>Ugh...
>The ground is hard.
>Made of wood.
>Floor?
>Open eyes a little.
>More purple.
>”Ah think he's waking up, Twi!”
>So much for plan 'fake sleep'.
>Guess you'll have to wake up in a hurry.
>You are still wearing your robe.
>Your head hurts, but not as much as you expe-
>Actually, you had no reference points for the residual pain caused by being knocked out by unicorn magic. It's not that bad, though.
>The floor is made of wood.
>The floor also has the decency to be the color it's supposed to be.
>Unlike everything else in the room. Why is-
>Oh.
>You are encased in some sort of glowing purple bubble. Probably a magical force field or electric fence-equivalent. Not even high enough to allow you to stand or wide enough to allow you to lie down comfortably.
>You don't know if it continues through the floor, but you wouldn't be able to break through wood anyway.
>The pony who shouted about you being awake has walked over to the stairway. She glances back at you every few seconds.
>When she's not looking, you sit up, grab a small twig that got snagged in your toga and flick it at the purple barrier.
>Bounced right off. No electricity or fire or disintegration or alarm bells.
>Probably a semi-transparent, solid barrier.
>Touching the barrier confirms your suspicions. It felt solid, but also vaguely... electrical, in a way. Like there was power flowing through it.
>Which there was, obviously. Magic and whatnot.
>Does it allow air to pass through?
>Your concerned thoughts are interrupted as you hear several sets of hooves coming down the stairs.
>”Don't worry girls, that spell could hold a rampaging manticore.”
>Twilight walks up to the bubble, with three of her friends following close behind.
>One remains by the foot of the stairs, nervously shifting and glancing towards the door at the top.
>It's hard to tell with all the damn purple, but it looks like Rarity.
>If you squint, you can almost make out their real colors.
>One is some shade of yellow or orange. Wears a hat.
>One is pink or red, with a poofy... mane? Yeah, you think they're called manes.
>You're not sure what color the flying ones fur is, but her mane seems to be a mess of colors.
>You can't quite tell with Twilight. Maybe she's actually purple?
>Oh, and they all look angry.
>Except the red, poofy one. She looks like she's been crying.
>Twilight is reading from a piece of paper she is levitating in front of herself.
>”Question 1: What species are you?”
“Pardon?”
>”Species. What kind of creature are you. Pony, dragon, griffon and so on.
“Yeah, no, I know what a species is. I just don't like being knocked out, kidnapped and interrogated.”
>”You should have thought of that before you attacked Fluttershy, you freak!” shouts the flying one.
>Process of elimination.
>Probably Fluttershy's friend. Pegasus. Referred to as 'Dash' in the forest.
>Rainbow Dash.
>Wait.
>Attacked?
“Somebody attacked Fluttershy?”
>You sounded a little more surprised and concerned than you meant to, but, dammit, you |were| surprised and concerned.
>They all look at you with what you think is a mix of suspicion and concern.
>Except the one by the stairs. She looks angry.
>She takes a few shaky steps towards you.
>”How- How dare you pretend not to know! I open her door and there- there's blood everywhere and then I hear something and I open the door and there's this huge... thing staring at me and then it runs off to the” She pauses to breathe. “forest and I go get Twilight and we find her and YOU, you did that to her and you have the |nerve| to act like you don't even...” Her voice trails off. You can't quite tell if she's going to burst into tears or keep shouting.
>You are starting to feel that familiar panic-tinged fear welling up inside you. Fluttershy's been hurt. Fluttershy might be dead. You had nothing to do with it, but that doesn't matter. She took care of you and helped you and now she might be dead.
“How is she?”
>You speak quickly, almost making the question sound like an order.
>Twilight narrows her eyes and meets yours, a look of suspicion still on her face.
>”She-”
>Rainbow Dash moves closer to the bubble. “She's resting at the hospital where |you| can't get to her. So don't even |think| about it!”
“So she's alive?”
>”The injuries were manageable. She's unconscious, but the doctor said that if everything goes well, she is probably going to wake up within a few weeks.”, Twilight adds as she pulls Dash away from your prison.
