Chapter 3: Dungeon Meeting

James awoke to find himself lying on his back on a hard mattress. As his vision cleared, slate gray stone ceiling came into focus above him. Turning his head to the left, then right, stone walls of a similar color. None of the walls had any windows.

He sat up on the mattress—it was directly on the floor with no bed under it—attempting to raise his hands and rub his eyes. About midway up, they were yanked to a sudden halt. Looking down, he saw the iron cuffs still securing his wrists. The cuffs, he noticed now, had a strange tingling, warming sensation about them. It was annoying, but not painful. Short lengths of chain bound them to an iron loop anchored to the stone floor next to the bed, preventing him from raising his hands any higher than his stomach. They would also prevent him from standing up, leaving barely enough slack for him to even sit up where he was. Looking down, his ankles were also still bound with manacles. The collar he had been wearing continued to press lightly against his neck, although no chain was attached to it anymore.

Looking at the far wall in front of him now, he noticed thick iron bars. Like a ship fading into view through an ocean fog, the events that had lead him to this situation started to come back. "I'm in prison … or some kind of dungeon," he muttered to himself, his heart starting to race as he remembered the equine like beings that had captured him.

"Oh good! You're awake!"

He looked in the direction of the voice. The lavender unicorn he had briefly met earlier—the same one that had done something to him that had made him sleep—was trotting down a torch lined corridor toward the bars of the cell he was in.

"I'm awake? Are you sure about that?" he questioned, raising an eyebrow.

The unicorn gave him an odd look, but then shook her head slightly, as if forgetting about it. "How are you feeling?" she responded.

"Where exactly am I?"

"You are in Canterlot, the capital city of Equestria. Specifically, you are in the dungeon beneath the castle of her Royal Highness, Princess Celestia."

He almost panicked at the word 'dungeon'. "I want a lawyer, Miss … You'll have to excuse me. I forgot your name. A bit of amnesia from whatever you did to put me to sleep I guess."

"It's Twilight. Twilight Sparkle. But what's a lawyer?" She gave him another strange look.

He looked back at her just as strangely. "It's someone who understands the legal system, and helps you get out of trouble when you get arrested."

She shook her head once. "We don't have anypony like that around here. That's not how the legal system works here. But as the Royal Guards no doubt informed you, you will get an audience with Princess Celestia, and a chance to plead your case to her … Although I don't think you will have to plead anything."

"I didn't do anything wrong," he protested. He knew the fear was evident in his voice.

"Actually, there are several charges against you." The unicorn frowned. "Entering the nation of Equestria illegally; fleeing a royal guard; threatening a royal guard; a weapons charge because you used a sharp metal stick while threatening the royal guard; resisting arrest; and attempted escape after being arrested. And then there was the incident with Fluttershy … That's the yellow pegasus you first met in the forest. You haven't been charged with anything for that. At least not yet."

"I never had any intention of hurting her," his voice quivered with fear now after hearing the list of charges. "I was scared. I was only trying to frighten her away. The thing I used … it's not even a weapon. It's not dangerous. It just makes dumb noises."

"You were afraid of Fluttershy?" The unicorn raised an eyebrow, looking like she didn't believe him. But then shook her head, letting it pass. "No matter. I couldn't find anything dangerous about it either. That's why you haven't been charged for that. I am very curious about what it was though."

"It's a communication device … And it does other things, like give directions and store photographs." He decided to keep the explanation short and simple for now.

"Fascinating. In the future, you will have to tell me more about it. Oddly, I have never seen anything quite like it."

In the future. Hopefully, that was a good sign. Hopefully it meant, at least, he's wasn't going to be sent to the gallows, or the headspony, or however they did executions around here. He decided he might as well ask anyway.

"I'm not … gonna be executed or something, am I?"

"Executed?" the unicorn asked in an astonished voice, recoiling at the suggestion. "Why would you ever think Princess Celestia would do something like that? Of course, you aren't."

He breathed a sigh of relief. But he was also confused. Like the guards who had captured him, she spoke of this Princess Celestia almost as if he were expected to know who she was. He shook his head slightly. "I don't know … I was just worried. That's all."

She gave him another strange look, then seemed to shrug it off. "You never gave me an answer as to whether you were feeling alright or not."

He looked down at his arms and legs now. Although the rips and tears from the thorns were still there in his clothing, there was no evidence at all of the wounds the thorns had caused. Not even scratches remained. For the first time, he also noticed the pain in his ankle was completely gone, as if it had never been there at all. He had even forgotten he injured it until she asked if he was feeling well. His eyes widened in amazement. Not only had they kept their promise that he would be given medical attention once he got here, but to leave no scratches, not even a dull soreness? They must have some truly advanced medicine indeed!

