Author's Notes:

***Important***

The ending page or two of chapter 10 has been revised to give Wiess' gun more apparent impact. I think this chapter makes sense without rereading it, but it will probably help.

I'd like to once again thank Seven Fates for the time and effort he's put in to helping me. I think he's bowing out at this point though because he's concentrating on other things. Everyone should swamp him in private messages telling him how brave he his even if you don't know why. Just. Dooooooo. Eeeeeeeet!

Normally I'd put the cut snippets here for your viewing pleasure, but... Well... First off I wanted this note to come before the chapter. Second, I chopped most of the last third of the chapter into itty bitty pieces before recombining it into the form you see now. I don't have the room to post that much. Just trust me that it's much better this way.

Now, onto the horsewords!

Overwhelming, impossible sensations assaulted me from every direction and for the barest of moments all I knew was a maddening cacophony inside and out. I could feel my very brain straining into overdrive in an attempt to handle input that it was never meant to. Wading through whorls of nearly physical panic, I needed to find patterns of sensation just for my sanity!

Things began to make a twisted sort of almost-sense, yet that just made everything more wrong. For as many drifting colors, phantom sounds, or fleeting scents as I found tumbling over each other, there were just as many - no, more! - that gleefully crossed all rational boundaries. Some images were instead tasted or heard, flavors might be physically held or aches resound deep within the ears, and more!

I couldn't survive this! Some small corner of my mind registered that I'd clamped my eyes shut. Somehow, the assault felt lessened, but what was cut out didn't make any more or less sense than what wasn't.

The only constant was an unbelievable pressure from some unidentifiable direction.

And then it was all gone.

A host of other, lesser feelings inside and out - including something gently touching my chest - rushed in to fill the void, most of which I'd never paid attention to but had also never been without. Even with a solid floor comfortably underfoot again, up and down asserting themselves properly, and blessedly normal air refilling my lungs, the world lurched back and away from me.

I know I shouted as I tilted and flailed, scrambling to get my feet back under me, but with the ringing in my ears…

My physical orientation made so much more sense with open eyes! But wherever I now was was brighter than the hospital had been, though the lighting was less harsh. Was that daylight? And the space around us - Etherea was still hunched in front of me and still facing away - could probably fit several hospital supply rooms within. The place was predominantly white, though pale aquamarine and pink were also prominent.

A second take only added more confusion. The wall in the distance on the other side of Etherea gave way to sheer curtains drawn across floor-to-ceiling windows on the left that curved around and out of sight behind me. In the one to the right was a closed single door and an open double one leading to a hallway. She and I were roughly in the center on a wide carpet covered in ornate flowers and birds, there were a trio of wide aquamarine couches with low backs arranged around a similarly low table, some large pillows, and... And...!

And what the hell had just happened?!

I'd been shot at!

I shuddered mightily, threatening my balance all over again. The agents didn't even appear to be here. Where-?

The touch on my chest disappeared.

ETHEREA!

Everything over the last few moments was rudely cast aside as a fresh surge of adrenaline focused my senses. Etherea was still in the same drooping pose as her wing landed dully on the floor, matching the splay of feathers on her other side, and her muzzle followed a similar downward arc to point toward the floor. Her only signs of life - other than remaining upright - were a heaving barrel and a growing tremor that was rapidly overcoming her.

Her near forehoof lifted an inch or so and then she swayed. The spatters of glistening red stood out all the more for it.

She'd been hit!

I don't know how my voice found purchase in my throat but I know I yelled her name.

Her head lifted slightly as she began listing to her right and, even at this angle, I could tell her eyes weren't quite focused. At that my feet finally consented to pitch me stumbling the few feet over to her, and it was all I could do to aim myself in the way of her fall. As I dropped to my knees, whatever had been clutched in my left hand was tossed away in favor of grabbing at her, limp wing and all.

She jerked as I latched onto her, head snapping up and around as one eye blearily sought me out through her mane. Her mouth moved.

Fuck this goddamned ringing already!

Wait... There were twin trickles of crimson running from her nostrils. That wasn't a gunshot wound! What the hell was wr-? I needed to do something! Okayokayokayokayokay...! I was just in a hospital; what would they do?!

Get her stable!

Pushing back on every terrifying thing trying to distract me, I slipped both arms further around her barrel to pull her closer. It wasn't that cold in here but she was shivering. Hard.

I began trying to talk her through what I was doing - babbling, really - but again, with this fucking ringing, how could I truly tell? And I knew she couldn't understand a word of it, not without that spell, but I had to hope that simply hearing my voice helped.

She stopped resisting and began leaning into me. So... first mission accomplished?

