Since there's no clock in my room, I can't tell how long I've been in here. The only clue I really get is by looking out the window. The sun is beginning to set, so I guess it's about seven or so. It was bright out when Silver Sun came in and mind-fucked me, so I believe she's taking her sweet time with my requests just to bug me. But annoyances like her are of no importance. The real thing I must be focusing on is convincing these ponies to let me speak with Celestia again. Maybe I can convince her that I'm just a little threat and she could help me get back home. I can just imagine my father reacting to a seven-foot-tall talking horse with a horn and wings, explaining where I've been for the past few days.

With Silver Sun taking so long to return with my book, and more importantly my clothes, I've just been preoccupying myself by staring at the ceiling and tracing out figures. The bed is soft, a bit too soft for my liking, but I don't want to really push my luck. The blanket I have strewn across my lap to cover myself just in case Silver Sun comes back is very smooth. Its some sort of material my father and I could not really afford to splurge on.

"...Rabbit... ...Uh, duck maybe? ...A diamond..." The last shape I trace out makes me look over at my gems. It's easy to see why I look so intimidating at times. The smoother plate-like gems on my shoulders look like they could easily be used for defensive properties, while the more angular protrusions on my forearms could be seen as a weapon.

My thoughts are interrupted by the door unlocking. I sit up as they swing open and cover my eyes in an attempt to look... I don't know, more annoyed than I am? "I take it that this place doesn't have a library?" I ask mockingly.

"Yes, it does, actually," Responds a different voice. Uncovering my face I see that it's the smaller of the princesses.

"Oh, Princess Twilight," I say, trying to sound friendly. "My apologies. I thought you were someone else."

"Yes, yes," she says, distracted. "Anyway, you are probably wondering why I am here. Well..." She rubs the back of her neck, messing her mane in the process. "How should I say this...? Chief Executive Silver Star has—"

"Silver Star is just the Chief Executive?" I blurt out. "She said that she was the leader of the her branch. Oh-Hoh, this is just great. If she's as powerful as she is now, I can't wait to meet with one of your Generals or Admirals..." I notice the waiting look on Twilight's face. "I'm sorry. Go on?"

She nods. "Silver Star returned to the throne room and explained to us what had happened."

"That she completely freaked me out, nearly made me physically ill with her little mind trick she did, and made such a bad first impression?"

"She did what?" Twilight exclaimed exceptionally loud. "We are trying to make ourselves seem tolerant to—"

"Foreigners?" I ask.

"Nevermind. I'll straighten things out with her once I'm done here." Twilight walks a little closer. "Anyway, I've come down to give you something. Well, more like 'enforce' than 'give.'" Her horn glows again and I wait for something in the room to move. Nothing happens. I begin counting the seconds, just to preoccupy myself further. Around twenty-three, a small brown paper bag floats into the room. "This is a special artifact that has been stored in the castle's treasury." A small red and gold chest flies out of the bag and lands on the blue carpet at the foot of my bed. Twilight opens it, but looks up at me as I move closer to look. "Please turn around."

I roll my eyes are I gather the edges of my blanket to cover myself as I shift and turn on the bed's edge. "Just a bit of a warning," Twilight says, "I'm going to put this around your neck. Do not attempt to move until I am done, okay?" I nod and wait, but not for long. Something hard and cold wraps itself around my neck and pulls back. I make a noise that's somewhere between a grunt and a cough, but Twilight keeps doing what she's doing. "...There."

I immediately stand up, with the blanket around my waist, of course, and walk over to the bathroom. I open the door and walk over to the mirror. On my neck is some sort of collar. It's the same brown as my hair, but the material looks like its made of chiseled stone. A bright silver buckle sits on the middle of the front, right over my Adam's apple, and smaller silver lines cover the center of the collar all around.

"They're runes." I turn and look at Twilight, who's posed at my bathroom door. "They nullify most types of magic. You've been ordered to wear this for the time being. Silver Star's report stated that you were unsure of your powers, so Princess Celestia wanted no risks."

"Don't I get a say in this?" I ask bluntly.

"No. Not really."

