(AUTHOR'S NOTE: THINGS GET A LITTLE HEAVY/GROSS LATER)

Gordon stood nervously in his garden workshop, looking at the sugar rockets in front of him. Soon, Celestia would be arriving to watch Gordon launch the rockets in what could be either a success or a disaster. And with Celestia watching on only added to the pressure for it to go successfully.

This must be what NASA feels like.

"Gordon?"

He turned around and saw Rainbow stood in the doorway, "Hey Dashie. You OK?"

"I'm OK. How about you?"

"I'm good."

"Gordon," Rainbow deadpanned, "Do I have to get Applejack here?"

Gordon sighed and rolled his eyes, "Fiiine! Maybe I'm a little nervous about later."

"Why? I thought Twilight and Pinkie got those rockets to work."

"They did, but they were tests and without Princess Misanthrope watching on."

Rainbow ignored yet another swipe at Princess Celestia and instead decided to support Gordon, something he desperately needs.

"Don't worry about it, I'm sure everything will go fine. You have the egg-headiest egg-head in Twilight helping you make sure things go right."

"Yeeees, but Twilight is also Celestia's student and no doubt is reporting to her my every move and word spoken."

Rainbow gave Gordon a sceptical look, "Surely you don't really believe that."

"I do."

"That's ridiculous! Twilight isn't a snitch!"

Rainbow was becoming increasingly agitated at Gordon's attitude. She understood he had a right to be angry over how he'd been treated by the Princess but taking swipes at her friends over something he couldn't prove irked her.

Gordon, though sensing Rainbow's irritation, took no notice and walked out of the shed, back towards the house.

"Where are you going?" asked Rainbow, still a little miffed.

"Get something to eat."

"Mind if I come with you?"

"Sure."

"What time's Princess Celestia coming?"

"In about an hour."

Entering the house, directly into the kitchen, Gordon made for the bread bin; eager to satisfy his hunger and calm his nerves.

"Want anything?" he asked Rainbow.

"Got any tuna?"

"I have a couple of tins left. Do you want a drink as well?"

"Do you have any coffee?"

"How do you take it?"

"Milky with one sugar."

Gordon grabbed a mug out of the cupboard and began making a coffee to Rainbow's liking, along with two tuna sandwiches for himself and her.

"So," Rainbow began, "How was last night?"

"One of the more enjoyable nights I've had.....has anyone ever told you how cuddly you are?"

Rainbow's cheeks went bright red and her face contorted into a snarl, "Shut up!"

"Well I'll say it, so I know for certain. Rainbow, you're a cuddly pony."

"Gordon?"

"Yes Dashiekins?"

"Shut. Up."

Gordon quietly laughed to himself, revelling in Rainbow's embarrassment, and finished making dinner. Finishing quickly, he handed a sandwich and coffee to Rainbow, "Here you go. Enjoy."

"Thanks," Rainbow replied, taking them and sitting down at the table.

Gordon grabbed his sandwich and joined her.

"Any idea who else will be there today?" he asked.

"Well if Princess Celestia's going to be there then you can bet the entire town will be too."

"Great. A large audience, just what I need."

"Stop worrying, things will be fine."

"I hope so."

ONE HOUR LATER

Everything was set up and ready. Gordon, the girls, Spike and the townsfolk were all stood in an open field just outside Ponyville waiting for the Princess to arrive. Whilst the townsfolk waited patiently, Gordon was pacing about nervously.

"Gordon if you keep walking about like that you'll dig a trench into the ground, " Twilight commented.

"Then I'll have adequate protection should Celestia try to attack me again."

Twilight groaned loudly and some of the townsfolk could be heard gritting teeth.

"Gordon, for crying out loud!" Twilight exclaimed loudly, stomping up to Gordon, "Princess Celestia is not going to attack you!"

"She's done so twice already."

"And you have attacked my subjects twice also."

Gordon and co turned around in shock to see Celestia making her way through the crowd of ponies, all of whom taking the knee and bowing in respect to their diarch. Twilight and the others followed suit, except Gordon.

"Gordon!" Twilight hissed, "On your knee, now!"

"No," he replied curtly, before turning back to Celestia, "And those attacks you speak of, one was against Shining which was more of a duel and the other was against those who tried to rape one of your subjects. And as I recall, you thanked me for my intervention."

"Nonetheless, you still showed your human proclivity for violence."

Gordon clenched his knuckles, angry at how Celestia was twisting the situations he was in in an attempt to portray him as a villain.

"Even now," Celestia continued, "You are balling your hands into fists. Are you going to fight me as well?"

".......if I have too, yes. Besides, you don’t look so peaceful either with that scowl and your nostrils flaring."

Quiet gasps could be heard throughout the crowd, with a few scowls and harsh glares. Celestia however, ignored his remark and instead smirked, bemused at the notion he could fight her.

"You, fight me? An alicorn who can control the sun itself?" Celestia stated, her voice oozing with smugness.

"No you can't."

"I beg your pardon?" Celestia asked, now scowling fiercely once more.

"I said no you can't. You can't control the sun. It is a lie you have spoon fed your subjects and like fools they lap it up without question."