>You feel the panic fade away.
>Alive.
>Unconscious, but alive.
>Now you can get back to worrying about your own problems.
>You try to glance at Rarity without her noticing, but you can't quite make out her expression. Not wanting to risk making eye contact, you give up.
So what's the justice system like in this country, anyway? Is it really legal to lock people up in your basement without a trial because you think they |might| have done something bad?
>No windows, y'see.
>Wait, fuck. You wanted to assert your conversational dominance and get the discussion moving again, but you forgot about the somewhat unstable witness by the stairs. The matter of your guilt seems to be a sore spot for her (for obvious reasons), and you being this flippant about it and basically suggesting that they should just let you go is likely to provoke another teary-eyed rant.
>”Actually, as the wielders of the Elements of Harmony, we are technically members of the Royal Guard. That means that we have the authority to imprison anypony we deem a 'significant threat to the safety of innocent civilians' for up to forty-eight hours as long as we inform a Princess or a Captain of the Guard of our actions. I submitted my report to the Princess an hour after you were captured. That was two hours ago, meaning we can keep you imprisoned for another forty-five hours, if we see fit to do so.”
>Goddamnit Twilight.
“Well, as I am not well versed in Equestrian law, I suppose I'll just have to take your word for it.”
>”Good. Now, returning to my questions...”
Human. Homo sapiens. Homo sapiens |sapiens|, if you want to be specific. Yes, we actually put that in the name twice.
>She is writing something on a second piece of paper using a... feather?
>A quill? Really?
>”Question 2: What are you doing here. Here referring to wherever you do not normally dwell, for example, this town, country or contin-”
“Yeah, I get it.”
“I don't really know what I'm doing here. I don't even really know where 'here' is. I was at home, taking a shower, then I-”
>How do you make this sound non-ridiculous?
“I don't know what happened. The worst pain I ever felt, then falling, then more pain, then I woke up in a bed having my wounds cleaned by some sort of flying yellow pony creature.”
>The others snap to attention at the mention of Fluttershy.
“I had never seen anything like her before, and she later said she had never seen a member of my species before either.”
“Anyway, I spent the first few days pretending to still be unconscious, trying to figure out what was going on. I eventually came to the conclusion that she wasn't a threat, so I let her know that I was awake.”
“We spent about an hour talking. She answered questions about Equestria, and I answered a few about my-”
>You were going to say 'world' or 'planet', but decided against it. One step at a time.
“home. Then she said that her friend Twilight would want to meet me, and I said that that would be okay. So she left, and I sat in bed thinking about all the stuff she had told me.”
About thirty minutes later, the door opened and I thought I was about to meet this 'Twilight Sparkle' pony.
“Instead, it was somebody visiting Fluttershy.”
>They flinch when you mention her by name.
“I was just going to stay quiet and wait until she left, in order to prevent her from running off and starting a panic or something, but then she started screaming and I... fell out of my bed. Made enough noise that she heard me.”
“At first, I was just going to explain who I was and what I was doing in her friend's house, but then I realized that based on the way she was acting, something might have actually happened to Fluttershy. She sounded furious.”
>The four of them glance in Rarity's direction. You do not.
“I knew that I could probably defend myself against a pegasus or earth pony if I had to, based on size difference alone, but a magic user?”
>Rainbow Dash looks upset, but doesn't say anything.
“She believed that something had happened to her friend, I was twice her size and of a species she had never seen before, and I was hiding out in said friends house. For all I knew, she would panic and incinerate me the second she saw me.”
“Add to that the fact that I was somewhat out of it because of dehydration and a lack of food...”
“I decided to run. I had just gotten the window open when she came through the door, and I managed to jump through it just as she hit me with a spell. I ran for the forest, found some food and water, set up camp, started considering my options, and then you showed up.”
>They quickly change from looks of curiosity to ones of suspicion as soon as they realize that your story is over.
>”So you're saying that you had nothing to do with what happened to Fluttershy.”
>Twilight looks more concerned than upset.
“That is exactly what I'm saying. The inevitable conclusion being that whoever attacked her is still out there.”
