The sound of hooves and muffled footsteps were the only sounds that echoed around the large hallways of the palace. I caught a glimpse of one or two maids down a couple of the side passages, but for the most part it was just me, Sunny and the princess. We walked in silence for several minutes. The princess seemed to be deep in thought, occasionally chewing on her bottom lip as she glanced back at me. Something about me was clearly bothering her, and from the way I shivered whenever she looked at me, I’d say that the feeling was mutual. Just being near this being was causing me to sweat and my heart to beat faster. I didn’t like it, not one bit.

Sunny was clearly very uncomfortable, but for a different reason entirely. Her body was tense and it looked like she was trying to keep her posture perfect. I don’t think she was used to being in the presence of royalty, so she didn’t know exactly how to act. Her wings quivered slightly at her sides, and she looked ready to bolt. Truth be told, if she made a run for it, I would probably be right behind her.

The three of us continued in this uncomfortable silence for several more minutes until the princess suddenly stopped. Sunny wasn’t paying attention and walked into her back leg. She squeaked at the impact, backpedaling wildly as a stream of apologies issued from her mouth. The monarch just looked back at Sunny, blinking as if she had only just realized that she was there.

“I’m sorry, my little pony,” she said, smiling down at Sunny. “It seems I was lost in thought.” Looking back up at me, she tongued the inside of her cheek for a moment before shaking her head.

“Th-th-that’s quite alright, your m-majesty,” Sunny stuttered, avoiding the princess’ eyes. Instead she seemed to become fascinated with one of the paintings on the wall: a lovely scene of the moon rising above a calm lake in the mountains.

“I actually have some questions regarding this human,” the princess continued, keeping her voice calm and gentle. “That is, if you don’t mind answering, Miss…?” Sunny blinked up at the princess for several seconds before she realized that the monarch had asked her a question.

“S-Sunny Breeze, your majesty,” the pegasus replied quickly, her voice squeaking slightly. “And I’ll try my best to answer any questions you may have.”

“Please, call me Celestia, Ms. Breeze,” the princess said, laughing softly. Sunny gawked up at Celestia, blinking stupidly at her. I think the request broke her. Princess Celestia seemed to realize this as well, as her smile grew slightly wider as she stared at Sunny, giggling at her stunned face.

Turning slowly, Celestia continued down the hallway, leaving Sunny and me behind.

“You said that you are his handler, correct?” she called back over her shoulder. Shaking her head, Sunny snapped herself out of her daze. Trotting quickly after the princess, she pulled me along with her. I stumbled slightly, my balance off due to my hands still being bound. Catching up with Celestia, Sunny trotted next to her.

“Well, technically he doesn’t exactly have a handler,” she said, her voice barely above a whisper. Celestia glanced at her sideways with a raised eyebrow, causing Sunny to gulp loudly. “B-but, I am the one who took care of him the most during his transportation, so I’m the one that knows him best.” She was extremely nervous; she was practically wilting under Celestia’s gaze, even though the princess didn't show any sign of anger. She was shivering slightly as she walked, and I felt my heart go out to her. She was clearly out of her comfort zone, and out of her element, both of which I could relate to at the moment.

Taking a chance, I decided to ignore my own discomfort, and try and help her calm down. Walking up behind her, I proceeded to gently, yet firmly, bump her flank with my knee. She yelped and jumped slightly at the touch. Glancing back at me, she immediately seemed to relax as her eyes locked with mine. She smiled at me and turned to nuzzle my bound hands. I could feel and see her beginning to relax. I wasn’t completely sure why my presence was enough to calm her, but at least my gamble had paid off. She was more at ease, and because of that I felt a little less stressed. My god, I’m starting to care for these ponies now, aren’t I?

Sunny stopped nuzzling my hands, but continued to smile up at me. I would have smiled back, but my lips were still heavily chapped from the very little water I received on the train, and I didn’t want to reopen old wounds. Having completed my task, I returned my attention towards Celestia, only to find her watching us with a smile on her face. Looking back, Sunny saw this as well. Her face immediately went bright red and she ducked her head in embarrassment.

“You seem to have formed quite an impressive bond with him in the two weeks you’ve spent together,” Celestia commented, her eyes sparkling with mirth. Sunny sputtered, her face turning even redder. Her mouth opened and closed several times, but no words came out. Her brain was too busy trying to figure out what to say. Celestia giggled (yes, giggled) at Sunny’s expense, her musical laugh filling the hallway we stood in.

