It was two days after the princesses took Ri, and I was still stuck in my room.

I glanced up from the book I was reading and looked at my surroundings. The palace guest room was better than a prison cell, but only in terms of visual aesthetics. The walls were painted cotton-white, broken up by a couple of wooden tables and dressers.The bed was soft and positioned in front of a large vanity mirror so I could see what a mess my hair was in the morning. There was even an attached bathroom with running water and all manner of haircare products. If I looked out the window, I had a wonderful view of the castle grounds and the city of Canterlot. But a prison is still a prison, no matter how pretty it looks.

Things could have been much worse, I mused. I could be sitting in a dank little oubliette right now.

With a heavy sigh, I closed the book and took a few shaking steps towards the window. The sun was a fair distance from the horizon, partially blocked by clouds. No magic ribbons were dancing in the sky. A part of me hoped they wouldn’t come back—that this would be the day I’d finally be going home. The rational part of my brain shot that down. Tonight the ribbons would be back, and they’d be even bigger and closer to the ground.

When the apocalypse comes, at least I’ll have a front-row seat, I mused. If Ri were still here, she might have said something about how being pessimistic will just make the situation worse. She’d probably tell me I needed to think with a positive attitude, or else the answer would stay hidden.

But she wasn’t here... because I gave her away.

My thoughts instantly shifted to Ri. I could see her right in front of me, yellow eyes filled with tears; her green body coiled up; her brown feathered wings wrapped around herself like a cocoon. I could hear her voice echoing inside my head. No! Tyler! Please don’t take me off! Don’t leave me alone again! PLEASE!

The ghosts of my fingers clenched into fist; phantom nails tried to draw blood from my hooves. She’d begged me to keep her with me as if her life depended on it and I’d ignored her. For all I know it might have. Ri told me she lingered in darkness when she wasn’t worn.

Darkness without sound, I remembered her saying. Without space. Without life. I see nothing. I feel nothing. I am nothing.

“I did what I had to do,” I said out loud. I had to show the princesses I was sincere. If I’d resisted or fought back, who knows what trouble I’d have gotten us both into. The outcomes would have been the same; Ri would have still been taken, and I would have found myself in a worse prison... but still I thought about her.

“She trusted me,” I whispered, in that stupid feminine voice of mine. “She trusted me like she’s never trusted anyone... and I let her go.”

You’re the first person to talk to me.

I might have broken down crying right then and there (lord knows I wanted to), but a sharp knocking from the door forced my attention away from that memory. “Aurora,” called a older, female voice. “I’m here with your lunch.”

“One moment,” I called, taking a moment to breathe and clear my eyes before turning to look at the door. “Alright, you can come in.”

There was some fiddling with the doorknob before the door opened wide enough for a pale orange mare with kind green eyes to slip through. Balanced atop her deep-blue mane was a rounded silver tray.

“Good Morning, Quill. What have you got for me today?” I asked, eyeing the tray in playful curiosity, and hoping my real emotions weren’t showing through.

“I had the chefs mix you up a nice hay-casserole,” she said with a smile. “I think they might have tossed a few black beans and rice in there as well.”

“Sounds amazing.”

“For the trouble I went through to get it for you, it better be,” Cotton Quill looked down at the breakfast tray sitting on the nightstand, then cast me a frown. “You didn’t eat your peas.”

“Nope,” I said matter-of-factly. For as long as I could remember I loathed the taste of peas, and not even the enhanced taste buds of a pony had been able to change my mind.

Cotton Quill’s retort was a flat stare. “You know, somepony in your predicament should be more grateful about the food I bring you.”

“I’m grateful,” I said, bringing a hoof to my chest. “Have I not said a ‘good morning’ and a ‘thank you’ every time you have come?”

“Not when we first met.”

“That was a bad time,” I countered. Cotton Quill had been the servant Celestia sent to bring me breakfast two days ago. Given that I had just been placed under house arrest and lost an alien-snake I was still debating to call my friend, Quill’s first impressions of me had been limited to a few grunts and stiff nods.