I shuffled sideways across the rug, holding on desperately as I let her own weight bring her down. As she settled her mouth opened, and through my hands and arms I could feel the pitch of a piteous whine as she curled her head toward her neck.

Next, next, next... What was next?!

From my position with her back against my left leg I had a much better view of the inside of her left foreleg. There was a steady stream of blood flowing from a sickening indentation along the front. As if my heart wasn't racing before; that was an actual gunshot wound!

My clenched stomach refused to be ignored, but I did my best. I needed to stop the bleeding!

Wait, no! First the EMTs did a quick check to make sure there wasn't anything worse. Right? It sounded so.

Just ahead of her on the carpet, like she'd been on top of it, was her device. I pushed it away and leaned forward onto my hands and knees, crouching down over her head.

There were no visible wounds along what I could see of her face or muzzle, but the trickle of blood from her nostrils continued. I cupped a hand under her jaw, still stuttering out anything I could to be soothing, and lifted her head off the floor slightly to see the other side of her face and neck. Nothing there either!

Her ears perked as her eyes cracked open and found me for a moment. I guess she'd heard. Hopefully speaking aloud was actually reassuring her. Though it was as much for me as her; I needed something to keep my mind focused because I had no clue what was wrong with her nose!

But just because she was paying attention to me didn't mean I could stop; I had a mission! So my hand trailed lightly down her throat, fingers probing gently for anything that wasn't her coat - she'd been facing the agents so anything else would surely be on her front. There was no avoiding pausing when my hand reached the front of her chest.

I was going to have to check that leg…

My stomach tried to drag my heart along to wherever it was going, throwing whorls of discomfort across my entire body. Still, my fingers made the trip and grasped her... thigh? She cried out when I elevated the leg, and stiffly, though weakly, resisted. Moving my head back and forth, it was clear that there were two major gaps in the flesh a couple of inches above her knee, both leaking far more blood than I was comfortable with.

The bullet had passed clear through her. If I stuck my finger…

I recoiled, mind and body, and let go of her leg. With a gasp she clenched her eyes tighter and curled up protectively. No... no thinking like that.

I had to keep going. What was next? The bullet would have gone under her so I... wasn't actually done. I swallowed thickly and leaned over her again. Given the angle, the bullet should have gone downward... Shit! It also could have ricocheted off her bone! I'd heard that would happen!

Again taking up my inane background commentary about how she was being a good girl and would be fine, I pulled her wing aside and gingerly slid my free hand between her forelegs along her chest. Nothing unusual there, so that was good!

Then, after a moment to steel myself, backward across the underside of her barrel to her belly. Other than a hammering heartbeat that was far too fast for my liking I found nothing unusual.

Again, I had to pause. I'd been hesitant enough to feel along her underside, but... But this was to help her! Offering a silent apology I took her... knee? ...and lifted despite some resistance from her. Just before her tail clamped between her legs - not that I could see the thing she was really protecting - I noted belly, teats, and the inside of both legs were all clear. Thank God!

She took that moment to pull back with her legs, curling her hooves inward against my hold. That was fine; I let her. Other than some minor speckling, her hind legs looked clear of blood or wounds.

And speaking of the bleeding, that leg needed a tourniquet! And her nose? I... still had no idea. Maybe just something to stopper the blood? It was about the only thing I could possibly do. I'd just have to get her better help fast. Which meant-

Don't think about it yet!

I leaned over her head again, trying to meet her eyes. She still had them firmly shut.

Gently stroking her neck - would that be comforting? - I stuttered through a short explanation of what I was doing. If nothing else, the constant ringing meant I didn't have to hear my own patheticness.

Her lips moved briefly and she shuddered harder.

I'll be right back! Hopefully she understood.

Standing allowed for my first good look around. The walls were white with uneven streams of pale pink and aquamarine winding over and around each other, playfully competing for prominence across the walls' lower half. Light-colored wood accents ran along the top and bottom but merged to bracket the curtained floor-to-ceiling windows carving and arc around one end of the room. There were the couches and table with random knickknacks on it, behind me was a large square bed draped with more sheer curtains, another, smaller couch, a couple of dressers and wardrobes, an elaborate vanity setup... Bookshelves and more assorted personal effects were carefully strewn about and gave the space a 'well-lived-in' feel.

I was in Etherea's bedroom…

Not important! Time to find a tourniquet! I didn't like my apparent chances of using her bedding or curtains. Clothes? Dresses? Still not ideal. There had to be a bathroom around here somewhere!

I turned further, desperately trying not to pay attention to the vista hinted at through the wall of curtained windows. The wall opposite them actually had three doors in it - almost regular-sized doors near each corner and the hallway's double-door in the middle. The one closest to her bed was also the nearest to me and I rushed there first.