There was a deafening silence as Gordon's words sunk in. He could feel the hate filled stares boring into him from the townponies who didn't take to kindly to their Princess being called a liar. The angry crowd soon began barraging Gordon for insulting their intelligence, their angry voices becoming unintelligible and louder by the moment.

Celestia raised her arms in an attempt to quieten the crowd, "My little ponies, please."

The crowd quickly quietened down, allowing their Princess to speak.

"Do not listen to what the human speaks. He comes from a world where the laws of nature are different. He knows nothing of how our world works."

"But I do!"

Everyone looked into the direction of the new voice. Celestia's calm and graceful demeanour a few moments ago, turned into hostility.

"What are YOU doing here?!" Celestia bellowed.

"I heard of this experiment and decided to see it for myself," Aurora answered, "I am most interested to see what could usher in a new era of technological and scientific advancement for Equestria."

"Equestria has no need for such advancements!"

"Oh?" Aurora replied, "You do not wish for science to advance which could lead to cures for diseases? Give amputees their limbs back? The deaf their hearing back? The blind their sight? Science can achieve this, magic alone cannot."

"No magic that we have discovered," Celestia defended, "Magic has been good enough for ponies for millennia. It will not change just because some human turns up and demands we change our way of life."

"I never demanded you did," Gordon said, intervening, much to Celestia's annoyance, "I just said-"

"Silence, human!"

'Aurora' reeled back in shock at the sight of Celestia's attitude towards Gordon. She had seen her being like this towards him before, but talking to him like that yet again when it was uncalled for almost tempted her to drop her disguise and admonish Celestia right then and there in front of the entire town of Ponyville.

Even Twilight was a little shocked.

Gordon however, didn't bat an eyelid.

He knew where he stood with Celestia.

"Shall we just get on with the test?" he asked tiredly.

"Very well, if you must insist on wasting everypony's time. I hear Twilight assisted you?" Celestia replied.

"Yes. She did."

"Why did you involve my student? Are you not smart enough to do it yourself? I was under the impression you considered humans to be more intelligent than ponies."

"Then you thought wrong! More technologically advanced, yes. More intelligent, it depends."

"What do you mean, 'it depends'?" Celestia snarled.

"I've met plenty of people who are as thick as pig shit and met others far more intelligent than I am. I'm sure the it's the same for ponies, some are really clever while others are idiots."

"GORDON!" Twilight shouted.

Gordon turned around, "Yes?"

"Let's just get on with it."

"Fine."

The pair walked over to where the sugar rockets where ready. Five in total, all of them 6ft high and spread far enough apart so that of one should explode, its neighbour should be out of the blast radius.

Gordon bent down and lit the fuse with a disposable lighter.

"It's lit, get back," he said firmly.

He and Twilight retreated to a safe distance, joining the other girls. The fuse burned away until it reached the rocket, after a second or so the mixture inside ignited and the rocket launched. It soared about 100ft into the air, amazing the assembled ponies, before exploding spectacularly; sending debris flying in all directions.

"Damn," Gordon muttered.

"Oh what a pity," Celestia mocked.

"NASA failed many times before they succeeded," Gordon defended, "If the most resourceful and most intelligent space agency on Earth can fuck things up then I certainly can. Failure isn't necessarily something to be ashamed of."

"I agree," Aurora added, "I have failed spectacularly in the past, but I will not let those failures prevent me from being the pony I know I can be."

Celestia scowled at Aurora whilst Gordon walked to another rocket and lit the fuse, again retreating to a safe distance.

The rocket launched off the pad successfully, this time reaching over 200ft before yet again exploding.

"For fucks sake."

"What's the matter human?" Celestia mocked again, "I thought you were demonstrating rockets that could fly, not explode. Unless that is what you're doing, then in that case, congratulations."

With every ounce of his military discipline, he refrained from lashing out and instead walked over to a third rocket and repeated the same procedure.

This time the rocket barely made it 50ft off the ground.

Celestia burst into laughter, "So much for superior human technology."

"Twilight and Pinkie made successful tests yesterday."

"I'm sure they did, probably successful because you were not there."

"My lack of presence is irrelevant, besides I was at the school meeting the foals."

"Yes, I heard about that. I also heard about you scaring one of my subjects with your self-moving cart."

"Car," Gordon corrected, "And I didn't scare your subject. The horn was used for its intended purpose."

"More like you used it as an excuse."

Gordon once again had to force himself to not angrily respond, something harder to achieve when he could feel his blood pressure rising. He lit the fuse of a fourth rocket. This time though, the rocket barely made it off the launch pad before exploding, the blast hitting Gordon and knocking him off his feet.

"Gordon!"

Rainbow ran over to Gordon, deeply concerned for his well being, and helped him to his feet.

"You OK?" she asked.

"I'm OK. I don't know what went wrong though, that fuse burned far too quickly. It shouldn't have burned that quick."

"Then perhaps you shouldn't be messing around with things you know nothing about," Celestia said, "Though it's typical of humans I suppose, always messing with things they don't understand. It seems humanity hasn't changed at all. I honestly expected more from you human, supposedly being an army officer. Clearly your species will never-"

"SHUT UP!"

Everyone looked at Gordon with open mouths and wide eyes, not believing what they just heard.

