, he found himself blinking in surprise as water splashed across his face. He saw that the Princess's horn was glowing. “I apologize, Edwin.” Princess Celestia was talking to him. “Twilight Sparkle here is fairly strict on the subject of decorum. However, even she should know better than to hurt an already injured guest,” she said, directing the last statement at the purple unicorn. Edwin sat up, wincing, and glanced at Twilight Sparkle. He was gratified to see that she had the grace to look ashamed of herself. The remains of a blush were visible on her cheeks. He caught her eye and held her gaze for a moment before looking down in anger. He clenched his fist hard enough to elicit a crack from his knuckles. Knowing that anger would do little to help him or Spike, he strove to keep himself under control. After a moment, he continued, his fist still clenched. “Yes, Princess Celestia. Time was either frozen or moving very slowly. I was examining the wolf when time returned to normal,” Edwin said. “You have to understand that I did not really believe what I was seeing. I thought I might have been in some kind of dream. However, when the wolf completed its leap, landing on me and breaking some of my ribs, well then I decided that wherever I was, it was time to play for keeps.” “Play for keeps?” Celestia inquired. “A figure of speech, a colloquialism, that refers to gambling. I knew it was time to treat the situation as life-or-death and turned out that it was a good thing I did,” Edwin supplied. Twilight's ears perked up as they picked up the sound of a chariot landing outside. She had been following their conversation with rapt attention, eyes volleying from Princess Celestia to Edwin like a tennis spectator watching a particularly good rally. Now she spoke. “Princess, I think the chariot is here.” “Yes, Twilight,” Celestia said indulgently. “Shall we?” she said to Edwin, raising a hoof in a solicitous gesture. He nodded simply. As they traversed the lobby toward the chariot waiting outside, Edwin saw the doctor and nurses looking at him with worry. He thought it would be tactless to leave without at least saying something to them. “Thank you everypony for your care,” he said, managing a grin as he noticed Colgate standing off to one side. He tipped her a wink. “You did good work tonight and I am sure we all learned some things about dragon physiology.” The assembled ponies giggled at that, lightening the tense mood. “I will be fine in time I'm sure. Sometimes time and rest are all the medicine that's needed. Thanks again!” He started as he felt Twilight Sparkle nudge him, and he continued across the lobby to the door. He saw a team of four pegasus ponies harnessed to a golden chariot through the door. They had identical white coats, golden shoes and armor, and were even the same size and proportions. Edwin wondered what the chances were that all four of the ponies would appear so similar. He gulped as he passed the doors of the hospital and beheld the chariot itself. There were no sidewalls on it, ostensibly to allow easier egress, though there was thankfully a backrest. He could tell it would be nerve-racking to fly in even for a person that loved flight as much as him. It also looked like it would be a tight fit with the three of them on it. He looked at the chariot more closely. It was golden, matching the armor of the pegasus team and the regalia of Princess Celestia. I wonder how much energy they have to expend to pull this thing. If they put even a rudimentary airfoil on this, they could generate lift from the chariot itself, making the job easier depending on how fast they fly. Also, they should use something lighter than Gold for it. If I remember correctly, Gold is over seven times heavier than Aluminum. I haven't seen signs of powered heavier-than-air flight here other than these chariots however. Maybe I should just keep my mouth shut. He decided that for now, keeping silent would be prudent. One of the four pegasi on the team cleared his throat. “Princess, I have news about your prisoner,” he said quietly. Celestia winced. “He is a guest, please address him as such. What news have you?” “The creature was attacked by two of our own, I am ashamed to say. The attackers were subdued and contained within cells awaiting your judgment. The creature suffered numerous, superficial injuries, but will be treated by a court physician,” the pegasus said. He added a couple more sentences that were too low to hear. Celestia reeled, again shocked out of her normal state of calm elegance. The human was right! How could he have possibly known!? She turned to look at him and saw that he too was out of sorts at the news, but his