"Start from the beginning, please," says the gray mare sitting across from me. Her black shirt is perfectly smooth, even though she's sitting at an angle, and it really complements her dark brown mane. A pen and pad of paper float near her left side enveloped in the same blue aura that surrounds her horn.

As soon as Celestia left the interrogation room, this mare came in with a plate of donuts. I know this trick, I've seen it on television before. Sometimes, when the police are questioning a suspect, they'll bring in a plate of food. If you've done something, guilt prevents you from eating. If you haven't done anything wrong, or are a truly terrible person, then you can normally eat without a problem. I bite into my glazed éclair.

"What do you want me to say?" I speak around my mouthful of sweets. "I was on my balcony at home, I got hit with what I believe was a bolt of lightning, and I woke up here, disoriented, confused, scared, went on a bit of a brawling frenzy in what I call self-defense, got thrown in jail, and then you came in." I finish my pastry and reach for another one. "These are really good, by the way."

She nods all the while the pen and paper move and write by themselves. "Can you give any information about yourself?"

"I'm a human," I say for starters. "My name is Maverick Garcia, I live in Cheshire, England, I'm seventeen years old, great with astronomy and whatnot" I take another breathe to continue, but the mare puts up a hoof to silence me.

"We know that you've said that before, but we have never seen, or heard of any record of a creature such as yourself."

"Most humans don't have these," I say, pointing to the crystals on my arms. "These things are new." I feel something on my tongue, then lower, so I clear my throat. "Mm, sorry. Those sweets are a bit too sweet." I pound my chest to try and quell the sugar rush I'm feeling behind my heart.

The door behind us opens, so I spin in my chair and look up. It's a guard, though this one is dark gray with blue armor. "The Princess has come to an answer for your holding."

"Really?" I say with heavy false enthusiasm. "Great. Tell me, what cell number am I to rest in tonight?"

He comes in and shuts the door. "We are unfamiliar with your species. Therefore, we do not know anything about you, your abilities, powers, anything. But, to be civil, you will not be residing in the dungeon." The stallion shifts. "To show a bit of courtesy, you will be escorted to a private chamber. One bed, one bath, no balcony. The windows are enchanted to prevent escape and the door will be guarded. You have not been granted any permissions to leave the castle's interior."

"So I'm still a prisoner," I state.

"To a point. You will be given two meals a day, and have been limited as of choices of requests."

"Requests?" I re-ask.

He nods. "You may ask for certain items, but not all will be answered."

I look down at myself and my charred jeans. "Can I get something to wear?"

~ ~ ~ ~ ———— ~ ~ ~ ~

I sulk as I walk down another one of these freaking halls. Looking down at the garment they gave me, it's not much better than my scorched jeans. They gave me a poncho. A damn blanket with a hole in the middle for my head, black in color with a red trim. It was obviously made for a pony seeing as the front hangs down to just below my ribcage and the back touches the back of my knees. Escorting me are two guards, one gold armored and one blue armored, and both are a bit intense. We abruptly stop and I'm shoved forward into another room. The door closes and locks behind me.

I grunt at the door behind me, then turn and look at my new room. The bed is fairly sized, I think its a queen size. It's sitting on a low dark wooden frame. A large blue blanket overs it and sitting on that are three blue-cased pillows of differing sizes. There are two large windows, one on each side of the bed, covered by blue curtains with gold rings and rods. I look down and see the plush blue carpet. A lot of blue here. To my right is the white door that leads to the bathroom, so I head over there and check it out. The whole room is fitted with white and tan tiles, creating a checkered pattern. A large tub sits to the left of the room, the sink in the middle of the back wall, and next to that is the low-seated toilet. A mirror hangs over the sink, and I move closer to it.

I lean in over the sink and turn my head. The cut on my forehead is stitched up with thick black thread. It's red, a little swollen, but overall much better than before. Then I really look at myself. I have dark rings under my eyes, and my hair is an unkempt mess. The sigh escaping from my mouth is long, exasperated, and filled with annoyance. This shouldn't be happening. I should be at home with Dad, talking about what I think I should look for as a job or something manly. I don't know for sure, but what I do know is that I shouldn't be stuck in some castle as a prisoner to talking horses!

I walk out of the bathroom and rush over to the bed, then just do a complete face plant onto the covers. The door opens behind me and someone walks into the room. I hear the clanking of their armor and guess it's a guard.

