A/N: Edited by frieD195!

The cold glare from the Princess in front of me was unnerving to say the least. She was obviously thinking of a fitting punishment for me. But before she did any of that, I had something of my own to say... ’‘Permission to speak freely, your Highness?’’ I asked politely. The progress of her thoughts skidded to a halt visibly as she registered my question.

’‘Granted. But I can assure you, there’s not much you can do to ease your situation at the moment.’’ Oh, we’ll see about that, your Highness. I stood up and stretched my back. and rolled my neck. I could feel it pop and I moaned as the action was complete.

’‘Wouldn’t it be considered rude to not hear both sides from the incident that occured?’’ I lifted my tricorne off my head and placed it a little further back on my head. ’’As I doubt that... Twilight Sparkle... would have told you about everything that happened in that forest before you dropped by.’’ I spat the witches name like it was venom. The princess arched an eyebrow and looked at me like she questioned my very existance.

’’I suppose...’’ She sighed. Good. Perhaps I can work myself out of this easier than I thought... ’‘But first, tell me, how did you end up in Equestria?’’ I bit my lip. That question was bound to appear at any moment. Better now than never, I guess...

’‘This...may sound a little hard to believe...’’ She nodded for me to continue. I took a deep breath. A soft, throbbing pain which I could easily ignore emanated from my injured ribs. ’‘Where I come from, I was a soldier. But not just any soldier, I was a Carolean.’’ I sat down by the foot of my bed. ’’I was fighting in a battle against Polish soldiers. It was chaos; blood and injured comrades as far as I could see.’’ My vision focused on a distant point on the wall. The memories started flooding back into my mind. ’’I was charging down the battlefield with my musket in hand and shooting foes who were unlucky enough to be in range. We were closing in on their generals so that we could end the battle, and hopefully even the war.’’

The guards...ponies seemed to be leaning forward to hear the rest of my story, when the princess seemed to be deep in thought as she progressed what I had said. ’‘Continue.’’ She simply said. I nodded.

’’I had just evaded certain death and had killed the assailant. Their last line of defence was in plain sight. I remember sheathing my blade and drawing out my musket to fire. Just before I shot, a barrage of cracks came from the opposing forces. I was hit square in the heart and...Well...died...’’ I smiled sheepishly.

’‘But if you... died, how is it possible for you to be here right now?’’ Princess Celestia was apperantly very interested to hear the rest of my story. The same was about her guards.

’‘That’s the interesting part. You see; I had always thought I’d be sent to heaven, until Death itself appeared and showed me the errors of my ways. I still do not believe a word about what he said about my king and religion, but he offered me a second chance at life and... I took it.’’ I clasped my hands behind my head and leaned back towards the wall. ’‘And here I am.’’ I closed my eyes softly. ’’ I did not come here on my own accord, I was just given an opportunity and took it without thinking about it for too long. After I had literally ‘dropped’ down in that forest, I rested for a while until I heard a feminine scream.’’

The guards were now slack-jawed. The Princess had kept her composure flawlessly though. I took another deep breath as I continued my tale. ’’I ran through the forest as fast as I could. A Carolean never leaves a woman in distress, you know. When I reached the clearing, I saw probably the most terrifying... thing I have ever witnessed before. I believe they called it a ‘manetee-core’ or something similar...’’

’‘Manticore?’’ The princess suggested. I nodded. That was what they had called it.

’‘This... Manticore was standing in front of a peculiar creature I had never seen before, but from what I’ve seen so far, I’ll have to get used to those creatures...’’ I muttered. ’‘However, I saw a small, yellow pony with wings and long, pink hair. Her name was Fluttershy if I remember correctly...’’ I continued with re-counting the fight from my point of view. The guards seemed to be more terrified than anything to learn that I had faced a manticore, which all of these ponies seem to fear. The princess remained stone-faced though.

’’I see...’’ The princess said after a couple of minutes. I rolled my eyes. It shouldn’t be a hard thing to understand. ’’So, mind explaining the injuries you inflicted upon my student?’’ She almost growled. Wait... Student? Oh no... I cleared my throat and cleansed my head from the implications that just appeared for me to get out of here.

’’I tried to be friendly with the yellow pony, but when I heard someone call her what I learned to be her name, I panicked slightly as I didn’t know what I would be facing. I had yet to learn that the ponies could speak, mind you.’’ I stood up and clasped my hands behind my back while walking in a small circle in my cell as I looked down at the floor. ’’At first I thought that I had lost my mind when I heard them talking, but I revealed myself to the fascination of your student.’’ I looked at the Princess straight in her soft pink eyes.

