The God Particle

Chapter 4: Canterlot

"Her Majesty will see you now, Doctor Peterson." A voice that James recognized as Captain Swordstorm. "Sit up on the bed and do not move until I tell you to."

He did as he was told, sitting up and remaining still. Outside the cell door, Captain Swordstorm stood with three unicorn guards. One of the unicorns lowered his head towards the lock on the iron cell door. A neon green glow shown around the lock as he inserted his horn into it, a metallic clang echoing off the walls of the dungeon as the lock disengaged and the door swung open. The Captain and one of the unicorns entered the cell. The other two unicorns remained outside, guarding the door.

The unicorn lowered his head to the iron loop in the floor that the chain around James' wrists was attached to. Another green glow, and the loop released the chain. It was all James could do to resist the temptation to stretch his arms above his head after not having been able to raise them above his stomach for so long.

"Stand, and line up in front of me, to the left of the unicorn," Captain Swordstorm ordered.

This time, James hesitated. He could already feel his pulse quickening, his breathing becoming more rapid, the adrenaline starting to go to work as anxiety built over the meeting to come. He turned his head to look at the Captain.

"Captain … sir … I've never been in the presence of royalty before. I don't know how I should …" He didn't need to finish the question.

The pegasus looked at him for a moment, then answered. "Address her as Your Highness or Your Majesty. Do not speak until she has spoken to you first. Kneel and bow to her when you enter her presence. But one knee only. Show her respect, but do not grovel. She doesn't like groveling, and neither do I."

James nodded slightly. "Than … thank you, sir."

The Captain seemed to smile at him again, at least slightly, and briefly. Quickly, it was replaced with a serious expression again. "Now off the bed, line up behind me and to the left of the unicorn."

This time, he did as he was told. Then, the Captain ordered him to walk. He walked towards the door, the unicorn next to him keeping pace beside him, the Captain following close behind. The cell he had been in was not very big, and it was only a few steps before he was outside of the bars. Conflicting emotions ran through him. On one hand, he was glad to be outside the confinement of the cell, glad to have his hands at least freer than they used to be, and glad to be able to stand up again. On the other hand, part of him wanted to go back in the cell again. To have the chain attached to the floor again. The cell, at least, was certain. The upcoming meeting with this Princess Celestia was not. Part of him wanted to keep delaying it by just staying in the uncomfortable, but nevertheless, safe, confines of the cell. But what good would delaying it do?

"Halt," the Captain ordered. James complied immediately. Another neon glow out of the corner of his eye. He shifted his eyes towards it. Three more short lengths of chain, also surrounded by the glow, were floating towards them. One of them moved down to the cuffs on his wrist, attaching to the iron loop there along with the other chain that already hung off of it, dangling down his front. Then, the other ends of both chains glowed, lifting up and out to the sides. Another unicorn lined up next to him, so that he was flanked on both sides. The ends of the two chains attached to a loop in the armor of the two unicorns next to him, restraining his hands from both sides, ensuring he could not move them in either direction without the chain stopping them.

The two remaining chains floated up under his neck and attached to the collar. Then, in a similar fashion as the chains on the wrist cuffs, the other ends raised out to the sides, attaching to the armor loops of both unicorns walking next to him, making it impossible for him to bolt in any direction without one of the chains pulling taught and stopping him. The Captain continued giving instructions.

"When we arrive outside the entrance to Her Majesty's chambers, your ankle restraints will be removed so you can kneel properly. The guards will leave you alone in the middle of the floor. But I will warn you right now, Her Majesty is very powerful with magic and could destroy you in the blink of an eye if she so chose. Bear that in mind before you decide to try anything stupid just because the guards are no longer holding the ends of the chains."

"Yes, sir," was all he said in response. He had no intention of trying anything stupid. What good would it do him? They'd be able to recapture him quickly enough, and then his situation would only end up worse.

"Good, now move," the Captain barked, falling in behind him again, the third unicorn taking up position in front of him, boxing him in on all four sides. He started to walk, keeping pace with the unicorn that lead the way. Thankfully, the unicorn was moving slowly. He still couldn't take full length strides because of the ankle manacles.

The unicorn lead them down a narrow corridor. Shadows danced on the plain stone walls in the flicker of the torchlight. Coming to the end of the corridor, they turned left, walking down another narrow hallway that didn't look any different from the first one. As they approached the end though, the dim light began to reveal a heavy wooden door, two unicorn guards standing on either side of it. The one on the right of the door turned. His horn glowed as he inserted it into the keyhole on the door. It unlocked with another echoing clank, and the door started to open.

On the other side of the door, another short, torchlit corridor with a reinforced wooden door at the end—double doored to reduce the chance of prisoners escaping, he assumed. There were no guards posted at this one though. When they arrived at it, they stopped. One of the unicorns unlocked the door the way the guard posted next to the previous door had done, revealing a winding staircase leading upward. The unicorn guard in front of him started walking again and he followed. He lost track of how many times they had walked around the upward spiral, but eventually, they came to another locked heavy wooden door at the top. This one appeared to be heavier than the previous two—a last defense against escape. Again, the unicorn unlocked it with his horn.

He stepped out into a featureless square room—with doors on all four walls. Signs above the doors were written in a strange script he had never seen before. The unicorn in front lead him straight through to the opposite side of the room where he opened another heavy door.