“I’d had the second worst morning of my life,” I continued, “Don’t you think that entitles me to a few slip-ups in courtesy?”

“No,” Quill replied. “Besides, it’s not all that bad,” With a turn of her head and a quick flick of her nose she switched the lunch tray with the one from breakfast. “I’ve heard horror-stories from some of the older maids about what the princess would do to ponies who truly upset her. You are nowhere near that league.”

“Since I haven’t met one of those ponies, nor do I plan to, I’ll have to take your word for it,” I replied, though my thoughts again turned to me sitting in a dark, rat infested oubliette.

“I’ll be back for dinner,” Quill said. She turned towards the door, but stopped on her heels. “Oh, I nearly forgot,” She muttered before turning back to me. “Princess Celestia said that she’d be stopping by later today.”

Finally decided to grace me with her presence, has she? I thought. To Quill I asked, “What does later today mean?”

“It means whenever she has the time,” she replied.

I realized this was the most I was going to get out of her, so I nodded a thank you. She gave a friendly smile before slipping out the door and closing it behind her. Once she was gone, I sighed and flung myself onto the bed.

In the two days I’d been sitting in this room, the only visitor I’d had were Cotton Quill and the bat-winged guard Luna had named Shadow Sight. Neither of them had said anything about the princesses coming to visit. Or at least Quill hadn’t; Shadow Sight just stood outside the door and rarely spoke more than a few words to me at a time, which was fine for me. He was too much of a stone-faced grump for me to interact with anyways.

Even Twilight Sparkle seemed to have lost interest in me. Celestia and Luna I could give leeway to ignoring me; the books I’d read in the archives had described them as being the true monarchs of this kingdom, so they probably had bigger problems than a body swapped human. But Twilight was an intellectual—a scientist—yet she wasn’t coming to question me.

It made sense, I thought. Now that Twilight had Ri to work with, she didn’t need to talk with me anymore. I was just some tag along. A bug stuck to the windshield of a zooming car. Why settle for a bucket of water when you can tap the well?

Still, by the end of the first day I had grown curious to their disappearances. I brought the matter to Cotton Quill when she had served me dinner.

“The princesses are busy planning a press conference,” Quill had told me. “There are a lot of ponies looking for answers about those strange lights.”

That makes sense, I remember thinking. If ponies were anything like Earth horses, they’d be quick to panic. But that made me wonder why the princesses had waited as long as they had to inform the public. Was it because of my arrival? Was there something else going on that I wasn’t aware of?

I wasn’t able to get anymore answers out of Quill. After all, I was just a guest of the princesses (what a pretty word for hostage). Guests were never privy to the schedules of their hosts. So I was left alone in my white walled room, waiting.

Throughout the first day I practiced my walking skills. The floor and I became friends on a very personal level, but it was worth it to get a sense of balance. We had such intimate interactions that Shadow Sight opened the door at one point. “What are you doing?”

“What does it look like?” I’d retorted while picking myself up. “I’m taking full advantage of the attempted suicide loophole.” He scowled at me and closed the door.

The rest of my time had been spent doing small oddities to amuse myself. I taught myself how to control my ears and tail, which hadn’t been as difficult as I thought. The tail muscles were much like those found in my fingers, allowing me to flick it like I would my old appendages. The ears were a little harder. At first I tried the finger technique again, but I barely made a twitch or a pivot. It took me until sundown to get a voluntary movement from my left ear. By that time I was more than ready for bed.

My first night without Ri had been plagued by nightmares. I dreamt I was human again, standing on a grand stage. There were between fifty and sixty rows of seats. Each one had a faceless person sitting in them, all facing me and waiting. One of them yelled “Sing,” and that got the rest of the crowd to chanting. Soon the entire theater was a mass of sound waves bouncing off walls and floors and ceilings without any way of escape. Each bounce seemed to make the noises louder and louder, until it forced me onto my knees, tears streaming down my face and hands clasped around my ears. The crowd didn’t care. They stomped their feet, clapped their hands, and chanted on. “Sing! Sing! Sing!”