"Did you hear me? Are you alright? I apologize about the clothes. We would have gotten you new clothes, but we didn't have any available to fit your body type. And given you were wearing clothes when the guards found you, we weren't sure if you'd be comfortable if we just took them off and left you naked."

Her voice brought him out of his thoughts, looking back up at her. She had a concerned look on her muzzle. At least he thought it was concern. He wasn't quite sure how horses showed concern. "I'm fine … Thank you …"

She nodded and smiled slightly, that excited gleam he had seen in her eyes when he first saw her had returned now. That gleam of wonder, curiosity, the need to discover and learn. "Well, I guess we can move on to the questions then. Are you comfortable? Can I get you anything?"

"These cuffs feel strange. Like they are tingling."

"I apologize for that. They are enchanted to prevent the wearer from using any kind of magic to escape. We didn't know if you were a magic user or not, so we had to be careful."

"Magic?" He raised an eyebrow. "No … I'm not a magic user."

She nodded, continuing to look at him, apparently still waiting for his answer.

"Can you have the guards remove the restraints? It's kind uncomfortable not being able to stand because my hands are practically chained to the floor."

She shook her head. "I'm sorry. Only Princess Celestia herself can authorize the removal of the restraints," she said apologetically.

"Don't you think the restraints are little bit excessive? I'm locked in a cell. It's not like I can be a threat to any of you from behind these bars."

"Actually, the restraints are for your protection." The unicorn frowned.

"My protection?" A note of indignation had crept into his voice. "You have me bound up, chained to the floor with chains so short that I can't even stand up. I can barely even sit up. I can't raise my hands enough to even reach my face. And I'm behind bars. How can the restraints possibly be for my protection?"

"The Royal Guards say you tried to jump from the chariot while it was in the air." Her frown deepened. "You don't have any obvious features that would allow you to fly. The Princess is concerned you might be a danger to yourself. Are the guards lying, James?" She had said it with a strong hint of concern in her voice, her ears swiveled back, drooping against her head. Was it concern for him? He sure hoped so.

He winced, then sighed. "No … No, they aren't," he admitted. No sense getting on the bad side of the guards by accusing them of lying when they were, in fact, telling the truth.

"Why would you do such a thing?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Because … I thought I was dreaming. I still think I probably am."

Her look became even more confused. "Why would you think you are dreaming?"

"… Isn't it obvious?" He thought his own look of confusion probably matched hers now.

For a few moments, the two of them just looked at each other as if neither one of them could figure out why the other was confused. Finally, Twilight shook her head.

"I guess I'll ask again … Why would you try to jump from the chariot while it was in the air? Surely you didn't think anything that happened to you here could be so bad it was better to commit suicide. I mean this is Princess Celestia we are talking about."

"First the Royal Guards, and now you!" he responded in an exasperated tone, trying to throw his hands up in frustration, forgetting about the cuffs. The chain link pulled tight against the rung in the floor, stopping his hands in their tracks with the sound of metal clapping against metal. "How was I to know something terrible wouldn't happen to me once they brought me here?"

The unicorn recoiled slightly at his raised voice. Then her eyes went wide, her jaw dropping. For a few long seconds, she looked at him in silence, with a look of surprise on her muzzle. Finally, she spoke again.

"You … You've never heard of Princess Celestia, have you? You have no idea who we are, do you?" she said with a tone of amazement, like one might have when realizing for the first time that they were talking to an alien from another world, which, of course, she was.

He didn't give her an answer. He just looked at her. He didn't need to give her an answer. He was sure his flat expression said everything that needed to be said.

"James … Where did you come from? How did you get here?" Her tone was softer, quiter now, but it held a strong mixture of excitement, concern, caution, and amazement.

He shook his head slowly and responded as calmly as he could. "I don't know, Twilight. I don't know where I came from because I have no frame of reference about where I am now. And I don't know how I got here. There was an accident at a science lab I was working in. An earthquake. Alarms, system failures." He paused for a moment, looking at her. Her jaw hung open, her eyes wide, ears intently swiveled towards him. He had her full attention now. He continued. "Something opened up. I fell through it. Like falling through space. I lost consciousness. When I woke up, I was in the forest where Flutter … the yellow pegasus found me."

He finished speaking, but the unicorn's eyes remained wide, staring at him in wonder and amazement. Finally, she composed herself enough to offer a response.