"I beg your pardon?" Celestia replied, seething with rage.

"I said shut up!" Gordon replied angrily, "It means close your mouth and stop talking!"

Celestia clenched her fists and stomped furiously over to Gordon, passing her guards and Aurora on the way.

"Arrest her," she said to the guards, taking out a scroll and handing it over to the officer commanding, "And remove and destroy the remaining experiment."

"Yes ma'am," the guard replied, taking the scroll.

Celestia continued towards Gordon and grabbed him by the scruff of the neck.

"Come with me, human!" she spat.

She lit her horn and the pair disappeared in a flash if light, leaving everyone else to watch on stunned at what had just transpired. The officer commanding of the Solar Guards, a stand-in for Shining Armor, made his way over to Aurora.

He unfurled the scroll and began to recite from it, "Aurora Selena, you are under arrest on charges of distribution of seditious material, heresy....and High Treason. Guards, cuff her!"

'Aurora' sighed tiredly, under different circumstances she may have found this situation amusing, "You will take no such action, Lieutenant."

"Excuse me? Just who do think you are? You do not tell us what to do, traitor!"

"I assure you I can."

"Really? I don't see a crown on your head. Only the Princesses can give us orders, as you are not a Princess, you do not give us orders."

"I'm not a Princess?" 'Aurora gasped with fake shock, "Did I forget to put on my tiara again?"

The Lieutenant was becoming increasingly agitated, "Stop delaying and surrender peacefully!"

"No."

"Then you leave no choice but to take you by force!"

The guards moved in quickly to make the arrest but a flash of blinding blue and white light engulfed everyone. Once the light dissipated, the guards and everyone else stood stupefied at what they saw.

“Princess Luna?” the Lieutenant gasped, “Where did you come from? And where is Aurora Selena? She is to be arrested at once.”

"Calm yourself Lieutenant. I am Aurora Selena," Luna replied firmly. If she was honest she was disappointed at the guard's reaction. Had Celestia really lowered her recruiting standards that much?

Surprised whispers could be heard all around. Twilight, also stunned by the revelation, approached Luna.

"Princess Luna?"

"Yes Twilight Sparkle?"

"You are Aurora Selena, the pony who contradicts almost everything Princess Celestia has ever said and taught?"

"Yes, I am. It was necessary to facilitate a disguise. I thought that if ponies saw me criticise my sister as I am, they may think that Nightmare Moon was returning."

"But you've only been back a short time. How did you get everypony to believe Aurora was real and create a believable back story."

"Ponies tend to be ignorant of scientists and their lives meaning few would question Aurora's origins, and being in the position I am gave me the power to create false identity documents."

"You manipulated the law for your own ends?"

"Indeed. I don't take joy in it, but I did what I believed to be necessary."

As Luna's answer worked its way into Twilight's mind, she couldn't help but think back to Gordon and his belief that Celestia and Luna controlling the Sun and Moon respectively, was a lie. Seeing this as an ideal opportunity to get an answer, she took in a deep breath and readied herself for an answer she may not like, "Is what Gordon says true? About Princess Celestia? That she doesn't control the sun?"

"I could tell you, but I cannot make you believe."

There were a few moments of silence as Luna's somewhat cryptic answer sunk in, giving Twilight plenty to think about. Meanwhile, ponies were still watching on, wondering what was going to happen next; some discussing what would befall Gordon.

Luna meanwhile, turned her attention back to the guards.

"Now, you will return to Canterlot. You will not speak of me, I will inform her myself; is that clear?"

"Yes ma'am," the guards timidly replied.

"I will take that warrant," Luna commanded, holding out her hand.

The Lieutenant handed it over quickly, not wanting to incur the wrath of the Night Princess.

"Dismissed," Luna said firmly.

The guards immediately took to the air and made their leave for Canterlot.

Turning to the town ponies, Luna addressed them, guessing their concerns.

"Subjects, do not despair at what you have seen today. I assure you that Gordon will be fine, please bare in mind he has been through a lot in the past few years; what he has been through would take its toll on anypony."

Luna turned to Twilight, "Please continue with the experiment Twilight."

"Are you sure Princess? The past four all failed."

"I am quite certain."

"OK," Twilight replied, still unsure.

She went over to the last rocket, picking up the dropped lighter, and lit the fuse. She rushed back to a safe distance and saw just in time to see the rocket launch.

The rocket shot up into the air, the sugar fuel burning quickly but fiercely, reaching almost 1,000ft. The fuel stopped burning and the rocket, after stopping momentarily mid-air, floated back down to the ground and landed gently amongst the crowd of ponies. Twilight and the others quickly ran over, ponies parting to make room for them, and came across the still intact rocket.

"I don't understand," Twilight said, "This rocket is no different from the others, so why did this one succeed where the others failed?"

"Maybe Princess Celestia was right," Fluttershy said, "Gordon wasn't around when the rockets worked."

"Neither was my sister," Luna added.

MEANWHILE, IN CANTERLOT

Gordon was thrown hard against the cold stone wall before collapsing to the floor. Before he could move he was roughly pulled to his feet and his wrists shackled to the wall above his head by a pair of Solar Guards.

"Enjoy your stay, human," Celestia said sinisterly, "You're going to be here a long time."