"Is everything comfortable?" asks a light, sweet, but strong voice

I pick my face up and look at the guard who just spoke. She's just like the others; brilliant white coat, copper tail and mane, golden armor. Her eyes are a bright blue, and they match the gems that sit in the middle of her breastplate and hoof cuffs. She's got a horn sitting on her forehead like a lot of them as well.

I sit up and nod to her. "Yes, this room is very nice."

"The Princess like to keep their guest rooms in nice condition," she replies. "I have been assigned to see that you remain satisfied with the conditions of your holding."

"Do all foreigners get this sort of treatment?" I ask.

"Only when they act a suspicious as you have." She has that 'follow the rule or else' tone in her voice, just like all the rest of the guards.

I feel my eyebrows twitch. "...So, what did you mean by you being assigned to me?"

"Princess Celestia wants top security on you at all times, but also wishes to keep a show of civility. If you find something that you do not like within reason, I will be here to help." A few seconds pass before she speaks again. "As such, any request you have will go to me, as well as—"

"So you're my nanny?" I put my hand up to my mouth and gently cough.

The mare doesn't break her composure. "In no such way. I am merely here upon orders to confirm that everything is to your liking, as much as the Princess will allow, that is." She shakes her head. "Before anything else, I must know of any important information about yourself. Please answer these questions truthfully. Are you allergic to anything? Food, plants, animals?"

I shake my head. "No. I get a little Hay Fever when Spring comes around, but no, no allergies."

"Do you have night terrors?" she asks.

"Wow, you just get right into it, don't you?" I put my face in my hands. "No, I don't have nightmares on a regular basis."

"Do you have any daily activities you absolutely need to preform?"

"Besides a little cardio to keep in shape, no."

We keep at this for a little while. She pops me questions and I reluctantly answer. They are mainly about me and if staying in this room all day for a while would impact me. More questions, more answers. Her tone begins to harden as she gains my replies.

"Now," she says sternly, "be careful answering this one," she warns. I look up at her. "Lying about this type of subject can be catastrophic for you. What type of powers do you possess?"

I look at her funny, I think. Her face doesn't move so I don't really know if my facial expressions are getting to her. "Um... no?"

"That sounded like a question," she says, her eyebrows twitching. "Do you have any powers?"

The walls around her flash red. I shake my head, then reach up and rub my neck. "Well, everyone has a type of power, so to speak. What do you mean?"

Her eyes narrow. "You're avoiding the question."

"What? No, I'm not avoiding anything!" Another flash of red.

"I seem to have struck something sensitive here," she says.

"No, you haven't struck anything," I say quickly.

"You're nervous," she states.

"I'm not," I state back. Another flash

"You're hiding something."

"I'm not hiding anything."

"Yes, you are."

Red.

"No, I'm not."

Red.

"Yes, you are."

So much red.

"No, I'm not!

It's all red.

"You are."

All of its red.

"I'm not!!!"

The door opens behind her and the two guards who escorted me poke their heads in. The mare either doesn't notice them or doesn't care. I stare at her while sweat begins to bead on my face. "You have some kind of power coursing through your body," she says. "We all do. And whatever is coursing through you alerted our security torches, and only something truly odd can do that. So I'll ask you again, last chance, what are your powers?"

I look around the room. The carpet is muddy-looking. The ceiling looks like melted chocolate. The bed beneath me look like rotting wood. I go to put my face in my hands again, but.... My hands, they're red, blotchy, lumpy. I look over at the guards. Their fur is covered in red spots, their eyes just hollow holes with beads of white in the center. What the hell is this?

"Answer the question," commands a voice.

"Answer it." I look around again, at this horrible place.

"Answer it," commands the voice. I'm shaking my head, my ears pounding. Fear floods my heart.

"Answer it!"

"I don't know!" I shout with all my might. And then I do it again, and again, and again. I just keep shouting that I don't know. Time seems to slow down as I yell. A pain begins to overtake the fear in my chest, and I clutch at it. I stop speaking and bend over my knees, threatening to vomit the pastries I had eaten an hour ago. The sound of my panting fills my ears, and I try to come back to myself. "...I don't know if I have any powers," I whisper. "I don't know."

"Wow chief, I think you broke him," says one of the male guards.

"Did you have to be so brutal?" asks the other one. "I mean, I don't like the idea of that thing, but—"

"Brutality is necessary when speaking for the greater good," the mare states harshly. "If he needed a little persuasion to give an answer, then I will give it." Her horn sparks for effect. "It was just a simple and harmless mind trick."