Thank God it was her bathroom!

It was fairly normal in appearance, if awfully clean and shiny, with a great many cabinets, side-by-side sinks, glassed-in shower, and most everything else I might expect on Earth, but the dimensions were all subtly off. Most everything was a bit too short and a bit too wide. The toilet - I assumed it was - was especially weird: narrower and much longer than-

Priorities, Alex!

There were a pair of white towels with pink accents hung from a wall rack. That wouldn't be enough! I raced around the room throwing open every door and discovered that ponies apparently kept their towels just like humans did - folded up in the taller cabinets. Two shelves-worth were pulled into my arms and, for good measure, so were the ones on the rack. I was about to bolt back out when a glance at the open cabinet above the sinks made me pause.

No. First, none of the bandages I was likely to find would be big enough. Second, without being able to read any labels and identify the disinfectant I might just kill her!

Spurred back into motion, thick and fluffy cloth flapped wildly against my arms in a bid for escape as I burst out of the bathroom. My feet hit the rug wrong and almost pitched me face-first into the floor, but an ungainly series of near missteps kept me going even as one towel tumbled away. Forget it! I could get it later!

Etherea had curled up further with her good leg tightly covering her forehead just below her horn. She jerked a few times - Coughing? Choking?! - just before my knees slammed against the carpet and I dumped all the towels next to her. It fucking hurt but I didn't have time for the pain. Etherea needed me! I knew what I had to do, and I had what I needed, so the only question was how. One towel would be the 'bandage' and others would be 'bindings.' Simple!

Wait! This was probably going to hurt her bad. I'd always seen caretakers giving patients something to bite otherwise the patient might actually break their own teeth, or something.

Was that a real thing or just dramatization?

I didn't have time to debate it; the little puddle of blood under Etherea was growing! On the off chance that the things I'd seen were correct I pulled one of the towels up against the front of her muzzle.

Okay, Etherea, please just open up like a good patient. I'm trying to help!

I wasn't even sure how conscious she was but direct contact definitely wasn't working. And she couldn't understand me anyway... Forcing my shaking fingers to obey, I used one hand to grasp her muzzle from above while the other pressed the towel more firmly against her lips. She weakly lifted her head against my hand, her brow alternately creasing and twitching in pain beneath her protective hoof. Something was seriously wrong!

Outright pleading with her to open - Why'd I have to be nearly deaf now of all times? - and gently digging my fingers at the corners of her mouth, I dreaded what else I might have to do to get her to comply. Tugging as I tried provoking her to do what she needed to, I felt distinctly dirty. But if she didn't open I'd have to, what, jam finger in her mouth and hope I could force her jaws open? That was a horrify-!

Something must have clicked somehow because she started lipping lightly at the offered towel. She bared clenched teeth a couple of times, trying and failing to open, and I slipped my hand around the far side of her cheek to cup her chin to hold her steady until she managed to bite the cloth. It took a little more coaxing to get the towel in a good position but everything looked good enough and I set her head down. Wadding the rest of the towel around her muzzle doubled it as a sponge for her nose.

The left just one more thing. And it was a thing that was going to really suck, but... it was all to help! I just had to keep reminding myself. And so what if I was rambling out loud to her; my thoughts weren't much better. Plus, I needed to psyche myself up. A couple of strokes down her neck were as much to comfort myself as to apologize for what I was about to do.

If only I could stop shaking this would go so much smoother. At least she and I matched.

Biting my lip like doing so would keep my objections at bay, I tossed another towel across her leg, momentarily obscuring everything. By feel, I traced her leg and clamped my hands above and below her wounds in spite of her struggles to curl away. Even as distracted as I was, I still felt her cries through my fingers.

Then, as I grabbed for my next instrument of torture, a protective wing obscured everything.

No! Please don't do this! I crouched forward to dig my way under her wing. As much as she strained to keep herself covered, me coming from above and behind her denied her the leverage to stop me.

There. Her leg still had the towel mostly covering it. I shoved my hands forward and laid the second towel across her leg above the wounds - she didn't seem to particularly notice. Even with the breaths from her whimpers caressing my ear I managed to hold my fingers steady enough to grab and thread one end of the towel between her forelegs.

The whole world seemed to pause as I held both towel ends with crisscrossed hands... I had no other choice. I snapped the towel tight around her leg, pulling the ends taut and untwisting my wrists so that the towel's ends drew around themselves. She thrashed away, her squeals drilling through the ringing, as I tried to hold the towel tight, wrap its ends, and tie it off. Just one more…

Pain flared across the back of my head as the world jolted. What...?! I held on doggedly as something struck me obliquely across the back of my neck. Feathers. She was punching me with her wing!