“Despite the fact that most ponies tend to believe that humans are more of an aggressive species, with good reason I might add, they tend to also have tender moments,” Celestia continued, beginning to walk again. Sunny and I followed silently behind her. “I have no doubt that the human here noticed you seemed overly stressed, which was obviously causing him stress as well.” Glancing down at Sunny, she smiled warmly at her. “You may relax in my presence, Ms. Breeze. You are not in any form of trouble.” Sunny nodded, her cheeks still slightly rosy, but a small smile was now present on her face.

As they talked, I glanced around the hallway, searching for a possible escape. Alright, enough playing around. I need to find a way out of here. Looking down one of the side passages, I frowned slightly when I caught sight of a pair of guards patrolling it. The next passage held the same results. I mentally swore as I walked behind Sunny. I should have made a run for it back in the city. There’s no way I can escape from the palace with all these guards here. I grumbled silently as we continued down the corridor. We reached the end of the hallway and the princess headed to the right, down yet another passageway. Sunny and I followed close behind her.

“As I said earlier, I do have some questions I would like answered about this particular human,” the princess said, her voice gentle as she glanced back at us. “Please answer to the best of your ability, but do not worry if you don’t know the answer.”

“Of course, your majesty,” Sunny replied, her voice stronger than before.

“Do you know if this human has had any previous owners?” Celestia tilted her head to the side, regarding us with a curious look. It kind of reminded me of a dog, in some weird way.

“There was no indication of any previous owners when we found him in the desert,” Sunny said. She blinked suddenly as she apparently remembered something. “Actually, there was a mark on his clothing that we couldn’t identify.”

“And what mark was that, exactly?” the princess asked.

“It was a golden ‘M’ sewn onto his clothing,” Sunny replied. “We ran it through our records, but we couldn’t find any pony associated with it in any way.”

“A golden ‘M’?” The princess was silent for a brief moment, scratching her chin with the tip of one of her wings. Finally, she returned her attention to Sunny. “Could it be possible that the mark might be associated with something in a foreign land?”

“It might,” Sunny conceded, chewing on her lip as she glanced to the side. “However, if that was the case, we have no idea how he ended up alone in the desert. We believe that if it did stand for something, it would be local, not foreign.” As the two of them talked, I walked silently behind them. A golden ‘M’ on my clothing? She must mean that McDonald’s logo on my shirt and visor. I chuckled quietly to myself at that. Yeah, they owned me alright. The princess hummed to herself as she thought, her eyes gazing at the ceiling high above us.

“Off the top of my head, I cannot think of any ponies, or herds, associated with a golden ‘M’. There’s the Golden Hoof herd, but their mark is two golden hooves side by side, but other than that I do not know,” she said, still looking up at the ceiling. “And I do not believe that any other species own humans. After the Changeling invasion, we know that humans don’t like being in close proximity to Changelings, disguised or otherwise. As for the griffons, they tend to eat humans on occasion, but there aren’t any griffon nests anywhere near the desert.” My heart jumped at that news. Griffons? They have griffons here? And they eat humans?!

Note to self: avoid griffons at all costs! When I tuned back into the conversation, the two mares had already moved on to the next topic.

“Since you don’t know if he does, or does not, have a previous owner you wouldn’t happen to know if he has a name, would you?” Celestia asked, her gaze fixing itself back upon me and Sunny.

“We aren’t entirely sure,” Sunny began, “but he had a weird tag attached to his clothing that bore the same golden ‘M’, as well as the name ‘Max’.” I raised my eyebrows at that. She must be talking about my name tag. Apparently, they write in English here as well. What are the odds? I blinked as I suddenly thought of something. Wait, if she knew my name this entire time, why did she never once call me by it?

“I’ve been avoiding using that name around him, just in case his next owner decides they want to call him something else,” Sunny said to the princess. I resisted the urge to facepalm. Uncanny timing as usual. Celestia studied me closely for several seconds, her magenta eyes slowly scanning my body as she processed the news. Smiling, she nodded once before looking back at Sunny.

“Max it is then,” she proclaimed happily. “I think it suits him rather well, don’t you?”

