The next two days were back to normal. No talking ponies, no floating objects and food was coming regularly again. I quickly chalked up the experience to a delusional state from the lack of food and water. I try not to think about what caused me to see the lime green one.

Then they came back... or should I say, she came back. Luna.

Just like most things that appeared here, she arrived without a sound.

“Good morning,” she spoke.

Her voice was calm and soft yet caused me to jump nonetheless. I quickly turned my head and saw her standing in the middle of the room.

She looked different. She had a black tiara on her head and a single piece necklace with a crescent moon on it.

“How are you feeling?” She asked.

Acting on instinct, I made to answer her, but hesitated. She wasn’t really there; she’s just a figment of my imagination, but why was she here again? I wasn’t starving or suffering from dehydration. Was this a dream? Or was I becoming delusional from solitude?

She cocked her head slightly to the side, “Are you alright?”

I relaxed, laid back down on my bed area and waited for her to disappear like last time.

“I can set you free, as long as you cooperate with a test or two.”

I sighed, she wasn’t going away. Maybe I just needed to stop looking at her. They did disappear after my vision was obscured by the floor. So I shifted my body to face the wall.

“I know you understand me. I know you can speak to me as well. Why do you remain silent?”

“You’re not real,” I responded, internally berating myself for talking back to her.

“I am certain I exist,” she replied.

I rolled my eyes, “You’re as real as my mind makes you.”

“Am I now?” She asked, “Prove it.”

I groaned at how long it was taking for her to disappear. I sat up and positioned myself to look at her. I’m pretty sure I’m already going insane, I might as well go off the deep end.

“That’s easy, you can talk.”

She gave me an unimpressed look. “Very perceptive of you, but that does not prove anything.”

“That proves EVERYTHING!”

She gave me a questioning look, “By your logic, you do not exist as well since you are also able to speak.”

It was my turn to look confused. “What? That’s stupid, I know I exist.”

“As do I. However, it is unwise to judge the intelligence of somepony you have just met and know nothing about.”

I rolled my eyes again, “I don’t care.” I pointed a finger in her direction, “You are not real.” I retracted my finger and placed my hand on top of my lap. “You are an illusion, a figment of my imagination.”

She looked at me for a moment before she started walking toward me. “So you think I am a phantom? Well, you cannot touch a phantom,” She stopped a foot away from me. She bent her neck down so it was level with mine. “Prove to yourself that I am real.”

I was taken aback for a moment. The determination in her voice gave me a slight shiver. When I regained my composure, I stood up. Her gaze rose as I did until I reached my full height, leaving her to look slightly up at me.

I reached out to touch her face but momentarily hesitated when I felt the air move from her breathing. Then my fingers made contact with the top of her nose. My eyes went wide as I slid my fingers up the bridge of her nose to her forehead. I could feel her incredibly soft fur slide under and through my fingers. She’s real.

I continued to softly drag my fingers across her soft forehead, mesmerized by the feeling of her fur. The only thing that distracted me was when the realization hit me again in full force. She’s real and you have your hand on her face!

I quickly retracted my hand to reveal a smirking Luna. “Is that sufficient proof?”

I looked at Luna, then to my hand. On my fingertips were a few blue pieces of fur. I pinched my fingers together and rolled the hairs between them, feeling each hair rubbing between my fingers. It felt real enough.

“I- I guess so...”

She made a face that looked like she was giving me a raised brow. “You don’t sound very convinced to me.”

“H-How can I be? You feel so real, but you shouldn’t exist.”

“I understand your confusion. We can help you through this, but we need you to cooperate with one or two things first.”

I looked up from my hand and noticed Luna had moved back to the middle of the room. “What do you mean?”

“We have a test we need you to complete. If you do so with honesty, we can guarantee your freedom and safe passage.”

“A test? What kind of test? And why do I need to take it?”

She sighed but said nothing for a moment.

“Do you have a name?”

“I do... why?”

“Because I would rather call you something other than creature. I shall go first to show goodwill.” She placed a hoof to her chest, “I am Princess Luna, co-ruler of Equestria.” She then extended the same hoof toward me, “and you are...?”