Celestia and the guards left and closed the door, the sound of it being locked echoing through the cell. The cell barely big enough to lie down, not that it mattered given Gordon was shackled to the wall. It wasn't particularly wide either, four feet, if that. The walls themselves were damp and there was no source of light, adding to the discomfort of the bitterly cold cell. A wooden bucket in the corner was, Gordon assumed, the toilet.

Well, it looks like Solar Bitch finally went through with her threat.

Oh well, we all have to go sometime.

..........

..........

Great. Now I need a piss.

Celestia stormed into her bedroom, seething throughout with rage. Gordon had gone way too far this time, she thought; and would pay the price for his actions. And just to add to her problems, Aurora Selena, that unicorn scientist who constantly challenges her authority, was present at the experiment and even had the audacity to side with Gordon.

She too will pay, Celestia thought, The penalty for High Treason is still death.

Celestia seethed at the mere thought of Aurora Selena. Ever since Twilight left for Ponyville, Aurora has come out of the shadows with fire and fury; challenging almost everything Celestia does and campaigning fiercely for political reforms to make the Equestrian government something akin to the constitutional monarchy the Griffons have, where the Griffon King reigns, but has no real political power.

"The day I'm reduced to a mere figurehead is the same day I permanently give up cake," she muttered to herself, "Still, at least the human is where he belongs."

A flash of blue and white light engulfed part of the room.

"What brings you here Luna?" Celestia asked, not even looking to see if it even was her, "I thought you had business to attend to?"

"I did. I also heard about what happened in Ponyville."

"Then you'll be pleased to know not only will there be no more of Gordon creating problems, but that bitch Aurora Selena-"

Celestia failed to notice Luna's scowl.

"-is now under arrest for distribution of seditious material, heresy-"

"And High Treason," Luna finished, her interruption irking Celestia, "Yes I know, I've read the warrant."

"How so? I wrote only one warrant!"

"I have it here," Luna replied, getting the warrant out.

"How did you get that?"

"Your Lieutenant gave it to me."

"Why?"

"I ordered him to."

"But he was in Ponyville and you were away. How would you-"

"How would I what, sister?" queried Luna, "How could I get hold of this warrant if I wasn't in Ponyville? It's quite simple. I was there."

Luna began walking slowly towards her sister. Celestia began walking backwards but quickly backed into a chair, causing her to fall backwards into it. Teleporting away would be no good. Luna would only find her again and be even angrier.

"I was there the entire time. I saw you talk down to Gordon in a most disrespectful manner, I saw you order his experiment be destroyed, I saw you grab him by the scruff of the neck and teleport away, and...."

Luna's snout was now almost touching her sisters.

"And I detected you use magic to tamper with the experiments!"

Celestia let out a quiet gasp, "I don't know what you are talking about."

"Do not lie to me sister, you are very poor at it! You may have hidden your magical aura, but I examined the wreckage of the destroyed rockets and detected a spell that would cause cracks to form in the fuel casings, and in the fourth test you cast a spell that sped up the fuse burning away. Those leaks in the first three tests lead to the rockets exploding."

"That is preposterous."

"I acted on a hunch from watching a documentary of Gordon's in which a similar incident occurred."

Celestia rolled her eyes, she wasn't in the mood to hear Luna's tiresome defence of Gordon. Though since she had nothing else to do at the moment, decided to humour her.

"Very well Luna, do tell me about it."

"It was a rocket, specifically a Space Shuttle called Challenger. It exploded less than two minutes after lift off due to fuel leaking from the port rocket booster. All seven humans on board were killed."

"What a pity," Celestia replied sarcastically, "What does that have to do with earlier?"

"The same thing happened! Your spell created a large enough opening for the fuel mixture to escape and cause the rocket to explode."

"More like Gordon is not as intelligent as he claims to be and cannot admit that he doesn't know what he is doing."

"Twilight Sparkle and Pinkie Pie made several successful tests-"

"Because Gordon was not present and was instead filling my nation's foals with pro-human propaganda."

"And!" Luna bellowed, gritting her teeth in irritation at the interruption and the constant anti-human comments, "After you left with Gordon, I ordered the fifth rocket to be tested."

"I recall I ordered it to be destroyed. Why was it not done?"

"Because I ordered your Lieutenant to return to Canterlot."

"Why did you do that?"

Luna didn't answer straight away. Instead she took a deep breath and quickly prepared herself for revealing her alias, "He tried to arrest me on charges of distribution of seditious material, heresy and High Treason."

Realisation struck Celestia like a bolt of lightning. She looked at her sister for several seconds as the dots began connecting. 'Aurora' always being around when Luna was absent, Luna always defending her, their similar voices and handwriting, similar views on reforming Equestria politically and culturally.....it all made sense now.

"Luna....a-a-are you.....Aurora Selena?" she asked quietly, her voice more like a whisper.

"I am."

Celestia's heartbeat began to pick up and she began breathing more heavily and more rapidly, "No....no no no, this can't be true."

"Oh it is true sister, so tell me, do you plan to have me executed? That is the penalty for High Treason, is it not? To be burned at the stake if I'm not mistaken. Quite brutal and abhorrent if I am being honest."