I kept repeating futile apologies as I struggled to tie a suitable knot. Over, over, under, over... With a final pull I let go. Thankfully the towel stayed in place even as I let Etherea push me away.

Did I dare try that again below the wound? Was it even necessary? I... didn't know. But sitting there on my heels, I wasn't sure I could do that again. The only thing worse than my shaking was Etherea's.

Shock! It had to be. How did someone treat that? Shock alone could be deadly, but how? A moment spent scanning my memories resulted in much the same answer as with everything else so far: I didn't know how much of what I'd seen was simply dramatization. Drugs that I didn't have, various physical treatments of dubious effectiveness, those weird silver blankets, and…

Wait. Shock victims were always covered for warmth, right? Wasn't the idea to reduce the strain on the body, or something? I tossed a couple of the remaining towels across her and tucked them close. For good measure, and because the existing towel had a sizeable blotch of red, I pressed a fresh towel into her forehooves - with minimal struggle on her part. At least the stain's growth didn't seem fast enough for her to be bleeding out.

It should be good enough; it had to be! She needed to be fine enough that a medical professional could reach her.

Mumbling something about hanging in there, I finally let myself scan the curtains that were doing a good job hiding whatever was outside. A fresh feeling welled up like something was trying to pull its way up and out from deep in my gut and strangling every organ it passed. No, now wasn't the time to panic, even if the next step might be even worse. This was for Etherea. Looking down…

My hands were sticky with Etherea's blood. I'd have to do something about that. I didn't want to be tracking bloody handprints all over the place. That wouldn't look very good.

Giving Etherea a final concerned once-over, I rose and hurried away on feet that protested every inch I put between her and myself. The good news was that at the end of the other end of the hallway was an open space with a wide split door in the far wall - a clear exit.

Shock at finding another pony just inside that door froze me stone-cold. A golden helmet and matching articulated armor both covered it from chin to hooves and masked its gender, though no weapons were readily apparent. We stared at each other for a long, agonizing moment - the pony half crouched in ready stance. The pony slipped a hind hoof backward to ease one side of the door open - it had still been cracked - to carefully back itself out. The last thing to disappear were its eyes, still locked on mine.

Especially after all the anticipation and uncertainty of the past few minutes I expected to feel... more, like some explosion of anxiety and/or pain. But there was none of either and I was just kind of strangely numb.

Well... I wasn't dead. I couldn't help giving a shuddering giggle under my breath at that thought. But now what? Do I hide? No, that would be pointless. Sit down? Lie down? Follow them out with hands above my head? There were too many options and no answers because I didn't know what they might consider a submissive gesture.

I hadn't realized that my right hand was rising toward my ear until my fingers brushed against its outer edge. With this blaring ringing - and now some kind of mild pressure - I couldn't tell whether there was shouting, talking, music, silence, or... or, well, anything indicating what was about to happen.

All I knew was I needed Etherea. In a daze, trying not to think too hard about what might soon happen to me, I padded my way back. Standing a couple feet from her head, I watched her towel-covered form trembling for a moment before dropping to my knees again. Her ears flicked forward for a second and her nose lifted an inch so she could blink a couple of times in my direction.

Etherea... I need your help.

I scooted closer and gently slipped my hands under her jaw. Any other time I might've been concerned that I was being too forward, but I needed her to get up and be coherent. Angling myself so I could watch the hallway, I lifted both her head and the towels muffling her muzzle, a motion she actually went along with. Easing my lap under her head and neck, mindful to not jostle her foreleg, I belatedly scrubbed my hands with one of the remaining loose towels - she wouldn't want blood all over her coat.

I began gently stroking her neck with fingers that vibrated uncontrollably.

Etherea, I need you to tell them that you're alright.

Stroke. They would come through the front door.

I need you to be alright.

Stroke. They might come through the windows, or the other doors, or from above or below or…

Please.

Stroke. No, anything else wouldn't bear thinking about; they would come through the front door and I would... raise my hands? Prostrate myself?

Etherea responded to my ministrations, lifting her head slightly and setting it against my stomach. She would...

Without any sound I could hear, a small forest of legs in several slightly different shades of articulated armor appeared on the other side of the room. My eyes came up. There must have been near a dozen ponies there, all zeroing in on me. Front and center were three burly ponies without horn or wing. They were flanked by pegasi who already had their wings spread wide. More - there were horns there - were tucked safely in the back. In the center of all this was someone very different. Only snippets of gold and pristine white showed past the other ponies, yet the languid rippling of color-shifting teal, pale blue, lavender, and pink was impossible to miss. It was the rippling mane of Princess Celestia herself.