Stepping out of the small room, he looked around in awe, stopping without even being aware of it. The room he was in now had high ceilings, painted in exquisite detail with scenes of unicorns, pegasi, and even two larger ponies that appeared to be a combination of both—one a pure white color, like fresh snow, the other a midnight blue color, like a cloudless night with a full moon. Stain glassed windows high up the polished smooth walls depicted battle scenes, including one showing the two ponies that seemed to be part unicorn and part pegasus doing battle with a strange Chinese dragon like creature. Multicolored light danced on the polished stone floor as the sun shown through the colored glass. Columns of exquisitely carved stone inscribed with stylized symbols of the sun and moon supported the high ceilings.

"Keep moving, Doctor Peterson," Captain Swordstorm said from behind, nudging him gently but firmly in the back to get his attention. He started walking again, but continued looking around in awe. It was as if he had stepped straight into an Arthurian legend, except instead of King Arthur, there was this Princess Celestia he was about to meet.

The guards lead him down another corridor. He looked left, and right, still in awe of everything around him. In contrast to the bare slate gray walls of the dungeon, the walls here were covered in colorful tapestries. A crimson tapestry bore a stylized image of the sun, woven into it with golden thread that appeared to emanate light. Next to it, a midnight blue tapestry with the crescent moon woven into it with fine silver thread, shining pinpoint dots around it representing stars. Interspersed with the tapestries of the sun and moon, scenes depicting ponies, pegasi, and unicorns. There were also scenes depicting those two ponies that seemed to be both unicorn and pegasus. The stylized sun was depicted on the flank of one of them, the moon on the other. James assumed one of them must be the princess he was about to meet, given the prominence they seemed to have in the tapestries. Another tapestry caught his eye. Six ponies doing battle with the same Chinese dragon like creature he had seen earlier. One of them, he thought, resembled the lavender female unicorn he had spoken to in the dungeon.

They turned another corner, climbed another flight of stairs, and walked down two more corridors, all tapestry lined like the others, each depicting various scenes that he assumed were part of their history, mythology, or had some other sort of important cultural relevance. It was clear to him now that he had greatly underestimated these beings when he had first encountered them. They were skilled architects, given the construction of the castle he was in. They were historians, and story tellers, and talented artists.

In front of him, to his left, two large doors, arched at the top. Guards stood on both sides of it. Once in front of the doors, he and his escort turned, facing them, and stopped. He estimated the doors to easily be the height of five men. Intricate artwork inlaid the reinforced, polished wood. On the left, the stylized image of the blazing sun, cast from solid gold. On the right, the crescent silver moon. Blazing torchlight caused them to shine brightly, casting reflections off the polished stone floor as from the surface of a perfectly calm, clear lake.

The unicorn in front of him turned around and lowered his head toward the restraints on his ankles. The strange green glow, the light, tingling sensation again, and the ankle restraints fell to the floor.

"Remember what I told you earlier, about Her Majesty's magical prowess, before you think of doing anything stupid," Captain Swordstorm reminded him from behind.

He only nodded slightly. Looking at the door again, a sea of emotions tossed him like a raft on a raging rapids—emotions ranging from intense fear, to amazement over his surroundings, to excitement over the fact that he was likely the first human in history to make contact with a sentient being not of his world.

A noise reverberated off the walls and ceiling, the sound of a large latch being undone. The twin doors started to open, swinging inward. He took a deep breath and let it out slowly, trying to reign in his fear.

Stepping inside, a lush red carpet ran the length of the isle down to the stairs at the front of the long chamber. At the top of the stairs, a throne that appeared to be cast from solid gold, covered in crimson upholstery. To the sides of the thrones, crimson and midnight blue banners that James now assumed must be the coat of arms of the rulers of this nation. On both sides of the foot of the throne, small waterfalls ran into pools of clear crystal. Armored unicorn guards stood on either side at the base of the stairs leading up to the grand throne.

The guards led him down the center isle. Looking to the left and right, marble pillars, inlaid with sun and moon designs carved by an exquisite craftspony. Behind the pillars, more stain glassed windows ran nearly the length of the floor to the ceiling. A design near the front of the chamber, to one side of the throne, depicted a large round planet with the sun shining on it. Other planets, including a ringed Saturn like planet seemed to orbit the main planet at the bottom of the scene. It seemed they believed their world was round. But judging from the drawing, he thought they might believe their solar system was geocentric—their planet at the center with the sun and other planets orbiting around it. But they had at least some knowledge of astronomy it seemed.

"Her Majesty will be here shortly," one of the unicorn guards in the room called out, drawing James' attention. He looked in the direction of the voice. Several other ponies were gathered there as well. Among them, he recognized Twilight Sparkle. She gave him a small nod and brief smile. Her presence comforted him, a small amount of reassurance that at least one seemingly friendly face who he shared something in common with was here.

From the corner of his eyes, he noticed that green glow again. The chains connected to his collar and to his wrist restraints came loose from the armor of the two unicorn guards escorting him and gently fell to the floor. The three unicorns escorting him moved to the sides of the chamber. The Captain gave him one final admonishment not to try anything stupid, then followed, joining the rest of his guards, leaving James standing alone in the center. Again, he focused on trying to control his breathing and slow his heart rate.