Mind trick? She was in my head? Oh God, I feel... I cup my right hand over my mouth and rush over to the bathroom door.

"Doesn't look to harmless," says one of the guards as I shut the door behind me. I'm instantly on the floor with my face in the toilet bowl, dry heaving my guts out. My body keeps trying to push, but my stomach won't give. The spasms scratch at my throat and make me cough, which only increases the pain in my torso. My throat is burning, my tongue is on fire, my teeth feel like heated metal. I hurt all over and inside.

I pick myself up and almost throw myself in the bathtub. My hand finds the cold water spigot and I turn it on to a fast stream. The cool water pours onto my face and neck, and I open my mouth to let it in. I swallow mouthful after mouthful, and I choke on my drink, which makes me cough again. I curl up as I cough violently, a heated force coming out with my breaths. I cough a bit more and lay down in the tub with the water falling on my face. After a bit, I turn it off and lay there in my sopping poncho.

My breath is moist. The room is humid, almost as if I'm breathing water. I pull myself into a sitting position and look at the door. Still closed. I look around the room, and the mirror is all fogged up. Like I was taking a shower.

The door opens and I hear metal hoof cuffs on the tiled floor. "So you don't know, eh?" I pull myself up into a sitting position and look at the mare. She shakes her head. "That's a shame. Seems really suspicious that you can't even remember your own powers."

"I don't have any—I don't know if I have any powers." I shake my head, and she shakes hers again. "I don't know, okay?" She leans in closer to the tub's edge, and I scramble away as far as I can. "No, nononono, you stay there."

"You don't like me?" she asks in a mocking tone.

"I don't like you one bit right now. What the hell happened back there?"

She smiles. "There is a reason I'm head of security in the west wing. I have the strongest magic in the royal guard, and it doesn't seem like too much trouble to make you see something to talk."

"What?"

"I can make you see things. Want another preview?"

"No!" I stand up and sway. "Ugh, who do I talk to about my 'requests?'"

"Me."

I look at the mare. "...What's your name?"

"Silver Star."

"Really?"

She takes one more step closer. "Got a problem with that?"

"No, I don't." I cross my arms, then look down at my sopping wet self. "Okay Silver, I have five requests right now, is that okay?" She nods. I put out my hands and use my fingers to illustrate. "One; I want a roll of paper towels. I don't want to be unprepared here. Two; I want a box of tissues. Three; I want a book to read. If I'm gonna be stuck here, I may as well pass the time with something that isn't talking to you... Four; I want a change of clothes. Thanks to you, these are gonna get me sick if I stay in them. And Five; I want you the hell out of here! Nothing else, got it?"

Silver's Expression doesn't change or falter. "...Okay, those are reasonable." Her horn begins to glow blue and I start to float.

"Hey, what the hell? Put me down Silver!"

"You wanted a change of clothes... Because these ones are wet, right?" I nod. "Well then," she says calmly, "I'll just swap you out of these." The poncho is violently pulled over my face. I struggle with it for a second before it flies off my body. And then my boxers come off with the other garment. The force around me vanishes and I fall back to my feet. Immediately, I cover myself as well as I can with my hands and arms.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" I yell. "That is—"

"Getting you out of wet clothes. Why do you even need these?" She asks while holding out my boxers with her telekinesis. "Nevermind," she says, still looking at my underwear. Then her glance shifts to me. "...What's wrong with you?"

"I'm naked with some stranger holding my undergarments... a female stranger."

"Got something to hide?" she asks.

"Get out!"

Silver Star rolls her eyes. "I'll see if we have any clothes that can... fit you." With that, she turns and exits the bathroom, leaving me in my naked glory.

"...Bring the book as soon as possible!" I yell after her.

Author's Note

Sorry if this chapter seemed a little harsh, but my mood affects how I write and it really doesn't help when I'm about to go to the hospital and have my chest cut open for a stupid valve replacement. Not to mention the hard disk in my computer broke, and I have been finishing this chapter in the public library. I don't have enough loyalty points on my library card to go and rewrite the whole thing for a happier perspective, sorry. I'll be back in a few weeks when my chest has healed and my new laptop arrives, and the story should speed up after that and resume my original planning. Talk to you then.
Ich hasse meine Familie gesundheitliche Probleme.