Simulated Pain

Ian's life was boring ever since he was forced into jail.

The room had no windows, only a clock to tell what time it was. The room's walls were simple concrete, likely with metallic steel underneath it. Despite being unknown to magic, he could feel the tensity of the amount of spells that were placed inside the room. It was so thick, you felt like you were swimming in the room, not walking in it.

He was allowed some freedom. Mainly because he was nice, and never caused any trouble for any of the guards or Celestia herself. In fact, him and Celestia had gotten to know eachother very well, and have become extremely casual with eachother. He was allowed a small tennis ball, which he bounced off the mundane looking walls of the cell. He also had his coffeemaker, and a pen. However, due to safety rules, the pen's ink and tip were removed.

He cared little about writing anything anyways. He was quite fond of learning how to twirl the pen between his fingers when he was bored. What else was he going to do for hours on end, locked up in a cage? So, he eventually learned how to bounce the tennis ball off the wall and twirl the pen in the other hand, almost effortlessly at this point. Without any other obligations to do throughout the day, each hour was spent to perfecting such a useless skill.

Sometimes, his mind would drift off to Twilight.

Her friends too, no doubt, but mainly Twilight. She was the nicest one he met when he first came through that portal. He was considered a VIP to both Equestria and the Terra Colonies at that time. He remembered the conversation he had with his father the day before he went through the portal.

"Now son, don't you go offering apples to those horses. They might get offended."

He missed him.

Twilight would show him around the school, and would routinely spend hours almost everyday with him. They became extremely close, extremely fast. Not for really any reason in particular. He wasn't quite fond of books, though he did read a bit. He wasn't a scientist at all, but he didn't mind learning. And, he had no idea what the hell magic could do. The fact that it existed almost made his head explode.

They just liked eachothers company. That alone was enough.

Ian continuously thought about his predicament. Why was he the one chosen? Of all the people, on both planets, why was he chosen? He wasn't special in any capacity. He was 5'11, a slightly tanned white color to his skin, dark brown hair, and only twenty-four. The universe had seemed to pick him for some reason, and he really didn't like it's choice. Though, he was biased on such a thing, as he was obviously caged up due to it.

He scratched at the little facial hair that began to grow, an outline of his beard showing. Without access to a razor in quite some time, it was coming back. He didn't mind the look, but it definitely made him look older than he was if it grew out all the way. He only was able to rock the look with a plaid shirt. He'd look like a lumber-jack.

The door to his cell opened, in which a female pony walked in. She was green in color, with a light blue mane and tail. Ian smiled at her. "Ah, Sage. How are you today?"

"I'm fine today, Ian. How've you been holding up? Celestia came in yesterday, didn't she?" Sage asked, rolling in a cart which carried a plate of food. That being, an egg and avocado sandwich with spice (which was requested by Ian himself) and a side of fries. She grabbed it with her teeth, only gripping the edge, and set it on the table.

"I'm doing okay, I guess. Celestia did come in today, but it was the same as usual." He lied. "You wouldn't happen to have any other news, would you? Being cooped up in here kind of makes me... well, unable to hear anything that happens in the outside world. These thick walls are quite hard to see through."

Sage smiled at him, before shaking her head. "Other than the kids going to the science-center this week, there's really nothing. The agreements between Terra and Equestria have been going on in a peaceful manner. Nothing's really come out about you either lately, which is good news."

"Depends on what side your on. I mean, that's good news for me, but some people would want me to burn in hell. Atleast, that's what I would think."

"Well, I'm not one of those people."

"Oh?" Ian asked. "And, what kind of person are you, Sage?"

"Look, all I want is you to come in the kitchen once in awhile and clean up the plates you dirty up." Sage said with a playful smirk. "But, honestly Ian, I don't know what to say. I don't hate you or think you're evil in any manner, but when so many people say it-"

"You have trouble disbelieving it."

"-...right."

Ian sighed. "Well, thank you for the food. You did put spice on it, right? I swear, you can't knock it until you try it. It's amazing."

Sage nodded with a smile. "Yes, I did put spice on it, but you can't ever convince me to try that. Spice on avocado and egg? I could understand spice on the fries maybe, but the avocado and egg thing with spice just doesn't mix well. It's like... like..."

"Strawberry on pizza."