The sound of a door opening, somewhere in front of him. He looked towards the sound. Behind the throne, to the left, a door he hadn't even noticed was swinging inward. A white unicorn with wings—larger than any of the other ones he had met so far—with a long flowing mane of pastel colors and a tail to match walked gracefully through the door, so gracefully, he almost thought she were gliding a few inches above the floor. Her mane and tail seemed to flow gracefully. Silently. In some unseen ethereal breeze. Even from a distance, her presence inspired a sense of awe in him greater than any he had ever experienced in his life. He dared not look directly at her, averting his eyes downward in reverence. From the corner of his eye, he noticed the ponies in the room bowing as she approached. He did so as well, remembering the Captain's instructions and descending to one knee, his head bowed respectfully.

The beautiful winged unicorn continued walking towards him, stopping when she was right in front of him. She stood still for a moment as he kept his head bowed. He could feel her presence, as if the warmth of the sun had just started to shine down on him through an opening in a cloud. She started to walk a tight circle around him. He felt unnerved by that, having to use all of the discipline he could muster to keep looking forward with his head bowed rather than turn his head and try to follow her movement. After she had made a complete circle around him, which to him seemed like it took forever, but in reality had probably only taken a few seconds, she stopped in front of him again, pausing for a few seconds. Or was it an eternity? He didn't know. Then, she spoke.

"Let me see your face."

Her voice was gentle, but firm. Reassuring, but at the same time, commanding authority and demanding respect. James was as awe inspired by her voice as he had been by her appearance when he first saw her. He slowly raised his head so she could see his face. As he did so, she looked into his eyes. His sense of awe about her increased exponentially. It was as if light, air, life, and all existence itself emanated from her, and that without her, all would simply cease to exist. It required all of his discipline to avoid averting his eyes from her regal appearance. He wasn't a religious man by any stretch of the word. But if ever in his life he had felt any compulsion at all to worship something, it was the majestic winged unicorn standing in front of him right now. She looked at him for a few seconds before speaking again.

"I bid you welcome, to Equestria. I do apologize for the fact that your welcome up to this point has maybe been a little bit … awkward. But please, understand, we had to be cautious."

"Thank you, Your Majesty," he said, bowing his head in respect again. "I am honored to be here, and I understand the necessity of caution."

She started to walk another circle around him. He could see her golden clad hoof from the corner of his eye, but stopped trying to follow it once he would have had to turn his head to do so. "My student has told me about you, and how you arrived here. What little even you know about how you arrived here that is. Is there anything you would like to add at this point? Anything you may have thought of after Miss Sparkle left you to report back to me?"

He thought for a moment, trying to see if he could remember any details. Anything at all that might help figure out a way for him to get home. Nothing came to him. "No, Your Majesty. Unfortunately, I have not been able to remember anything more than what I have already told Miss Sparkle."

"Very well. Then we may proceed. To begin with, I believe your story that you did not intend to come here, and that you meant no harm. As such, I do not believe that you are a threat to any of us."

He breathed an inaudible sigh of relief, feeling at least some of the stress he had been under lifting away from him. She continued speaking.

"Twilight has spoken to me about what happened with Miss Fluttershy, and both she and Captain Swordstorm have spoken to me about what happened when they tried to take you into custody. I understand that fear made you react the way you did, given you had no idea who … or even what, you were dealing with. Because of that, I'm dropping all of the charges against you, and no charges will be made regarding the incident with Fluttershy."

More of the weight lifted off of him. Compared to how he had been feeling since the guards captured him, his spirit felt light enough to fly. Now there was only one issue outstanding …

"She also told me of your desire to return to your homeland." Her voice had taken on a tone of compassion now. Almost one of sadness and concern. "I am sorry, Doctor Peterson. I fully understand your desire to return home. But I have decided that we cannot, and therefore, will not, attempt to return you to your homeland."

The weight that had been lifted from him was back on him in an instant. A freight training slamming into him, oppressive and crushing. Gravity multiplied tenfold. He raised his head to look at her. "But Your Majesty, I—"

"I have spoken with my Royal Council. With my top science advisers and magic advisers. As you can no doubt imagine, it can sometimes be rather difficult to get them to completely agree on anything. But they are all in agreement that it is beyond our current capabilities in either science or magic to send you home." She stopped in front of him, looking straight at him before continuing. "You know this to be true, James. We don't know where you came from. You don't know how you got here. Neither you nor any of us knows where your homeland is in relation to here. We don't even know if it is in the same universe or dimension. The fact that you arrived here instead of somewhere in the cold interstellar vacuum, or the dark energy between dimensions, or simply disintegrated, is against all odds. It would be foalish, and almost certainly fatal for you, if we were to tempt those odds again. I have no desire to disintegrate you or teleport you to the vacuum of space, James."

"Yes, Your Majesty," he replied in a disappointed voice, bowing his head once more in deference to her. He knew she was right. He didn't want to accept it, but he knew there was no realistic way, other than the hope he still held that he would wake up from a dream, to return him back where he came from.

The winged unicorn looked at him sympathetically before continuing. "That being said, since I do not believe you are a threat to us, I have no desire to keep you imprisoned here in the dungeon. However, I am concerned you may be a threat to yourself. My guards tell me you attempted to jump from the chariot while it was in the air." He winced. That was really coming back to bite him. She continued. "I had considered placing you under psychiatric observation until it can be determined you aren't dangerous to yourself. But, given our doctors know nothing of your species, I'm not sure any good could come from it. Perhaps it is normal behavior for your kind to want to jump out of objects that are in flight."