’‘Was that a reason for you to assault her?’’ Princess Celestia asked. I have to say, she’s a real stoneface in situations like these. It’s a common part about being a ruler, I suppose...

’‘Allow me to continue, your Higness.’’ We stared at eachother in silence for a couple of seconds. The tension between us must have been immense. ’’I talked with the two for a while, introducing myself and talking about the Caroleans. Twilight Sparkle seemed to be eager to learn.’’ I chuckled dryly. Princess Celestia cracked a small smile. Good. ’‘But then, a situation arose. Something that I believe to be evil was used.’’ I sighed. I do not think Princess Celestia will appreciate my ways.

’‘And that was..?’’ the Princess asked expectantly. I drew a quick breath.

’‘Magic.’’ I looked her dead in the eyes, completely serious. ’‘Where I come from, magic is considered to be the main source of all the evil in the world. Only those in pact with the Devil practice it and those who use magic are not fit to live.’’

All the ponies stared at me with arched eyebrows. The guard standing to the left started snickering. But a quick jab from his partner set him straight immediately. Princess Celestia cleared her throat and spoke up. ’’I am one of the most powerful magic users in all of Equestria, followed only by my sister and Twilight Sparkle. Do you consider me to be evil after leading my country to peace and prosperity for over a thousand years?’’

’’Do you consider me to be evil after acting after my own beliefs, that may not be correct here but the beliefs that has been etched into my brain over years of war, training and suffering? Do you see me as a monster after leaving my wife and child to defend my country, King and honour? Can you judge me correctly after knowing that?’’ I growled and moved to stand just by the bars. The princess stood there with her mouth agape. She’s obviously not used to be talked to by anyone. Probably because so many peo-.. ponies respect her authority. ’‘Consider that when you pass judgement on me, your Highness.’’ I moved away from the bars and laid down on the uncomfortably small bed. I stared at the opposite wall. I heard shuffling coming from the guards. They probably didn’t know what to do. Pathetic worms.

The Princess worked her jaw for something to say. I saw her staring at me from the corner of my right eye. Finally, she spoke up. ’‘Very well then, I will. Since you have probably not eaten anything after your arrival to Equestria, food will be sent down to you. I will attend to my other duties now. Enjoy your stay in Equestria, Gustafv.’’ With that, she turned and walked towards the direction she had come from. The guards glared at me before they increased their pace to walk alongside their Princess. I sighed and rolled over onto my back and laid my hands beneath my head. Even the damn pillow was uncomfortable.

I couldn’t help but to think about what could happen to me after this. I highly doubt that she would ever allow me to walk away unscathed. I could however see in his eyes that she would never harm any living thing unless she was forced to. I have seen the expression of bloodlust on many faces before, but her face was the exact opposite. I laid my tricorne over my face to shield the light from the torch. I wanted my coat back, at least it would be able to give me some warmth in this cold world. I fell into a restless sleep after a few minutes.

I was rustled awake by a sudden commotion from the other side of the bars. I shot my eyes open and took a few hitched breaths in an attempt to calm down. The torch on the wall was just a weak ember so it didn’t help me that much with locating the source of the alien sounds. A sudden rustle and a shift from the shadows caught my attention,

Out from the shadows walked a midnight blue pony. This one had a similair flowing mane as Princess Celestia, but this one’s mane was a picture-perfect mirror of the night sky. That’s when I realized something. Princess Celestia had said something about having a sister. It did not take a genius to understand that this pony was that sister. She also had a horn and wings. But what divided her from her sister was her expression and the way she handled herself.

She hadn’t put on a mask like her sister, she was just staring at me with big eyes and her ears perked directly at me. She took a cautious step towards the bars of the cell. She wasn’t angry or anything like that, she was something I hadn’t encountered since I met Twilight Sparkle; she was curious.

Her gaze soon rolled over my upper body and finally my eyes. Her eyes was a beautiful light blue which really stood out from her rather dark body. She clicked her tongue after a while.

’’My, you really are a strange creature...’’ She muttered as she came closer towards the bars. Her voice was soft, almost meek. She was like a curious child who had just seen something it never had seen before.

Something tells me that this is going to be a long night...