Neutrality

Arrest

Shackles... To think I almost missed their warm embrace on my wrists.

I slouched my head forward as I stared, entranced at the sight of the shackles on me. I slowly squint my eyes from the glare being reflected from the cuffs metal casing that had now just begun stinging my pupils. I squint and open to a blared white light that engulfed my whole view. A few blinks later and clarity began to return to me. Slouching back in my cold metallic chair I looked around the room I had been patiently, quietly sitting in for hours now. The floor displayed a sparkling personality, that of a dreary and damp day. The four walls that surrounded my small prison were a grand testament to symmetry only to be flawed with a large reflective window on the opposite side of where I sat. Letting loose a large puff air, I slowly lean the majority of my torso onto the table and lay my head down. I closed my eyes and reflected upon all the transpired. All that led me up to this situation.

Just as my mind began forming black images in my mind, recollecting, I was interrupted by the turning of gears of a door knob. I took a slow sigh and lifted myself back up, smacking my lips a bit and keeping my eye lids half closed. I felt like shit. I shift my eyes to the left revealing a fiery eyed mare all suited up and clipboard in hand.

I snark at the sight of her. With a tiny smile letting loose I spoke to the strange one, "Were you the best your higher ups could come up with?" I took a moment to laugh, fake obviously, but I couldn't resist. "Hey assholes!" I yelled at the mirror, "If you're planning on interrogating me, why don't you get an interrogator with some balls!" I end my taunt with another snicker.

The mare rushed in, slamming the door. She gained my attention, or a glare at the very least from her outburst. Waltzing over, give me a good once over with her eyes. I did the same. Prim and proper were the best words I could best describe her. A all black suit with needle thin white stripes going down the entirety of the fabric. Glasses hung on her nose, a pin bonned her hair to her head and a slight coffee stain marred her white shirts collar. Not a speck of jewelry could be found on her, excluding her wedding band.

Sitting down opposite of me she slides, or throws rather, her clipboard onto the table at me. I pretend to chew on something in my mouth as I stare blankly at paper attached to the board. We both sat there for a minute or two before she cleared her throat. I lifted my gaze back up to her to make contact.

"You're reputation proceeds you, Ms. Daring. I got to say though, this is not what I would expect of you."

I huff and let me head fall limp to my left before I return to proper posture to address her. "And what is it exactly that you'd be expecting of me?"

"You know damn well what." She quickly snipped. This one has claws. She paused for a moment before continuing. She leaned forward, arms crossed and tilted her head, glaring all the while as if studying my mind. "I wonder. What's going through your mind right now. No." She leaned back and waved her hand in disapproval, "No, no. I wonder what you 'were' thinking."

I continued to stare at her, letting her take the reigns on the conversation.

She snarks at me. "I gotta say, it's pretty ingenious. Using yourself as a fictional character in your writings. It makes sense now that we know what you've been doing. Who would suspect an author that wished to go the extra length to please her readers by going to far and foreign lands to 'study' and 'take in' the culture to make her stories more accurate and believable. What a crock of shit." She nods at me, her mouth slightly open. " And every land, now has a dead official. Be it high ranking or just the servant colt of some queen. These," She tapped on the table at the clipboard, "these right here are all of the unsolved murders you've caused... Well, I suppose they're solved now aren't they?" She leaned back, crossing her arms again, smugly.

"Come again?" I asked to egg her on.

"These!" She slammed on the table again. My taunt worked. "Every single one of your books are directly related to the area of the murders. And each land you have visited just prior to their officials death. And now, with your most recent attempt on princess Celestia, we 'know' it's you."

I looked back down at the papers. I flipped through all the pages, each one having a picture of the dead paper-clipped to each individual case. I finish thumbing through and glare back up at her, tossing back the casings back at her. I leaned back into my chair and smiled brightly at her. "Oh, memories."

"You're sick..." She sneered at me before pressing her hands on the table, lifting herself up. She walked around ever so slowly, barely gliding her index finger across the table till she reached her destination behind me. Hanging her head down beside mine she hushed, "You're going to hang for this..."

I took a second longer than what I would have liked for my response but continued on when I was able to. "Congratulations!" I spread my arms wide open for her. "You've caught me! Now what? You and I both know these are mere formalities. Am I just suppose to crack due to the pressure of your thumb on my neck?" I turned my head around to face her again. Almost immediately her face turned into a frown. "No. Nu uh, that's not what this is is it? This isn't a crackdown, this is a sweat out isn't it? You don't want me to spill my guts over all of my previous actions. You want me to go into details about the events that have just transpired huh?"

She turned back over to the glass and stared for only a moment but that's all I needed. I was right. All interrogators are meant for one singular purpose. To extract information from their subject. Now to what degree or topic of information is completely up to them. In this case, the topic, the failed assassination of Princess Celestia. Who as far as I know is still the leader of Equestria. Secondly, the information is what I've done to her and what purpose my actions served.

