The God Particle

Chapter 9: Mythology and Science

Twilight hesitated for a few moments longer, sitting down across from James, looking down at the book a moment before speaking. "Well, actually, James ... Yes, I do believe it. I have seen it and know that it is true."

He had a look of shock on his face now. "You? Of all ponies? Honestly, Twilight, I'm disappointed. I thought you were logical and reasoned things out. At least that's the impression I got from you when we had our conversation in the dungeon. I didn't think you were the kind of person ... uh ... pony that would buy into this kind of stuff."

Twilight felt a twinge of anger at his accusations against her, but she managed to control it as she responded. "Why do you reject it so readily? Without even knowing anything about it?"

"Because it's not reasonable Twilight. I mean, lets assume, and we reasonably can assume, that your sun is similar to our own sun where I am from, given that it supports life. That means it weighs approximately two billion billion billion tons. It has a circumference of around 2.7 million miles. It contains more than 99% of all of the mass in the solar system. It's not reasonable or logical to believe that a pony, winged unicorn or otherwise, is capable of moving an object of that magnitude. And second of all, the sun is far more massive than the planet. The planet orbits around the sun. Not the other way around. In other words, the appearance of the sun moving across the sky is an illusion. It's you and the planet you are standing on that is moving. Not the sun. I assumed someone like you who is into astronomy would have figured that out by now."

"What makes you assume I haven't looked into it, James? And why do you assume that just because that's how it works where you are from, it works the same everywhere?" she asked, stomping her hoof in annoyance.

"It's not an assumption. It's well defined based on a lot of observation of other planets and the stars they orbit. A star, by its nature, has to be much more massive then a planet. Otherwise nuclear fusion would not happen. A star that orbited a planet would fly in the face of everything we know about gravitational physics."

"So you think it is beyond Princess Celestia to be able to do this? Even though you said yourself that you thought she might be a goddess?"

"I was caught up in the moment, Twilight. I was stressed out, confused, and scared. I had an emotional response that I allowed myself to get sucked up into. That's all. And I kicked myself later for it."

"So now you are denying what you saw with your own eyes? What kind of scientist denies something they directly observed themselves," she said angrily as it was her turn to accuse him now.

"No. I am denying a trick that my mind played on me. Again, I got caught up in the moment which initially caused me to come to an illogical conclusion," he shot back at her, getting more angry himself now because of her accusation.

Twilight narrowed her eyes further at him to the point where she was practically glaring daggers through his soul. Then she turned away from him. He probably should have known when to quit, but he continued to tempt fate anyway.

"It's not like any of this is new, Twilight. Where I am from, rulers throughout history have used the same old song and dance for thousands of years. Convince the people you are a god, and it makes them easy to control. Don't you see that's all Celestia is doing? As far back as the pharaohs of ancient Egypt, rulers have—"

He stopped as Twilight turned around, grinning and magically tossing one of her saddlebags at him, which he managed to catch with one hand.

"Pack some things. We are going on a little field trip. We'll be gone for a couple of days," the unicorn said in a tone indicating she was a little bit angry with him.

"... What? As in ... right now?"

"Yes!"

"But I want to get back to work on—"

"We are leaving in five minutes. So get packing," she said in a somewhat annoyed tone.

James sighed in resignation as he fumbled with the buckles on the saddle bag, having more trouble with them then he normally would in his still slightly unnerved state. He finally got the bag open and started placing the rest of the clothes that Rarity had made inside of it.

"All you ponies are crazy. You know that right? I thought it was just Rainbow Dash, but no. All you ponies in Ponyville are crazy ... Maybe you should have the water here tested or something? Cause you know, back in Canterlot? Well, the guards and such that I met in Canterlot didn't seem to be as crazy as you ponies here are."

"I'm not in the mood, James," she warned as she packed her own bag before going into the kitchen to get some food and pack it as well. Then she quickly wrote a note to post on the outside of the door, letting the others know they had left and would be gone for a couple of days.

James finished packing the bag, catching some of the food Twilight magically threw at him and placing it in there as well before buckling it shut again, adjusting the straps until he could wear it on his shoulders like a backpack.

