"Thank you so much for coming at such short notice, Cadence."
Celestia approached Cadence, the ruler of the Crystal Empire. She was still groggy from just waking up and raising the sun, but there are more important matters that needed to be tended. One that concerns a certain metal being. They both bowed their heads to each other in respect before hugging each other; ceasing formalities.
"Don't worry, Celestia. I'm sure my husband can take care things on his own while I'm gone." she assured as they both let go of each other. But then again, he did set the pool on fire while she was gone. It still boggled Cadence how such a disaster had occurred, the only explanation Shining could give at the time was "it's a long story". She inwardly snickered at the face he made whilst trying to explain himself to an angry Cadence. If only she took a photo.
Together, they walked towards the throne room. This is where the matter of the creature shall be discussed.
"Well, Cadence. I'm sure you have been brought up to date of recent news with my Royal Guard. Are you nervous?"
Cadence smiled at Celestia. Her adoptive aunt could be worrisome at times.
"I'm fine, Celestia. Actually, I'm a tad excited to meet it. It's not everyday you meet a possible new species; especially if it's sentient."
"Remember Cadence, this thing is also very powerful in its own right. We need to make sure it isn't some sort of power-hungry maniac dead set on overthrowing Equestria into... whatever it is power-hungry maniacs do." she stated, finishing the last part of her sentence quickly.
"Celestia, don't you think that's a bit unfair?"
Celestia sighed. She guessed from everpony else's perspective, she's biased in the decision of this creature's fate.
"I know, I know. But the thing is we don't want another incident where we have to deal with life-threatening problem and have it fixed at the last minute. This is just a precaution, don't worry. I'm sure we can clear everything up." she reassured.
Cadence seemed satisfied with her answer. However, she was still uncertain of one thing.
"I still don't understand why I'm needed here. By the sounds of it, you've got it in the bag."
"I need you here because I am afraid my biased views of this creature will hinder my ability to pass a just decision. My sister and I need a third party in this."
They had reached the throne room. The guards stationed at the bottom of her throne stood straighter; their expressions as stoic as always. They saluted as Celestia and Cadence passed them towards the thrones allocated for Celestia and Luna.
"Also, I need you to read its emotions. Knowing what it feels may help us get some insight of its intentions." she added. "I take it you are still able to read the emotions of others?"
"Of course. While finding love and helping others find theirs is my specialty, I am still able to read other emotions. Besides, its not that hard really. Don't worry, I won't let you down."
Celestia smiled at her reassurance. They sat together, idly chatting about recent fashions, gossip, the likes. They waited patiently for Luna to arrive, but she began to run late. Celestia began to worry before she heard very faint voices, past the doors to the throne room. Both Celestia and Cadence strained themselves to hear the commotion outside.
"Hey! That sounds like Luna!" Cadence exclaimed. "Who's she talking to?"
By the sounds of it, Luna and presumably an unknown male were having a pleasant conversation from the far end of the corridor leading to the throne room.
"When I get out of this bubble, I'll fucking rip you in half, you hear me?!"
"For the love of Celestia, will you please shut up!"
"Well I'm sorry to rain on your royal parade, Princess Mooncheeks, but not everyone likes having someone poking around in their fucking head!"
Alright then, maybe these two were having a somewhat hostile conversation.
"Let me out you stupid bitch, LET ME OUT!"
"WILL YOU SHUT UP?! YOU'RE GETTING ON MY NERVES!"
"GOOD!"
Scratch that, calling this a conversation was a gross understatement.
Celestia and Cadence continued to listen to the two bicker; unsure of what to do. As the argument went on, both princesses were dumbfounded at the amount of vulgar language the male voice was able to fit in one sentence. They were equally dumbfounded when they heard Luna's voice retaliate with her own vocabulary; losing her regal tone in the process. Celestia took a look at her guards. They stood as still as statues, but the small tinge of pink on their faces gave away their flustered expressions. Sure, their drill instructor would yell obscenities at them from time to time, but this is a whole new level of angry.