Celestia had no response. The shock was still too much for her to think clearly.

"Celestia, where is Gordon?"

No response.

"TIA! Where is Gordon?!"

The increase in volume startled Celestia back to reality. She looked up Luna and nervously answered, knowing full well her sister would not take kindly to what she had done to him.

"He's where he belongs, in the dungeons."

"WHAT?!"

"I had him put there after-"

"After you tampered with his experiment, continuously mocked him and pushed him to breaking point!"

"I did not-"

"I was there Celestia! Gordon showed remarkable restraint not lashing out when you repeatedly mocked him. Him telling you to shut up was entirely justified in my opinion."

"There's nothing you can do though," Celestia replied, "He spoke out of line during daylight, I can have him put in the dungeons and there's nothing you can do to stop me."

"He has broken no law that would warrant such action. He will be released immediately!"

"HE WILL NOT!"

All the withdrawn shock from before vanished in an instant. Celestia was now back on her hooves and her wings were spread out wide, her mane and tail beginning to take the appearance of fire.

"That human filth will rot in the dungeons for speaking to me like that, and for filling the heads of foals with his propaganda!"

"And what of me? What of Aurora?"

"Considering who she really is, there is nothing I can do."

"How fortunate for me. Because I am royalty, I am above the law. Because Gordon is human, he is guilty; even when innocent. And how hypocritical of you to punish Gordon for 'speaking out of line', when you yourself spoke to him like he was dog dirt."

"I am a Princess of Equestria, I can speak to anypony however I please!"

"I too am a Princess, but I would never talk down to a subject, or foreign national as Gordon is, like you have done! What is wrong with you Celestia? How you behaved earlier is not like you at all? Or is Day Break-"

Celestia slammed a hoof down on the marble floor with such force it cracked the surface and left hoof shaped scorch marks. Glaring at Luna and snarling fiercely, she marched over to her sister and got right into her face.

"I will hear no more of this Luna! The human will remain in the dungeons for as long as I see fit! And I will remind you that you cannot overrule me in this matter! Is that clear?"

"Perfectly, sister!" Luna harshly replied.

Luna turned around on the spot and left Celestia's bedroom, slamming the door behind her.

But that does not mean I will stand by while his rights are violated.

MEANWHILE IN THE DUNGEONS

"Not so tough now are you, human?"

Gordon didn't reply. An inaction that got him a hard smack across his face.

"Answer me prisoner!"

"Go fuck yourself."

The guard snarled in rage and punched Gordon in the gut, causing Gordon to groan in pain.

"Don't talk to me like that, prisoner. You no longer have Nightmare Moon at your back, or her vampony minions."

"What?" Gordon groaned.

*SMACK*

"Speak only when spoken to!"

"Clearly he's stupider than we thought," the other guard said, "He doesn't even recognise us."

The first guard got close to Gordon and smiled sinisterly, "Do you recognise us human?"

Gordon shook his head, "You all look the same to me."

"Oh, so it turns out the human's a racist," the first guard stated, "Imagine my shock."

The second guard took over the conversation, "We were guarding the entrance to Duke Fancy Pants mansion the other day when you showed your disgusting self in that ridiculous bunch of rags you call a uniform-"

Gordon lunged towards the guard only to be stopped by his shackles.

"Oh aren't we a violent one," the first guard said, "I think the prisoner needs punishing for attempting to assault its jailers. Do you agree Private Brick Dust?"

"Absolutely Second-Lieutenant Short Fuse."

"Go and fetch some back up."

"Yes, Second-Lieutenant."

The Private left, leaving Gordon with Short Fuse.

"You'll regret this," Gordon said, only to have Short Fuse get right up into his face; so much so Gordon could feel Fuse's snout on his nose.

"Silence, criminal scum!"

"I mean it, you'll regret doing this; whatever it is you're going to do."

Another punch in the gut from the guard caused Gordon to groan once more.

"You must enjoy this. Is it a kink if yours?" Short Fuse asked mockingly.

Gordon went to lash out again but was stopped by the opening of the cell doors. A group of four guards walked in and two of them began unshackling Gordon from the wall and stripping off his clothes.

All of them.

"What's with all the scars?" Short Fuse asked mockingly, "Did somepony try to kill you?"

"Some people have tried before," Gordon grunted.

"And they failed to kill you, what a pity."

After he was stripped of his clothes and dignity, his hands were then shackled behind his back.

"Sheath that pathetic excuse for male genitalia, prisoner!"

"I can't," he mumbled in embarrassment.

"What did you say?!"

"I said I can't! Human male genitals just hang out like this."

"Well....we could always change that should you be overcome with sudden impulse to attempt escape," Short Fuse said with a feral grin.

Short Fuse began moving out of the cell, Gordon remained standing still.

"Get moving prisoner!" one of the guards demanded, kicking Gordon in the back.

Gordon stumbled forward and landed on his knees He didn't have time to register the pain before he was dragged along by the guards out of the cell and through the dingy dungeon passageways.

He was brought to a dimly lit room, illuminated only by candlelight; but that was enough for Gordon to see the interior walls splattered with dried blood, most likely from the abundance of tools and other objects he could see. A wrack, an iron maiden, a wooden horse and to finish things off, a brazen bull.