reaction seemed to be more anger than shock. She observed this reaction with dread. His natural reaction seems to be anger, first at Twilight Sparkle and now at Spike's attackers. His species must be a violent one. She gave her head one quick shake. It seemed that she was having to clear her mind a lot as of late. “Thank you for your report,” she said to the pegasus. “Tonight we will be traveling to the lower levels of Canterlot, near the dungeons. Do you know where to go?” The pegasus stallion nodded his confirmation and the Princess turned away from him. She faced Twilight and Edwin, noticing how Twilight was examining the dragon carefully. “Are you alright, Edwin? You look odd,” she said carefully. Edwin looked straight ahead for a moment, frowning, before blinking and visibly controlling himself. “I'll live,” he said brusquely. “How does justice work here, Princess? Will those bastards face punishment?” Twilight Sparkle gasped audibly at his language and Princess Celestia's eyebrows rose. “I- Yes, they will face justice. I will pass judgment on them myself; do not fear,” she said. She was starting to get uncomfortable about the human; she did not seem to be able to predict his actions. She could understand now why her sister had warned her about him. If he is a male. She thought that he was based on both the body of the creature that she had observed in Canterlot and the apparent aggression of his personality. Still, she supposed that she would have to find out for sure eventually. Edwin looked at Celestia with an odd expression, then shook his head and made as if to enter the chariot. Princess Celestia spoke up before he could. “Edwin, please. Would you please sit in the middle,” she said, gesturing for Twilight Sparkle to enter the chariot first. Unpleasant or not, she did not want this human to fall out of the chariot during their flight. Edwin stood back wordlessly and allowed Twilight to enter the chariot first. He followed her in and made himself as comfortable as his injuries would allow on the cushioned floor of the vehicle. Ponies were apparently not well adapted to sitting on chairs or benches for long periods of time. Fortunately, Spike's tail made a surprising good support. Celestia boarded the chariot and, after examining their configuration, gave a signal to the team pulling them. As Edwin had feared, the quarters were cramped in the chariot. Twilight Sparkle and Princess Celestia were pressing into his sides uncomfortably. Their body heat felt hot enough to sear him and he found himself wishing that he had argued for an aisle seat, so to speak. He wondered not for the first time if ponies had a higher average internal temperature than humans or if he was just exhibiting his usual distaste for physical contact. The chariot moved faster and faster as the pegasi strained against their heavy load, legs pumping, wings flailing. When the chariot was moving fast enough to generate a good breeze on its occupants, Edwin estimated their speed at twenty knots, it rotated and lifted off gently. He experienced the adrenaline rush he always felt when he took off into the skies and he was grateful for the distraction. He had almost forgotten about his entire situation in the joy of flight when Princess Celestia cast a spell to mute the sound of the passing wind. It was time to continue their conversation. “So Edwin, I believe you were telling me about why you decided to 'play for keeps,' as you say,” the Princess prompted. Edwin blinked several times, disoriented at the lack of sound despite the sensation of wind in his face. After regaining his composure, and remembering the part of his story that he was telling, he continued. “Yes, Princess. It was good that I treated the situation as life-or-death. Spike's body, the body I'm in now, it's well adapted to combating timber-wolves as they're made of wood. When the first wolf came down on me, it inadvertently forced flames from my mouth into its face, badly injuring it. I was actually lucky because human do not breathe fire and I don't think I would've thought to use Spike's fire as a weapon if the wolf hadn't landed on me. After that, it's a bit of a blur. The whole confrontation with the timber-wolf pack feels surreal to me now. I do remember breathing flames into the air as high as I could. I think that after that, they fled,” he said. He did not mention him euthanizing the injured alpha wolf, thinking it would precipitate an uncomfortable topic of conversation. “I was told that the pegasus flight that I dispatched to the Everfree Forest reported a badly burned wolf body near Zecora's hut. Was that your doing?” she asked sternly. Edwin bit the inside of his cheek