"You ready?" Twilight asked, still glaring  at him a little bit.

"Uh ... I guess so ..."

"Good. Then lets go," she said as she herded him out of the library.

He followed her out and they walked to the edge of Ponyville, getting closer to the forest at the edge of town. For a long time, there was just silence, between them, a very thick tension in the air. James stopped as they reached the edge of the forest.

"Uh, Twilight? It's going to be dark in a few hours. I thought you told me it wasn't safe to be near Everfree Forest after dark."

"I said it wasn't safe for you to hang out near the edge at night because you might draw something out into Ponyville. We will be well into the forest before it gets dark. And besides, I know where the dangerous parts are that we need to avoid. Now lets go," she said as she started walking again.

He sighed and followed her, entering the forest behind her. "Where are you taking me, Twilight?" he asked, a little bit nervously.

"You will find out when we get there."

Both of them remained silent again for what must have been a couple of hours as they continued walking deeper into the forest, darkness starting to close in on them. James finally sped up a little bit until he had caught up to her and was walking beside her instead of behind her. He remained silent for a few more seconds before finally speaking.

"Twilight ... I'm sorry about what I said earlier. I should have been mode tactful about it."

"It's alright, James," she said in a calmer voice now. "I just wish you would be a little less stubborn ... But I'm also sorry for going ballistic on you like that."

They continued walking for quite a while longer until James began to lose track of just how long they had been walking, or how deep into the forest they had gone. His eyes had adjusted to the darkness so he could see reasonably well now. Thankfully, it was nearly a full moon. He looked off in the distance and thought he could see some kind of large structure, along with a hanging bridge crossing over to it. As they got closer, it became apparent that the structure he was looking at was abandoned and in a bad state of disrepair. Getting closer still, he started to recognize it from the book he had been reading.

"Wait a minute ... I recognize this place ... from the book. It's the ancient castle of the Royal Pony Sisters."

"That's very good, James. You are learning," Twilight said as she continued towards the suspended bridge and started to cross over it.

James followed her to the bridge. He stopped, looking down at it. He didn't think it looked entirely stable. Finally he shook his head and started to cross.

"And you thought I was suicidal for flying with Rainbow Dash. Crossing this rickety old bridge. This is what is suicidal."

"Relax, James. I've crossed it before. It's fine."

James looked nervous, but continued crossing the bridge carefully. He was relieved when they finally reached the other side and he was back on firm ground again. He looked around at the ruins as they got closer to the entrance. When they got to the door, Twilight gently pushed it open and James followed her inside. He looked at the Gothic stone architecture and the tall arched windows, most of which were broken by now. Most of the roof had long since collapsed in the section they were in. He also saw a pedestal in the middle of the room that appeared to contain something at some point in the past.

"So this is where it all happened, James," Twilight finally spoke. "What do you think?"

"I think this building is structurally unsound. And we will be lucky if the walls don't collapse on us," he deadpanned.

"You know what I meant," Twilight responded with a hint of annoyance.

James looked around a little more and examined the pedestal closely. "I think it's fascinating. And I think the Royal Equestria Academy should send some archaeologists out here to learn all of the history about this place ... But it doesn't prove anything, Twilight. I mean yes, it is obvious some type of battle happened here. But battle tales are like fish stories. They get embellished over time. Heroic actions become legendary actions, and so on."

Twilight sighed and looked at the floor, digging a fore-hoof into it a few times before looking at James again. "It was just a couple of years ago, James. And I was there. Using the Elements of Harmony, I helped release Princess Luna from Nightmare Moon ... In fact, that's the last time anypony has even been out to this place."

He would have questioned her about the Elements of Harmony, but he was too busy looking at the floor now, appearing to be focused on something which he followed for a few steps. He looked off into the distance before speaking again.

"Well, you are wrong about that Twilight. These are not your hoof prints. There are three different sets of them and they are fresh. The mud hasn't even tried on one set yet. There were others here very recently. They might even still be here."