"James, I … I'm sorry. I thought you were from some distant society in our own world. Perhaps one we had never made contact with until now. I mean our whole world knows about Prin … Is there anything else you can tell me about how you got here?" She held a foreleg in the air for a few seconds, before gently putting it back down on the floor, her eyes still wide.

He shook his head. "Please, I just want to go home. Please … just let me out of here so I can go home." He was surprised at how pleading his own voice sounded in his ears.

The unicorn frowned again. "I'm sorry, James. But I can't let you out right now. Not until Princess Celestia says it's okay. And that won't happen until after she's spoken with you."

"You think … you think she'll let me out of this dungeon? Even with all the charges against me?" His voice sounded terrified.

Twilight nodded slightly a few times. "I think, if you cooperate with me so I can give her some answers, she will drop all the charges, given the circumstances. Princess Celestia is very fair and understanding. She won't keep you in here if she thinks what you did was justified."

He nodded, feeling slightly more at ease. At least as much at ease as one can feel at ease when being held in a dungeon by an alien species they've never met before and know nothing about.

"Good." A small smile on her muzzle. If it was an attempt to reassure him, it didn't have very much effect. "Let's start again. Can I get you anything?"

"A stiff drink?"

Her face had an apologetic look. "Sorry … Ethanol intended for the purposes of consumption is forbidden in Equestria. So unfortunately, I can't do that either."

He sighed to himself. "Just some water will be fine then. I haven't had anything to drink in … I don't know how long it's been."

"Be right back." She nodded and trotted away, disappearing around a corner. When she came back a couple of minutes later, he stared at her dumbfounded. A glass of water was floating slightly above her horn, surrounded by a soft purple glow. It moved with her, as if she were controlling it with telekinesis. She stopped in front of his cell. The glass of water floated through the bars and up to his lips—he couldn't hold it in his own hands, bound as they were. Immediately, he recoiled backward from it.

"Is something wrong?" she asked, looking at him strangely.

An uncomfortable silence, a few seconds, before he responded. "And this … this is why I still think this must be some kind of crazy dream. Because what you just did? It violates all kinds of scientific laws. I mean there are people where I am from that claim telekinesis exists. But it has never stood up to scientific scrutiny. It always turns out to be some kind of sleight of hand … It … it …"

The unicorn waved a hoof to stop him. "There will be plenty of time to discuss that later. For now, we have more important things to discuss. Things I need to return to Princess Celestia with answers for."

"Right. Of course," he nodded.

"First, I'll need your full name. I assume it's not just 'James' There is some additional part to it?"

"Peterson. Doctor James Peterson."

"And what are you a doctor of?"

"Physics. And nuclear engineering," he responded, deciding to keep his answers short and to the point.

"Physics?" That gleam in her eyes became even brighter. That thirst. That yearning for knowledge. If this wasn't a dream, and that was a big if, she was someone he'd like to get to know better. Perhaps, going home could wait a little while. "And what areas of physics do you study?"

"It's kind of technical. I'm not sure you'd understand," he said without really thinking about it first.

She gave him an annoyed look. A look that clearly said he had insulted her. "Try me," she challenged.

He nodded. "Alright. I mostly study high energy subatomic physics. Using something called a particle accelerator. It accelerates protons and antiprotons to speeds almost as fast as light, and extremely high energies, then collides them together. We were—"

"Fascinating. Were you looking for an elementary particle by any chance? One with an intrinsic angular momentum of zero that would solve many inconsistencies in theoretical physics?"

His jaw hung open as he stared at her. How did she know? How? For several moments, he didn't respond, then he finally closed his mouth again. "How did you know … Wait! I got you! Hah! I got you now!" he responded, smiling to himself smugly. She recoiled backward slightly. "Of course you know that! You know that because I know that! And you are a figment of my imagination! It's like I said, this is a dream. And you, being a figment of my imagination, have all the abilities my subconscious mind wants you to have. But I bet you don't have any of the abilities it doesn't want you to have, do you?" She rolled her eyes in annoyance now, but he continued anyway. "If I want you to have the ability to understand high energy particle physics, than you have that ability. If I want you to have the ability to understand quantum … mmmf!"

Suddenly he was cut off, feeling his mouth forced shut. He tried to open it again, but couldn't. It was only then, that he noticed the unicorn's horn glowing. She glared at him and held him like that for a couple of seconds. The glow on her horn dimmed, like a piece of red-hot iron cooling after being removed from a forge. His jaw unclenched, and he was able to speak again.