After a moments pause, I decided her reason was reasonable enough. “My name is Alex Goffman, but, please, just call me Alex.”

Luna smiled, “very well Alex. You have stated that I should not exist, meaning you have not seen anything like me before.” She spread a pair of blue wings that were attached to her back. I stared in a mixture of surprise and amazement. A winged unicorn, or a horny pegasus... no, winged unicorn sounded better, and less rapey.

She folded her wings and continued to talk. “We have not seen your species before as well. Unfortunately, that means everything about you was a mystery to us. Strengths, weaknesses, eating habits, mental capacity and any other habits you exhibit. Through our observations, we have determined that you would not be an immediate threat to our subjects.

“We planned to introduce ourselves a few days ago and confirm what we have learned but the events that transpired that day alerted us to something we were unaware of.”

Her horn glowed blue and 5 metal cylinders appeared in front of me. “This test will determine if we need to take precautions for it.”

I sat down and picked up a cylinder to look at it. It was an inch thick and five inches long but felt light.

“What would I have to do?”

“Simply bend each cylinder to a ninety degree angle.”

I looked at her, then to the thick metal cylinder in my hand. “You don’t need a test for that,” I placed the cylinder on the ground. “I can’t bend metal.”

“You must try in order to complete this test.”

I raised a brow and frowned, “and when I fail?”

“The only way you can fail, is if you don’t try at all.”

“And if I don’t try?”

Luna frowned and gave me an intense look, “Then you will not be allowed to leave this room.”

I briefly thought about my two options. Yes or no. On one hand, if I was dead, then it wouldn’t matter which choice I made. However, if I was alive, saying yes would be the only good option.

I looked at the cylinders, “So I just need to try?”

Luna’s facial features softened, “with honesty, yes.”

I sighed, “alright, I’ll do it.” I picked up the first cylinder, gripped the ends with both hands, and attempted to bend it with all my strength.

To my surprise, it bended like a paper clip. The next two were the same as the first. The fourth one had some resistance to it, only bending after trying for a few minutes. The final cylinder wouldn’t bend at all. No matter how hard I tried, it wouldn’t budge.

I looked to Luna and waved around the final cylinder. This is real metal.”

Her horn glowed and all the cylinders disappeared.

She smiled. “Well done, you surpassed my expectations. That being said, I have one more thing for you to do before we leave.”

Just before I asked what it was, a piece of paper and a quill appeared out of nowhere. The paper floated toward me and settled on the ground.

I picked up the paper and looked at it. At the very top was a circle with a drawing of a pony head in it. The pony had a smirk on his face, a gelled back mane that looked greasy as hell, a handlebar mustache combined with a petit goatee, and a pair of ram horns on his head. He looked like an evil loan shark that knew you needed money.

Finishing my inspection of the picture, I looked down to read what the document was about.

I _____________________ swear to respect the laws of ___Equestria___ so long as I am within its borders. I promise not to cause unjust harm to the ___ponies___ and animals that call ___Equestria___ home.

Should any unjustified harm befall them by my actions as a guest of __The Celestial Sisters__, my eternal soul shall become the property of Prince Beelzebub, Ruler of the Kingdom of Fire.

If there is a possibility that I have broken the terms of this contract, an unbiased and thorough investigation shall be launched by __The Celestial Sisters__ to prove my guilt or innocence.

If proven innocent to the severity of the alleged crime, the punishment of this contract shall be null and void.

Exemption: The act of preserving life.
If anybeing is in danger in my proximity, weather it be harm or possibility of death, I have full right to help said being in question.

I _____________________ have read, understand, and accept the terms of this contract.

I paced the paper back on the ground and looked at Luna, “I have to sign a contract?”

She nodded, “Yes, in order to do so, I require one of your hairs.”

“What!?”

“For this contract to work, I require a piece of your essence. You may give me a piece of your flesh, or blood, but I find hair to be the best option.”

I gave her a skeptical look but she has yet to give me a solid reason not to trust her. Besides, what harm could she do with a piece of hair?

I reached up to my head and grabbed as much of my short hair as I could. I pulled and looked at my hand to find a hair. When I found none, I grabbed a handful of hair from the opposite side of my head. This time, I managed to grab two of my hairs. I picked one and presented it to Luna with an outstretched hand.

