MLP: The Portal 2

Chapter 11: The Princesses

"Hello there, Star Swirl! Welcome back! What brings you here so suddenly?" Princess Luna greeted her old teacher as he entered into the throne room by himself.

"I apologize for the suddenness of my visit, Celestia, Luna; I came here to surprise you, but my attention was diverted when I came across a stallion with the most peculiar aura about him. He has a strange unstable magic that I wanted to bring to your attention." Star Swirl reported.

"Unstable magic?" Celestia asked with a strange expression. He nodded again.

"Yes. I'm afraid we frightened the lad when we found him, and we had to subdue him to bring him here." Star Swirl added. The princesses nodded.

"Bring him in then, please." Celestia said. Star Swirl nodded, exiting the throne room.

He came back with the guards who escorted Alex in. The hooves on his left and right sides were bound in magic handcuffs, allowing him to trot without being able to run. In the scuffle to subdue him, his mane had been messed up, causing it to drape over one of his eyes.

He was brought before the thrones of the princesses, and the guards took two small steps away from him. Alex sat back on the ground, looking up at them. Immediately, he looked at Princess Luna, recognizing her as the one she'd spoken to in his dreams.

"What is your name?" Princess Celestia addressed him directly. Alex looked up at her.

"My name is Alex." He said. Luna's eyes widened a little bit, and Celestia looked at her.

"I recall you mentioning an Alex before, sister."

"Yes, the human that I encountered in the past. That was his name. And…this stallion resembles that human quite closely." Luna said, narrowing her eyes to look at Alex closer.

"You're talking to the same guy, princess." Alex confirmed her suspicions.

"So you are the human who had come here before, are you?" Celestia asked, her tone shifting as she began to gain a better understanding of just what was going on here.

"I am." Alex nodded, flicking his mane to the side so he could see with both of his eyes.

"How did you come back here?" Celestia asked.

"Twilight brought me here again." Alex answered.

"I thought that my sister had made it clear the dangers of her portal-making spell and said that it was never to be used again." Luna said. Alex nodded.

"Yes, that is true. Twilight told me that she had found a way around that, a less dangerous method to go to and from our two worlds. I just took her word on it." Alex said.

"So you say that Twilight determined to go against my wishes and find a 'loophole'?" Celestia asked, raising her eyebrow at him. Alex shrugged and nodded again.

"That's more or less what she told me. She also mentioned that you weren't aware of it yet, and she didn't seem to be looking forward to that conversation." Alex said.

"I can imagine," She said before turning to one of her attendants. "Please, have a message sent to Princess Twilight immediately to come here."

"How long has it been since you say Twilight found this new method and brought you to Equestria again?" Luna asked.

"Uh, like two or three weeks, maybe?" Alex guessed.

"I see," Celestia hummed. "I'm sure you must understand my feelings on this to some extent, Alex. I very specifically asked Twilight not to do this, and yet, she went around that and then kept it a secret for apparently quite some time.

"From my perspective, you seem to be having a negative influence on my star pupil. These sorts of actions are very much out of character for her." Celestia explained her thoughts. Alex cleared his throat to give himself time to bite back any hostile remarks.

"I understand what you're saying, princess, but I just listened to what she said. She was the one who apparently found a way to satisfy your wishes while still finding a way to bring me here and back. She apparently felt that friendship with me and my friend who's also been here was important enough."

"Certainly, you can't be insinuating that Princess Twilight would take such a bold stance against her own mentor." Star Swirl interjected.

"No, I can see what Twilight's thoughts might have been. She has always had good intentions, and I've always taught her to trust her own judgment, even if it may take her places where those around her disagree with her," Celestia started before turning to Luna.

"Sister, you have been inside the dreams of Alex here, so you've gotten a glimpse at his state of mind. How would you vouch for him based on everything you've seen?" She asked her.

Luna looked towards Alex again, and Alex towards Luna. The two locked eyes for a few moments. It was as if she was looking into his eyes down into his mind where she had been before, reanalyzing everything she had seen then and was seeing now.

Finally, she spoke.

"Briefly as my interactions with Alex have been, I have seen that he has a lot of emotions within him, but a lot of morals as well. His line of thinking is very different from any pony I've seen, but I don't believe that he presents any immediate danger to Equestria." Luna decided.

"Would you have him continue to come back and forth then?" Star Swirl asked. Luna nodded slightly.

"If it is true that Twilight found a way to eliminate all outside dangers, I don't see the harm in it." Luna answered honestly. Celestia nodded slowly, taking this in.

"Very well. When Twilight gets here, I will speak with her, and her answers will determine whether or not this will continue. For now, Alex, I ask that you stay here in the castle, but you don't need those chains anymore." Celestia said. At her word, his magic handcuffs disappeared.

"Thank you," Alex said, slowly getting up. "And thank you, princess, for vouching for me." Alex said, nodding to Luna before being led by Star Swirl and the guards out of the throne room.

As they exited, Twilight was coming up the steps. Upon seeing him, her eyes widened in shock. She immediately knew exactly was going on, and Alex could plainly see the growing fear. He said nothing to her as they passed her by, and she continued into the throne room.

"What would possess Twilight to do all this for you?" Star Swirl asked him as they made their way down the stairs. Alex shrugged and shook his head a bit.

"I don't know. That's probably a question that you should ask her. Star Swirl?" Alex asked. Star Swirl nodded.

"Yes, that is my name. And I now know yours. I apologize for this whole misunderstanding in bringing you in. It was truly precautionary, nothing personal." Star Swirl said carefully.

"Yeah, it's alright. Uncomfortable, but it's past now." Alex said, clearing his throat.

"How do you think the princesses will respond to what Twilight tells them?"

"I can't say, but based off of what Celestia said, if Twilight is honest with them, I should be allowed to continue coming back and forth." Alex said hopefully.

"We shall see then, I guess." Star Swirl said with a small shrug…