"What? No! Strawberry on pizza is amazing, you're just-"

"Okay, you've officially crossed the line Sage." Ian said with a slightly serious tone, before chuckling and waving a hand in her direction. "Go, go, I'm holding up your job. They're going to be asking if I tried to strangle you or something once you're out of here."

"They know that it would be me doing the choking."

"Oh?"

Sage shook her head, kicking the cart out the room, about to slam the door shut before saying: "Bye, Ian."

"Bye Sage."

And just like that, he was left alone once again, except he had a sandwich to comfort him.

"Shining Armor has told me that you both had a bit of a quarrel." Celestia stated. Both Twilight and her were sitting in the royal dining hall, which was for special occasions. Such as when a diplomatic meeting was being held, or when her favorite pupil showed up. Well, she did only have one pupil, but still.

"It was nothing important." Twilight responded, trying to avoid the situation.

"He told me it was about Ian."

Yet, the situation couldn't be avoided. Even after all these years, Shining Armor was still a tattle-tail. Twilight groaned, shaking her head, obviously not happy. Could a conversation no longer be kept private between a brother and his sister? She supposed not. Perhaps because it was the content of the conversation. "Yes, it was about Ian."

"What would you like to know?" Celestia asked, floating a piece of cucumber into her mouth, chewing it with a neutral expression. Twilight gave her an odd look, as if trying to figure out exactly what she was planning.

"What do you mean?"

"What would you like to know. I visit him every week. If there's something that you're wondering, I'd more than likely be the right pony to ask." Celestia said, now facing Twilight with a smile.

Twilight's eyebrows raised, a little in surprise. "How is he?"

"He's fine. He's honestly better than I would have imagined him being. Being inside a closed off cell for months without time outside wouldn't be something I would imagine anyone would particularly enjoy. Him and I have gotten to know eachother from our brief visits, and we're both quite casual in conversation. He does miss being outside, though."

Twilight nodded. "I can imagine so..."

Celestia placed a hoof onto Twilight's shoulder, giving her a soft, motherly expression. "I know that you want to talk to him, but you understand why I can't let that happen. Ian is not just a regular prisoner. If anything were to happen to him, it would be the catalyst that would end up hurting the relations between Equestria and the Terra Colonies. He's vital."

"Yet nobody is treating him like he's important."

"With the thing's he's been charged with, Twilight, I can't imagine we'd be able to treat him like he's normal."

Twilight sighed, shaking her head. She desperately wanted to change subjects. All this would do was get her more angry, and cause an argument between her and her mentor. That wouldn't be good in the slightest. She looked back at her plate. "I have the forms for everyone who signed up for the simulation."

"Ah, yes." Celestia said, watching as Twilight's magic enveloped a mass of papers from her bag, floating them over in front of Celestia. Celestia then sifted through the papers, reading each at a speed unmatchable without training. She nodded with each passing paper. "I see that the crusaders have signed up as well."

"Yes, those three were actually the first ones to sign up. They kind of provided the support for the idea, which then caused most of the school to end up signing up for it too. They're quite popular in the school now. I'd assume that they would be the leaders inside the simulation."

"I would assume so." Celestia said, stacking the papers up and setting them off to the right. "I'll check through these and send them off to the science-center later today. They'll need to label the chambers with the names. It'll make it easier for processing."

"Well, that's all I really wanted to talk to you about."

"Well I'm glad you came to show me this. However, I must get to another meeting. You can stay and eat as much as you like. Perhaps visit the new garden? It's undergone some big changes, and I know that you'd be amazed by the new design. Plus, the new flowers give it just a touch more life." Celestia said with a smile, getting off the chair, and sliding it in with her magic.

"I'll go check that out soon, Celestia. Thank you."

"Anything for my pupil."

Celestia then turned around, and left the royal dining hall, leaving Twilight alone in the gigantic room. The silence that took the room hostage made Twilight's fur stand up on edge. Each tiny move she made was followed by a louder echo. She hated being alone in any royal room for that reason alone. With a sigh, she floated her bags onto her back, and made her way out the opposite entrance of the dining hall. The entrance that would lead to the garden.

Three knocks banged on the Crusader's door.

"Hey... Is-Is anyone in there?" A male voice called from the other side.

"Oh for the sake of- nobody let him in. I swear, I'll kill him." Sweetie Belle said with a groan, turning her back to the door. Her face was now in a scowl, her eyes staring at the floor with angry intent.

"Come on Sweetie, maybe you're jumping to conclusions-"

"I saw him kiss her!"