When I finally managed to lift my head, I saw Ri sitting in the first row of seats. She was glaring at me, yellow eyes blazing like miniature suns. “Sing.” She’d commanded.

That was when I’d woken up to my second day without her, and the day of the princess’ press conference. I hadn’t even fully processed the dream when the wind carried the sounds of crowd murmur into my room. Looking out my window, I had been able to observe the entire affair without much hassle.

Both Celestia and Luna had been walking along the grounds, tailed by over twenty ponies with cameras around their necks and pads of paper tucked behind their ears. It was twilight, just before sunrise, and the magic lights were still dancing across the sky.

“They look bigger than yesterday,” I said. On the previous day the lights were as thin as ribbons, but on the day of the conference they looked like a mass of brightly coloured pythons fighting to see who would devour the others first.

Maybe they aren't bigger, I remembered thinking. Maybe they’re falling from the sky.

“We are doing everything we can to understand the situation,” I remembered Princess Celestia saying. “At the moment the lights seem to be harmless, but all Pegasi are advised to fly at least thirty feet from them as a precaution.”

The gathered crowd was talking the moment the princesses stopped. I heard a large menagerie of questions tossed about: What metal was used to build the archway? Who built it? How did the princesses plan to resolve this? Celestia gave pretty responses, but to me they all sounded like “I don’t know.”

Except for one question concerning something called the Summer Sun Celebration. It sounded like the name for a festival, since the pony’s question was if it would be canceled.

“As of this moment, no, we are not cancelling the celebration,” was Celestia’s reply. “However, we will be suspending all aerial activities above 600 meters. If the situation continues to progress as it is, we may have to call off the celebration in the case of national security.”

That last bit caught my attention, and got me thinking about what the princesses considered primary threats in a land where magic exists. When Cotton Quilt came with my breakfast, I asked her if I could request some books be brought to me. She came back at lunchtime with a bowl of greens, diced carrots, apple wedges, onions, and two books labeled A Visitor’s Guide to Equestria and Ponies: Biology, Physiology, and Psychology, the latter of which I had been reading when Quill came with my breakfast today.

I contemplated looking back into the book while waiting for Celestia. From the brief passages I’d been able to read, I was able to get a good sense of an Equestrian pony’s biology in comparison to a pony’s from Earth. There were the obvious differences, such as Equestrians being half the size of an average Earth pony (that is a pony residing on Earth and not the Earth Pony variant in Equestria), and the presence of wings and horns on the Unicorn, Pegasus, and Alicorn variants. But other differences, according to the book, were magical in nature.

I had just begun to read that section when Quill interrupted me for lunch. I contemplated going back to it, but knowing the princess was coming to see me left my thirst for alien knowledge sated for the time.

I might as well make myself look decent, I decided. Appearances mattered, especially when conducting diplomacy. Not that it did me any good last time, but a new day means a new dawn.

With that mentality I shakingly walked to the conjoined bathroom and fetched my hairbrush. A couple minutes of brushing had my stupid pink mane looking marginally better than a bed-head look while still coming across as casual and collective. If I had some brown dye and natural curls, it might’ve passed for my old hair if I let it grow out. After that I decided I’d let my casserole grow cold enough, so I made its consumption my second item on the pre-Celestia visit list.

Eating hay had been a strange experience to say the least. My human upbringings had drilled the idea of consuming hay as wrong, and for good reason. The stuff is dry and tasteless. But with the tastebuds of a pony, the flavor of hay was bumped up to acceptable. Not great, but not so horrid I had to retch it up. It was a lot like eating dry cereal, and the black beans and rice acted like fruit and milk to offset the blandness. Though maybe that was just a side effect of having a chef for a father.

I wonder how he would improve things. I pondered. John Rannon was described as the kind of man who could win over anyone through his cooking, and from what I’d seen, that was spot on. He had a way of catering to everyone’s taste buds if they took the time to tell him what they liked and disliked.

Thinking about my father’s cooking caused my mouth to water between bites. After four days without even the smell of meat, I felt tempted to shave my hair and tail for some of my father’s smoked pulled pork or maple glazed salmon... or even just to see him again.

