In the future

I woke up to the notification screen in front of me.

You have rested in a bed for 8 hours! All negative status effects have been nullified! HP, MP, and stamina, has been replenished!

"When was the last time I ever slept?" I looked at my surroundings to find myself chained to a bed in the dungeon - a special privilege that even I found shocking. The artificial sphere of magical light illuminated the stone room, yet it all looked like it was carved out of a single piece of stone, but I knew better.

"...they took my stuff," I groaned. Well, the trinkets and weapons I had on me; my inventory was always stocked with emergency equipment and utility items. I tried to move, the chains rattled, and I didn't make any progress. I used [Observe] on my binding.

Prisoner Chains
Metal chains created centuries ago to restrain those who are too powerful for mundane suppression. These chains are infused with powerful magic that has only gotten stronger since its creation.

"I guess I can't force my way out; at least my mask is still on." It was nothing more than a bone-white mask with two eyeholes to look out of... with a wide smile of teeth that I harvested from an abandoned waif.

I felt the pillow underneath my head. It was rough, itchy, and quite hard. It was easy to feel since I shaved all the hair off my scalp. But my mask made sure that my head would always be set on fire, and since I couldn't smell my flesh being roasted means something neutralized the curse it had.

I would be lying if that didn't worry me. I crafted that mask from ingredients that have a very dark origin, and a powerful and sadistic curse was born from it. It doesn't just go away like that; if it was that easy I would have done so from the very beginning.

I had to know what else they took off of me, I could have just looked down but the chains were numerous and thick. It was more akin to a thick, wool blanket. They don't want me to escape. "Show current equipment."

Current Equipment:
(Head): Mask of Wrath.
-(Left Eye): Eye of Envy.
(Neck): Pendant of Lust.
(Body): Cloak of Pride.
-(Back): Slothful Shield.
(Left Arm): Gluttonous Hand.
-(Middle Finger): Ring of Greed.

Of course, the only things they couldn't remove are the items that are bound to me. I'll give these horses credit, they're a lot smarter than my previous jailers. "Enable [Mage Sight]," I commanded as I felt a pressure behind my eyes. Now I remember why I don't sleep: it turns off some of my passive skills, and when the number of passive skills stack up, it becomes tedious to turn them all on. "Oh, that's not good."

To say the room was magically fortified would be an understatement to my situation, and an insult to those who made it possible.

Dozens upon dozens of layers of the magic matrix, along with symbolic runes were combined and repurposed in an ever-shifting flood that crawled over the walls. Forming and unmaking, birthing new runic concepts I've struggled and dreamed to achieve, and they died out within moments.

That was just the surface of it all.

"They're not taking any chances with me," I realized that they learned from past mistakes from the other civilizations I've been imprisoned in. I honestly expected to be nailed to a wall or to wake up at the time of being executed. I would expect no less of the atrocities I have committed against the world, some events in the past I have set in motion myself, others I have nudged in the wrong direction purely for personal gain.

I did it all without a shred of remorse.

Then I saw it. I saw the patterns and mystical magical sequences take shape of a door, solidifying in the most perfect, upright rectangle before retracting into the ground.

She entered the room. The sheer magical force passively radiating off her form was blinding and painful to look, yet it was so mesmerizing that if I dared to look deeper, I would see the complex signature of her soul. It reminded me of a roaring sun.

I used [Observe].

===
Celestia
Level: ???
Species: Alicorn

Title(s): Princess of Equestria, Embodiment of the Sun, Solar Matriarch, (+112 additional Titles that cannot be seen)

I should have known that even with the power I have accumulated, there was no chance of me coming close to hers; not even my ocular information-gathering skills couldn't get much out of her, and only proved how superior she is. Only now, after all this time, her species was revealed, but I already knew that after doing some minor reading in a library. It's like giving a label to a bladed weapon; doesn't matter if it's called a dagger or a machete, it can still kill you.

I turned off [Mage Sight], and without seeing her magic, I could properly see her. Celestia is how I remember her.

Tall with light magenta eyes. A long length of hair separated into four colors - cerulean, turquoise, cobalt blue, and heliotrope - waving and swaying to a nonexistent breeze. A pair of angelic wings that are grand as she is. A golden crown fitting for royalty, but humble enough to match her motherly personality, sat on her head. The only other piece of jewelry was a necklace, and even that was over the white, gold-trimmed dress she wore. The image of the sun was designed at the very center.

"Sweet Tooth," Celestia gave me a curt nod, although it wasn't out of respect or care - it was just to acknowledge my horrifying existence. Her voice was gentle, for now, and it carried the weight of authority. "We finally capture you."