He opened his mouth to protest that no, humans were not naturally suicidal, but then stopped himself. Better to let her think it was normal behavior for his species. At least for now. Better that than risk having her change her mind about keeping him under psychiatric observation.

"However," the Princess continued, "I do not believe it would be wise, for either you, or us, to simply send you out on your own in a world where you cannot read the alphabet, have no familiarity with our laws and customs, have no local currency, and do not know your way around. My student, whom you have already met, has offered to let you stay with her in Ponyville for at least the next three months. That is what I have decided to do."

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Twilight's expression. That sense of wonder was back. But he knew she'd probably bombard him with questions, want to know everything there was to know about him and where he came from. Yes, he wanted to talk to her. He no doubt had just as many questions for her as she had for him. But live with her? Where he could never get away from the bombardment? He winced internally before responding. "I greatly appreciate the offer, Your Majesty. But I do not wish to impose."

"You will not be imposing. And besides, I insist. And so does Twilight."

"Again, Your Majesty, I appreciate the offer. But I really do not want to impose."

She rolled her eyes, then spoke in a slightly more authoritative tone. "Doctor Peterson, I insist that you stay with my student, Twilight Sparkle, at least until you are somewhat familiar with Equestria and our laws and customs. If this living arrangement is not to your liking, your cell in the dungeon is still available if you prefer that instead."

He winced at the thought of going back to the dungeon. "On second thought, Your Majesty, I graciously accept the hospitality of your student, Twilight Sparkle."

"I'm pleased to see that you have changed your mind." She chuckled a brief moment, as if to lighten the mood. "Are all of your kind as stubborn as you are?"

"No, Your Majesty. Not all of us. Just the ones who want to succeed in life."

"There is more to success than simply being stubborn and inflexible, Doctor Peterson. And stubbornness can be a serious detriment to success if you allow it to prevent you from accepting help when you need it," she admonished him.

"Yes, Your Majesty," he responded calmly. But inside, he winced over the fact that he had just been rebuked by a talking pony … even if she was a winged unicorn who was also royalty.

Her voice became gentle and soothing again. "I know this is very stressful for you, and is a lot to absorb all at once. But I strongly advise you to do your best to enjoy your time with Twilight Sparkle. I'm sure there's a lot that you can both learn from each other."

"Your Majesty … I accept the hospitality, but I still do not want to be a burden."

"You won't be. Her normal assistant is away for the next few months. You can fill in for him and help her with her research until he returns."

"Thank you, Your Majesty. I shall do so to the best of my ability."

"I know you will," she smiled. "Tomorrow morning then, you will travel to Ponyville with her. I imagine you must be exhausted after all you have been through. To make up for the uneasy original welcoming, I have arranged for you to spend the night in one of the castle guest rooms. There are still a couple hours of daylight left. Feel free to have a look around Canterlot with Twilight if you would like. The castle kitchen is always open if you are hungry."

"Thank you, Your Majesty. I will be honored to stay in one of your guest rooms."

She leaned her head down and nuzzled the side of his face comfortingly and reassuringly. Her gentle touch was like pure cotton, like a spring breeze scented with flowers. It sent a shiver through his body as once again he was filled with a sense of awe and amazement. Then she touched the tip of her slightly glowing horn to the cuffs around his wrists. The locks on them opened and they fell to the floor, the collar releasing from his neck and falling next to them.

"I know this is hard for you," she continued. "But please do not be afraid to ask Twilight for help when you need it, or to share your troubles with her. Everypony will be willing to help you. Goodbye for now, James. We will keep in touch through letters and will see each other again in a few months time."

She took a few steps backwards. As she started to leave, every pony in the chamber bowed low again. James followed suit, bowing his head again, still down on his one knee. Only after she had left, did he finally rise back to his feet. Rubbing his wrists a little where the cuffs had been.

Vaguely, he was aware of someone talking to him, but he wasn't registering the words. Instead, he just continued to stare behind the throne at the door she had left through. His head swam, his thoughts jumbled, as if a million conversations were happening and he were trying to process all of them.

"Uh, James? Are you with me?"

He blinked and was suddenly aware of Twilight Sparkle standing in front of him, looking into his eyes. "What? Oh, yeah." He shook his head slightly. "Sorry about that."

"Yeah …" She cocked her head and looked at him oddly. "So do you want to just go to bed? Or would you like to take a look around Canterlot for a bit?"

"We can … look around for a bit. I'd like to see at least a little bit of the city before we leave tomorrow, I guess," he responded, trying to keep his mind from wondering back to the winged unicorn that had been there moments earlier.

Twilight nodded and smiled, motioning him to follow with a forehoof and leading him out the same doors they had come in. "Guards, you may leave us now. Thank you for your service, my good sirs."

The guards, including Captain Swordstorm, nodded at her before turning and marching away, disappearing down one of the corridors.

He walked down the corridors as if in a dream. As if they were simply tunnels of cloud—there, yet not really existing, until they came to the main castle entrance. The guards unlocked and opened the large doors. Twilight lead him outside and they walked down the marble steps, to the courtyard. She moved to the side so that he was walking next to her now as they descended the last step and entered the courtyard. He was vaguely aware of her looking up at his face a couple of times.