Her horn glowed as my hair floated over to her and stopped beside the black quill. My hair twirled around the shaft of the quill. The hair dissolved into the quill as the feather itself started to glow. When the light died down, the feather was no longer black, but gold with a slight shine to it.

The feather floated down to rest next to the contract.

“Use this quill to bind yourself to this contract, but be warned.”

She stepped forward and gave me a serious look. “Breaking the terms presented to you will result in dire consequences that neither I nor my sister will be allowed to protect you from. If you do not intend to follow it, then you are better off rejecting this contract and staying in this room.”

Protect me? It’s just a contract. What would I need to be protected from? A lawsuit?

I continued to look at Luna, looking for a smirk or something to tell me she was kidding, but no such thing appeared. I frowned slightly, maybe lawsuits were really intense... wherever I am right now.

I picked up the contract and looked over it again.

It basically says to obey the law and not hurt any ponies or animals without a good reason... pretty simple things.

I picked up the quill and noticed there was nothing to dip it in.

“What do I use to write with?” I asked as I looked up to Luna.

“The essence you provided will act as your ink. Write as if you have ink, and the writing shall appear.”

“Oh,” I looked at the quill and twirled it between my fingers. I took my other hand and touched the tip. When I did, a golden liquid appeared on my finger where the quill made contact. Huh... that’s odd. Well... I quickly glanced at Luna then at the paper. I suppose not the oddest thing I’ve seen today.

I applied the tip of the quill to the top of the paper. I signed the two designated spots stating that I would respect the laws and have read the contract.

Once I finished, I placed the quill next to the paper. The quill turned into a pile of ash and the contract floated up to Luna. She looked it over and smiled, “thank you for cooperating without much difficulty. I was afraid I would have to coax you for a few weeks before you would sign it.” The paper rolled up and disappeared.

“Wait, I thought you said I would stay in here if I didn’t sign it.”

“You are correct, you would have stayed if you refused to sign, that does not mean today would be the only day I would ask.”

I opened my mouth to respond but closed it when I realized she was right. She made it sound like I would rot in here if I didn’t sign right now, but she didn’t really say such a thing.

“If it makes you feel any better, we never intended for you to stay in here. We had not planned to keep you in here for this long without introductions either, but there were complications that delayed our meeting.”

It didn’t make me feel much better, but it was a plus to know they wanted me to stay in this place as mush as I did. Wait, I mean she, not they. Why does she say we instead of I? Come to think of it, she’s been saying ‘we’ a lot.

“I guess it makes me feel slightly better, but why do you keep saying we? Don’t you mean you didn’t intend for me to stay here?”

She shook her head, “I do not speak on my behalf alone. I also speak for my sister, Princess Celestia. We rule our nation as well as make crucial decisions together, so when I say we wish to set you free, it is not my desire alone to do so.”

“Oh, so, when do I get to leave?” I looked around the room at the solid stone walls, “and how do I leave?”

She looked to the wall on her right, “I sent your contract to my sister so that she may deliver it to the proper place for it to take effect.” She looked back to me. “Until then, I ask that you wait patiently, it should not take long.”

I glanced at the wall she looked at, “how long?”

She made a movement that looked like a shrug, “truthfully, I do not know. The pony that must receive the contract can be difficult at times, so sometime between a few minutes to two hours. He has been known to take up to three if he has had a particularly bad day.”

She gave me a small smile as her horn lit up. “I can guarantee you will be free before the end of this day. I shall see you when that time comes.” Then she disappeared in a flash of light.

“Wait!” I yelled, but she was already gone. I had so many questions that I wanted answered. Where was I, what’s out there and what’s going on, to name a few.

All I knew was that the entire time I was in here, I was being observed, which explained the feeling of being watched.

I was also deemed threatening enough that I needed to sign a contract before I could be released. The thought of being dead or in a dream were still there, but they seemed less likely now.

Despite being a bit frustrated by the lack of answers, I didn’t have any other choice than to wait until she came back.

Author's Note

A tad bit upset that I wasn’t able to keep the contract in cursive, it looked so much better on the word document.