The yelling came to an abrupt stop just outside the doors. Slowly it opened, revealing an exhausted Luna. Celestia and Cadence rushed to her.
"Oh my. Auntie, are you okay?" Cadence asked. "You look awful."
"Thanks, Cadence." Luna answered sarcastically. "I'm fine, just tired, that is all."
She turned her head towards the levitating blue sphere behind her, Celestia and Cadence following suit. They were surprised to see the bipedal being for the first time, but they decided it'll be best to leave their curiosity for later.
Luna exhaled, exhausted from the trip. She clearly needed some well-deserved rest, but her duty as a princess of the nation was her motivation to keep going. Together, all three princesses moved towards their respective thrones. There was a simple chair next to the thrones; serving as a temporary seating arrangement for Cadence. They all sat down, the blue sphere hovering in the middle of the room. The guards approached it with caution and stood next to it; preparing themselves should this creature have any funny business. Confident that they were in no danger, Celestia cleared her throat, ready to speak.
Judgement begins.
Emile was many things right now. Shocked, confused, groggy; these were his current feelings . Any reasonable person would have said feelings, considering they suddenly find themselves in a blue sphere floating above the ground that's following a pony princess after blacking out for no particular reason. However, one emotion ran amok in his head; controlling his actions and thoughts.
Anger.
Emile had never felt so angry in his life. During the fight, his world suddenly warped when that pony princess tapped her horn onto his head. He no longer was in the forest, but instead in a room. It's walls were a dull, metallic grey and it was filled with monitors as well as various buttons on a control panel. He had no idea why, but he knew exactly where he was, what kind of place this was and its purpose; despite having no memory of being in there. He just knew.
He was in his own head.
He approached the monitors, curious of what they showed. Each monitor was showing a camera feed of a single room. Each room was labeled with names such as Subconscious or Early Memory. There was even one labeled Imagination. It all felt surreal, yet strangely familiar; like this place was sitting in the back of his head the whole time.
He continued to monitor the cameras, taking note of the different rooms of his head.
Intruder Alert! Intruder Alert!
A blaring siren rang; the room illuminated by an eerie red flashing light. Emile's attention was brought to a monitor with the intruder alert warning plastered on its screen. He watched the camera feed labeled Personal Life. He peered in closer; the only occupants in the room was a filing cabinet full of folders and a horse.
Wait a second.
She's in his Personal Life. His personal life. Personal Life
"Aw hell no!" he yelled. He can forgive being ordered around by a horse. He can forgive being attacked by said horse. He can forgive being shot with confetti. But this? This is uncalled for.
He had no prior experience of the control panel of the room, but somehow he knew what every single button's function was. Pushing these here and there, he managed to jettison the pony princess out the room and slammed the door shut. He rewarded himself with a smirk as he saw the confusion on her face at what just happened, but immediately dropped it when he saw her running down several hallways; each one leading towards a different room in the deep recesses of his mind. He mashed the buttons faster now, determined to keep her out. One by one, the doors were slammed shut just before she could enter, much to her dismay. It wasn't very long before all the doors were shut. He exhaled, knowing that the contents of his mind were safe.
"Would've done me some good to have a big red button that closes all doors."
A big red button poofed into existence, sitting squarely in the middle of the control panel along with the other buttons and keys. Written on it was PRESS TO CLOSE ALL DOORS in a thick text. Emile deadpanned the button's sudden existence.
"How did it- oh right, this is my head."
Emile looked at the camera feed once more, but was put off by what he saw. The camera feed showed the pony princess staring right at him, a smirk evident on her face. Strange, he should be the one smirking right now. Similar to her earlier attack; albeit scaled down, a blue aura surrounded her horn and shot it at the camera. The camera feed went dark.