And Celestia thinks I'm violent.

"Put the prisoner here," Short Fuse said, pointing to a wooden post with metal restraints bolted on the sides.

Gordon was shoved harshly into the post before having his wrists locked into the post's restraints.

"What should we do with these?" asked one of the guards, holding up the shackled that previously restrained Gordon's wrists.

"Put them on the filth's ankles."

"With pleasure."

Gordon felt the shackles being locked around his ankles. Because they were too small the rubbed harshly against his skin, digging in quickly and already causing grazing on his skin.

"There," said Short Fuse, "You look so much less dangerous looking like that. It's a good look for you."

“I’m sure it would look better on you," Gordon quipped back.

The foolish quip only resulted in the crack on the whip on his bare back, causing him to grunt harshly in pain. He instinctively tried to protect himself from the attack, but being shackled to the post amounted to no results. Instead, hair curling laughter echoed throughout the room; dread filled every fibre of Gordon's being as he awaited the inevitable. His heart-rate began racing and his breathing quickened, sweat began to seep out and he tried to free himself from the shackles.

"Hey look guys, I think it's trying to escape!" one of the guards shouted.

"Well we can't be having that now, can we?" Short Fuse asked.

Short Fuse one again lashed Gordon hard on his bare back, even harder than before.

Gordon grunted in pain from the intense stinging, however he refused to give Short Fuse and the others the satisfaction of seeing him scream and beg for mercy.

He was whipped again and this time let out a louder grunt.

A third, even harder whip, struck his back and the eye-watering pain began taking its toll. Five more whippings in quick succession finally caused Gordon to scream in pain, tears already falling from his eyes, he could already feel blood trickling down his back.

"Please stop," he whimpered.

"Stop? But the fun has only just begun," Short Fuse replied with twisted glee.

He turned to the other guards and held up the whip, "Who'd like to have a go?"

One of the guards stepped forward and enthusiastically took the whip with a feral grin.

"Try not to enjoy yourself too much," Short Fuse said.

"I'll try sir, but I won't promise."

Short Fuse responded with a feral grin of his own before shouting the motto of the Solar Guard, "Lucem sequimur!"

"Lucem sequimur!" echoed the guards.

We follow the light.

MEANWHILE IN PONYVILLE

Twilight, Spike and the girls were sat in the library, going over the events of earlier. Twilight in particular had her mind on Luna's words suggesting that Celestia has indeed been lying about controlling the sun and moon. Twilight considered herself a scientist and while she didn't say anything at the time, felt personally hurt by Celestia's comments on science. It began to make her wonder what Celestia would do to her if she decided to vastly improve Equestria's technological knowledge.

But something else weighed far more heavily on her mind.

"I can't believe Princess Celestia would do that," Fluttershy said quietly, being comforted by Rarity, "Why would she do it?"

"I don't know Fluttershy," Twilight replied.

"I hope Gordon's OK though," Fluttershy added, "Princess Celestia looked really angry."

"She brought it upon herself."

The girls and Spike blinked in astonishment at Twilight's comment.

"Twilight?" Rarity began, "Did you just criticise Princess Celestia?"

"Yes Rarity I did. I know I've idolised her in the past, but her mockery of Gordon was beginning to irk me too, and way out of line."

"Would you have told her to shut up as well?"

"I don't know. Maybe, if I was angry enough."

"Rainbow, are you OK?" Pinkie asked, noticing Rainbow all by herself in front of the window, looking towards Canterlot.

"Do you think Gordon will be OK?" Rainbow asked, continuing to look towards Canterlot.

Twilight got up and joined her friend on the sofa, gently wrapping an arm around her, giving her a consoling hug.

"I'm sure he'll be OK."

"That's not exactly comforting Twilight, did you see how angry Princess Celestia was? Given how much she hates him I wouldn't be surprised if he was returned to us in an urn."

The girls gasped in shock at Rainbow's blunt and morbid statement.

"Rainbow!" Twilight scolded, "Surely you are not suggesting that Princess Celestia would actually kill Gordon!"

"Why wouldn't she? She hates humans and as you saw earlier, anyone with eyes could see she was baiting him into a violent response."

"Whilst I agree with you last point, I still refuse to believe that Princess Celestia would intentionally kill him."

"But she would hurt him, she did before remember? The first day he got here."

Twilight pinched the bridge of her nose and sighed, "If it will make you feel better, we'll go to Canterlot now. Then you can see Gordon for yourself and see that he's fine. Would you like to do that?"

Rainbow nodded.

"OK, just let me get ready then we'll catch the next train."

"I can fly us. It's way faster."

"Are you sure? Can you carry me and fly fast?"

"Of course I can. I'm Rainbow Dash!"

Gordon screamed in pain as yet another lash of the whip struck his back. He was openly crying in pain at this point, pleading with his torturers to stop; pleas which only brought harder lashes. There was a small pool of blood at his feet where it had seeped out from the wounds on his back.

Another lash, another scream.

"Enjoying yourself criminal scum?"

Gordon could only whimper in pain, and his shame and humiliation was about to get worse. One of the guards began laughing, and after seeing what he saw funny, the other guards soon joined in. Short Fuse however, was at a loss.