Once I was done with breakfast, I sat on the bed and sprawled out on my back. Since I didn’t know when Celestia would be gracing me with her visit, I let my mind wander where it wanted. The topic for today seemed to be how ponies cook food without hands. Did they hold the pans and spatulas in their mouths or use their hooves? In-between thoughts, I hummed Owl City songs.

It was close to half an hour later when the princess knocked on my door, asking for invitation.

The sounds of her hooves on the wood of the door caused my blood to boil. Why bother knocking? I thought, snorting out my nose. I’m your prisoner; are you going to taunt me now by disillusioning me into thinking I have more freedoms?

“Come in,” I said, swallowing those thoughts. Now was not the time to let anger dictate actions.

The door opened for the second time today and Princess Celestia entered. I’d be lying if she didn’t make for an impressive specimen. With her snow-white body that easily dwarfed mine, her long horn, large wings, and ever-flowing mane, she certainly fit the rank of a ruler.

“Good morning, Tyler,” Celestia said, “How are you fairing?”

“I could be better,” I replied, overlooking the bitterness in my tone until it was too late. Damn it Tyler. Bite your tongue for ten minutes.

The princess looked at me, and I met her gaze with my own. I couldn’t see anything evil or negative in her lilac eyes, but there wasn’t anything overtly positive either. Of course, she could have been hiding her true intentions. Someone in her position would need to be able to mask their emotions.

Or maybe I’m not as good at reading people as I like to think.

“I understand your anger with me,” Celestia spoke softly.

“Do you now?” I asked.

“More than I think you suspect.”

Careful, Tyler, I told myself. Don’t say something that will damn you further.

“Then what has kept you away, Princess?” I asked after a moment’s thought.

“My responsibilities,” she replied. “My subjects are very quick to panic, and even quicker to assume the worst of a situation. It has taken much reassurance from myself, Luna, and Twilight Sparkle to convince them that we are controlling the situation.”

“But are you really?”

Her eyes looked tired when she replied. “I don’t know. My guards have set up the proper defences and magic counters around the city... but this is Pure Magic we are talking about. Unbound magic that is wilder than the wildest magical forces imaginable. Nothing about it can be certain... nor can the consequences of its actions,” She paused, taking in a breath. “But I have absolute faith in Twilight to solve this mystery before such dangers come to pass.

“In any case,” Celestia continued. “That’s not why I’m here.”

“No it’s not,” I agreed. “You are here to make sure I’m following your rules.”

Celestia’s eyebrows furrowed. I confused it as anger at first, but realized it was actually weariness. “I understand your frustration Tyler, but please wait and hear me out before passing any final judgements.”

“What is there for me to hear out? You think I’m a threat. You think Ri is a threat. And there isn’t anything I could say to change your mind.”

“No, Tyler. I do not think you are a threat.”

I knew it was stupid and damning, but I couldn’t hold back a dry laugh. “Then why am I stuck in this room like a criminal?”

“Because you withheld information from myself, my sister and co ruler, and my student,” Celestia’s tone was no longer weary. It was serious, and the look on her face matched it perfectly. “I believe you when you say you aren’t here to harm my subjects, and from what Twilight Sparkle has told me about Ri-Bov-Dis, she is innocent of malicious intent as well. But you still lied to us about your origins. You showed me that I couldn’t trust you. Now tell me, if our positions were reversed, would you give your trust back to a stranger so willingly?”

“No,” I replied, beating myself up internally. Stupid. I should have known lying about who I was would come back and bite me.

“Trust is something that has to be earned back, not given freely,” Celestia continued. “Which again brings us to why I have come to see you today.”

“I’m clearly bad at this guessing game, so you might as well tell me.”

“I came to extend to you the chance to regain my trust. Luna and I have talked it over, and we have agreed to give you back free-roam of the castle grounds.”

I looked at the princess, eyeing her curiously. “What made you suddenly come to that conclusion?”

Celestia raised an eyebrow. “Do you object to it?”