"...At least it isn't completely hideous."

"You're taking this well, I presume?" Twilight asks.

"Taking what well?" I ask back.

"Well, the fact that I've just restrained your magic so now—"

"Okay, first; magic isn't real," I state while I try to wrap myself better with my blanket. "And second, I don't know what type of powers you guys think I have, so it's better to just wear this thing than to fight. I'm not gonna win anything if I keep fighting, so the sooner you guys release me, the sooner I can get home, see my Dad, and get back to school." I wait a moment to continue. "And where is Silver Star anyway? She took my clothes a while ago and I'd be very happy to get them back."

"And why is that?" Twilight flatly inquires.

"Gah, humans, well, most humans, tend to wear clothes regularly. Right now, I'm standing completely naked under this blanket, your highnessssss."

"So? We ponies are almost always nude, save for special occasions."

"You really have no idea about my species, do you?" I realize I sound a bit... racist? Is that the term I'm looking for? "Of course you don't; I'm the first human you, hell, this whole bloody world has ever seen. We humans are very different from you ponies. We do not have horns, or wings, or castles... anymore. We don't have castles anymore. We have planes, hot air balloons, trains, cars, bicycles. We have small suburban towns, tall cities, and numerous technological advances that so far, I have not seen anything in the castle that is even remotely close to. We have gazed deep into the galaxy and discovered various planets, we have sent a man to the moon and watched in awe as he made the first footprints in the extra-terrestrial soil. We are a strong species, and we will continue to advance, continue to believe what we believe, continue to live how we live, and so on and so forth. So, Princess Twilight Sparkle, I ask of you. Where is Silver Star with my clothes?"

My speech has silenced her. As it has me. Did I really say that? A fire is brewing behind my heart, and is only getting more intense. I cough and rub my hands together. Twilight stumbles out of her state of silence.

"Um... yes... Silver Star is most likely to be in the lower levels of the castle with the rest of her squad right now. I'll send word down for her to return."

I cross my arms. "Thank you very much Princess Twilight. My apologies for my tone of voice." I reach down just in time to catch my blanket from falling off of me. I'd rather not have my being exposed to royalty, however far from human said royalty may be.

~ ~ ~ ~ ———— ~ ~ ~ ~

Boredom is the biggest threat here. Princess Twilight Sparkle left an hour ago, and a few minutes ago, my meal for the night was delivered. A bowl of fruit and vegetables, I guess. They sent in a small guard whose armor was two sizes too big with the bowl and he skittered out as quickly as possible. Not much variety though, for the food I mean. They gave me two apples, one red and one green, a banana, two stalks of celery, and half a small head of lettuce. Well, actually, that's five things, so I guess there's a bit of variety. The banana disappeared almost instantly when I got my hands on it, and so did the green apple. I'm currently knawing on the lettuce, clutching it in my left hand and scratching the skin under the gem on my left shoulder with the right one. These things are weird.

I hear voices outside the door. I actually hear them for quite a few seconds before the door opens, and then I really get an earful.

"—Had absolutely no authorization to use magical interrogation methods! No authorization! Do you understand what I can do to you for disregarding conduct?" Through the door walks a tall, brawny guard pony in silver armor. His coat is a dark gray with a black mane and tail, and his eyes are glowing orange with rage. For once, this pony doesn't have a horn or wings. Behind him walks in Silver Star without her helmet. Her mane is longer than I thought. Her head is low to the ground as her scolding continues. "I can easily have you suspended from duty! Look at him. Look at him!" He grabs her chin and thrusts her face in my general direction. "Does he look like a threat? Does he look like the arrogant type that would defy a guard? Does he?"

"...No," Silver Star mews quietly.

"No, what?" says the bigger guard.

"...No, General Sir."

So he's a general, and she's a cheif executive. There's definately a difference in power here.

The General lets go of her face and pushes her forward. "One more abuse report like that, and I'll have you demoted. Understand soldier?"

Silver Star turns around and weakly salutes. "Understood, General S-sir."

"Good. Now kiss and make up. And you're not leaving this room until you do." With that, he walks out the door and cloes it behind him.