Twilight blinked and looked the floor where James was pointing now. She saw three sets of hoof prints where mud had been tracked in from outside. They split off in different directions and followed two different passages.

"Uh ... You are right, James ... I'll take the North passage, you take the East passage? We meet up back here in 30 minutes. And be careful. If you see anything, don't try to confront it. Just leave, come back here, and wait for me."

"Uh huh ... Alright, I got it. But, it looks kind of dark down in those passages," he looked around, finding a torch on the wall and taking it down. "I have no fire source. Can you?" he said as he held it in front of Twilight's horn.

She looked at the tip of the torch and concentrated for a few moments as her horn started to glow, the end of the torch bursting into flames a few moments later.

"Impressive ... Thanks," James smiled a bit as he started to move towards the East passage, disappearing into it as Twilight went North, using light from her horn to guide her way.

James continued walking down the East passage, looking above him as the roof that had been collapsed into the large chamber started to become more and more intact. He could sense that he was walking down a slight grade, which meant he was going underground.

"Great ... That's just what I want. To have the roof collapse on me as well as the walls and get buried alive down here. This is just perfect," he grumbled to  himself as he continued walking, the tracks slowly fading and eventually disappearing as the mud on the hooves of whoever made them eventually wore off completely. He walked a little further before coming to a branch, where another passage went off to the right. Since he couldn't see the hoof prints anymore, he decided to to simply continue going straight. It seemed like the most logical direction to go in his mind. After all, he figured whoever had come down here would also have kept going straight unless there was some compelling reason for them to go down the smaller passage to the right. "What the hell am I even doing down here anyway? Am I like detective James Peterson now or something? Did I suddenly get drafted into Her Royal Highness's equivalent of the Federal Bureau of Investigation or something?" he continued to complain quietly to himself. He was about to turn around and go back, deciding he wasn't willing to risk getting buried down here just so Twilight could satisfy her curiosity about who else was here—or for any other pony reason for that matter. But then, just before he turned back, he heard something. It was definitely the sound of a pony walking. He thought about what Twilight had said about going back if he found something and not trying to confront it on his own, but he only heard one set of hooves. Furthermore, he heard no talking, so he assumed that whoever was up ahead was alone. He continued on, walking slower and more quietly now. As he got closer to the sound, he could see a glowing light ahead ahead of him, and what appeared to be an antechamber at the end of the passage.

He quickly extinguished the torch he was holding now, not wanting its light to reveal his position. As he approached closer to the antechamber he could see a blueish purple pegasus pony, somewhat larger than Twilight, with its head lowered to the floor as if it was looking at something. He hesitated for a moment, not sure what to do. Then he took a breath, carefully entering the antechamber, still unseen by the pegasus pony at the other end of the chamber.

"Halt!" he called out, trying to sound as imposing as possible, and making sure he was loud enough that the pony could hear him.

The startled pegasus at the other side of the chamber lifted its head quickly. James now realized that the pegasus was, in fact, not just a pegasus as he could now see the horn on its head. It quickly turned around towards his voice.

"Princess Luna?" he quickly knelt and bowed before her, recognizing her from the book he had been reading earlier. "Please, forgive my manners, Your Highness. I did not recognize you from behind."

Princess Luna blinked in confusion, still a little startled as she looked at the creature that was now kneeling before her. She took a few steps closer to him and looked him over for a few moments before speaking.

"James? My sister told me about thee. It is a pleasure to finally meet thee."

"The pleasure, and the honor are all mine, Your Highness," he responded, still kneeling with his head bowed, finding her Old English style of speaking strange. Now was not the time to ask her about it, of course.

"Stand," Luna commanded. "Thou art not here alone are thee?"

"No, Your Highness. I am here with Twilight Sparkle. We split up when we realized someone ... somepony else was here. She took the North package back in the main room. And I took this one," James said as he stood back up.

Princess Luna looked slightly distressed when he said that.

"Is uh ... Is something wrong, Your Highness?"

Luna hesitated for a moment. "Unfortunately, thou hast wandered into something ... And seen something that thou were not supposed to see. So has Twilight ... We shall need to ask thee to return to Canterlot with Us ..."