"Who is this 'we'?" I asked her, remembering the one-sided beatdown I received form her. "You were the only one capable of taking me down."

"There were those who helped to provide the opportunity," She defended as she glared down at me. "I made sure their efforts were not in vain."

"You call what they did 'effort'?" I laughed, rattling the chains. "What I did to them, is what you did to me. The fighting was one-sided!"

She firmly pressed her hand on top of my stomach, the chains combined with the force of her action caused any air I had to rush out of my lungs. To her, a mere pat. To me, it felt like I was punched in the stomach again. "And just like you, I haven't killed my opponent," She pressed harder on my gut. "But the difference between you and I is that I show mercy and restraint, while you would have brutalized everypony if you weren't stopped."

"Then why not sooner?" I rasped as my accusation caught her off-guard, enough to lighten the pressure on my chest. I took in a deep breath. "Wouldn't it have been easier to go after me yourself? Instead, you sent guards, Twilight and her friends - eventually your sister, and then Discord. All of them failed."

Although I did suspect that Celestia hadn't taken me seriously enough to settle the matter herself, or maybe she had too much faith in those she was close to; confident in their task to fight an opponent they have underestimated.

Pride. It's always been my favorite sin.

"...There is a reason why you are here," Celestia stood back, her glare still never let me out of its sight. Composed and calm, but I know it is nothing more than a restraint, a subtle display of power to let me know that she will not lose control; how she is above that, and that I am not worth it. Yet she hadn't answered my question. "You have a lot to answer for."

"Let me guess," I let out a bored sigh. "You want a face to give to the monster, and show it to the world. To show the true Sweet Tooth and not another crook imitating me to take advantage of my reputation, because you need me to help fix the political problems that are plaguing your kingdom."

"Infamy would be accurate." Celestia countered, her voice taking on a hard edge, but didn't deny my accusation. There was a hint of curiosity about how I knew what she wanted, but just like her, I have my ways of finding out. "All the damage you've done... those who suffered, and will suffer because of what you did! Your days of hiding behind a mask and cloak ends now."

I rolled my eyes. "I'm not responsible for every bad thing that happens in the world-"

"I know you were involved!" She raised her voice at me, not enough to be uncontrolled yells but just enough to reinforce her control over the conversation. "Every major event that happened in and outside of Equestria, you were somehow responsible!"

"Oh really? How am I, a simple merchant, responsible for the world being on the brink of collapse?"

"I've heard the stories," Celestia said. "I have my ways of gathering information, and among the flood of reports I read, the only common variable among them is you: a cloaked figure wearing an unsettling mask selling supernatural artifacts. The items we confiscated off of you have the same brand of craftsmanship on the items we found. I have testimonies that you were the one who sold them!"

"If those flood of reports shows anything, it's that most of them are exaggerated and made-up; surely you've noticed the contradictions?" I mused, and I studied her surprised face. "Oh Celestia," I chuckled. "You must be desperate if you seek out a common variable among contradiction. As for my products, is it so strange that what I wear for myself, I would sell to others?"

"So you admit you were the cause?"

"I acknowledge that I was involved," I clarified. "But again, what others do with my products is not my fault. There was a demand, and I supplied it. Everything else is insignificant."

"Insignificant? Are you so short-sighted that you didn't realize the consequences?" She asked me. "You aided enemies of Equestria, tempted and tricked those who were desperate, and have tormented the innocent! How could you say that you are not responsible?"

"First of all, I'm not short-sighted," I scoffed at the term. "Second, I didn't seek anyone out, they came to me, and I made a sale. Third, I would warn them of the consequences - I would be a bad merchant if I didn't warn others of the danger - but they didn't listen; they never do."

"If you knew the potential harm of what you made could bring, then why sell them?"

"I'm a merchant," I reminded. "You've dealt with them in your courts long enough to know that profit always comes before morality."

"You still sold them cursed objects!"

"Yet they paid me handsomely for them." I retorted, but it all feels repetitive. She says it is my fault, I will say it is the consequences of others not taking my warning seriously, or misusing what I created. "We can keep this conversation in loops, so let's get down to the real reason why I'm not being publicly revealed as a monster: you can't take off my mask."

"We suspect that it's bound to you," Celestia said. "There have been some... unfortunate results when we tried to remove it by force, especially with your cloak." The hesitation in her voice told me what I already knew: some poor fool tried to steal from me. I wonder what soul-tormenting nightmare the individual is experiencing when they touched my cloak?

