When I open my eyes, the room is still dark. The ceiling looks so far away. My body feels hot. Looking down, I see the shine of my chest. Light is emanating from the crystals on my body, and they feel warmer than before. I'm sweating so profusely. I sit up and crack my neck, then look around. Still here, in this strange room with that purple pony. Taking my time, I stand and slowly walk over to the wall, using my forearms as a sort of dim lantern.

I make my way to the glass doors that lead to the small balcony and slip through them. The sun is still asleep, but the moon is wide awake, as are the stars, shining down on the little stone fixture. The stone barrier fence is pretty thick, and it's a bit low, but I lean on it and cup my chin in my hands. The air is crisp, fresh, and cold. It feels good.

You know, looking over the rails and down at the misty abyss below, thoughts begin to run through my head again. Is this all just a dream? But then I reach up and gingerly touch the cut on my forehead, which stings in response. Dreams aren't supposed to hurt, but a more alert state of mind may be entered and outside forces could elicit a type of pain, such as smacking your arm on the nightstands and feeling like you've been hit in your dream. I look back over the rail and contemplate on jumping, but I'm too scared to act on it.

I must have been out there longer than I thought, or maybe it was just hiding right below the horizon, but after a few more minutes the sun begins to rise. It is a beautiful site, I'll admit it. The radiant sunlight just cresting over the mountainous background that erupts from the Earth... Earth? Am I still on my planet? I laugh at my thought. Impossible; no other planet has been found that can support life, at least not yet. But then again, the Universe is a big place. Perhaps I somehow... I don't know.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" I turn my head and look over my shoulder. Twilight is standing in the open doorway, her mane a frizzy mess. It's weird, I think, that most of these ponies are only about four feet tall, while that one white one is a bit taller than me. Size is unusual here.

Twilight walks closer and hops up on the railing with me. "I got cold, so I got up and saw you out here." I must have left the door open. "I bet you feel a bit better after your wash, right?" I don't answer. Twilight shifts and a brush flies out and begins working on her mane. I just stare at the brush, watching it float in midair. She does possess telekinesis... Now I'm a bit more frightened by this whole situation. My fear must have shown, because Twilight stops and looks at me. "It's okay, it's only a brush."

I straighten up and walk back inside the bedroom. My feet fumble over the carpet and I almost fall over, but I'm able to catch myself on the bed frame. Slower this time, I make my way over to the dresser in the far corner near the door. It has a mirror so I use it to examine my forehead. It's a bit red around the cut, but it's not as deep as I had feared. I see Twilight step up behind me in the mirror.

"Hmm," she says, "we should have that looked at."

I turn around and nod, then grimace at my mistake. I just showed that I understood her, and that showed a sign of intelligence. I think I may have made a huge mistake.

Twilight just seems to stare at me, observing me closely. "...Yes, we should have you checked out. Come along." Twilight walks to the huge doors and pushes them open. I warily walk towards them as well. "Guard!" she yells loudly, making me jump. I poke my head out of the room and look at the guards stationed outside the room. One is still asleep hanging onto his spear in his dream world, while the one Twilight is speaking to is rubbing his eyes. It is still pretty early.

"Guard," Twilight continues, "do you know of any medical personnel awake at this hour?"

He yawns. "I'm sorry, Princes Twilight, for falling asleep. Yes, there should, he-AHHughhh, should be medical staff awake at all times in the castle. Why? Has this thing injured you?" He eyes me with a stare that could melt ice and yet freezes me on my feet.

"No, no, I'm fine, Twilight replies. "It, however, is injured. Not me."

"...Okay then," the guard says softly. "Allow me to escort you."

"Thank you." The guard begins to walk, and I follow Twilight as she follows him.

~ ~ ~ ~ ———— ~ ~ ~ ~

These freaking halls are enormous. We've been walking for... I don't know how long, but the sun is already past the horizon and is shining brightly. I yawn as we turn down yet, you guessed it, another bloody hall. This is annoying. Very annoying.

"Here you are Princess Twilight," says the guard as he turns around. "Will you be needing me to—"

"No, you've done enough," Twilight says, cutting him off. She walks past him and continues down the hall. I hurry after her.

Looking around, this hall seems to have a lot of doors. Each door is about fifteen feet from the other, suggesting that these may be living quarters. Twilight stops by one that has the door wide open and pops her head in.

"Excuse me, are you awake?"

"Yes, yes, come in," replies a happy voice.

We both walk through the door. Twilight makes her way over to the desk in the corner, where another pony sits. I look around the room, thinking that it looks just like all the other rooms. Same walls, ceiling, bed, everything. I turn my attention back to Twilight.

"—was wondering if you could take a look at it," she asks politely.

The pony she was talking to walks up to me. This one is built similar to the guards around here, the square chin and broad shoulders. He's a pale blue with a black mane and tail, and is a bit taller than Twilight. He, unlike her, has no horn or wings. He looks me over rather quickly.

"Just the forehead?" he asks.

"That's all I can see," Twilight answers.

"...Is it wearing something, or did it...?" The stallion walks closer. "...Pants? Princess, did you clothe this creature?"