The cold chill of fear moved through his body. He was familiar enough with royal customs to know that when the royal 'We' was used, it meant she was speaking with all of the authority of the entire nation.

"... I wasn't supposed to see this? The ruins?" James questioned nervously, worried he was about to have his freedom revoked, only four days after Celestia had given it to him.

"No, no ... It's not that. Neither thou nor Twilight were supposed to see that anypony else had been here ... Or that I was here. And because of that, thou will need to come back to Canterlot with Us."

"So ... So ... am I being arrested, Your Highness?" he asked nervously again.

"Oh no ... Not arrested. Well, unless thou are unwilling to submit to temporary voluntary detainment. Then We will have no choice."

'Temporary voluntary detainment' was not a phrase he particularly liked the sound of. However, he knew that resisting the will of Princess Luna would only make the situation worse. He simply bowed his head respectfully. "You will not get any resistance from me, Your Highness ... So ... I guess we better go get Twilight then?"

Luna nodded. "Thou shalt lead the way."

James turned and started to walk back up the passage from which he had come, Luna's horn lighting the way in front of them now that he had extinguished his torch. About fifteen minutes later, he emerged from the passage. Twilight was already back in the main room, looking nervous. She looked up when she spotted James and started walking towards him.

"James! I was starting to think you got lost down there, or got into trouble. It's been more than 30 minutes. Where did you ... Princess Luna?" She quickly bowed as she spotted Luna coming out of the passage behind James.

"Please, stand, Twilight," Luna responded. "Didst thou find anything down in the North passage?"

"No, Your Highness. Nothing. There was nopony down there. If I may ask, Your Highness. What's going on?"

Princess Luna sighed and then looked at Twilight. "We are afraid we can tell thee nothing more at this time. But, as we have already told James, thou have both wandered into something, and seen something that thou were not supposed to see. And because of that, We need to ask both of you to come back to Canterlot with Us and submit to voluntary detainment until my sister and I can discuss the matter and you can both speak with Us."

Twilight blinked and then looked over at James nervously.

"Don't worry about my stubbornness, Twilight. I already agreed," he reassured her.

Twilight breathed a sigh of relief at that and then simply nodded to Luna.

"Good. I will send a message to my sister and have her send a chariot then. It will be an aerial one and it's coming from not very far away, so it will get here quickly. It will take about two hours to get to Canterlot."

Luna's horn started to glow again, causing James to look at her a bit confused, before turning to Twilight, his unasked question obvious from his look.

Twilight leaned closer to James's ear and said quietly, so as not to break Luna's concentration, "She's sending a message to her sister. The princesses can communicate with each other magically, even over great distances."

He nodded at her answer as Princess Luna finished sending her message and then turned around, sitting down on her haunches and facing them.

"So what were thou two doing here anyway?" she asked.

James looked at Twilight, obviously expecting her to do the explaining. She was the one that forced him to come on this little excursion after all.

"Well, Your Highness. I brought James here on sort of a field trip. I thought it would be good for him to actually get to see some of the things he was reading about in the books at the library. I uh ... didn't expect we would run into you here, or that others besides you had been here as well. As you probably know, we saw two other sets of hoof prints, in addition to yours."

Luna nodded, "We ... I'm sorry, that this ended up interfering with your field trip," she said, switching from the royal voice to the common voice now.

"It's nothing, Your Highness," James lied. He was still rather nervous about what would happen to him back in Canterlot.

Luna smiled a bit, "Come then. We had better head outside and wait for the chariot."

The three of them stood up and Luna lead the way to the door. It was still completely dark as they exited the ruins, but thankfully, the light from the full moon still made it relatively easy to see. They waited about another twenty minutes in relative silence until a flying chariot could be seen in the sky, being pulled by two pegasus ponies. James watched in fascination as the chariot circled overhead, the two pegasi pulling it scanning the moonlit ground looking for a safe place to land. They circled one more time before coming in for a landing.