"So you want me to willingly take off my mask?" I shifted my arms as much as I could, the chains reminding her of my condition. "I can't do that without my hands."

"I'm not falling for that trick," Celestia said firmly. "I've heard what happened in the Griffon Empire; your mask can move on its own, it just needs the command from you."

"Those stories from there are usually exaggerated; nonetheless, I'm not taking off my mask."

"We could always do it forcefully..." Celestia warned. "...I will if I have to. I will not allow you to hide behind your identity while being on trial."

"If you did, we wouldn't be having this conversation," I rolled my eyes. "Look, just chop off my head and show the other nations that I'm dead; it'll honestly be faster if you expedite the process."

"That's not how this works," Celestia said sternly, although she looked appalled at the suggestion. I called her bluff: she doesn't have it in her to do it. "There are steps to do; an ethical code to make sure order is maintained, even to those who do not deserve it." There was more to it. She's a public figure who built an image of herself, and the reputation of her land, to be that of order and peace. If Celestia were to go executing criminals without trial, doubt, or mercy - no matter how minor or extreme the crime - then it would only paint her as a monster. She has to better than that, or she will never earn the trust of the other nations or the love and respect of her people.

That is assuming she has a darker nature like her younger sister and has the same capacity to do something awful born out of emotion, unaware of the consequences. Yet here she is, conscious and aware of what judgment the public and history will say about her.

"But what of those too powerful and unstable that won't be shoved into the bureaucratic process?" There are just some beings too powerful to be contained in a cell. Tartarus proved that. "What about Luna, or Discord? You turned one into a statue, and banished the other into a moon for centuries."

"Those were extreme circumstances," Celestia countered, easily anticipating my retort. "Despite that, redemption and atonement were not out of reach."

"Is that why we're talking? To offer me a chance of redeeming myself?"

"That will be up to you." There's that motherly tone I'm all too familiar with. "You can help to fix what you broke; to make amends to those you have hurt. What could be better than that?"

A lot of things.

I am content with who I am and haven't lost any sleep - that is if I ever choose to sleep - with the actions I have committed, but I was not going to take credit for atrocities that were not mine. For her, all I would have to do is reveal my identity and claim responsibility to crimes that I have 'supposedly' caused. But considering most of them were not my fault, and the rest were either exaggerated or made up, I refused to be blamed for actions outside of my control.

I couldn't help but laugh: it was all too amusing. "So instead of fixing things yourself, you want me to do it for you? If you want somepony with influence to do the job, then have Discord do it. He can literally influence reality to do what he wants."

"I would have considered that... if he wasn't still a coma."

"He is?" I was honestly surprised at that. "I thought he would have woken up when you knocked me out."

"You are the reason why he is in a coma!"

"A result of his hubris; too confident in his chaotic nature," I sneered at the memory. "Claiming that his chaotic mind would erode any sense of order my mind has. It honestly makes me happy knowing his threats were all talk... oh, what a shame that I am trapped here - his body would have a wonderful ingredient!"

"You will not touch him," Celestia said with conviction. "I've personally hidden away Discord's body, and the only way it is leaving is when he wakes up and walks out of there himself; with or without you, I will get him to wake up."

"...Are you aware of what I can do when making a deal?" I asked her to test the waters, to see how much she knows about me. "Do you know about my contracts?"

"I'm well aware of it," Celestia said, not entirely sure of the sudden change in subject, maybe she decided to humor me since it's keeping me talking. "I know you have different versions of your contracts. Either way, a lot of suffering was caused because of them."

"Then you should know that even I am not immune to the consequences. You've heard the rumors of what I did in Tartarus?"

"I am. Several of the Minotaur clans are about to break away from the alliance with the others, threatening to plunge their land into a civil war after what you did."

"Then you should know how powerful they are," I said, at least some details weren't lost. "I had to use one in my encounter with Discord, they're powerful enough to keep a reality-warping entity like him in check. The rules, conditions, and terms, are absolute. Discord's property - his mind, body, and soul - is now mine. Not even you can break the deal he agreed to."

"I will find a way," She said with fierce determination. "I will free Discord, and those you have enslaved!"

"I don't have slaves!" I groaned, just like I did with so many others who thought the same. "Even if I do, it's to pay off a debt they have when I provide my services."