>The looks on the faces of the others change to match Twilight's.
>Not for long, though.
>”Oh, come on, Twilight! He's full of it.”
>”Ah don't trust him either, Twi.”
>”He... seems nice”, says the red, poofy one. She still has a sad look on her face.
>”Rarity, what do you think?”
>You allow yourself to glance at Rarity, trying your best not to face her completely or make eye contact.
>She look... conflicted. Like she still hates you, but can't completely justify it anymore.
>”I... think we should be careful. Keep it in there until Celestia arrives.”
>”I suppose that would be the sensible thing to do. Look, girls, we're all tired, and I told you that she won't be back until tomorrow afternoon. I would prefer if all of us were fresh and rested by then.”
>”Yer just going to leave it here without a guard?”
>”The barrier is a fifth circle Lunar register Warding Sphere.”
>Rarity looks impressed, but the other three don't seem too reassured.
>”It means that he would have to be stronger than a chimera to break it using physical force. The bubble disrupts all mana shaping, meaning he can't use magic to break free either.”
>That seems to have done the trick.
>”Well, alright then. But if I see you outside that thing, I'm smashing your ugly head in!”
Duly noted, Rainbow Dash. I'll make sure not to let you see me if I decide to escape.
>You used her full name to see if you could startle her, but realize that she already knew that Fluttershy had shared it with you.
>Oh, hey. Rainbow Dash. Her mane is probably a rainbow.
>Damn, you're smart. Your head is practically abuzz with smartness. Or is-
>”Yeah, darn straight. You- |hey|!”
>You think you see some of them looking away from her and suppressing smiles, but the barrier has started to flicker, so it's hard to tell.
>”Let's get some sleep, everyone.”
>The others start to shuffle up the stairs at Twilight's insistence.
“So what, I don't even get a mattress?”
>She turns around while the others leave through the door at the top.
>”Afraid not. That barrier took a lot of power to create, and I can't afford to recast it just to make you more comfortable. Not that I necessarily trust you enough that I'd be willing to do it even if it was easy.”
“Does this thing even let fresh air through? I sort of need air. To live.”
>She looks uncomfortable. Oh, hey, the flickering must have stopped. When did that happen? You didn't even notice.
>“That's not going to be a problem.”
“And bathroom visits?”
>”Wh- what?”
“The elimination of biological waste.”
>”I'm sorry, but I can't lower the spell.”
“And this is legal?”
>”I'm sorry. Just try to get some sleep.”
 
 
>This is bullshit.
>It's been a few hours and you don't feel tired at all.
>Must be all that passing out you're always doing.
>Your bladder hasn't quite reached 'happening' levels yet, but if she is going to keep you in here until tomorrow afternoon...
>The barrier hasn't flickered again.
>You wonder what caused that.
>Wait... didn't you do something right before it started?
>You were stretching your legs, with your back against the shield.
>Was it your weight?
>You lean against the bubble.
>No.
>Force?
>You lean back and tackle the bubble.
>No flickering.
>What if you put pressure on opposite sides at the same time?
>You brace yourself against one side and push at the other with your feet.
>Nothing.
>Okay, this takes your mind off your situation. It's stupid, but better than nothing.
>What if you try to replicate everything you were doing when it flickered last time?
>You place your back against the barrier again, trying to find the exact location it was resting on when the barrier acted strangely.
>Once you feel confident that you are as close as you are going to get, you do the same with your feet. They touch the barrier on the other side, and you try to get even the toe positions right.
>Nothing.
>Except...
>That strange buzzing in your head was back.
>You thought it was just hunger or lack of sleep or stress or one of a million other mundane things last time it happened.
>Then the barrier starts flickering again.
>You have no idea what that means, but you still feel damn proud for making it happen.
>You stay in the same position for a few minutes, but nothing changes. Both the buzzing and the flickering remain constant.
>You remove your left foot from the barrier, and they both stop.
>You put it back in the same place, and the buzzing starts again. About ten seconds later, the flickering does as well.
>You remove and return your back, same thing.
>Once the flickering starts, you try removing your right foot.