“No, I’m just naturally curious about these things. It’s only been two days since you confined me to this room, so why let me out again?”

Celestia smiled; it wasn’t the smile a monarch uses when speaking to a subject, but instead the kind shared between two friends. “I already told you, no one here thinks of you as a threat or criminal.”

I felt a damning retort forming in my mind. Quickly I stamped down on it; the last thing I needed was to give the princess another reason to incriminate me. Besides, there were more important questions to inquire about. “What about Ri? You said yourself that she isn’t a threat, so is she allowed to go as well?”

Celestia nodded. “She will be returned to you. I was actually wondering if you might be able to convince her to share some of her knowledge with you. Twilight hasn’t been able to find a way to communicate with her, and any information on this archway she could share would be of great importance.”

“So you can fix this entire ordeal, right?” I asked.

“Of course,” Celestia replied, raising an eyebrow as if surprised by my question.

“I’m just making sure,” I said. “I can try to talk to her, but don’t expect anything. Ri told me she knows nothing about how the machine works.”

Celestia’s lilac eyes turned away from me. She looked at nothing for a long time, becoming lost in thought as only someone who has spent a great deal of time thinking can. It only lasted a moment before she looked at me again. “If that is indeed the case, then so be it.”

The inquirous part of me raised an eyebrow. “You’d let the issue drop, just like that?”

“What is the point to press for information that isn’t there? I have the lives of thousands of ponies to think of and protect. Time and resources cannot be wasted.”

“So the two of us are just resources for you to work with?” I asked.

A hint of annoyance flashed in Celestia’s eyes. “Not in the slightest. I want to help you get home Tyler, even if you think otherwise. I want to help Ri as well, if there is a way to free her consciousness from the necklace. But right now there is a more pressing issue at hoof. Once we have resolved it, I give you my word that I will devote all my resources to getting you home.”

“As you say, your majesty,” I replied. “When can I get Ri back?”

“I will talk to Twilight Sparkle and have her bring Ri to you.”

I nodded. “Thank you. I’ll wait here for her.”

“Very well then,” Celestia gave a polite bow of her head. “I’ll be sure to speak with you again soon.”

The princess left the room as gracefully as she entered, and I turned back to the window. By now clouds had drifted away, and there weren’t any pegasi flying at this time. In that moment, it was like I was looking at the sky from Earth.

I can’t imagine what it looks like to Ri, thought grimly. What would it be like to see the same sky you grew up under in another time and place?

I pushed those thoughts aside. Ri might be coming back to me, and I wanted her to see the sky. If I was trapped in some dark prison, I know the sight of a blue sky would be the most beautiful thing in the world. Maybe after seeing it, she’ll forgive me for letting her go.

An hour must have passed before Twilight Sparkle arrived. She came into my room wearing only her blue saddlebags with pink six-pointed star clasps. The absence of her crown created a noticeable change in Twilight’s appearance. She looked less like a figure of authority and more like an everyday citizen. I guess growing into a crown is never easy for those not born into it.

“Princess Celestia told me she spoke with you earlier,” Twilight said. Unlike Celestia, her movements had a lot of uncertainties hidden in them. Is she nervous to see me? I wondered.

“How are you feeling?” Twilight asked.

“I’m as well as I can, given my current circumstances,” I replied.

“I’m sorry I couldn’t come and see you sooner,” Twilight added.

“It’s not your fault. If I was given a goldmine of information to work with, I’d probably neglect the copper as well.”

Twilight’s expression shifted like she had been hurt. “It’s not like that at all. Yes, Ri has a lot of knowledge she could share with us, but that doesn’t mean everypony has stopped thinking about you.”

“Who said anything about everyone forgetting about me? I’m fairly sure I’ve gotten to the point where the maid won’t ever be able to forget about me, though I might need another three days to make a lasting impression on Mr. Tall, Dark, and Silent outside the door.”

Twilight smiled. “That’s precisely why I didn’t visit you.”

“So I could make an impression on the castle staff?”