"I've heard the stories-"

"Let me tell you a story; a list of facts." I interrupted her. We were getting off track, and I didn't want this conversation to loop again. "When you first fought discord, you needed the Elements of Harmony, with the aid of your sister, to defeat him." I reminded her. "That's why you had your student and her friends to defeat him when he returned: you no longer control the Elements of Harmony, otherwise you would have taken care of him yourself. So let me ask you: If Discord couldn't break my contracts, and the Elements were put back in the Tree of Harmony, what makes you think that you - without the Elements - could? This overconfidence I see in you, and those associated with you is like an old joke. It stops being funny, and becomes irritating at best, and frustrating at worse!"

"...Why bring this up?"

"To show you that there are things beyond you - I am a living example, but I play fair," I said. "You want me to take off my mask? To claim that I am responsible for what had happened to Equestria? To help you? I want something in exchange."

"You are not getting a pardon for your crimes-!"

"I don't want a pardon," I interrupted her, and I am honest when I say it too, and how I said it caused her eyes to go wide at my declaration. "But don't misinterpret that as me declaring I am responsible for it all. I'm not a saint, but I'm not at fault for people's vices and sins; especially their stupidity."

For once in my life, I saw Celestia's eyes mixed with hesitation and confusion. "Then what do you want?"

"I want to form a contract. Not my [Ruthless Bargain] contract - you would never agree to that after what you've heard what happened to the Minotaurs. So I will be using my [Fair Trade] one instead."

[Fair Trade] has been activated!

===
Fair Trade (Active) Level: MAX

A skill that supernaturally reinforces the willing exchange of goods and services between two or more parties. The terms and penalties defined in the agreement must be accepted from those involved.

Celestia took a step back and aimed her hand at me as blue mist coiled off of me. "Relax," I said as the mist condensed and solidified above me. It parted away like a pair of curtains to reveal a stone tablet emerged from within. "Unlike the other one, this is a safe contract."

"How do I know the terms will be fair? What if this is just another one of your schemes?"

"Unlike my Ruthless Bargain contract, this will only work if all of those involved agree." As soon as I said that, words started to carve above on the stone slab by an invisible force. "It will only allow the agreement to happen if we offer what is in our power. This contract is a mutual benefit for those involved. We exchange what we have to offer, and gain what we want. Nothing more."

I thought of the contract, the words I would put, and instantly the stone slab started to have its surface being chiseled to what I desired. It was completed within a minute. "Does this seem fair?" I willed it to float over to Celestia, who seemed surprised how neat the carved writing is, and how big the slab was. It does no good if the letters are too small to read. The skill wouldn't allow that.

Party 'A': Sweet Tooth
Party 'B': Celestia

PROPOSAL:
* 'B' must hear to 'A' talk about the events of his past.
* 'B' is allowed to bring others to witness the hearing.
* 'B' can provide items upon request of 'A', but they must be approved by 'B'.
* 'B' must ensure that 'A' is not physically or psychologically harmed.

UPON COMPLETION:
* 'A' will claim responsibility to events 'B' deems to be held accountable for.
* 'A' will be required to remove his mask and reveal his identity.
* 'A' will be placed under Equestria's jurisdiction and submit to its laws.
* 'A' must accept any punishment 'B' declares.

PENALTIES:
* If 'A' fails to uphold the terms of the contract, his fire-based skills will be inflicted upon himself.
* If 'B' fails to uphold the terms of the contract, 'B' will provide magic to 'A' to fuel 1 spell.

"Well?" I ask. "Is it to your liking?"

"This makes it seem favorable towards me." She gave the contract a skeptical look. "I've been dealing in politics long enough to know something is amiss."

"All you have to do is listen to me talk until I am done. You can call upon others to be with you - perhaps to have another witness, or to add extra security - you just have to make sure they only do that, and not try to probe my mind or try to kill me. Even if I ask for a cup of water, you have every right to deny me it. After I'm done, then I will submit to you as the contract says."

"Why go through all this effort?" She moved the floating stone tablet away from her to look at me. "For somepony who claims to be a merchant, making a deal that benefits others else seems out of character."

"Because I make a personal rule not to lie, but you wouldn't know that, as you and I have done nothing but argue." Considering the arguments are based on nothing more than rumors and misinterpretations, she would never believe me. "This contract assures my cooperation."

"But why are you?" Celestia asked me, glancing back at the contract. "Why go through such an extreme method to confess what you've done?"

"You say it's my fault for the ways things are," I recalled as she nodded in agreement. "I just want to tell my side of the story."

"You wish to prove your innocence?"

"If you still think I am guilty, then so be it, and I will still do what you say; the contract will guarantee it, and I won't do anything to forcibly convince you otherwise. Tell me, Celestia, what do you have to lose from this? Watching me being burned alive if I go back on my word? Losing some of your infinite, godly magic to power one spell if you can't keep me safe as I talk?"