"What's on your mind, James?" she finally asked.

He hesitated for a few moments before he finally decided to just go ahead and say what was on his mind, speaking in a bewildered tone of voice. "So … so what is she? Is … is she … a deity? A goddess or something?"

"Do you think she is a deity, James?" she answered, in a tone that made him feel like she was a teacher asking a student a question. But also, a tone that suggested the question had not surprised her, and was not unexpected.

"I'm an atheist. I don't believe in deities. But she's definitely not just your average princess," he responded, coming out of his bewilderment now, almost like a switch had been thrown. It was as if he had forgotten, but suddenly reminded himself, that he didn't believe in goddesses or deities.

"And why don't you believe in deities?" She walked in front of him and stopped.

He stopped as well to avoid running into her. "Because I can't observe them or measure them. Because there's no evidence they exist."

"Can you observe a black hole?"

"Not directly."

"Then how do you know they exist?"

She was doing it to him again! Responding to his questions by asking him questions. It was annoying him. He wasn't necessarily annoyed with her, but more annoyed with himself. Annoyed that he was allowing her to trip him up. "We know they exist by observing the effects they have on objects around them," he finally responded.

"Ah, now maybe we are getting somewhere. You can't see the actual black hole itself. But you can determine where it is based on observing how gravity affects objects around it," she grinned at him.

"It's not the same thing with deities." He shook his head. "There are any number of more likely and more logical scenarios that can explain most natural phenomena without resorting to the idea that a deity is responsible. With black holes, the only logical explanation is an intense gravitational field that we logically deduce must exist, even though we cannot directly observe the object responsible for it."

"That may be true. There are other explanations, some of which may be more logical. So what it really comes down to is that you don't believe deities exist, because you've never seen one. Right?"

"I guess you could put it that way …"

"And what about this so called god particle that you and some of our own researchers are looking for. If it exists, how will you know it when you see it? Because you know what a god particle event should look like. So if you see one, you will know what it is. Right?"

"Right," he responded, still amazed at the purple unicorn's grasp on astronomy and physics."

"Well, do you know what a deity should look like?" she asked rhetorically. "Then how would you know if you have ever seen one or not?"

He hesitated for moment before responding. "So for the sake of argument, even if she is a deity … she's not omniscient or omnipotent … because she said she couldn't send me home and didn't know how to."

"Maybe she can send you home, but has chosen not to," the unicorn responded matter-of-factly.

"Why would she do that to me?"

"Well, consider the odds that you're here in the first place. How astronomically small they are given all the places you could have ended up. Maybe it's fate that you're here?"

He shook his head. "I don't believe in fate either."

"Well, for the sake of argument, if it is fate. Then maybe she cannot interfere with it? After all, imagine the potential consequences to future events and the fate of others if the fate of one pony … or human in your case, was interrupted. Given that so many events are intertwined and have a cause-effect relationship. Even deities may have to play by some Universal rules, James."

He was about to answer her when a cyan colored pegasus with a rainbow colored mane and tail suddenly landed directly in front of him, almost on top of him, causing him to jump backwards with a start.

"There you are, Twilight!" she looked at the unicorn for a second, then turned her attention to him, giving him an irate glare, causing him to back up a step.

"Rainbow, I thought you were going back to Ponyville. There was no reason you had to stick around here," Twilight responded.

"Hah! You didn't think I was actually gonna leave you here alone with him did you?" She glared at James again. He couldn't resist the urge to glare back at her.

Twilight rolled her eyes. "He's not a threat, Rainbow. And even if he was, I think I can handle him. Magic, remember?"

The cyan pegasus looked back at him now, the two of them glaring at each other. He was getting rather annoyed with her, but still, he was glad she had shown up and interrupted the conversation he had been having with Twilight. It had been starting to make him uncomfortable.

"Ten seconds flat. That's all I need," she said, glaring at him.

"For what?" he responded flatly.

"For me, the One and Only Rainbow Dash, to put you on the ground. Ten … seconds … flat!"

He rolled his eyes at the sassy, arrogant pegasus. "Yeah. Whatever," he responded dismissively.

She raised an eyebrow at him. "Don't believe me? You want to have a go? Right here? Right now?" she challenged, narrowing her eyes and glaring at him again.

Twilight stomped a forehoof, both of them turning their attention to her now. "That's enough! Both of you!" she said in an exasperated tone. "Rainbow, we are right in the middle of the castle courtyard! You'll end up sharing a dungeon cell with him for the night if you two fight here! Besides, you'll have plenty of time to taunt him later. He's coming back to Ponyville with me and will be staying at the library for the next several months."

Rainbow suddenly stopped glaring and blinked twice. Then, she started giggling, which quickly turned into all out laughter. "He's staying with you?" She had to stop talking as another burst of laughter hit her. "For several months? You two eggheads are gonna fry each other's brains in just the first two or three days!"

She resumed her laughter for a bit longer, before finally getting control of herself. Then she glared at him again. "We'll continue this later!" She reared up on her hind legs, spread her wings, and shot off into the sky faster than he thought it should be possible to accelerate.

"… Well, that was interesting," he said, turning his attention back to Twilight now.

The unicorn shook her head. "You'll have to excuse her, James. She's extremely loyal to her friends. Sometimes, it causes her to be a little overprotective and aggressive. But there isn't a more loyal pony anywhere in Equestria. Once she warms up to you, there isn't anything she won't do for you."