Really? Cause everyone back home kept telling me that I looked like a Tom or a Blake. Hell, I even had a guy insist that my name was Sam.

“Your majesty?” Sunny asked, tilting her head to the side, confused.

“I like it. It’s a good, strong name, and it also means ‘the greatest’ in Ancient Equestrian,” Celestia said, a knowing smirk adorning her face. “Rather fitting for a creature who survived alone in the desert for an unknown period of time.” It was one day, lady. Don’t make a mountain out of a molehill. Although, I was thrown off by the Ancient Equestrian comment. You see, Max meant ‘the greatest’ in Latin as well. I wonder just how many similarities our two cultures have.

“Max. Max. Max. Max.” The princess trotted along happily, rolling my name around in her mouth for a little bit. Sunny just walked beside the monarch, trying to hold back her laughter. I, on the other hand, had had enough. Glancing ahead of us, I spied a side passage fast approaching. Deciding that it was time to ditch this party and make a run for it, I reached up with my bound hands and began to fiddle with my collar. I managed to get the leash off of the collar when the two mares were distracted. Careful not to alert them to my intent, I walked quietly along behind them until we were level with the passage. Taking a deep breath, I turned and shot off down the passage, silently cheering that my plan had worked. Unfortunately, I started celebrating too soon.

I had made it a dozen or so steps when I suddenly found myself surrounded by a golden energy. I let out a loud yelp when as I was immediately lifted into the air. I grumbled to myself as I slowly floated down the hall, back the way I came. As I floated, I slowly began to spin until I found myself upside down. I shot a glare at the princess, whose horn was glowing as she used her magic. She had a smile on her face, her eyes twinkling with mirth. Sunny just stood there, her eyes darting back and forth between me and the princess, a nervous look on her face.

“And where do you think you’re going?” Celestia asked, chuckling softly as I floated in the air. We were practically nose to nose, and I could smell her breath. It was, oddly enough, not unpleasant, like a mixture of vanilla and bananas.

“And how old is this little troublemaker?” she asked, using her magic to make me spin in small circles as she looked at Sunny.

“W-we’re not entirely sure of that either,” Sunny said, trying hard not to laugh at my predicament. She seemed relieved that the princess didn’t get upset about my escape attempt. I, however, was starting to get nauseous as I continued to spin through the air. “By the look of his body, as well as other indicators, we estimated that he is getting on in his years, but he has shown no signs of tiring or joint pain. He also has shown that he has an abundance of energy as well, so we can’t effectively pinpoint his age.” ‘Abundance of energy’? How’d you figure that one out? I thought as the princess returned me to an upright position. I’ve been in a cage that was two sizes too small for the past two weeks!

“If you had to hazard a guess, how old would you say he is?” Celestia asked, slowly lowering me back to my feet. Sunny sighed as she looked me up and down. She licked her lips as she thought, her ears twitching slightly.

“I’d guess he is about nine years old, maybe ten,” she finally said, earning a nod from the princess. I shot her an incredulous look. Nine? Lady, I’m twenty years old, thank you very much! I thought you worked with humans for a living! I blinked as a sudden sinking feeling entered the pit of my stomach. What is the average lifespan of a human here? Will that affect me in any way?

“Does he have any illnesses or afflictions that could indicate his age more accurately?” Celestia asked, frowning slightly.

“We haven’t found anything yet,” Sunny said, a smile touching her lips slightly as she gazed over at me lovingly. “He currently has a clean bill of health. He’s perfectly fine.”

“No tumors? No cataracts?” The princess’s eyebrows rose as she spoke, disbelief evident in her voice. “No arthritis?”

“Nope, he is one of the healthiest humans I have ever seen, aside from the sunburns from the desert,” Sunny said, a small hint of pride in her voice. Healthy? I worked at McDonald’s and got free crew meals. I sat on my ass on my couch and played video games all night. The healthiest person I am not. Silence fell again as the princess thought up more questions. I hoped that the questioning wouldn’t take much longer; I was in a rather foul mood because of my failed 'escape attempt', if you could even call it that. Also, as much as I enjoyed being talked about like I wasn’t actually there, my feet were beginning to hurt walking on the hard marble floors. As we passed by a window that had a beautiful view of the white city below, I saw that there was a roof several meters below the window ledge. I half contemplated what they would do if I flung myself through the window. They both had wings, but would they react in time to stop me from scrambling across the rooftop to freedom? As I thought about it some more, I decided that it wasn’t worth the risk. I grudgingly accepted that I would have to put up with this bullshit for a little while longer.