"I shall fly myself back," Luna said. "I'll see both of you back in Canterlot."

Princess Luna took off into the air and started heading back to Canterlot.

James watched Luna take off and then walked over to the chariot, opening the door on the side, and holding it open, bowing slightly to Twilight. "After you, my lady," he giggled a bit. "I've always wanted to do that."

Twilight rolled her eyes at his antics as she stepped into the chariot and took a seat. James stepped in behind her and closed the door, making sure it was securely shut. Then the two pegasus ponies pulling the chariot took off and started towards Canterlot. The two of them didn't say very much on the two hour flight to Canterlot. It was clear there was a little bit of tension in the air between them again. James tried to see as much as he could on the ground to get a better idea of the geography in Equestria. But even with the light of the full moon, it was difficult to see very much on the night flight. Eventually, he just leaned back in the seat and closed his eyes, trying to relax as much as possible for the remainder of the flight. He found it difficult, however. Despite Luna's reassurances that they were just being temporally detained, he was still nervous about the prospect of being detained in Canterlot for the second time in the short amount of time he had been here.

Twilight eventually tapped him on the shoulder with a hoof. He opened his eyes and she pointed in front of them. The bright lights of Canterlot were coming into view. The castle, with the lights in its towers, was clearly visible. Even the banners flying from the top of the towers could be seen at night in the lights of the city. As they got closer to the city and began to circle over it, James looked down at the ground over the side of the chariot, taking in the sites of Canterlot from the air. The city was even larger and more impressive than he had realized the first time he had been there but had only seen it from the ground.

The pegasi pulling the chariot started descending towards the castle, flying what almost seemed like it could have been a standard approach pattern for an airliner where James was from. They made a ninety degree turn and came in for a final approach on the straight road leading up to the castle gate, which was well lighted on both sides, almost like an airport runway. The castle gate started opening just as the chariot was was about to touch down. He felt a very light bump as the wheels on the chariot touched the ground, more gently, and with more skill than any airline flight he had ever been on. The chariot slowed down as the two pegasus pulling it trotted through the gate into the castle courtyard, the guards watching the gate starting to close it  and raise the drawbridge again. Once the chariot had come to a stop, one of the royal guards moved and opened the door.

"Doctor Peterson, Miss Sparkle. Welcome back to Canterlot," he acknowledged as he motioned for them to step down.

James nodded to the guard and stepped down, followed by Twilight.

"I will take you into the castle. The princesses will be seeing you soon. Follow me please."

James and Twilight both followed the guard into the castle as he lead them down a couple of corridors. He lead them to a room that appeared to be a sort of waiting room, or holding room. It was somewhat sparsely furnished, but did have some comfortable chairs, and a couple of tables in it.

"Please, wait in here. The princesses are discussing and will be ready to see you when they are finished," the guard said as he motioned them into the room.

James and Twilight both walked into the room, the guard exiting the room and closing the door behind him, leaving the two of them alone. The click of a lock sliding into place, locking the two of them in the room only served to make James more nervous. Both of them took a seat and were silent for several minutes before James finally spoke.

"What kind of mess have you gotten me mixed up in Twilight? I mean if I'm not getting myself detained in Canterlot by dropping in from another world, you are getting me detained by dragging me off to castle ruins. If we had just stayed in Ponyville like I wanted to do, we wouldn't be here right now. But no ... nope! You just had to drag me out on this little field trip of yours."

"Would you shut up?" Twilight said as she rolled her eyes. "How was I supposed to know there was going to be anypony else there? Or that we were going to end up in this situation?"

"Yeah, well ... Did you notice how fast that guard whisked us through the castle and into this room? He didn't want anyone seeing us. The princesses don't want anyone knowing we are here. That's how I read it. You know what that means don't you?"

"What?" Twilight tilted her head at him.

"It means they are probably going to disappear us. Throw us in the dungeon to rot for the rest of our lives and just let everyone think we went missing and got eaten by some wild animal in Everfree Forest or something."

Twilight shook her head and rolled her eyes. "You're paranoid, James. You read to many spy novels or something."