"No," Twilight replies, "I didn't. Come to think of it, it was wearing that when I first saw it." Now they're both examining me. My plan to stay cute and unintelligent is falling apart faster than I had hoped. I back up a step and brace myself against the wall.

The stallion walks even closer, eyeing me up and down. He puts a hoof to his chin, rubbing in a gentle manner. "...What, uh, type of creature is it? If I'm to help with the wound, I'll need to know what strength of threat to use."

"If anything," Twilight answers, "in my opinion, it resembles a primate."

Close enough, I suppose. So I'm a monkey.

"Is it aggressive?" the stallion asks.

"It hasn't shown any violence since it's scuffle with the guards yesterday."

The stallion looks at the violet pony. "...I'm not exactly a vet, but I'm pretty sure I'm the best you'll find at this hour." He walks over to a glass case next to his desk and opens it.

"Why are you up so early?" Twilight asks him.

"Can't sleep. Just an hour earlier, I had to treat a guard for mouth pain." He continues rummaging through the case. "No, that's not it. Anyways, you said that this animal had an encounter with the guards? I assume that I may be awake because of that same situation. Ah, here we go." He pulls out a blue flashlight that looks pretty close to an inhaler. "Princess, can you get your, uh, friend to sit on the bed for me?"

Without a word, she walks back to my side and tries to guide me over to the bed. Trying to keep my dying ruse alive, I sit on the fabric and hold my knees. Twilight backs away and the stallion takes her place. He lifts up the flashlight to my face. How does he do that with no fingers?

"Open wide," he says calmly. He waits a few seconds before asking again. And again. He opens his own mouth wide and then says again, "Open up."

I do what he asks, and when I do the stallion grips the tool and I get a mouthful of something awful. It tastes like hairspray, or perfume, something artificial and horrific. I nearly gag as I cough, and end up beginning to heave. That was no flashlight.

"What was that?" Twilight yells at him.

"A mild sedative," he replies as I scrape at my tongue. "It's better to have this than some needle, though it's not quite as quick."

Sedative... He drugged me, and I played right into it. I don't know if that was... was smart... Ugh. I put my head in my hands.

Someone pats my back. "It will take a bit to take effect," says the stallion. "Just make sure it isn't sitting like this in a few minutes, otherwise it'll fall."

"Right." I feel someone pushing on my shoulders. I look up and see Twilight on her hind legs trying to push me back. "Come on, lay down," she coos. I just stare at her and scrape my tongue against my teeth. "Come on," she says again, pushing harder. Twilight looks back at the stallion, who's at his desk rummaging for something. The edges of my vision are begin blur and darken. The pushing continues. "Lay down, please." I close my eyes and ignore her. I don't like this feeling.

"I know you can understand me." I don't like that even more. I look up at Twilight, who's gained a bit of a serious look. "...You understood me in my bedroom, on the balcony. You are a lot smarter than you're trying to let on. I know it. So please, lay down before something happens?"

Our staring contest lasts for another few seconds, but I break first. I lay down on the bed and hear the wax paper under the sheets crumple under my weight. I writhe and squirm, trying to get comfortable. My vision is failing, my legs feel numb, but I'm calm... And then I do something really stupid.

"Try not to leave a scar."

My senses leave me, and I drift back into darkness. Before I'm completely enveloped, I can make out Twilight's voice. "...I knew it."

~ ~ ~ ~ ———— ~ ~ ~ ~

Like finding out it's Monday, my awakening is slow. I hear the artificial hum in the room made by a fan. I open my eyes, but I can't see anything. I blink a few times to make sure I really can't see. And then, with a soft click, light shines down from above. A single light bulb hanging from the ceiling with a pull chain. Yeah, like that's not been done a thousand times on Cops. I look around, though there isn't much to look at. A simple black painted wooden table sits in front of me, and I'm seated in a matching chair. My arms are bound behind my back to the chair, and one of the crystals on my forearms is digging uncomfortably into my other arm. The fear begins to creep back into my body. And then, it begins to grow as I see who is seated on the other side of the table. The head honcho of this whole thing, the white horse from before. I think her name was... Celestial or something.

She has that look in her eyes that I've seen a few times before on the Animal Planet channel at home, the look that shows little fear and a lot of will to hurt that other creature outside my nest. Her rainbow space mane is still flowing, even though the breeze of the fan is pointed at me.

She clears her throat. "...You can understand what I'm saying, correct?" I don't do anything, so she continues. "Princess Twilight Sparkle, in the short time she has spent with you, has come to some interesting conclusions. You can speak, can you not?"

I swallow hard. "Y-yes, Sir—uh, Ma'am. Uh... Yes. I can."

She leans in closer. "...My name is Celestia. I have been the ruler of this land for a few millennia now, and yet I have never seen anything like yourself."

"Yeah, you see—" I start, but she cuts me off.

"Pretending like you did, acting how you acted, it all seems very, very suspicious." Celestia leans back in her chair. "Your miniscule magic reeks of foul decent. It was hard to detect at first when you were in my dungeon, but while you are sleeping you have these..." Celestia moves her hoof in a circular motion, "...outbursts."