Ok, Alex, lift your hands slowly. They'll understand as long as you don't make any sudden moves. Just... ignore all the shaking. It felt like my heart was skipping beats. Chopped up words began to spill from me as I tried to think of anything else that might help diffuse-.

The pegasi on either side moved, wings rising as their crouches deepened, while the earth ponies shifted slightly away from the center of their formation. For the briefest moment I met the narrowed brilliant magenta eyes of the white alicorn in the center over the guards' withers. The white-pink nimbus around the horn rising from the central spire of Celestia's frail-looking golden crown bloomed.

My senses focused as the rest of the world became inconsequential, zeroing in on those eyes with an unearthly clarity. I knew what she wanted: to not hurt Etherea.

But I hadn't been! See how much I wasn't hurting her?! I had been helping! Please, please see that!

My hands weren't even on Etherea anymore but I was still right there, sitting with her head on my lap and probably looking like I was looming. I didn't want to be seen to even possibly pose a threat to Etherea. Plus, if I really wanted them to treat her faster - and I did! - I was in the way.

I shifted, moving, - how didn't matter - but that forceful magenta gaze stayed with me. Getting out from Etherea really was the best thing all around.

My peripheral vision came rushing back as my focus vanished. Details I shouldn't have ignored became apparent again, like the pegasi hadn't launched but were ready to, the earth ponies were angled aggressively but stationary, and there was an odd color-shifting distortion covering the ponies' side of the room. And…

Wait... I was standing? Etherea was some feet in front of me now. When had-?

Celestia was still staring death at me, her horn brilliantly backlit.

NO!

"WAI-!"

The world folded in on itself.

"-AIT!"

The sound rebounded right back through my ringing ears from a dull gray wall that was far closer than it should have been. I braced myself, but unlike the last time it was over almost before it had begun, and with none of the insanity-inducing mismatched sensations or world-shaking unsteadiness.

The world should never just up and swap out like that! And...! And... Where even was I?!

I whipped around with eyes manically trying to take in everything all at the same time. First, there were no ponies here - thank God! Second, the lighting was less bright, though no less warm-toned. Third, I was in a gray box that was maybe twenty feet by fifteen.

And actually, no ponies being here wasn't good because now I didn't know where they were!

Wait! Had that been a fucking teleport?!

Not important!

I spun again. Behind me against one of the longer walls was a short but wide bed with spartan light blue bedding while a wood table and low bench - both with metal legs apparently bolted to the floor - stood across from me and the bed. A low partition maybe three feet high hid one of those strange, long toilets from the bed, marking that end of the room as the 'bathroom.' The sink and a narrow window of thoroughly frosted glass completed the impression. Down at the other end…

It just wasn't there; the room let out directly into a hallway running perpendicular to the room's orientation. The open end made no sense; this was almost like a jail…

Oh. Oh…

I'd been tucked away to be dealt with whenever they felt like it. The room wasn't a very good cell though; I could just walk right out…

But to what end? If this really was a jail/dungeon/whatever then I was in the ass end of some building and there would be who knows how many armed guards between me and freedom. Even then, why? It's not like I could go anywhere.

My butt impacted the bed hard enough to jolt my back as all the energy in my legs fled. I was in Equestria. Equestria! A whole other world! There wasn't a single other human anywhere on this planet - maybe not even this entire universe.

Yeah, think about that for a second. No friends... No family... Not even so much as an acquaintance outside of Etherea. Craig, my mom and dad, my friends, my coworkers... I was... completely alone.

At least Etherea was getting the help she needed. I bet guards were already on their way here to... I didn't know what.

And I'd been shot at! By the FBI! Even if I could get home I was so fucked.

The shaking was coming back to my hands and working its way up my arms.

I'd also been bled on and didn't know how Etherea was faring. And then Celestia... And now I was in a jail... And, and and and...!

I think... I think what I needed to do was focus on not getting killed. I couldn't talk to anyone so the only chance I had to show my good intentions was to obey Celestia's clear intent and stay the fuck put.

With nothing to do but wait, I slumped forward and dropped my head into my hands. It was about the only thing I could actually do. This must be what real hopelessness feels like - like looking out at the top of a hole that you can't possibly reach, and knowing that both doing and not doing anything would accomplish exactly the same amount of nothing. No, even that wasn't…

My forehead was sticky. Great! Wonderful! Of course my hands still had blood on them!

As I looked toward the obvious sink, a sharp jolt ran through the floor and momentarily disturbed the cloying stillness of the air. That had gone right through the stone floor! What had that been?!

Straining to hear something - anything - except that constant pervasive tone in my ears I couldn't sense anything. No, wait. There were some kind of faint arrhythmic vibrations in the floor. They stopped, then picked up, then stopped and repeated the cycle. What was that?