I've been sitting in my bed, half-covered, with my mouth open for the whole conversation, so I finally close it around a bite of the lettuce. Crisp. Silver Star is still standing there, facing the door, and it takes a while for her to turn around and face me. I finish my mouthful before saying something.

"...Do we really have to kiss?"

She scowls. "Shut up." The door opens and a small white bag is thrown onto the carpet. Silver Star looks at the door as it shuts, then moves a bit towards the bag. Upon opening it, another look of distaste spreads on her face. "...Here," she says while tossing the bag up onto my bed.

I put down my lettuce, open up the bag, and dump out the contents. My red underwear falls out, as does the black and red poncho they had given me. And two books, score! "A Budding Flower is Always Beautiful", and "Preen Me Up, Scotsdale". I chuckle as I read the title. "Well now, this is a pleasent suprise."

"What?" Sliver Star questions rather irritably.

"I got what I requested, thank you." I grab my underwear and pull them on underneath the covers. Looking at SIlver Star to find her staring at me, I get out of bed and pull on the poncho. "You know, this was obviously made for a pony," I state while holding out the sides of the poncho. "It's more of a cape for me than a shirt. And speaking of clothing, can I get a pair of pants too?"

"I'll process your request when they let me out of this damned room," Silver Star growls.

"The General said he'd let you out when we made up." All I get is a huff. "...So," I continue, "you lied."

"What?"

"You lied."

Silver Star stands up at this. "What do you mean?"

I laugh. "You're not the head of the west wing of the guards, are you?" She doesn't answer. I cup my hands around my mouth. "Hey, can I get a little help in here?"

The door opens and one of the guards pokes his head in. "Is something the matter?"

I point to Silver Star, who's looking back between me and the guard. "She's the Chief Executive, right? What's the order of soldier ranks around here?"

"That's none of your concern," replies the guard.

"Come on, I just wanna know the names and what order they go in."

The guard rolls his eyes. "We have recruits, soldiers, executives, lieutenants, captains, genre—"

"Why are you telling him this!?" Silver Star basically shouts. "Just go guard the door!" With a shrug, the guard closes the door and resume his post. Silver Star huffs in frustration. "Dumbass, telling the prisoner our ranks. What in Tartarus is wrong with him?" After another moment of grumbling, she looks over at me. "What are you looking at?"

I hold my hands up. "I'm just listening."

Silver Star basically growls at me, like an actual animal, and moves towards the door. "Whatever, I'm outta here. Call me if you need something, but do me a favor. Don't need anything." She tries to open the door. "...Come on. Come on! Hey smart-ass! Unlock the door!"

"You heard the General," answers one of the guards outside the door. "You are not to leave that room until you make nice with the human."

"Are you shitting me!?" Silver Star pounds on the door another time. "Let me out, or so help me—"

"You'll be demoted to a lowly soldier, as you say, if you disobey the General's orders again," says the guard. "Remember that?" His words only fuel Silver Star's rage, but she doesn't do much but sulk at the door. "You'll get out when the human reports that you two have put your problems behind you." I pick up the lettuce again as the silence creeps back into the room. Well, sort of. Silver Star is mumbling to herself about how she's going to make him pay, something with a bucket and a cricket bat. I'm trying my best to be quiet as I peel little bits of lettuce off the remaining chunk and munch on them. Her mumbling soon ceases an we're left in the eerie and the awkward void of sound that I should call my room.

I end up finishing my green treat and pick up one of the books, "Preen Me Up, Scotsdale", and read the inside of the cover to get the summary. I thought it would be funny, a comedy novel, but from what I'm reading it looks like a young pony with wings, a Pegasus as the book calls them, is recovering from some sort of accident and has to go through a lot of emotional turmoil. Yadda yadda love interest yadda yadda cousin breaks them up yadda yadda—

The pillow I'm resting on is yanked out from behind me and I hit my head on the wall. Grimacing, I rub my head and look at Silver Star, who's got my pillow under her left foreleg and making her way to the bathroom. She doesn't go in, just puts the pillow down near the door and halfway lays down on it.