He glared back at her now. "What was that all about?" he asked, annoyance in his voice. "And how did you—"

"Why don't you tell me, Doctor Peterson?" she responded, glaring back at him. "After all, if I have all the abilities you want me to have, and none that you don't want me to have, that must mean you want me to have the ability to make you shut up!" Her glare turned into something resembling more of a smirk now.

He continued to stare at her for another moment, but he couldn't really argue with what she had said. "Touché," he finally acknowledged. "Please just call me James though. You call me Doctor Peterson and it's like using the full name. Makes me feel like I'm in worse trouble than I already am or something … So how did you know anyway?"

Our scientists at REA have postulated the existence of a similar particle. It's believed to have important fundamental properties to the fabric of the universe itself, as well as being very important to the theoretical understanding of how certain types of unicorn magic work."

"Magic … right," he said dubiously. "So what's this REA?"

"Royal Equestrian Academy. It's the branch of Princess Celestia's government responsible for higher education, science, and research."

"It's called an academy? Sounds almost military to me. Like West Point or something." He frowned.

"Well, Academy officers and staff are very disciplined and held to extremely high standards at all times. After all, they are required to be good role models and set good examples for the younger ponies to emulate. And they have to mold their students to be the best ponies they can possibly be."

He absorbed everything she was saying without interrupting her. He didn't like what he was hearing so far. It would be imprudent to judge so early and with so little information, but he was starting to get the impression that this was a rather dictatorial society ruled by a monarch with near absolute power and authority. A monarch who controlled the entire higher education system, which 'molded' students into being the best ponies they can be. To him, that smelled like an education system based on indoctrination rather than free thinking. A monarch with absolute power over education. But even more important right now, at least to him, a monarch who had absolute power to judge and pronounce punishment on him. The power to pronounce a sentence as cruel and as harsh as she wanted. The power to be compassionate and have mercy on him. He could only hope, she would choose the latter. He pushed that thought to the back of his mind for now.

"They haven't found it yet, have they? This particle that is?"

"No, they haven't."

He breathed a sigh of relief at that. If he got home … No, when he got home, because he was determined that he would get home, he wanted to be the first person to find it.

"So what do you plan to do? Now that you are here?" she asked him.

"Well, try to find a way to get back home to where I came from, I guess … I'm intrigued by this whole thing. But I have a lot of work to do back home. And as interesting as this all is, I'm a physicist, not an anthropologist. An anthropologist would no doubt be fascinated by the opportunity to study a completely undocumented culture that has never had human contact before. But I don't belong here."

"And how do you plan to do that? To get home?"

"Well, you will understand if a large part of me still thinks that all I have to do to get home is wake up. I'm still not convinced any of this is actually real. It's not logical."

She nodded once. "And those cuffs holding your arms near the floor … are they real?"

He raised an eyebrow. "I … don't know."

"Well, if they aren't, if this is all a dream or a figment of your imagination, why don't you just break the chains? Just lift your arms and break them."

He blinked, but then tried doing as she suggested. Neither the chains or the cuffs yielded at all.

"So which is more illogical, James. The idea that those cuffs and chains are real and that's why you can't break them? Or the idea that they are a figment of your imagination, but despite the fact that you know they aren't real, you are still unable to break them?"

"The fact that I'm having a debate about logic with an intelligent talking purple unicorn is, itself, illogical," he retorted, not answering her question.

"Can you logically prove there are no intelligent talking purple unicorns in existence anywhere in the universe? Or in any alternate universes that might exist other than your own?"

"Well, no … but the mathematical odds of me running into one are astronomically small."

"Are astronomically small? Or should be astronomically small? Do you actually have enough data to compute the mathematical odds of you having an encounter with an intelligent talking purple unicorn?"

"Well, no … but—"

"And is the alternative hypothesis any more mathematically feasible? That you imagined chains and cuffs into actual physical existence? Such that even though you believe they don't exist and are only in your mind, you are still unable to break free from them?" She looked at him like she was actually expecting an answer to that question.

He looked back at her in stunned silence, unable to come up with an immediate answer. He wasn't sure what seemed more strange. The fact that he was having a debate with a talking unicorn? Or the fact that she seemed to be winning.

She stopped waiting for an answer to her last question and continued. "Besides, for the sake of argument, even if this is all a dream, or in your imagination, it would seem that for now, you are unable to escape from your own mind. And if it's not in your imagination, and it's all real, then it seems I hold all of the cards right now. Either way, you don't really have any other option except to play along."