"Hey! That's my camera you-"
He didn't even get to finish. The other camera feeds followed suit; blacking out like the first one. Emile conjured a computer in front of him and began to furiously type on it; a desperate attempt to bring the cameras back online, but to no avail. One by one, all the cameras blacked out and the room lost all power; leaving a very bewildered Emile alone in the dark.
Apparently, when the lights go out, so do you.
So yeah, that's the gist of it. He was stabbed at, died, transported to a different world inhabited by some really weird shit and had his mind read without his consent. Even worse, he fought a horse and lost. And to top it off, he was taken prisoner. By the same horse. Who also happened to be a princess of an entire nation of horses.
Jun would have a field day if he ever found out about this.
He'd just recently woken up from a dreamless sleep only to find himself trapped inside a blue bubble; following the pony princess closely behind. At first, punching through it seemed like a good idea, but he was only rewarded with sore knuckles for his efforts. With no weapons, no Noble Team to the rescue and no hope of escape, he chose the only option available.
Taunt the enemy.
Boy, was that princess pissed. It didn't even take long for him to get on her nerves. Both continued to bicker openly, earning horrified expressions from ponies around them. All the while, Emile took note of his surroundings. He was in some sort of castle similar to those back on Earth in medieval times. He was being led through a hallway; its walls adorned with stained glass windows. Each depicted a certain picture, but a recurring image for most of them were the same six technicolor ponies he saw the night before. His attention was still on the princess, intent of annoying her to death when they both came to an abrupt stop. In front of them was a large double door. All attention the princess payed to him vanished; instead taking a deep breathe and closing her eyes. Calming herself down, she opened the double doors, leading the two into a massive room. Emile took notice that there were two guards stationed here; both with horns on their heads. Behind them were two more ponies; both were similar to the pony princess. One was a head taller than him, with white fur and a constantly flowing mane. The other was a head shorter than him; the only difference this one had compared to the two was that her mane wasn't flowing. He presumed that from the features these two had, they were both females.
As the two rushed towards the pony that held him captive, Emile sat down and leaned back. He droned out their conversation, but he did notice the two turn their heads toward him. They nodded to each other before all three of them motioned towards their seats, the bubble following them before stopping in the middle of the room. The two guards moved to his sides; albeit hesitantly. All three sat down, the white one letting out an audible ahem before speaking.
"Greetings, creature. I am Princess Celestia, co-ruler of Equestria and raiser of the sun."
"Raiser of the sun?"
"This is Princess Cadence, ruler of the Crystal Empire." She motioned her head towards the smaller one to her left. "I believe you have already met Princess Luna."
Emile could only grumble as a response. Yeah, they've been... acquainted.
"I'm sorry we have to meet at these circumstances, but lately we've had to deal with nationwide threats. Multiple times. In the past year." she added. "We're just making sure that our citizens will not be harmed. To start us off, what is your name?"
"Is that how its going to be?" he thought. There was no way he was going to tell them his entire life story. But then again, if he doesn't say anything, they'll probably throw him in the dungeon or something. So little options.
"Well, we're waiting." Luna said impatiently.
He had no choice but to tell the truth. It was either that or his head goes straight to the chopping block. Well, he assumed that would happen, given these ponies' level of technology and their attitude. His gung-ho style was probably going to land him into deeper trouble than he already is. So he chose the next best thing.
He'll play along, Noble Six style.
"My name is Emile-A239."
The two were amazed to hear him for the first time, but both were confused. What kind of a name was A239?
Tell us, Emile, what are your intentions?" Luna interrupted, a spiteful tone evident in her voice.
Emile was not very happy with that. He glared daggers at her, signalling he had not forgotten their latest scuffle. He turned towards the other two. This "Celestia" held a stoic gaze, but the pink one looked at him not with fear or with anger, but with curiosity. He tilted his head; weighing his options.
"My intentions are to leave this planet."
All three were visibly confused with his statement.
"Leave this planet? Why?" Celestia asked.