"Guess you're staying in her with me tonight?" I ask.

All I get from her is a grunt.

I twiddle my thumbs a bit before picking up the book again. "You know," I say while turning to page one, "if you're not happy, why not quit?"

"Quit?" Silver Star repeats, half-lifting her head off the pillow.

I stuff the remaining pillow behind me and continue. "Yeah, quit this job. My Dad's gone through a few jobs before."

"You can't quit being a royal guard. That's almost as bad as desertion."

"How bad can it be?" I ask.

"You spend the rest of your term in prison," Silver says as she lays her head back down. "I've still got two years left in my term."

"Oh."

"Yeah."

The next few minutes are quiet. I begin my reading.

~ ~ ~ ~ ———— ~ ~ ~ ~

"—And even though you've gone through all of this, the accident, the rehabilitation, the re-training, you just want to let it all go down the drain just because your cousin captured the eyes of a mare who didn't even knew that you existed? Pathetic, just pathetic." My brother walks out of my room, fuming over me. I just stay where I am, right on my bed, and listen to the sounds of my clock and my own sobbing.

I fold the corner of the page just a bit to mark my place in the book, the end of chapter seven, and put the book back on the nightstand. "Preen Me Up, Scotsdale" is a pretty interesting book, considering that I replace the ponies with humans in my mind. Still, the wings thing throws me off when I do that. I reach over to click off the lamp and accidentally push the book off the nightstand with the crystal on my arm.

"Damn it. Stupid gems." I get out of bed and reach down to retrieve my reading material, when my eyes pass over Silver Star's sleeping form. She's curled up like a puppy, and still in her armor, which I find a bit weird. I wonder if the guards will bring her helmet back in, or give it to her when she leaves tomorrow. She is leaving tomorrow. Silver Star's already on my list of people, or ponies, or whatever the fuck it is now. Anyways, she's already on my list of living being to avoid contact with.

Still, the way she's curled up... I walk over quietly and lean close to her. She doesn't snore, which I like since we're sharing a room for the night. I know it's against my better judgement, and if she wakes up and find me doing this Silver Star will probably rip me in half, but I reach out and feel the edge of her armor. It is cold to the touch. Gently, I do the same to her fur on her neck. Just as cold. One side of my face scrunches up as the goodwill in my soul drives me back to my bed and I yank off the top blanket. I fold it in half for a double layer and retun to Silver's side. As softly as I can possibly try, I lay the blanket down on top of her, armor and all, making sure that all of her hooves are covered as well.

I nod to myself and return to bed. The secondary blanket is thin, and the sheet underneath is even more so, but it's still plenty. Now, I reach over to turn off the lamp again, only to find out that I didn't pick the book off the carpet. I throw my hands up in silent rage and uncover myself again, get out of bed, grab the book, return to bed, and put it on the nightstand. My feet are cold now.

But I'm still happy when I turn off the light, at least until the gem on my arm catches the book and knocks it to the floor again. I sigh and just stretch over the edge of my bed and grab it, then carefully place on the nightstand again and slowly retract my arm. I find a comfortable position and close my eyes, hoping that tomorrow when SIlver Star leaves, I can get a word with Celestia about all this confusion and misunderstanding.

Author's Note

Sorry for the wait. My new hard drive arrived and my Mum fixed up my laptop, but for obvious reasons the hospital doesn't allow digital devices to be used in the vacinity. But now I'm home and back to work. With a titanuim plate holding my ribcage together, my heart removed and replaced with someone else's, and my remaining valves cleaned, nothing should be keeping me from typing up more chapters except when I occasionally pass out from my medication. I'm hoping this surgery won't impact my writing too much.
Ich hasse blutigen meiner Familie medizinischen Aufzeichnungen.

By the way, both of my brothers are now my proof-readers. They will let me know of any imperfections before I post any chapters. They better, too, because I just found out that this computer does not have a spellcheck application, or if it does I don't know how to turn it on.

Oh, and it's Tag vor Allerheiligen, so as the Americans say; Happy Halloween, or Nightmare Night as celebrated by the hooved ones. Whichever floats your boat.