"I certainly hope so. I don't think I could deal with her doing that to me every day." He managed to chuckle a bit, then started walking again. "How did she know anything about who I was anyway?"

"She insisted on coming to Canterlot with me. I talked to her after I got done talking with you in the dungeon."

He nodded, then turned around and looked at the castle they had left. His jaw almost dropped. It was far larger and more impressive than he had imagined even from being inside of it. There were at least seven or eight towers, perhaps even more on the other side that he couldn't see, rising from the castle, reaching for the sky. He wasn't sure what they were made of, but they were white as fresh snow and glistened in the sun. The spires on top of the towers were covered in what appeared to be solid gold, brilliantly reflecting the light of the sun. Not only did this society of … ponies have advanced knowledge of architectural engineering, but they also obviously had access to a great deal of natural resources and the ability to harvest them. What he had originally assumed was a primitive tribal system of ponies was starting to look more like a vast and powerful empire.

Turning around, he noticed that Twilight had started to get ahead of him a bit. He jogged for a couple of seconds to catch up to her before falling in next to her again. "Does Equestria control this entire world?" he asked when he had caught up to her.

"Not all of it. The western border is a town called Appleloosa. It's a long ways away from here though and is basically in the middle of nowhere. West of that is frontier country that's controlled by uh … tribes. There's also Everfree Forest. That used to be part of Equestria, but was abandoned over a thousand years ago. And to the east, there is …"

He turned his head, watching another unicorn walk past in the other direction. They were dressed in a formal uniform that looked rather military like. There were various patches sewn onto it, one of which depicted a unicorn rearing up on its hind legs, a pony in the same pose, and a flying pegasus, arranged in a circle. Around the edge of the circle, words were written in a script he didn't recognize. It was obviously some type of official emblem. Another patch sewn on the uniform, he clearly recognized as being Princess Celestia's coat of arms; the same one that he had seen hanging behind her throne in the castle.

"Is that one military?" he asked Twilight, looking back at her now.

"Him?" she glanced at the unicorn before looking back at him. "No. Not exactly. He's faculty at the Royal Equestria Academy I mentioned to you earlier."

"They have to wear uniforms?" he asked incredulously, the tone indicating he was disgusted by the idea.

"They are representatives of The Princess herself, James. All Academy faculty are nominated personally by her. Then they undergo extensive interviewing and testing. If they make it through that, they are finally personally approved by her. So yes, they have to wear uniforms."

Definitely a military indoctrination style of education, he thought to himself and frowned. He hated the idea. This Academy was even worse than the first impression he had gotten when she first mentioned it to him. Not only was it based on indoctrination, but The Princess herself personally chose all of the educators that worked there. Obviously she would only choose those loyal to her and her agenda—those who would indoctrinate the younger generation into her way of thinking and the belief that her rule was supreme and in their best interests. It was classic despotism.

"And the students? Do they have to wear uniforms as well?"

"No. Only faculty do. Again, they are selected by Princess Celestia herself. So they are required to look their best at all times and always set a good example in dress and behavior."

"It's too formal for my tastes." He shook his head. "Needlessly formal. At the lab where I worked, you'd be lucky to see anyone who wasn't dressed in blue jeans and a t-shirt. Why spend time worrying about things like formal dress codes when there are so many more interesting things to worry about?"

"Oh, so that's why you were dressed like such a slob when the guards found you?" she teased, grinning at him.

"Hey now! At least I was wearing some clothes. Which is more than can be said for you. You aren't wearing anything at all!" he retorted.

She chuckled. "Don't worry, James. You'll find that Ponyville is a lot more laid back and informal when it comes to things like dress code. The ponies of Canterlot really love their aristocratic traditions and formalities in dress and mannerisms. It comes with living in the city that is the center of power for all of Equestria I suppose. You'll find that most other parts of Equestria are far less formal … well, with the possible exception of Manehatten."

"That's a relief to know."

"And don't let your blue jeans and t-shirt bother you too much. I have a good friend back in Ponyville who would probably find you attractive in blue jeans and a t-shirt. She goes for that rugged cowpony look." She giggled again.

He rolled his eyes. "I hope you are as talented with magic as you seem to be from what I've seen so far, Twilight. Cause falling back on being a comedian probably won't work out to well for you," he retorted. She only giggled in response as they continued walking, finally coming to the edge of the large courtyard.

The main gate to the castle was an impressive sight. On both sides, guard towers arose with gold pointed spires. Narrow openings faced outward and inward at the top of the tower. Arrow slits, he assumed. Guard ponies walked on top of the outer wall, keeping a watchful eye on what was going on outside the walls. The gate itself, consisted of a drop down iron grating. On the sides of the opening, two large reinforced wooden doors. Four Royal Guards stood at the gate, two on each side. A drawbridge completed the gate assembly. Currently, it was down, crossing over a moat. From where he was now, he couldn't tell if it was a dry moat, or if there was water at the bottom.