The princess blinked suddenly, a spark flashing in her eyes as a mischievous smile slowly spread across her face. In a voice that could almost be mistaken for sultry, the princess leaned down until she was eye to eye with Sunny. “How is his muscle structure?” Sunny’s face went incredibly red as she began to cough, choking on some of her own spit that she inhaled. Her wings locked up instantly, spreading from her sides to stand stiffly at attention. I snorted loudly at this, causing the princess to look at me curiously. She didn’t look at me long before returning her attention to Sunny with a look of faux concern before a small smile playing across her face.

“My dear, is everything okay?” Celestia asked, rubbing Sunny’s back as the smaller mare coughed loudly.This princess is a troll! I didn’t know how she knew about that entire conversation, but it took all of my willpower to keep a straight face. Sunny, on the other hand, looked half embarrassed and half terrified as she continued to try and clear her airway. She continued sputtering for several more seconds as she stumbled along.

“W-well, he is c-certainly more m-muscular than most other humans we've f-found,” she choked out, finally getting her voice back. Her face was still red, but she seemed to regain control over her wings as she rose shakily into the air. Once airborne, she seemed to calm down immensely. I blinked as I registered what she had just said. But... I barely have any muscles to begin with, I thought as I glanced down at my naked frame. Maybe my legs, but that was because I walked a lot back home, but not enough to be noticeable by any means. As I silently examined my body for whatever muscle she was talking about, Celestia spoke up.

“While I have you nice and flustered,” she said, the smirk still on her face, “has he been neutered yet?” Looking up at the princess, then back down at my junk, I wrinkled my face at the stupidity of the question. It’s all just hanging out there for the whole world to see. I’m pretty sure you could answer that one for yourself.

“No, he hasn’t been neutered yet,” Sunny answered, shaking her head. She hovered beside the princess, her wings flapping at a languid pace. And my huevos and I plan on keeping it that way, thank you very much!

“But it’s still an option, if you would like,” she continued, shooting the princess a questioning look. I stumbled slightly, a panicked look flashing across my face. Aw, HELL no! NO! Nononononononononono! NOOOOOOO! Suddenly, that jump through the window was sounding like a much better option. I was of the mindset that I would like to keep everything I was born with, no matter what. The Universe wouldn’t be so cruel as to deny me that, would it?

“No, that will be quite unnecessary,” Celestia said, shaking her head quickly. I breathed an audible sigh of relief, my pounding heart slowly returning to normal. The two mares glanced back at me, a surprised look on their faces. I stared back at them, a blank expression on my face as I tilted my head to the side, confused at the sudden attention. When I realized what I had done, I felt my heart flutter slightly. I realized that this could be a perfect opportunity to try and communicate! I was just beginning to think of what would work best when a second voice echoed through my head, warning me against it.

I frowned slightly, confused at that sudden thought. Why the hell wouldn’t I try to let them know I could understand them? The memory of feeling the power radiating from the princess when we first met flashed across my mind, causing me to shiver slightly.

Just imagine what she could do to you if she wanted to, the second, smaller voice whispered. She could blast you into oblivion, and no one here would bat an eye at it. As I stood there, arguing silently with myself, the two mares continued to stare back at me for several more seconds before returning to their conversation. I groaned softly as they turned their attention away from me, and we continued walking down the hall. Great, there goes that chance out the window.

Better safe than sorry, though. I’ll work on escaping later.

"Has he been branded at all?” The princess' voice snapped me back to reality. Glancing up, I wrinkled my face at her again, rolling my eyes. That is another question you could answer yourself if you only looked.

“No, he hasn’t been marked,” Sunny replied. The princess’s face hardened at the word ‘marked’, her expression souring. Sunny noticed this, and her ears splayed backwards. Smiling nervously at the princess, she chuckled lightly. “I take it by your reaction that you do not want him branded, your majesty?” Celestia immediately shook her head, quickly putting my mind at ease.