"I do not belong here."
"So you're saying you're an alien?" the pink one said in a questioning tone.
"Yes."
They lost him. This was just a multitude of information to handle. An alien? Really?
"Well, how did you get here then?"
"I died." Emile said flatly.
Alright, this is just getting downright ridiculous.
"Enough with the games! Tell us the truth or you shall suffer the consequences!" Luna bellowed.
If he wasn't wearing his helmet, Emile would have given her a bored expression. Since he was, he could only reply in a monotone voice.
"I am telling the truth. I received a fatal stab wound through the abdomen and bled out shortly after. I died, and the next thing I knew I woke up in the forest you found me in."
Celestia turned to Cadence, who only shook her head. His story was completely absurd, but by the way he says it sounded real enough. She only hoped that it wouldn't get more confusing the more questions she asks.
"What is your species called? We've never had your kind before."
There was a brief pause. Emile pondered whether to tell them the name of his species or not, but decided to just go with it. Besides, by the sounds of it, these ponies have never even heard of humans before. What could possibly go wrong?
"My species are called humans, otherwise scientifically known as Homo sapien.
"Humans?" Cadence thought. "Didn't Twilight meet them through the mirror?"
She turned her head towards Celestia. She motioned to have a discussion together. Getting the signal, Celestia addressed Emile.
"Very well. My associates and I will discuss the matter together." With her magic, she created a binding spell on Emile's hands and feet; similar to handcuffs. He tested their strength, only to find them extremely hard to break. Even his increased strength was unable to snap whatever was binding his hands and feet. Satisfied, she de-materialized the bubble he had resided in; ungraciously dropping him onto the ground. The guards were on him instantly, their magic ready to fire at a moment's notice. Emile stood up, only to find his movement restricted. The most he could do was walk slowly.
"Guards, take him to the holding cell."
Both unicorns ushered Emile forward; presumably towards the holding cells. They made their way past the doors, disappearing from sight as soon as the closed shut. The three princesses found themselves alone in the room; ready to begin their private discussion.
"I do not trust him, sister." Luna hissed.
Cadence looked over to her. Luna was visibly growling; obvious she no intention of believing his story. Celestia stayed still, deep in thought. She turned to Cadence.
"Cadence, what information did you get from this?"
Cadence paused. His story sounded absolutely ridiculous; only an over-imaginative madpony sitting behind a typewriter with nothing else better to do could conjure such nonsense. However, something at the back of her mind was tugging the other way; prompting her to take his side and believe it. A gut-feeling, if you would.
"As absurd as his story sounds, I think it's true."
"What!? How could you possibly believe such nonsense?" Luna retorted.
"Hear me out Auntie. I just, feel, like he's telling the truth. And the name of his species, too."
That statement perturbed Luna. What has that got to do with anything?
"He says that his species are called 'humans'. Didn't Twilight meet them during the mirror incident?"
Celestia replayed the events in her head. Sunset Shimmer stealing her crown. Twilight going after her. Yes, it was still fresh in her memory.
"Yes, Twilight has mentioned these humans. What of it?" Luna mentioned impatiently.
"Well, firstly, Twilight is the only pony who can verify that Emile is a human. Also, since she's met them before and has understood their behavior, she's our best bet in coaxing any more information out of him."
Luna opened her mouth to retort, but found herself speechless. Cadence was right, Twilight could probably find out more about this creature in a span of a few days than all three princesses could in weeks.
"It's decided then. We shall let Twilight Sparkle... study him." Celestia finished, pausing for a brief moment to find the right word to describe the situation.
"Sister, are you sure this is wise? I have seen and tested what he is capable of." she mentioned. "He is a threat, and he should be dealt with accordingly."
"Auntie, we cannot just go around and arrest anything that seems like a danger. We have to make sure it is a danger in the first place. He's cooperating now, and besides, if what he says is true, then we can help him leave. The sooner he's gone, the better, right?" Cadence replied cheerfully.