There was silence for a couple of minutes before Twilight spoke again.

"I am glad you didn't give Princess Luna any trouble back there, or resist coming back here when she told you to. I was half worried that you would. For someone who doesn't believe any of the ... mythology as you call it about the princesses, you seem very willing to do what they ask without giving them any trouble."

"I respect the princesses because they are the rulers of this nation I seem to be stuck in. But that doesn't mean I believe the stories about them being able to raise and lower the sun and the moon."

"You respect them, but yet you criticize them whenever the subject comes up between us. I certainly hope it's not simply their political station that causes you to respect them? There must be something more to it then that?"

James appeared lost in thought for a few moments, as if he was pondering her question, not entirely sure himself why he had so much respect for the two princesses. Finally he responded. "I believe their intentions are good, and they are trying to make life the best they can for their subjects. I respect that, even if I don't agree with their methodology and the way they are going about it."

Twilight smiled some at his statement. "Well, that's progress anyway. You'll get there eventually."

He was about to respond, but was interrupted by the sound of the lock on the door disengaging The door opened and the royal guard reappeared.

"The princesses will see you now."

Both of them stood up and followed the guard out of the door. Again, he was moving rather quickly. They went through another door on the side of the corridor and then started climbing some stairs. Although James didn't remember his way around the castle very well, he definitely remembered that they didn't climb any stairs other than the ones from the dungeon the last time he went to meet Princess Celestia. It was obvious they were not being taken to the throne room where he had met her last time. They went through another door at the top of the stairs which lead into a circular room with several doors in it. The guard went over to one of them.

"Princess Celestia, Princess Luna. I have Miss Sparkle and Doctor Peterson here to see you."

The guard opened the door and motioned for Twilight and James to enter. Both of them walked through the door, the two of them, along with the royal guard who had escorted them kneeling down and bowing before the two royal sisters. The guard rose and took up his position in the room next to the door. Twilight and James continued kneeling.

"Twilight, my faithful student. It is good to see you again," Celestia regally spoke. "And James, it is good to see you again as well. But we really must stop meeting under these circumstances," she chuckled.

"I uh ... Completely share your sentiments, Your Highness," James responded.

"Please, stand," she said.

The two of them stood up and James got a good look at the room they were in for the first time. It appeared to be be the private living quarters of one of the princesses, although he could not tell for sure which one.

"As my sister has already told you, both of you, through no fault of your own, have accidentally wandered into something you were not supposed to see. I have discussed the matter with my sister and learned what you have seen. I know you both would like to know what this is all about, but I'm afraid we can tell you nothing more."

She paused for a moment, and James and Twilight both nodded slightly in acknowledgement of what she had said so far. Then she continued.

"We are going to release both of you, and allow you to return to Ponyville. But first, I must swear both of you to silence about what you have seen. You must not speak of this with anypony. Only my sister and I, and a couple of my most trusted Royal Guards, including the one in this room right now, know anything about this. Not even the royal council knows. You must not speak of it even to the other members of the Elements of Harmony," she stopped and looked at them awaiting their answers, with James speaking first.

"Of course, Your Highness. I will remain silent about it. I swear it to you," James said as he bowed his head respectfully.

Twilight, however walked closer to Princess Celestia.

"Princess ... I really wish you'd tell us more about what is going on. I'm your most trusted student. You know you can trust me with whatever it is. Is something wrong? Is it a threat to Equestria?"

It was all James could do not to facepalm at Twilight's actions. Even so, there was still an expression of exasperation on his face for a few seconds. Fortunately, Princess Celestia didn't see it as she was looking at Twilight. Princess Luna, however, did see it. She tried to give James a look of reassurance.

Princess Celestia nuzzled her student gently, then thought for a moment before looking at Luna. The younger sister nodded at her and Celestia sighed a bit. Twilight backed up and stood next to James again as Celestia looked at them and spoke again.

"Very well ... A couple of days ago, we became aware that at least two, and possibly more ponies had been visiting the ruins in Everfree Forest. Of course, for reasons of national security, I cannot tell you how we initially became aware of this."