“No.” Her voice took on an icy tone for the first time since they had started talking. “I can not, for the life of me, understand the obsession with burning one’s cutie mark into the flesh of one’s human.” Despite my joy for finding out that I would not have to be put through that horrific ordeal, I still frowned slightly at the strange word.Cutie mark? What’s a cutie mark? My eyes drifted to Sunny’s flank, which was hovering perfectly at eye level for me, and the odd picture located on it. Looking over at the princess, I saw that she too had a symbol on her ass. Celestia’s was a massive sun, standing out perfectly against her white coat. Could those tattoos be these ‘cutie marks’? Are they artificial, or a naturally occurring thing? And what could they possibly stand for? The amount of questions I had could fill a large paperback book.

“Just one more quick question before I take Max here off your hooves.” I glanced up and realized that we were nearing the end of the hallway. A massive pair of double doors faced us, two guards positioned on either side, stony faced and motionless. It appeared that we had reached the end of the line.

“In all of your observations of this human,” Celestia began, staring at Sunny with an intense, calculating gaze, “would you say that he is well behaved and not a threat to anypony?”

“For the most part,” Sunny replied, meeting the princess’s gaze with her own. Her body was starting to tense up again, her wings quivering nervously as she flapped. Heh, you should talk to my mother. The stories she could tell…

“Please elaborate,” the princess said, not unkindly. Her gaze never faltered as she continued to study Sunny’s expression closely. Sunny closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Opening her eyes again, she stared at a point just above the princess’s head as she began to speak.

“Well, we first noticed that he behaved rather differently than most humans when we first found him. Usually, when they wander around lost, humans tend to walk in circles. However, the tracks around him indicated that he was walking in a relatively straight line, with a couple of loopbacks. Also, while most humans will throw themselves against the bars of their cages—” The princess’s ear twitched. “—he seemed content to just sit there and go along for the ride.

“There is also the case of biting. While most humans will attempt to bite their handlers when they are scared or threatened, Max here never showed any signs of aggression. He was hesitant at some points, but he never lashed out at anypony while we were working with him.”

You didn’t really give me much of a chance to, but I digress.

“All-in-all, I have to say that he is, without a doubt, one of the most docile humans I have ever had the privilege of working with.” Sunny was out of breath from her little speech, and she panted slightly as she looked at the princess, waiting for her reaction.

Celestia just stood there, nodding her head slightly as she gazed off into the distance, clearly deep in thought. Every so often, her wings twitched by her sides. The long pause seemed to make Sunny nervous, and she bit her lip again while she waited. I just looked at her, eyebrows raised. Seriously, what is with all the lip biting? Sunny’s wings seemed to tense up more, and she slowly floated down to the floor. I don’t know why she’s so tense. It’s not like the princess’s decision affects her as much as it does me.

Finally, after several long moments, the princess’s face broke out into a large smile.

“I thank you for giving me such an honest answer,” she said, looking down at Sunny with such warmth and care that she couldn’t help but smile as well, her body relaxing noticeably. It kind of reminded me of a mother praising a child for a job well done. “And I also thank you for answering my questions truthfully and to the best of your abilities. Now, without further ado, I shall take Max off of your hooves.” The smile immediately left Sunny’s face and she glanced down at the leash in her hooves, fumbling with it slightly. She looked back up and reluctantly held the leash out for the princess. As Celestia took the leash in her magic (I still couldn’t get enough of that, as long as it wasn’t not being used on me. Magic. Real life magic!) Sunny spoke very quietly.

“Please make sure to treat him well.” Celestia smiled gently, nodding her head slightly.

“Don’t worry, my little pony. I know he will be treated with great care.” The princess then looked at her guards who immediately moved to open the double doors. Up until that point, I had seriously thought that they might be statues; they hadn’t moved an inch since we arrived. As Celestia turned to leave, Sunny called after her.

“We ask that you contact us with information about where he will be staying. We like to check up on our humans and make sure that they are being treated properly.” The princess glanced back at Sunny and smiled once last time.

“I’ll be sure to send you the address the minute he gets settled in.” With that, she turned and walked through the open doors, tugging gently on the leash so I would follow. I headed through the doors myself and the guards began to close them behind us. I chanced a quick look behind me at Sunny Breeze. Just before the doors closed completely, I caught a glimpse of her face.

She was smiling sadly, her violet eyes gazing right at me. As I watched, a single tear rolled down her cheek and fell to the floor.

Then the doors closed, and she was gone.