It was like a group of hikers were all banging their walking sticks against the ground as hard as they could. Or... spears. Was that guards?!

The need to be somewhere else flared but a frantic glance around failed to reveal anywhere new to go. As the aching tension in my legs rose to a peak, two wood shafts capped by something silvery-metallic jutted into view past the corner where room met hallway. They led the way, held low and ready by the hornless golden-armored ponies just behind, who were slowing even as they came past the corner, helmeted heads already swinging in my direction. Both pairs of eyes widened.

The mouth of the auburn one on the left snapped out something I heard dimly as the ends of the staves jumped up toward me. They were already spreading sideways across the entrance as more ponies flowed in to fill the rest of the hallway. Just behind the two frontrunners were a pegasus and…

Viciously-hooked beak, avian head with a covering of feathers extending back to the shoulders of its tawny, leonine body, feathered wings held at the ready away from its sides, a thin, sinuous tail behind…

Th-that was...! They had an fucking gryphon!

It took the center position in their formation - earth ponies to either side and two unicorns with glowing horns in the back - and settled into a ready crouch.

I couldn't take my eyes away. I'd never been face to face with a true predator. I couldn't even blink. Gnashing beak, wicked talons, corded muscles under pieces of light armor and padding, blades folded against its forelegs... It was the eyes that held me though; they flickered from point to point, searching out the choicest part of me from which it could start feasting.

And here I was, arms and legs practically covered in Etherea's blood, with fresh smears of it on my forehead. I surrender! I couldn't help saying it aloud even if it was futile. With careful slowness I lifted trembling hands a few inches off my legs, palms up. Please understand!

The same earth pony fired an order over his withers without taking eyes off me. It - he, I assumed by its build - then snapped something else at me that I couldn't hear.

I think I was babbling something more about surrendering as we all waited for... something. It was the longest second of my life. They had to understand!

The lead earth pony tilted his head slightly back. I took my eyes off the gryphon - a fucking gryphon! - to flinch, but they went right back. Instead of unimaginable pain, all that happened was the left unicorn in the back said something.

Lead Pony's eyes narrowed. Whatever he was saying as he tilted his head cautiously seemed to be directed at me. They were talking! That was good! Let's keep that up!

But what do I say? They can't-

The unicorn who hadn't spoken stepped forward, his already glowing horn flaring a brighter violet as matching backlighting bloomed around my hands. Instinctively I jerked away, dragging my hands a few inches closer to safety before an iron-strong pressure held them where they were.

Everyone else moved. The earth ponies rushed to either side, giving rolling shrugs to keep their shoulder-mounted staves aimed at me, while the gryphon and other unicorn stepped into central positions a few feet further back.

I tried to get away from the leonine-avian death machine, I really did! But, with the rearmost unicorn braced like it was pulling a two ton sedan, my held arms let me go nowhere.

I said I surrender! I had! And did again! Just keep that thing away from me!

The earth pony on my right - the one who'd spoken already - seemed to consider my latest plea before taking a long step toward the gryphon. He said something sidelong and reached a hoof out to tap the floor a few feet from me.

What...? He wanted me to move closer to the gryphon?! It flexed its gut-tearing talons again for good measure.

The pony spat another, more forceful, order and repeated the gesture.

I... didn't have any say in the matter. If I cooperated they wouldn't harm me, right? These were ponies, after all. That gryphon wouldn't do anything unless I did. So I just didn't have to do anything! Even then, I couldn't take my eyes off it on the off chance that doing so would let it kill me. It seemed to be working.

I guess I could do this.

The force holding my hands gained an insistent forward pressure, guiding me to the middle of the room as my legs finally relented to moving toward the gryphon. The hemi circle of guards shifted smoothly into a ring surrounding me.

The same earth pony - now slightly behind me on my right - gave another sharp order. No other indication was given from anyone else. What was I supposed to do now? I needed them to show me!

The first unicorn - the one not concentrating intently on my hands, and who had been eyeballing everything but me - stepped carefully around my left, ochre eyes giving me a thorough once-over. His horn, which had already been glowing orange-white, lit up brighter. Some kind of orange-ish aerial distortion snapped my eyes downward to something ephemeral and orange - like a ball of unicorn magic backlighting - flowing down my leg.

It took everything I had to not yank my leg away from whatever it was. Muscles strained to both go and stay, somewhat canceling each other out as an ache built in my thighs and calves.

The earth pony stared at me, intense and suspicious, down the length of his staff.

Breathing erratically as I tried to watch him without losing sight of either the gryphon or the magic, a small part of me noted that I couldn't feel whatever the one unicorn was doing to my leg. Maybe it was alright. That didn't stop my heart from running in overdrive.