They both simply nodded in response, before Celestia continued.

"My sister went to investigate, which is why you happened to run run across her there. This is all being done rather discretely. As I said, with the exception of a few of my most trusted guards, nopony knows about this. This is why Luna went there by herself with no guard escort. We think, but do not know for sure, that they were looking for the Elements of Harmony. Of course, they are no longer located there. But whoever was looking for them probably would not have known that. This might not mean anything ... They might have just been looters who were looking for something of value they hoped to sell on the black market. But I have my doubts. It's reasonably well known that virtually nothing of value is left in those ruins. But again, we don't know anything for sure right now. We don't know why they would have been looking for the Elements, if that is in fact, what they were looking for."

Twilight nodded at her mentor, while James just remained stoic, not betraying his emotion anymore. After a few moments, Twilight finally responded.

"Thank you, Princess. And yes, I swear I will remain silent about this."

Princess Celestia smiled at both of them. "I know it's late ... very late actually. Guest rooms have been prepared for both of you. You can spend the night here in the castle and have breakfast here before heading back to Canterlot in the morning. I will provide an aerial chariot for you in the morning so that you may get back to Ponyville as soon as possible."

"Thank you, Your Highness," James responded, while Twilight simply moved to nuzzle her mentor again. Princess Celestia smiled at both of them. Then both Twilight and James backed up a few steps and bowed respectfully again before turning to leave the room.

Once they had exited and were being escorted to their rooms, James breathed a sigh of relief and looked at Twilight.

"Is something wrong?" Twilight asked, noticing his exasperated gaze on her.

"... Twilight ... When a princess ... who has the power to banish you ... Or throw you into a dungeon ... Or banish you and then throw you into a dungeon in the place that she banishes you too ... Or whatever it she does to those who see something they are not supposed to see ... asks you if you will agree to swear secrecy about something? You don't argue. You don't ask questions ... You just say ... YES!"

Twilight looked a bit sheepish for a moment before responding. "Well ... She ... I mean I thought ... I mean come on, James. You are a scientist. Didn't you want to learn more about the situation?"

James was secretly a bit proud of himself now. It was the first time he had ever left Twilight speechless and stumbling to come up with a response. "I'm a scientist, Yes Twilight. And I would have been perfectly happy staying in Ponyville. Learning about history and mythology from books while trying to solve the mystery of pegasus flight. When it comes to matters of national security? And high level government secrets? It's not my concern. I'd really rather not get involved in them. As long as the government lets me work on my research? and isn't being tyrannical and suppressing basic human rights ... or pony rights for that matter? That's really all I want. I might bitch and moan from time to time about things I don't agree with. But I'm really not gonna stir the pot that much, you know?"

The guard that was leading them rolled his eyes, being forced to listen to the human and the unicorn argue with each other.

"... Sometimes, I really don't understand you, James ..." was all Twilight was able to come up with for a response. She looked at the ground and frowned. She hated the fact that he had used the 'mythology' word again. The field trip to the ruins had no effect on him at all it seemed.

James would have responded, but the guard that was leading them stopped as they had reached their guest rooms, which were directly across from each other.

"Miss Twilight, Doctor Peterson. Your rooms," his tone of voice betraying a hint of relief over the fact that he would soon be free of having to listen to the two of them.

"Thank you," Twilight and James both said in near unison before looking at each other for a few moments. Then they both turned and went into their rooms, closing their doors a bit rougher than necessary behind them.

The guard signed in relief. "Finally," he said quietly to himself, allowing himself to fall out of form for a brief moment since nopony was there to see him. He shook his head before turning and walking back down the corridor they had come from.

James sighed as he sat down on the bed in his guest room, undoing the buttons on his shirt and taking it off as he got ready for bed. "Why does she have to be so stubborn?" he said to himself.

Twilight sighed as she pounced onto the bed in her guest room, looking at the ceiling for moment as she laid there. "Why does he have to be so stubborn?" she said to herself.

Both of them stewed over their own thoughts for a bit longer before eventually drifting off to sleep in their respective rooms.