"What are you lot laughing about?"

One of the guards motioned to beneath Gordon's waist. Short Fuse looked to where his subordinate was pointing where he too. Once he realised the source of the humour, he too began laughing like a hyena.

Urine was trickling down Gordon's legs and joined the small pool of blood.

Gordon's shame and humiliation something the guards would never let him forget.

If he even survived that is.

"Hey, has anypony seen Brick Dust? He's missing out on all the fun," one of the guards said.

"He's probably having a piss himself, you know how weak his bladder is," Short Fuse replied, "Speaking of which, has he had a go at giving this mongrel a lashing?"

The guards looked amongst themselves and came to a realisation.

"Now you mention it," one of the guards said, "I don't think he has."

"No matter," Short Fuse said, "It leaves more lashings for the rest of us to dish out."

"Thank you for bringing this to my attention, Private Brick Dust. I assure you it will be dealt with immediately. Return to your barracks, I will come for you personally afterwards."

"Yes your highness."

"Dismissed."

Brick Dust saluted and began the trip back to his barracks as ordered. His entire journey back, consumed with guilt and regret.

I never signed up for that. I didn't know Short Fuse would do that.

Faust what have I done?

Rainbow and Twilight landed at the main entrance of the castle, Twilight looking a little dishevelled from her windy journey.

"You OK Twi?"

"I'm OK," she replied, tidying her blouse and mane, "I think I should have erected a shield to cut out the wind though."

"And lose out on the shear ecstasy of the wind blowing in your face?! No way!"

Twilight playfully rolled her eyes, "Only you could like something like that."

"And the Wonderbolts!"

"And the Wonderbolts. Now come one, let's go and see Gordon."

Twilight and Rainbow went up the steps and entered the castle, completely oblivious to the horror that was going on in the dungeons below.

"ARRRRRGH!"

"Scream all you want mongrel," Short Fuse said, "Nopony outside of this dungeon can hear you."

"You'll never get away with this," Gordon snarled as harshly as he could, his face dripping with sweat and tears.

"Clearly you have no idea how things work down here."

Another crack of the whip on Gordon's back once more caused him to cry out in agony.

"Down here, we make the rules. And the fun-"

Short Fuse, whipped Gordon's back once more and revelled in his agony.

"-never ends."

Twilight and Rainbow were making their way to the Throne Room, the most likely location of Celestia, making it about half way there when they encountered another member of the Royal Family, dressed in Royal regalia complete with a ceremonial sword denoting his status as a Prince of Equestria; and accompanied by several of his own personnel guards, the Soyuz Brat'yev. The Union of Brothers. They were all making their way rather quickly to another area of the castle, with worry clearly showing on their faces.

"Perfect," muttered Rainbow, "We just had to run into him."

"Lady Sparkle, Miss Dash."

"Prince Blueblood, it is pleasant to see you again," Twilight said as diplomatically as she could.

"As enjoyable as it is to make your acquaintance once more Lady Sparkle, I must make my leave. A matter has been brought to my attention that requires my immediate intervention."

"What matter is it?"

"If anypony else were to ask, I would not answer. However, given your status as my aunt's personal student, I see no harm in informing you."

"Informing me of what?" Twilight asked, confused at what Blueblood was getting at.

"What about Gordon?" Rainbow asked, butting in, "Twilight, we came to see that Gordon is OK after Princess Celestia teleported away with him."

"We will Rainbow, but I'm sure-"

"Gordon?" Blueblood interrupted, "The human?"

"Yes," Twilight replied, "That's who we've come to see. He's our friend you see."

A look of abject horror adorned Blueblood's face as his brain quickly connected the dots.

I fear they may have made a wasted journey.

"Guards! We must hurry!" Blueblood commanded as he turned to them.

He and his guards hurried away, even faster than before, their hooves clapping like thunder against the marble floors. Rainbow and Twilight quickly followed behind them.

"What?" Twilight queried, becoming worried by their actions, "What is it?"

Blueblood didn't answer.

I get the feeling I'm not going to like this, Twilight thought.

"Well prisoner, are you going to piss yourself again?" Short Fuse mocked, "You're filthier than a pig rolling around in slurry."

"Maybe we should put him in a farm?" a guard suggested.

"Nah," Short Fuse replied, "That would be insulting to the pigs. Speaking of having a piss, where's Brick Dust? His bladder isn't that weak."

"I'll go and find him if you like?" another guard suggested.

"Go ahead, we'll keep Piss-a-lot here occupied. And tell Brick Dust that when he gets back, he WILL be giving this mongrel a lashing."

"Aye sir."

The guard left the room and began looking for his missing colleague as Short Fuse watched on. Once the guard left, Short Fuse turned back to Gordon, grinning sinisterly and raising the whip high above.

"The fun never ends."

Twilight and Rainbow continued to follow Blueblood and his guards down into the dungeons, the reason why becoming more apparent. But what confused them was Blueblood's clear expression of worry and panic. If Celestia had just put Gordon in a cell, then why the panic?

They walked passed the various cells, some of them occupied, the cold damp air giving them all chills and the acrid smell leaving an unpleasant aroma up their noses.

"Sir," one of the Prince's guard said, "In there."