With choppy words, I tried to reassure them again that I was cooperating but trailed off as the commander said something. He looked less aggressive which was good! Hopefully. It was fucking impossible to stay calm, but I had to try. I just had to cooperate until Etherea could talk to them.

If I could last that long…

The unicorn made a slow circuit around me, the orange distortion flowing up and down over me, doing... I had no idea what! It was a struggle to keep my breathing under control and not try to twist away as my vision flickered orange.

Just keep cooperating!

The unicorn began a rapid-fire conversation with the commander pony when he finished and I tried to follow along. There was some impression of voices around all the ringing, but it was hard to tell much more than they weren't yelling. Initially the unicorn did most of the talking as the commander interjected responses. Their roles quickly reversed as the commander's questions and piercing looks to me grew increasingly curt. All I could do was stand there, try not to shake too much, and fail to follow.

Then the commander disengaged from the unicorn, his head swiveling to say something to the pegasus and the distant unicorn. The rest of the ponies shifted to keep me surrounded and the pegasus carefully went around the rear of the gryphon before darting back down the hallway.

And we waited. If it wasn't bad enough to be standing there completely helpless while they decided my fate, trying to keep my eyes on the gryphon, their commander shifted out of formation and began a circuit around me. I couldn't watch them both at the same time! But I tried.

All of their ears were uniformly on me and what I could see beneath their muzzle guards was simply stoic and wary - the commander was the most emotive of them with his small frown. At some point the unicorn in the rear said something and was acknowledged by commander pony, but that was it. What the hell was going on? They didn't oblige me with any indication. Naturally, in lieu of any apparent danger, my brain filled in by helpfully supplying itself with possibilities for what they were calling in to deal with me, the invading alien.

The pony equivalent of the air force, a solid cordon of heavy pony infantry and siege machinery, the magical equivalent of rail guns or even nukes, or worse…

They could even be bringing in more gryphons. Or, given what Etherea had said, changelings.

I shivered hard because I was completely and thoroughly fucked.

As one, an ear from each guard swiveled toward the direction they'd arrived from. Commander pony frowned, looking to the unicorn in the rear. The unicorn, in turn, peered with one eye back the way they'd come. His eyes widened and he took several steps away.

What now?!

Even as the commander took a step in that direction a pony skidded into sight, hooves sliding along the hard floor as it tried halt its mad dash toward the rearmost unicorn. A thinner, shorter, and slightly more rounded muzzle indicated a mare, while her pale lavender coat, overly full saddlebags, and long blue-violet mane and tail were noted and quickly dismissed in favor of the wide purple eyes that glued to me with unabashed shock. I couldn't quite place her expression, her mouth agape as her sides heaved helplessly.

Wait a second. She was a unicorn and, though her coat was a bit faded and she bore noticeable minor crinkles around her face, those bright rose and deep purple highlights sparked a memory. That cutie mark of paired six-pointed stars, pink atop white, surrounded by a ring of miniature stars… I'd recognize it anywhere!

Other ponies piled in around her, almost rear-ending each other in a comical pony pileup, some in armor and some not. Despite the number of ponies in the area climbing to over a dozen or so, the first was the only one who mattered.

That, right there, was Twilight Sparkle. Twilight Sparkle! Element of Magic, personal student to Princess Celestia herself, the pony around whom the Elements of Harmony had formed, reformer of Nightmare Moon, defeater of Discord... She was a legend in both Equestria and - as My Little Pony's protagonist - on Earth.

And Etherea's aunt! Fuck! She’d have good reason to hate me!

The gryphon flicked its wings open a bit wider, snapping my bulging eyes back to it.

No, I wasn't even thinking of touching her, honest! And I couldn't raise my hands to protect myself!

"FELTINUR KEDASU ESVOR!" Even I heard the commander clearly.

Despite all the armor, I could tell his hackles were up as he interposed himself between Twilight and me. A roll of his withers sent his staff rotating in its complicated harness to point up. Whatever he hollered next was marginally softer but the guards mixed in among the newcomers all leapt into action, pushing out and cordoning me off despite Twilight's erratic - and apparently breathless - attempts to protest. A coughing fit did her no favors.

The commander didn't give her any quarter, getting in her face and demanding something. Her ears dipped but she countered authoritatively and produced a sheet of paper - a scrap, really, since it was clearly torn out of something else. The commander took several moments to reread whatever it was and while she tried to catch her breath, her eyes seeking me out around the commander's bulk.

Commander Pony seemed to growl in response, looking like he'd just eaten something rancid, and the killer gryphon moved to his side without ever taking its eyes from mine. It tilted its head just slightly, menacing me.