Luna again found herself losing a battle of logic. Sighing, she decided to go along with their plans.
"If you feel it is alright... then it is alright with me as well."
All three nodded in approval. However, there was still one matter that needed to be taken care of.
"Who's going to send him to her?"
Cadence stared out the window, the scenery changing ever so quickly in the train carriage she had resided in. It was her personal one; specifically tailored to suit her every need. Need a manicure? Two doors down where she was. Full blown massage? Just a door further than that. A Jacuzzi? Back of the train. All of this and more. It was flattering to see her subjects create such a thing.
Personally though, she preferred to just catch a normal train like everypony else. But to avoid hurting her subjects feelings, she decided it was best to just play along. She had, however, made plans to renovate the train to accommodate more purposeful things.
Sitting directly in front of her was Emile; once again trapped in a sphere. This time, however, it was colored pink. Emile's grumblings of the color could be heard from where she was.
"Honestly, they could've picked any color. Any color, and they chose pink." he grimaced. His newfound hate of the color emerged when he was reminiscing how exactly he had been dispatched in the forest.
"Pink"
That lunatic had somehow gotten behind him. She had even got past his motion sensors. And if things weren't confusing enough, she shot him. With confetti. And - surprise, surprise - it was also pink. Why is everything in this god-forsaken land pink?!
His grumblings eventually stopped; leaving an awkward silence between the two. They were the only ones in the train. Attempting to start a conversation, Cadence spoke up.
"Erm.. nice weather we're having, huh?" she mentally slapped herself. Could she sound any lamer?
"Too colorful."
Cadence was surprised to hear him reply to her awful conversation starter.
"I'm sorry, I couldn't quite catch that. What did you say again?"
"I said this place is too colorful."
What an... interesting way of describing Equestria. Cadence decided to press on.
"How are you holding up?"
"I got beaten up by a horse just hours after getting here. What do you think?"
"Alrighty then." she thought. Her mind wandered a bit before asking a question.
"You said you died before coming here. Could you elaborate?"
He did not answer. Cadence wasn't sure whether he heard her or not. She was going to ask again before he heard him sigh.
"I received a fatal stab wound through the abdomen by enemy forces. I dispatched them, but the damage was already done. I bled out slowly and blacked out. Then, I woke up here."
This was practically the same words he had used in the throne room. Still, the curiosity of Emile's origin would not leave.
"Where were you born?"
"Luxor, Eradinus II"
"Are humans always like you?"
"Some are like me, but most humans aren't."
"What's your job?"
This time, Emile barely stopped himself from answering. Cadence thought she had spoken about a touchy subject of his and decided to quickly move on.
"Well, what's your favorite thing to do?"
Again, Emile did not answer. Cadence was curious to why Emile refused to answer such questions. Maybe it was a touchy subject, or was he hiding something?
She had more questions to ask him, but screech of metal signaled they had reached their destination. The train conductor went in to address Cadence.
"Princess, we have arrived. Do you need any assistance?"
Cadence shook her head politely. Standing up, she walked out the door; Emile following closely behind in his large, floating pink bubble. He was initially worried that he had no way of fitting through the opening. As he neared the door, the bubble literally squeezed through it; leaving him claustrophobic as the walls of his pink prison suddenly contracted. As soon as the bubble squeezed through, it poomfed back into into its original shape. Emile touched its walls, confirming that they were solid once more.
All the while, Cadence stood by with interest. From what she saw, humans seem to have no prior experience or even contact with any form of magic. It bewildered her how he was able to stand hoof-to-hoof against Princess Luna without magic.
"Ahem"
He turned towards her. Once confident she had his attention, Cadence decided now was the best time to formally introduce him to their world.
"Welcome to Ponyville, home of Twilight Sparkle and the Elements of Harmony. Please follow me."
Emile slumped down in his pink prison. As if he had a choice.