"Magic doesn't exist," I say curtly.

Celestia looks at me, dumbfounded for a moment, but she regains her composure. "Ahem, yes, of course it does. It is the birthplace, birth point of all life. In a large magical burst, it dispersed itself into the land, and into the many creatures that thrive here. Even the earth ponies have magic, though not usable by normal standards."

"That's called the Big Bang," I answer, "where all life and matter in the universe was created by one solitary burst of antimatter, compressive gravitational properties, and-"

"You are not here to lecture," Celestia says quickly. "You are here because your actions spell out certain criteria that may prove dangerous. You may be a spy."

"For who?" Then I take the question back. "Oh for fuck's sake, I'm arguing with a damned horse." To that comment, I'm rewarded with a death stare. I quickly change the subject. "So these outbursts?"

Celestia's look doesn't change much. "Your presence was putting out the torches in the castle. Only something of foul and malicious origin can trigger our censors like that."

"You have torches," I repeat, "that can sense threats...?"

She nods. "And they all responded to you while you slept. And so, here you are."

"Did I at least get my forehead looked at?"

Again, she nods. "It has been stitched up, should be back to normal in a while... What are you anyhow? I've never quite seen a creature like you in my kingdom."

"I'm a human," I say curtly. She nods and we sit in silence for a moment. I cock my head and clear my throat. "You sure don't sound like a ruler of a whole planet."

And the death stare returns. "Firstly," Celestia starts off, "I am ruler of Equestria. Not the planet. There are still other continents with separate rules, regulations, and lifestyles to which we do not associate with. Secondly, how should a ruler sound like, hm?"

I reach up and scratch my head. "I don't know, regal? Surely not like a bad cop in some B-rated movie." Celestia is away from the table now, in a defensive stance. Then I realize that I did scratch my head with a free hand. I put both of them up and see the cuffs hanging off of my wrists. "Relax," I say. "I am not going to do anything. I'm not sure how I did this though," I grumble to myself.

"What you are doing here is not helping your case," Celestia says calmly.

I'm fidgeting with my cuffs. She doesn't like that. I notice immediately. "Sorry, I'm kinda twitchy when I'm scared."

Celestia raises an eyebrow. "Scared?"

"Of course I'm scared," I reply. "A few days ago I was at home. I was a perfect student in my school, a bit of a nerd. I loved learning, I loved having a perfect record. I loved it all. And then I get struck by some lightning storm and the next thing I know I'm here with an IV stuck in my arm, my clothes a mess, and talking animals all around! Oh, and I have these things," I say while waving my arms at her, "sticking out of my arms! Of course I'm scared—no, I'm terrified!"

Celestia has taken her seat again and I go back to trying to get the cuffs off my wrists. She nods to herself, eyes closed and horn glowing yellow. More telekinesis. I just stare at the aura emanating from her horn, and then Celestia opens her eyes, catching me. I look down and continue fidgeting with the metal around my arms.

"...You were at your own home..." she starts, "...when you were struck by lightning... and ended up here?"

"Yes," I answer, "that's what I said."

"And you didn't think that waking up in one of our infirmaries with active medical care was a good thing, so you decided to attack one of the nurses and guards?"

"I didn't do that!" I exclaim.

"One of our nurses is treating herself for bruising around the neck, and one of my guards is missing a tooth. You did not create these injuries?"

"I'm completely justified!" I yell back. "I woke up in a strange place and when I tried to leave your guards chased after me with fucking spears! Spears, you know!? Fucking sharp metal on the end of a stick used to disembowel people? Of course I would fight back!"

"It's a serious crime to attack the royal staff," she calmly states.

"It's a serious crime to abduct someone," I counter.

"So finding a wounded individual and deciding to help is now defined as 'abduction?'"

"Technically, yes! I was held against my will in an unsu—"

"You were found unconscious, face-down in a fountain, covered with burns, which I must say you seem to have recovered from very quickly, and alone at that. Do you call it abduction when paramedics rush you to the hospital from your home on a tip of a neighbor? Is it abduction when an individual's life is on the line and we take them to a safe place to help?"

Her last statement took the wind out from under my words. I acted rashly, stupidly, I suppose. I give up on my cuffs and cup my face in my hands. "I just wanna go home."

Without a word, Celestia stands up and walks behind me. "...A guard will come and contact you when a verdict is reached. You will stay in this room until further notice."

"And if I leave?" I ask.

"If you try, you can have your old cell in my dungeon again." With that, she leaves the room and the door shuts tight behind me. Locks click in place a second later.

I put my head on the table and carefully position my arms so I don't cut myself on the crystals. I don't cry. I don't heave. I don't moan. But I do curse myself for acting so stupid. In two days I've gone from student to apparent-war criminal. Great fucking job Maverick, grrrreat job.

Author's Note

I never intended the mute antagonist look to last more than a few chapters, but this pushing made me have to rethink and rewrite a few chapters. I'm bending a bit, but this is still an active project. Let me know what you think, and the story should lighten up from here, just a head's up.