“No, not that. I was referring to your tone. After what happened, I figured it would be best to give you some time alone to calm down. I know that stress isn’t something you have an easy time handling.”

“That’s a mild way of putting it,” I said, frowning. I know I can be a handful when under pressure, but am I really that bad? “Where is Ri?”

“I have her here,” Twilight’s horn lit up with magic. She opened the clasp of her saddlebag and levitated Ri’s silver necklace into view. Instantly my eyes darted across the metal surface, looking for imperfection or damages. I couldn’t see any.

“Please pass her over,” I extended a hoof towards the princess. “I’m still getting used to walking on all fours.”

“I know what you mean,” Twilight moved Ri’s necklace towards my hoof and set it down. “Walking on two legs was awkward for me as well.”

“How did you get to my world anyways?” I asked, my eyes currently fixed on Ri’s necklace, turning it in my hoof. How the hell am I going to put this on?

“In the Crystal Empire there is a magic mirror that acts as a gateway between Equestria and your world. It transported me to a place called Canterlot High, and I turned into a human during the process.”

“And I’m going to guess that I can’t use this mirror myself?” I asked, looking at Twilight.

She shook her head. “I wish you could, but the portal only opens once every thirty moons.”

“You have thirty moons? Lucky. On Earth we only have one.”

Twilight shook her head. “No, not a celestial moon. In Equestria we use moon as a measurement of time over long periods.”

That is going to be fun to learn, I mused to myself. “And I’m going to assume that not even one has passed since you used it?” Twilight nodded, to which I shrugged my shoulders. “Of course it hasn’t. Though maybe that’s for the best; I don’t know a place called Canterlot High, so for all I know I’d be ending up in another country with no way to get home.”

“You don’t know if things will be that bad.”

“I’m just going by my past records.”

“I see,” Twilight turned to make for the door. “You probably want some time to talk with Ri, so I’ll just—”

“Wait,” I looked back at her. “Before you go, could you please help me with putting the necklace on?”

“Of course I can.” Twilight’s horn lit with magic once again. She lifted Ri off of my hoof and slid the clasps of the necklace around my neck. There was a small click as the two parts locked together and her magic faded from the necklace.

“Thanks.”

“It’s no trouble. Just keep practicing and you’ll be able to use your hooves like you could your hands.”

“Only without the benefits of opposable thumbs,” I turned to look at the window. “Can you please give us some privacy now?”

“Of course. I’ll see you later, Tyler.”

I heard the door close behind me, but I waited until the sound of Twilight's hoofsteps faded down the hallway. Ri, are you there?

No voice answered me. I waited for half a minute before calling again. Ri, are you there? It’s Tyler.

“... Tyler? Is it really you?” Her timid voice finally answered.

“Yes,” I said aloud, smiling wide. “Yes, it’s me Ri. You’re back with me.”

“Tyler... where were you?”

“I’m right here Ri. Everything is OK.”

“Where were you?” Ri’s voice was as sharp as a knife and filled with pain. “Why didn’t you stop them? Why did you give me up?!”

My mouth went dry and I fumbled to speak. “It wasn’t like that. I had to do what they asked or things were just going to get worse.”

“Things did get worse! Don’t you pretend to know how deep the thresholds of suffering can go. You know nothing about what I went through thanks to your decisions!”

I tried to speak—to say something in defence of what was done—but there wasn’t anything to say. She was right about everything.

“Ri,” I whispered, feeling new tears creep into my eyes. “I’m sorry.”

“To hell with your apologies! Words are just leaves blowing along on the wind. It’s your actions that get set in stone, and you’ve chiseled yours into the mountainside for all to see!”

I stood there, my skin beginning to itch like a million ants were burrowing under it; my ears twitching madly; my lips struggling to form words to no avail. How could I hope to respond to that? She’d called me out. There wasn’t anything more to say.

Ri seemed to think the same thing. She was deathly silent after chastising me. Once again my mind was my own and no one else’s... and it made me feel more alone than I ever had before.

Author's Note

In case you were wondering, Tyler was humming Alligator Sky