>That's odd.
>The buzzing and flickering are still present.
>Apparently, your right foot isn't needed.
>You spend another few minutes moving individual toes on your left foot until you discover that only one of them seems necessary.
>Then you try moving the rest of your foot while keeping the toe in place.
>Everything stops.
>You experiment for a while, and discover that your second-smallest toe (whatever it's called) and a part on the upper left of your foot need to be in contact with the barrier while your bare back is touching the other side in order for the buzzing and flickering to happen.
>You try switching to your other foot, careful not to move your back.
>After Twister-ing your right foot into place so that some part of it is touching the same places that your left foot did, you feel the buzzing start up again.
>You move on to your back, eventually finding two spots that seem to be needed while your foot is touching the other two.
>You slide down until your back is on the floor, touching one side of the bubble with your foot and trying to find the right spots on the other side with your hands instead.
>You succeed in less than a minute, bringing forth that same buzzing and, eventually, flickering.
>It seems like as long as you are touching those four locations at the same time with your bare skin, your head will buzz and the bubble will flicker.
>The wages of boredom.
>Still, you're wide awake, and this is better than sitting around doing nothing.
>You wonder if there are more such spots.
>Taking your finger off one of the locations, you start to slowly trace your other hand across the bubble.
>A few minutes later, you find another spot that, when combined with the other three, produces the same effect.
>What if you tried touching all five at the same time?
>You scoot your back around a bit to improve your posture, and return a finger to location four.
>A slightly stronger buzzing followed a few seconds later by noticeably stronger flickering.
>Dare you go for six?
>You do.
>And you do.
>And if six, why not seven?
>After searching about 80% of the interior of the force bubble, you find location number eight.
>The buzzing is almost painful, and the bubble is a flashing mess of different shades of purple.
>After finding location nine, you are fairly sure you could become the world champion of Twister.
>Testing nine...
>The barrier almost looks like it's about to break apart. You even notice places where, for a split second, it seems to disappear.
>The buzzing at nine has reached headache levels, but you can't stop now. No pain, no unspecified, potentially fatal 'gain'.
>Besides, the pain goes away as soon as you let go.
>You only scale the 'spots touched while searching' value back to seven now. Too excited.
>Once you find spot number ten, you start to worry. What if one of the spots disappears once you are touching ten? Would your finger or toe or elbow go through, and then be sliced off when that part of the bubble reappears?
>This is magic. You are actually fucking around with magic. This is too cool to ruin with petty concerns about not wanting to accidentally maim yourself.
>Ten it is.
>The pain is intense, but manageable.
>The flickering...
>Wow.
 
>The barrier isn't flickering at all. It has taken on a faint purple color, streaks of deep purple connecting the small purple discs that you've been calling 'locations' or 'spots'. Some of the connections are just thick, straight lines, while others look more like blood vessels or bundles of nerve fibres.
>There is a sort of haunting beauty to it. Your wandering eyes eventually stop at a disc that you had yet to find. Looking around, you can't see any more of them, so it's probably the last one.
>Doing a quick check of free body parts, you come to the conclusion that of you move your right knee to location six to free your right elbow, you should be able to touch it.
>You brace yourself and...
>The pain is bad. Really bad.
>Not agonizing, but definitely head-splitting migraine bad.
>You force yourself to hold it for another few seconds.
>You have to know what the bubble will look like.
>And then it just... goes away.
>There is still a faint purple glow in the air, but the bubble is gone. Not being ready for it, you stumble forward and fall through the former perimeter of your prison.
>As soon as the headache clears, your eyes go wide and you pull yourself back inside the faint, purple dome.
>What if it suddenly reappeared?
>You didn't feel like being bisected.
>After weighing the matter for a few minutes, you decide to stay put for a while and wait.
>About ten minutes later, you hear a low hum, feel some static in the air, and suddenly, the barrier returns.
>At least you managed to keep all your limbs inside while you waited.
>Taking a deep breath (hey, it worked!), you decide to try again.
>More Twister, more pain, more sudden freedom.
>You stay inside just like last time, and try your best to keep time.