ruefully. That must have been the hushed conversation between the pegasus and the Princess. It seemed that this ride was destined to be uncomfortable. “Yes, Princess Celestia,” he said cautiously. “The wolf that had his face burned when he landed on me, he was mortally wounded. I ended him as an act of mercy, a coup de grâce, if you will.” Princess Celestia felt gooseflesh prickle its way up her body. He speaks so casually about taking the life of a creature! Although if what he's says is true, he did it out of mercy. Still, how can such a being fit into my land of Equestria? She turned and looked down at him, noticing out of the corner of her eye that Twilight had gone quite pale at Edwin's statement. She towered over the current body of the human, though she knew that in his true form he would stand close to her own height. Still, it was hard to imagine the body of Spike, her surrogate son, committing such violence. How did this come to pass? She spoke to him again. “I will be honest with you Edwin, your violent nature is very concerning to me. I will ignore it for now in the interest of getting more information but I will not forget it. Do not think you can so easily kill in Equestria, Edwin; there are serious consequences for such acts.” Edwin snorted and to his horror almost broke out laughing. “Do you think I'm some sort of psychopath, Princess? I don't wish to harm any of your citizens or yourself for that matter. My world is a violent place yes, but I am still for the most part a peaceful person.” He turned to Twilight, who was still looking slightly ill. “Twilight, have you ever heard of the Golden Rule?” She only shook her head to the negative. It seemed she would need a bit more time to recover. Edwin continued. “The Golden Rule states 'Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.' It is an ethical philosophy that is widespread among my species and one that I happen to believe in very strongly.” Twilight nodded slowly then cleared her throat. “Oh. We do have a similar maxim here. It is a good basis for a stable society,” she said in a gravelly voice. “Although nopony calls it the Golden Rule to my knowledge.” She sounded as if she had just woken up. She cleared her throat again. “Right,” Edwin agreed, nodding. “I bring it up because it is relevant to the situation with the wolf. If I personally was dying of burn wounds, well, I wouldn't want to die that way. It is an agonizing business and it's slow; I would want it to be quicker and cleaner. I didn't have the tools to make it clean so I made it quick for the wolf at least. Do you understand?” He addressed the question at Twilight but it was the Princess who nodded, albeit reluctantly. “So it was not out of anger then?” she queried. “No, at least mostly not,” Edwin said. “I did feel blood lust in the heat of the battle, but it had died down by the time I noticed the mortally wounded wolf.” “Blood lust!?” Celestia asked, looking horrified again. “Um, yeah, can we talk about the range of human emotions at another time? It looks like we are already most of the way to Canterlot,” he said hastily. He had made a mistake in bringing up that particular emotion. He hoped that the Princess would forget he mentioned it, but he had a feeling that he would be questioned about it sooner or later. Celestia held his gaze for a moment, then shook her head in apparent disgust. “How did you know that Spike was beset upon? What is your connection to him?” she asked. “Two times since I have been here I have seen visions of Spike, in my body, lying in what appeared to be jail or a dungeon. The first time, he appeared to be uninjured, but there were very odd looking ponies guarding him. They looked a bit like bats. That is to say they were pegasi and their wings were webbed. Their eyes also had slitted pupils, like a cat's,” he said. “The Lunar Guard,” Celestia remarked. “This must have been fairly soon after Spike first appeared in the dragon nursery, before I had met with him.” Edwin mouthed the words, “Lunar Guard,” with curiosity, then continued. “The second time I had a vision was immediately before you joined us in the exam room at the hospital. I saw my body again, but this time Spike was crying. I saw two of the guards beating him.” Celestia looked down in sorrow. She felt that she had failed Spike in some way, although she could not have anticipated the attack. “Do you know how you are having these visions?” she asked Edwin. “I'm afraid not, Princess,” he answered. “On Earth, there is no magic. If anyone said they were having these sort of visions, they would likely end up in a mental hospital. All I know is that I had a strong feeling that what I was seeing was actually