I smack my lips and finally asked her, "What's your name?"

"S-Sherie" She seemed to stumble as she tethered her sight with the mirror.

"Right, Sherie. Piss off. You're wasting my time and your bosses time for being here." Second thing all interrogators are breed for is having control of the situation. If we were to take this one for example, it's a pretty open and shut case. Me, a icon with a shady past suddenly purged into the light for things I have done due to my own clumsiness of my execution of matters. I have no alibi what so ever. Not like one would matter, I was caught red handed. Quite literally at that. Next, I'm in cuffs. I've been locked in this room for what now seems like hours in hopes of 'sweating it out'. A tactic that with most folks would work quite well, that's if they had a conscience. Something I do possess but is not currently in a fit of right and wrong. The ball is entirely in this mares court and she's already lost it. That little glance at the mirror was a inner question of what to say next in hopes to regain the upper hand.

Her eyes widened and her chest puffed out. I could read the words on her lips. How I could feel every word she wanted to scream at the top of her lungs at me, but not a single one was spoken.

"Tell me, Sherie, does Celestia still breathe? Or are you wasting as much as she is right now." That remark earned my firm smack to my right cheek. I couldn't help but laugh. The stinging to my cheek was much welcomed. I was now able to confirm I wasn't dreaming.

"How dare you speak of Celestia in such a manner..." She forcibly stated.

My hair hung over my eyes, nearly blinding my view. Through my miniscule sight I peered straight at the mirror and leaned forward, placing both my arms back onto the table. The chains from my shackles scratched the surface of the table over taking the room as the dominant sound, overthrowing Sherie's heavy breathing. I tapped my index finger onto the table a few times, " I told you to bring me someone with balls in here." I slouched back into my chair, dragging my arms back until my arms finally collapsed in my lap. "And it looks like you did not disappoint." I flick my head, removing most of my hair from my eyes. Looking back at Sherie who was still in a fluster, her chest puffed out at me as if ready to give another quick whip at me. "Please," I motion to the chair on the opposite side of me, "Sit."

She answered my wishes and takes her seat once more.

"Now Shall we begin?" I pause, waiting for a sign. She showed none. "If not then I'm more than happy to remain quiet until escorted out of here and patiently wait until tried and sentenced. However if you wish to begin we can start by skipping trivial interrogation tactics. Just ask what you may, and you may get the answer you're looking for." I earned a confused stare from Sherie. "Go ahead," I motioned to her. "Try me out."

Shaking her head in disbelief Sherie cleared her throat. "Do you admit to the crimes you have committed today?"

I tilted my head. "Which ones? The murders of royal guard. Attempted murder of a royal official. Verbal abuse of a servant boy? By the way, just so we're clear. That last one I was not hired to do. But it was my pleasure."

"Hired?" She repeated as if that was the only word she heard.

"Oh, were you not aware?" I asked innocently. "Man, I tell ya. You're intelligence is really slipping these days." I said as I pointed at her.

"Who hired you." She quickly fired the question at me, almost cutting me off from my sentence. I didn't even have time to relish my toying of her.

Shrugging it off I continued. "Wouldn't you rather know the entirety of the story? Not just who hired me. But how everything has been set up this way. How I've come to such a predicament? How I plotted and executed the entirety of this situation? I mean after all, you'd be hearing it from quite the story weaver."

"Dammit! Stop toying around with me!" She slammed her fist on the table screaming at the top of her lungs. "You know damn well we don't have time for that!"

"What time is it?"

"What?"

"You're not deaf are you? I asked you, what. time. is. it."

"What difference does it make?"

"Well depending on the time, I can decipher if we'd have enough time for a riveting tale."

She remained still, pondering my request for a second or two before reaching for her pocket. She pulled out a pocket watch and placed it on the table.

"It's about five minutes past four o'clock."

"Oh is that all? My, I thought I'd been in here for a little longer than that. Oh well. We have exactly two hours. More than enough time for me to spill my guts for you."

"We don't need stories! We need answers!" Her screaming returned. Lord I was already feeling the headache coming.

"All in good time child. Now, shall we proceed?"

She shifted her jaw side to side in contemplation. Glancing between me and her watch. Her jaw finally ceased it's motion. She reached for her watch and placed it back into her pocket before speaking. "You're going to tell us all that you know. And if you don't. I'll personally oversee that your last days on here are a mere prelude to what awaits you on the other side."

"Lovely." I smiled at her as I fidgeted in my chair, scooting it a couple inches forward to get comfortable. "So, may we begin?" She didn't respond. She merely leaned back into her chair, crossing her arms as she did. "I thought you'd never ask..."