"Oh.." Scootaloo said, now laying her head on her bed. "I didn't know that much about the whole situation. But, maybe it'd be better if you two talked it out or something. You two were really great friends before all that. Maybe you could try to become friends again?"

"Yeah- it'd be like... a coming of age story. Not letting yourself get all beat up by yer' feelings." Applebloom said.

"Oh yeah? Your one to talk about feelings, Applebloom."

"Ouch... I deserved that." Applebloom said, hopping off the bed. "But- come on. I'll let him in and-"

"No!"

The door slowly opened, revealing a Pegasus on the other side. His color was a bluish grey, and his eye's were pure white. His mane was a streak of white and black, and he looked quite sad. "Hey, Applebloom."

"Hey, Grayson."

His mouth opened to ask a question, but Applebloom pointed to the floor, where Sweetie Belle laid, her back turned away from him. He nodded slowly, stepping inside, his hooves slightly shaking, most likely from being nervous. He shook his head, as if to tell himself to get over it. "Sweetie-"

With a flick of Sweetie Belle's magic, the door opened and he was thrown right out of it, a slam following right after. She didn't turn to look at what happened, and instead kept staring at the floor angrily. Applebloom stepped right in front of her, forcing Sweetie to look up at her. "Now what in the hay was that?!"

"I didn't want to hear him say my name again."

"Yeah? Well that was just rude. How are we going to be leaders and role-models if we're throwin' out every bad relationship we had out the buckin' door without thinking about it first? I understand what he did was wrong, but you've got to get over it. He signed on for the test too."

Sweetie Belle's eye's went into confusion. "What? He said he wouldn't!"

"Yeah, well he lied about kissin' another mare, don't you think he'd lie about that too?"

"I can't believe him!"

Scootaloo shook her head. "And now you wonder why I don't get involved in all that. I'd end up like that." She pointed to Sweetie Belle, who responded with an angry grunt, turning away from Scootaloo. This only caused Scootaloo to laugh a little. "Exactly my point."

"How about we go and get something to eat, huh? I'll pay." Applebloom said, trying to divert the situation into something more positive. Or, atleast, something that wasn't on the topic of cheating coltfriends. It seemed to work, because Scootaloo was already right by her side, and Sweetie Belle slowly stood up.

"Maybe... But- not that noodle place. I hate that place." Sweetie Belle said, opening the door with her magic.

Both Applebloom and Scootaloo knew that there was really only one reason she hated that place.

Grayson.

"Oh great. What are you doing here." Ian asked Shining as he entered the cell. "This isn't the day for your interrogation thing. Today was Celestia's."

"I know that."

"Then why are you here."

Shining slammed the steel door behind himself, eyeing the human in front of him. "People like you really don't get the luxury of asking things. Especially after what you did."

"What I did was nothing. I've been charged under general terms of bullshit."

"Oh really?" Shining said with a smirk. "So, letters found in your suitcase dictating the plot to merge the Terra Colonies into Equestria, forcing a takeover of the government isn't terrorism? Even your own planet has denounced your actions, calling you a treasonous terrorist."

Ian folded his arms, leaning back against the wall on his bed. "I've argued my point many times already. What's the point of saying anything more, if it's not going to better my situation. I feel like you're trying to rile me up. What, something piss you off today or something? Trying to take it out on the prisoner? What, is your wife fucking the next door neighbor?"

"Don't bring my wife into this."

"I assume she's innocent, isn't she. Well so am I, and I was brought into all this shit. God, I can't believe you're Twilight's brother. I guess your parents only had room for one loving child in the bunch, huh?"

Shining stomped his two front hooves onto the floor. "Don't bring my family into this, terrorist!"

"Then get the fuck out of my room!" Ian said, now pointing towards the steel door. The room fell silent a moment after, in which Ian folded his arms up again, leaning his back against the wall, staring at Shining with as much confidence as he could muster. Before all this, he wouldn't have dared to talk like this to the former captain of the royal guard.

Shining stared back at him, obvious anger showing on his face. He was tempted to just blast the prisoner right then and there, but he knew the consequences would be way too much. He wasn't going to be the reason for causing a war between his home and another planet. He wouldn't even be worthy of a tombstone at that point.

Shining shook his head, turning to the steel door. "I wonder how a freak like you managed to poison my sisters mind."

Ian shook his head. "I wonder how such a good person like your sister has a brother like you."

Shining left the room.