>Ten minutes and twenty seconds.
>You try again, and count again.
>Eleven minutes, two seconds.
>You were probably off by at least a minute both times, but it seems like the temporary shutdown lasts ten minutes or so.
>You have no idea why the spell is acting this way, but it does present you with an interesting opportunity.
>They did imprison you here, after all...
>On one hand, their friend is missing and they found puddles of blood and a giant monster at the scene of her disappearance. You would have done the exact same thing in their situation.
>On the other hand, fuck those jerks for locking you up.
>You ponder the issue for a few minutes, and eventually make up your mind.
>You are going to escape from the spell in order to make a point, but you'll stick around to be 'interrogated' and to meet the Princess.
>You call it 'Operation: Antagonize your captors for no reason, greatly harming your chances of being able to solve your disagreements through peaceful diplomacy'.
>After spending a few seconds humming some heist music to set the mood, you spring into action.
>The bubble has been disabled.
>The stairs have been climbed.
>The door has had your ear pushed against it so as to force it to betray any auditory secrets the other side might have trusted it to keep.
>Nothing.
>The door doesn't seem to be locked. Odd, but that's one potential automatic failure avoided.
>Opening the door, you peer into the moonlit room on the other side.
>It was big.
>Round-ish.
>A lot of bookcases.
>Oh, right. She was a wizard. Of sorts.
>You hear somebody snoring from what you believe to be the second floor.
>Searching the room, you find doors leading to a kitchen, and a bathroom, and a stairway leading to a smaller study. In said study, a stairway leads to a third floor. Or at least floor 2.5. What are those half-floor 'overlook' things called, again?
>The snoring was stronger now. Somebody was definitely sleeping up there.
>Two somebodies, in fact. There was also a second, softer set of breathing.
>Was she married?
>A pet?
>Roommate?
>You don't want to risk finding out yet.
>You sneak into the study and grab a quill, a stack of coarse paper, and an inkwell.
>Fuck, how long has it been?
>Probably around six minutes.
>You stealthily creep back downstairs with your newfound loot.
>Holding absolutely still as you count down the minutes, you do not allow yourself to let your mind wander. Even one toe out of position...
>Actually...
>You find the twig on the floor and place it where the portal will reappear. Part of it resting outside, and part inside.
>The portal appears after a few minutes, and the twig cracks in two. Each part rolls onto its own side of the bubble.
>Good to know.
>Bringing quill to paper, you set about achieving your twisted revenge.
>A few minutes later, you are done.
>You disable the bubble, throw the other side of the twig into your 'prison' and go about finding something to read.
>'Equine Anatomy 22nd Edition'
>'A Compact History of Equestria'
>'Princess Celestia: Myths and Facts'
>'Magic for Beginners'
>It seems they use the same alphabet you're used to.
>You grab the books and return to the bubble, noting a clock on the wall in the main library. Twenty past three.
>The purple prison reappears, and you start to feel nervous.
>Only one part of your master plan left.
>The riskiest of all.
>You grab the quill and make a few last minute upgrades to the weapon of your unholy vengeance, then steel yourself for what is to come.
>You shut the dome down, grab the papers, quill and inkwell, and sneak into the study. The snoring is still present.
>You place the quill, inkwell and the extra papers on the writing desk where you found them.
>Here goes.
>You sneak up to the stairway and place a foot on the lowest step.
>No going back now.
>You sneak up to whatever an architect would call that pseudo-floor and see a bed and a... basket.
>Something roughly pony sized was sleeping in the bed, while the basket held some sort of sleeping lizard thing.
>Thinking back, you remember Fluttershy saying something about Twilight living with a baby dragon.
>Neat.
>Realizing that you are wasting valuable time, you creep up to her bed and finish your task.
>More stealth, more bubble.
>You break out one last time to use the bathroom. A risky move, especially since you decide to flush, wash your hands and even wash some of the dirt off of your scratched-up feet, but you were finished anyway.
>The deed is done.
>The war is won.
>You return to your bubble-home and start studying Equestrian history under the purple glow of the spell.