They passed through the gate, the guards paying them no mind, and James got his first view of the city of Canterlot beyond the castle walls. Roman style architecture dominated the city, white stone construction with stone roofs. The wide streets were paved with stone and bustled with activity. To his left, a sprawling bazaar where ponies sold fruits, vegetables, and various arts and crafts. To the right, storefronts buzzed with activity. Outdoor dining areas in front of fancy restaurants served dinner to high class clientele wearing expensive looking dresses, suits, and other clothing. A lot of eyes fell on him, but there was no panic reaction as he would have expected. Perhaps word had traveled through the city quickly of his arrival? Some of the ponies simply stared at him. Others looked at him with disgust, eying his torn clothing, then shook their heads in disapproval. Still others came up to politely greet him, to which he responded in kind. Others kept their distance and seemed slightly unsure and frightened, although they did not run. And still others glanced at him and then paid him no mind, as if he were nothing out of the ordinary, or not important enough to interrupt whatever high class engagements they were entertaining.

The young fillies and colts, however, were a different story. Their young minds still untainted by fear, having never experienced a reason yet to mistrust, full of curiosity and a desire to learn. They rushed to greet him, jockeyed for position to get closer to him, intentionally brushing up against him. He felt as if he were a celebrity that was being fawned over, and it made him uncomfortable. He was an introvert, preferring to avoid social situations as much as possible. But he did his best to smile at them, say hi to all of them, and answer their questions.

The group of youngsters around him gathered strength in numbers. Keeping up with the flood of questions became more and more difficult. They flew at him from the left, the right, in front and behind, like hornets buzzing past his ears. He continued to do his best, but glanced over at Twilight, a look of distress etched on his face, silently pleading with her, please, get me out of here.

Suddenly, he was no longer circled by the crowd of fillies and colts. The world spun around him like vertigo and he had a massive headache. Within a couple of seconds, the headache was gone, the spinning coming to a stop. Looking around in confusion, he saw the youngsters about a hundred feet away, looking around themselves, appearing as confused as he was. Twilight nudged him lightly with her horn, then gestured back toward the castle courtyard. He nodded and quickly followed her.

"There he is!" one of the youngsters called out from behind. He glanced behind him to see the mob of colts and fillies quickly giving chase, like a stampeding herd of wild mustangs. Turning his head back forward, he and Twilight picked up their pace, passing back through the gate and into the courtyard.

A collective grown of disappointment arose from behind them. He stood panting and turned his head to look behind again. The crowd of young colts and fillies had stopped just outside the gate, apparently unwilling to pursue him into the castle courtyard. Once in a while, one of the bolder ones would try to enter, but the Royal Guards kept them at bay with threats of marching them home to their parents if they didn't start maintaining order amongst themselves.

James and Twilight breathed a collective sigh of relief. He felt kind of bad that he had taken away the young ponies' fun, especially given their curiosity and desire to learn about him, where he was from, and so on. But the crowd had been getting too large and out of hand, the questions becoming impossible to answer as they flew in from all sides.

"Sorry about that," Twilight finally said.

"It's alright … I can understand why they were curious. I feel kind of bad actually for leaving them like that."

"You don't need to feel bad. It was getting out of control and impossible to deal with. We had to break it up." He felt better hearing that, knowing that she was on the same page he was.

Now that he was safely inside the courtyard, he remembered what had just happened. How one moment, he had been surrounded by them, and in the blink of an eye, he was a hundred feet away from them. "What happened back there? Did you do that?" he questioned now, staring at Twilight.

"I teleported us. Away from the crowd. I'm sorry about the headache and the vertigo. It's a side effect of the teleportation spell."

He shook his head in disbelief. "What you did. It's not … It shouldn't be possible. The Heisenberg uncertainty principle states that … well, it shouldn't be possible to teleport us and put us back … we should be dead … we should be—"

"I'll explain it to you later, James," she said with a small grin. "Come on, I'll show you to your room. I just remembered, you must be famished. You haven't eaten anything since you arrived here. The castle kitchen will be more than happy to deliver a meal to your guest room."

He hadn't thought about it until she brought it up, but yes, he was starving. He followed her back into the castle and through several long corridors, up several flights of stairs, all tapestry lined like the other hallways he had been in. They came to a large door, a golden armored Royal Guard posted out front. The guard nodded respectfully to Twilight, then opened the door for the two of them.

He entered the room and stopped, blinking. "And I thought the Ritz Carlton was high class …"

"The Ritz what?" Twilight asked, tilting her head.

"The Ritz Carlton. It's a luxury hotel chain where I am from. But it's nothing compared to this," he responded, looking around. The room was larger than any suite he had ever stayed in. Pushed up against the wall on the right, the bed was larger than a traditional king sized bed. It's white and dark blue linens appeared to be made from fine silk, the posts at the corners of the bed carved by an expert craftspony, polished to the point where he could see his own reflection in the wood. Tapestries hung on the walls, depicting ponies, unicorns, and pegasi in majestic poses—posses intended to depict power such as rearing up on their hind legs, or charging. At the head of the bed, on either side, hung the royal crimson and midnight blue banners. The ever present reminders of Princess Celestia's power and rulership were a bit much for him, but he wasn't about to say anything about it. He looked around a bit more before turning his attention back to Twilight.

"So what's with the guard pony outside the door?"

"He's uh … your personal assistant in case you need anything."

"In other words, he's here to make sure I don't try to sneak out in the middle of the night."

"You could say that I guess … yeah." She looked at the floor sheepishly.

He nodded slightly. "Well, I can understand that I guess."