He sighed slightly. She was right, of course. He didn't have any other options right now. "Okay … You win … So what happens next? And how long am I here for?"

"Well, next I will talk to Princess Celestia. Then you will get an audience with her. She may ask you some more questions of her own at that time. Then she will decide what is to be done with you."

"She will be the only one making the decision?" he asked, the nervousness and fear returning to his voice now as he thought about his coming judgment.

The unicorn nodded. "She has advisers who she will consult on the best course of action. She also values my input greatly, being her student. But yes, she is the highest authority in Equestria, and she will ultimately make the decision."

He frowned slightly. At least she had advisers. Nevertheless, he would have felt more comfortable with a jury type system, instead of one individual having sole power to decide his fate, even if she did have advisers. He nodded in acceptance though. What else could he do? "So how long until she sees me?"

"A few hours probably. Three, maybe four," she said. He only nodded in response.

The expression on her muzzle changed to one of compassion. "Try not to worry. I assure you that Princess Celestia is a fair and just ruler. Whatever she decides will be fair. And I really do believe you will be out of this dungeon before the day is finished." She gave him a reassuring smile. "The Royal Guards will be here in a few hours to get you. I look forward to the opportunity to talk with you more once this matter is resolved." She turned and started trotting away from the cell.

Once she was out of sight, he looked around the cell he was in. Nothing to see. Just three solid gray stone walls, a set of bars on the remaining wall, solid gray stone floor, and a ceiling to match them. He may as well simply try to get some sleep, he decided. He lay back down in the bed—a slightly tricky feat given his bound and chained wrists—and closed his eyes. Exhaustion and fatigue weighed heavily on him, but the bed was not the most comfortable bed in the world, and with his wrists bound close to the floor, he couldn't find a truly comfortable position. Combined with the fear of his coming audience with this Princess Celestia, and his coming judgment, sleep eluded him …

Princess Celestia lay on an oval rug in her private chambers, her ethereal mane and tail flowing in some unseen magical breeze, wings folded neatly at her sides.

"Your Majesty?"

She looked up from a scroll she was reading. The Royal Guard who had spoken bowed in the doorway to her chambers. "Your student, Twilight Sparkle, is here to see you."

"Thank you," Celestia responded, smiling, "Please, send her in."

"Yes, Your Majesty." The guard bowed again before stepping out. A few seconds later, Twilight Sparkle appeared in the doorway, stepping inside.

"How is he doing?" Celestia asked.

"He's afraid, Princess. But other than that, he is doing well."

Celestia nodded. "His fear is understandable."

"He … doesn't know anything about us, Princess … He's not even from our world. Maybe not even from our dimension or universe. He's never even heard of us before," Twilight said, bewilderment evident in her voice.

"Did he say why he was here?"

Twilight shook her head. "He doesn't even know how he got here. It was some kind of physics accident caused by an earthquake. He was working on an experiment that involves accelerating particles to extremely high amounts of energy. When the quake hit, the energy may have caused some kind of dimensional rift that he fell through." She shook her head again. "I don't really know, and neither does he. He did not come here intentionally though."

Celestia considered for a moment, nodding again. "Tell me everything you learned, Twilight."

Twilight spent the next several minutes telling her about James, and the brief conversation they had had. Celestia maintained a calm exterior, but inside, she was concerned. What Twilight was able to tell her was not very much at all really, since even James didn't how he got here. It would be difficult to make a decision about him without having a reason why he came here, or knowing what his intentions might be now that he was here.

"Thank you, my faithful student." Celestia smiled now. "I will send for you when I am ready to see him and make my decision."

Twilight nodded. There was an excited, yet cautious look in her eyes. Celestia watched her turn, exit the chamber, and close the door. Then, she let out a sigh of concern she had been holding in the whole time.

She looked at the ceiling, as if trying to see the sky through the solid domed roof decorated in stars, planets, and other celestial objects. "What is the pattern up to?" she spoke quietly to herself. "A strange thread The Weaver has thrown at us indeed. I did not see this one coming. What does it mean?" She looked back down at the scroll between her forelegs now. "What does it mean …" she repeated.

A few more moments of contemplation before she stood up and started towards her door. Leaving her room, she turned to one of the golden armored Celestial Guards outside her door. "Is the Royal Council assembled?" she asked.

"They are, Your Majesty. And awaiting your arrival."

Celestia nodded, thanked the guard, then proceeded down the corridor, and down a spiral staircase as she made her way to confer with her Royal Council …