happening and that I had to make it right if I could.” “So you care about what happens to Spike?” she asked. “Of course!” Edwin said at once. “Spike is innocent. He does not deserve punishment. I have never met him, unless you count our initial dream, but that doesn't mean that I don't care about what happens to him!” Princess Celestia was silent for almost an entire minute. The wind continued to rush past them silently, and the towers of the great city of Canterlot were starting to loom over them as the chariot approached the city. The night sky, for the sun had set by this point, was filled with millions of stars. It was a truly amazing sight. “I have one more question, Edwin. Why do you think time was frozen when you first appeared in Equestria?” she asked finally. “I- I don't know. I have to think that you're probably sick of hearing that but it's true. I'm no physicist, but to my knowledge the only circumstance where time is dilated is during near light speed travel and even that is only relative to another observer. This situation is unprecedented to my species, disregarding works of fiction,” he said, relieved that the silence was over. “I see,” she said simply, but she looked troubled. “Please make me aware if you experience something similar in the future. For now, I am going to trust your story. It is corroborated by what Spike has told me and I have no reason to believe that you are lying. You will come with Twilight and myself to see Spike and we will see if there is more information that the four of us can come up with including how to get you both into your proper forms. I believe the worst of this situation is over, but we may still have some work ahead of us.” She directed her last sentence to Twilight Sparkle, who perked up immediately. “Do you want me to research body swap spells, Princess?” she asked. “Please,” Celestia replied, “even theories might help us at this point as well. Also, look into magical resistance. I have never seen anything quite like Edwin here before.” They were very close to Canterlot now, close enough to feel mist from the many waterfalls in and around the city. The city lights were lit and Edwin's eyes widened at the view. “You have a beautiful capital city,” he said to Princess Celestia quite honestly. “Thank you, Edwin,” said the Princess, smiling for the first time that night. “I look forward to showing you my palace.” Edwin could now see the area where the chariot would land, a strip of paving stones jutting from the mountain toward the bottom of the city. Below it, he could see a row of barred windows that appeared to be cut directly into the mountain, the dungeon he assumed. The pegasus team slowed and turned to their final approach. With a clatter, they landed the chariot, whinnying as they reared and slowed. They disembarked the chariot, Edwin moving gingerly again, and both Princess Celestia and Twilight Sparkle thanked the pegasus team for pulling them. Edwin followed their lead and did the same. “Please follow me. It is not far to the dungeon from here,” Princess Celestia said to both Twilight Sparkle and Edwin. The trio went through a few hallways and down several sets of stairs. At length they approached a large earth pony stallion of the Royal Guard standing guard next to a heavy wooden door. He was watching Princess Celestia warily. “Greetings, sergeant,” Celestia said, addressing the guard. “I am surprised to see you personally standing guard at this hour. Your dedication is commendable.” He frowned, turning his face into a grim mask. “Princess, about Spike,” he began. Celestia held up a hoof in a 'stop' gesture. “I am aware of the attack on Spike. I presume that it was not your doing?” she said. “Correct, Princess, although I do bear some responsibility,” he said stiffly. “Two of my squad took it upon themselves to further interrogate Spike. When I saw what they had done, I put them out of commission and had them incarcerated. Spike was injured in the attack, but he was treated by one of the court physicians not too long ago. He is sleeping now.” “Thank you for you report, sergeant,” replied Celestia. “I need to talk with Spike. Could you stand guard for a bit longer while we have a quick conversation? This is Edwin, by the way, the being whose body Spike is in, and my pupil Twilight Sparkle of course.” War Horse looked at Edwin curiously and Edwin returned the look steadily. After a moment he said, “Take all the time you need Princess, Mister Edwin, Miss Sparkle.” He nodded at them respectively. “I hope we can get some more answers,” Edwin said. “As do I,” said Princess Celestia. With that she opened the heavy, wooden door, and the group entered the dungeon.