She looked back up and smiled slightly, seeming relieved he hadn't gotten upset about the guard. "Oh, about dinner. I guess I better help you order, since you won't be able to understand the script used on the menu. Uh … hay salad? Hay shake?"

"Hay?" He raised an eyebrow.

"Right … not your thing I guess. Hmm … green salad and oat bran muffin to go with it?"

"That will be fine. Thank you." He wasn't going to be real picky tonight. He had hoped for some kind of meat. A nice juicy tenderloin or something. But given they were horses, he thought that was probably not something that would be on the menu, and might even be a cultural taboo. Maybe he'd ask about it later. For now, he just wanted to get some food in him and then fall into bed. Now that he wasn't chained up and didn't have the prospect of a long dungeon sentence hanging over his head, he might actually be able to get some sleep.

"Alright. Salad and bran muffin it is then. Somepony will bring them to your shortly. I'll leave you for the night now, but I'll be back to get you early in the morning. At dawn."

He only nodded in response.

"Good night, James." She smiled before turning to leave the room.

"Good night, Twilight."

"Oh, and James?" She stopped, turning around to face him again.

"Yes?"

"Welcome to Equestria." She smiled again before turning and leaving the room.

"Thanks … I guess," he muttered to himself, too quietly for her to hear.

Now that he was alone, he looked around the room a bit more. On the opposite side from the bed, a large polished wooden door, engravings of the sun and moon carved into it. He didn't bother to check what was behind it, assuming it was probably just the bathroom. Against one wall, near a window, rested a large oak desk. There was no chair at the desk. Just a crimson colored velvet cushion on the floor for sitting on. It obviously hadn't been designed with a bipedal species in mind. There was a stack of blank paper on it, along with an inkwell and quill. Near another corner, a round wooden table with four cushions arranged around it. His eyes went back to the desk.

"A quill … How quaint," he said to himself, walking over to the desk and sitting down on the cushion. He unscrewed the cap from the inkwell, picked up the quill, dipped it in the ink, then placed it against the paper gently and tried to write.

December 22nd, at least I think it is,

Somehow, it seems I've been pul—

The ink smeared and ran in globs where he had written, then faded and ran out as he started to write the last word. Apparently, writing with a quill was an art that required a certain amount of technique and practice that he didn't have. He was about to try again, but was interrupted by a knock at the door.

"It's unlocked … At least I think it is," he called out.

The guard pony opened the door and a unicorn wearing something that resembled a tuxedo entered, controlling a covered silver tray floating above his horn, similar to how Twilight had controlled the glass of water earlier. James made a mental note to himself to talk to Twilight about the whole telekinesis thing again.

"Your meal, sir," the unicorn responded, setting the tray on the round table.

"Thank you," he said, putting down the quill and screwing the cap back on the inkwell before standing up. "I'd like to tip you, but I'm afraid all I have is a Visa credit card and a few U.S. dollars," he said, frowning.

"Your money's no good here, sir. In more ways than one," the unicorn responded and smiled.

James nodded respectfully. "Thank you, good sir." He felt stupid saying that, and wondered if it sounded as stupid as he felt. Not having any experience with high class aristocratic society, he really had no idea how to talk.

The unicorn nodded back. "You are quite welcome," he said before turning and exiting the room, the guard pony closing the door again behind him.

James sat down at the table and removed the cover from the silver tray, starting to eat quickly. For vegetarian food, it was amazingly delicious. Although given how long it had been since he had last eaten, he suspected anything would have tasted good right now. He consumed it quickly, washing it down with the glass of water that had been included with the meal.

He yawned, realizing just how exhausted he truly was after everything that had happened over the last twenty four hours. For a few more moments, he just sat there. Finally, he stood up and went over to the bed, climbing into it. Without a doubt, it was the most comfortable bed he had ever laid in. It was like lying on a cloud, floating lazily over a lush green meadow scented with flowers. He tried to go over everything that had happened in his head, but exhaustion and the comfort of the bed he was lying in worked against his attempts at thinking. Within minutes, he was sound asleep …

"Such major alterations in the pattern do not happen often, sister."

Celestia jumped, startled at the voice behind her, turning around to see Princess Luna standing next to the grand throne. "Luna, you scared me," she said, breathing a sigh of relief that it was only her sister.

"Ah yes. The ability to move silently. To remain unseen when I do not wish to be seen. It's one of my favorite abilities of the night," Luna responded, a smug look on her muzzle. Celestia couldn't tell if it was intended as bragging, intended to mock her that she had not detected her approach, or a little bit of both. She let it go though and changed the topic.

"Why do you think he is here, sister?"

"I do not know, Tia. It is a strange pattern she is weaving, bringing someone here from some far corner of the Universe, if it is even the same Universe. Perhaps it's not even the same dimension."

Celestia nodded her head, but remained silent. A few moments later, Luna spoke again.

"You should not have let him leave so easily, sister."

"What would you have me do, Luna? Keep him imprisoned in the dungeon? Even though he has done nothing wrong? Twilight Sparkle will keep an eye on him."

"He is here for a reason. That much I know, Tia. The Weaver does not cross threads from different macro patterns unless there is a very good reason. He will play a big role in the near future of Equestria. Whether for good or for evil."

Celestia nodded once in response. "Then let us make sure that it is for good, sister." Then she turned, walking behind the throne, leaving through the hidden door behind it.