"If I am going to agree to this, then I want to add something," Celestia tapped the PENALTIES section. "The spell you choose must not be harmful... and no teleportation either. I will not risk using my magic to help you escape."

"Fine." It's not like I was going to do any of that anyways. I don't think I could with all the runes in the room. A small detail was added to the contract before I willed it to float to her. "There, happy?"

PENALTIES:
* If 'A' fails to uphold the terms of the contract, his fire-based skills will be inflicted upon himself.
* If 'B' fails to uphold the terms of the contract, she will provide magic to 'A' to fuel 1 spell; the spell must not be destructive, capable of teleportation, or be used to aid 'A' in escaping.
*Once a penalty occurs, this contract afterward becomes nullified and destroyed.

"Is that better, Princess? Now you can be at ease that even if you violate the terms of the contract, then I still will not be able to escape."

"But the contract will become useless if one of us breaks the agreement..."

"So what? Just think of it as mutual destruction: I lose my life, and you lose your bargaining chip with the other nations. Neither of us will get what we want." There was no point in keeping a contract active if compromises break down into disagreements and decide to change their mind later on, and I can't exactly do anything she wants if I'm burned into a pile of ash. "All I want is to tell my tale, and when I'm done, you'll get what you want. Don't you want to fix the world I supposedly broke?"

I was trying to tempt her. Truthfully, I added that last condition onto the contract for a reason: I didn't want to take the chance that Celestia would put me out, heal me, and then be forced to do what she said. If that last condition to void the contract wasn't there and I, for some reason, didn't hold up my end of the deal, being set aflame would be temporary because she would just extinguish me.

And I would still be bound to the contract to hold up my end of the deal. Thus giving me an ultimatum: cooperate and later submit, or be tortured with flames.

I will not be fooled through the exploitation of my own making again; past experiences can make a great teacher, and I had to make sure that Celestia knew that I could not be fooled.

Celestia silently reread the contract, trying to find something off about it. Anything to argue, but I just want to tell my side of the story. I've said that enough times. "...How do I sign?" I could tell she was hesitant, reluctant even when she said that. I like to think that it was because it was on my terms, not hers, and how the progress in this negotiation was made. Yet I knew it was a fantasy: she wouldn't be that petty.

"You've already given your consent when you asked to sign; the next part might sting a bit."

The acceptance of this contract has been acknowledged! Those involved will now be bound to it!

The stone slab erupted into blue flames. Two tendrils of magic shot out from the magical inferno, one for each of us, before piercing our hearts. It was painless, quick, and if it wasn't for her centuries of experience in the arcane, Celestia wouldn't have noticed it. "What was that?!" Her hand moving to her chest where the tendril struck. I guess being invaded by foreign magic was an unusual sensation. It took a minute for her to calm down before asking, "What did you do?"

"It's just the binding process," I explained. "Nothing more than a supernatural confirmation of what we agreed to. Now, can I start? Although I hope you don't mind if I skip ahead of my life; no need to bore you about my miserable origins. It wouldn't be satisfying to tell you who I am before I finish."

"Then I want to know how things got this far," The stone floor rippled and liquefy near Celestia before rising and taking the shape of a chair. To my amazement, the stone peeled off in flakes to reveal a cushioned chair made out of polished wood and silk. She sat in it as if it were the real thing; it looks far more comfortable than the bed I'm chained too. "If you are not responsible for it all, as you say, then how are you involved? You keep saying it's through the misuse of your 'products', but you don't elaborate any more than that."

"You wouldn't hear me out until now. If you want to understand it all, then you will need to hear the whole story... which will take a while." I thought of a good place to start my tale. "Let's see... it all started when I woke up in a corpse pit..."

Author's Note

I've discovered and read some Gamer stories here on this site; it's a shame most of them die off before they can get far. I was going to do a Gamer fic for Equestria Girls, but I changed my mind since I have mixed feelings about it.

I did read several Gamer stories take place in Equestria Girls or an alternate universe where the ponies are humans, but they were abandoned, and some were deleted. Such a shame. I was about to make this an alternate universe where the characters are humans, with pony terms mixed in, but I wasn't okay with that. It's called My Little Pony, not My Little Human-with-pony-terms-but-not-really-it's-slightly different. It's not that I hate all-human au's, I still like to read them, it's just I'm not ready to write one yet.

And I have mixed feelings about Equestria Girls too.