Blueblood looked to where the guard was pointing and saw a pile of ripped clothes dumped on the floor of one of the cells. He walked in an picked them up with his magic, bringing them back out with him. He didn't get chance to ask his question.

"Those are Gordon's!" Rainbow bellowed.

"We have to find him, now!" Blueblood commanded fiercely, "Guards, spread out and-"

Before Blueblood could finish his sentence, a scream of agony echoed through the corridors, sending chills down the spines of Blueblood and the others. Blueblood's guards wasted no time in finding the source of the noise and quickly ran away, leaving Blueblood with Rainbow and Twilight.

"What happened to Gordon?" asked Rainbow, on the verge of tears, fearing the worst.

"Something that should never have been allowed to happen," Blueblood replied with restrained anger.

"WHAT IS GOING ON HERE?!"

"Thaddeus," Blueblood murmured, "He's found something."

He looked up the girls, "Follow me, but stay behind me. Is that clear?"

The girls nodded. Blueblood turned and ran to his captain, followed by the girls.

"ALL OF YOU ON THE GROUND! NOW!"

Sweet Faust, I've never heard Thaddeus this cross, Blueblood thought.

Within seconds, Blueblood reached where Thaddeus was and recoiled in horror at the sight. Gordon, the human he had heard so much about, was shackled to a wooden post with numerous lash marks on his back, bleeding heavily. Noticing Short Fuse being cuffed by his personal guards, he walked over at the same time Twilight and Rainbow entered the room.

"What's going on in here?" Twilight asked, looking around, "Who was the one screa-"

Twilight's fur paled at the sight and she stood frozen in shock, her eyes wide and jaw dropped. Seeing Twilight's behaviour, Rainbow walked over.

"Twilight, what's wrong? You're not-"

Rainbow turned her head to see what Twilight was looking at and saw with her own eyes what she was looking at. Tears began filling her eyes as she ran to her battered and beaten coltfriend, anger and rage boiling her blood at those who did this to him. Fumbling with the restraints, she unlocked them and Gordon slumped on the post, completely drained of energy. Rainbow gently caressed the side of his face not resting on the post, noting the tears falling from his eyes.

"Don't worry Gordon, it's over now," she said quietly to him, in as comforting manner as she could, "They can't hurt you any more."

"He cried like a little bitch," Short Fuse gloated, "Pissed himself as well."

"SILENCE!" Blueblood bellowed, "You and your subordinates are all under arrest. Guards, strip them of their armour and weapons, they no longer have the right to wear them, and put them in separate cells."

"How did you know?" Short Fuse hissed as he was stripped, "I DEMAND TO KNOW!"

"I do NOT answer to YOU Short Fuse!"

"That's Second-Lieutenant Short Fuse!"

"Not for much longer. As of now, you are under arrest and will be facing a Court Martial at the very least! By the time the High Command has finished with you, being stripped of rank will be the least of your punishments!"

Blueblood turned to his guards, "Take them away."

"At once sir."

"IT WAS BRICK DUST!" Short Fuse yelled, "THAT TRAITOROUS LITTLE PISS-ANT BETRAYED US!"

"SILENCE!" bellowed Blueblood, "Get him out of here, NOW!"

Blueblood's guards dragged the now-disgraced Solar Guards, including the guard who went to find Brick Dust, out of the torture chamber and dumped them in their very own dungeon cells. One of Blueblood's guards remained however.

"Private Goddard, go to the medical wing in the castle and have a doctor and nurses down here at once, on my authority."

"Yes sir," Goddard replied, saluting and rushing away as fast as he could.

Blueblood turned his attention to Gordon and the girls. He winced in discomfort at the sight of Gordon's gaping wounds, and the smell of urine didn't escape his nose either.

"How could Princess Celestia allow this?" Rainbow hissed.

"I don't know Rainbow," Twilight cried, "But I'm going to find out."

Without another word, Twilight got up and walked out of the chamber of horrors. Blueblood watched on as Rainbow tried to comfort a weeping Gordon, the latter having a hold of Rainbow's hands and holding them close to his face.

Within another two minutes, the castle medical staff arrived and after quickly getting over their shock at Gordon's injuries, began to administer treatment. Rainbow could do little more than watch on and let the professionals do their job. But inside, she was seething with rage.

She wanted to go and find Celestia and give her a piece of her mind, but Gordon needed far more than ever and she was not going to abandon him now.

*MEANWHILE IN THE CASTLE GARDEN*

Celestia was sat at one of the garden tables sipping tea, enjoying the sunny afternoon and clear skies. The colourful flowers and sweet smell made the garden one of her favourite places to be in the castle. The only thing that was dampening her mood was her sister and Gordon. The former was in the archives, trying to find any legal manoeuvre she could find to assist Gordon.

And Gordon, was where he should be as far as she was concerned.

Locked away in the dungeons.

As she leant back and closed her eyes in relaxation, she could hear the stomping of hooves on the garden path. She opened her eyes and saw an angry looking Twilight approach.

"My faithful student, what can I-"

Celestia didn't get to finish her question before being knocked out cold.

Who would of thought that a studious bookworm could deliver such a fearsome right hook?

Author's Notes:

That's right. In this story, Blueblood is a good guy and not a jackass.

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