I wasn't even thinking of trying anything!

Twilight had stiffened at the commander's reaction but her response was level and matter-of-fact. A brief lively exchange ensued but, despite whatever he was trying to convince her of, Twilight wasn't having it.

The commander murmured something as he glanced back at me with narrowed eyes. I shivered, my heart skipping again, as Twilight shrank back. She took a breath - tearing her eyes away from me for the first time - to give him a pointed and very measured reply. He stood silently as they stared each other down but eventually spun smartly back to me, his staff pulling my eyes along as it swung back around to a low, ready position.

He fired a short, offhand comment that left her bristling.

I didn't know what had just been decided and wasn't sure I wanted to. I needed them to go talk to Etherea, but I couldn't see how to get it across to them. Her name was the only thing I knew and... What if they took it the wrong way? What if she did?

Without taking her eyes off me, Twilight's horn gained a pink-purple halo and a silver and gold tablet-thingy much like Etherea's extracted itself from one of her saddlebags. She wasn't the only one watching me raptly and I couldn't decide how to feel about looking down over a small sea of colorful pony faces.

I shivered again as my breath hitched at alien the sight.

Twilight laid her tablet face up on the floor just ahead of her front hooves and, while a stylus floated over and started rapidly manipulating the display, began speaking in a strong, steady voice. Orders, I guessed, since the non-guards began shuffling about one by one, pulling items out of their bags. Pads of paper, things that looked like artificial quills - judging by the sheen - Gemstones, and other doodads I couldn't identify were passed around by magic and hoof. A couple began talking back and forth - and still watching! - and a charcoal mare even sidled up to the guard holding my hands.

"Anenur enrietnoi naois!"

The commander's bark made both Twilight and I jump which, in turn, made the gryphon twitch ominously. When I didn't do anything but shake everyone relaxed back to their previous wariness.

A gesture from the commander and a tug from the magic around my wrists got me turned fully toward Twilight as items powered by various-colored halos began to whizz around the room. Her horn flared lightly as a complicated vertically-oriented design about two feet in diameter of concentric circles and other fluid shapes, all drawn in lavender light, blinked in and out of existence in air above her device.

My breath sucked in through my teeth as I inadvertently pulled at my restraints, trying to jerk away from whatever that had been. All I accomplished was sending every single guard into a more aggressive stance. Even the non-guards froze. The gryphon lifted its wings incrementally and narrowed its eyes.

No! I'm not doing anything! I shook my head in helpless denial.

This was... I couldn't begin to describe... God, I needed Etherea.

After an eternal moment Commander Pony cocked his head to fire a question over his shoulder. One of the guards in back responded and, as they carried on a short back and forth, some of the clinging tension bled away.

The commander's next order to me came complete with a forehoof gesturing around my back. I hesitated while I tried to sort through what he might want and, more importantly, what he didn't. Did he want me to sit back down, then? I didn't like the way his frown was growing again. What-?

My hands were tugged around and to the side.

Seizing up, I followed my first instinct and held my ground. Who wouldn't? It was suddenly clear what they wanted and it meant turning my back on the gryphon! The unicorn was insistent and, oh God, would he just keep pulling until my arms dislocated?!

That he might was what convinced my body to obey.

With teeth clenched hard just so they couldn't rattle, I stared unblinkingly at the wall and tried to think about anything but that gryphon jumping me while my back was turned. Another sudden lavender flash sent me springing several inches off the floor despite my desire to remain calm. What the hell was all this? What were they doing to me?!

Another tug on my arms and I was turned right back around.

My heart lurched again when the world went hazy blue. I couldn't tell how and didn't know why. As if those first days with Etherea hadn't been heart attack-inducing enough, now the ponies kept doing things without warning or apparent reason. What was going on?! What sorcery was this?

I'd already been interrogated, shot at!, ripped away from Earth, teleported again, couldn't hear, and now...! Fuck, I didn't want to think about my heart rate either!

Okay, okay, okay, just focus on the here and now; ignore everything you can't do anything about. Alex, you gotta' try!

But what the hell was this blue haze? It seemed to fill the room. I whipped my head around frantically, still not letting that gryphon leave my sight, as I tried to find any kind of indication.

Wait... Some of the gems they'd been passing around - amber-green ones with an almost kite shield shape - were wedged into the extreme corners of the room. They were also wreathed in blue halos. What the hell were those for?

None of the other ponies seemed concerned other than a couple giving curious glances to Twilight's ongoing magical display. She herself was a sight to see, her horn shining almost incandescently while several ghostly lavender shapes hung in the area. There was an arc just above the floor that seemed to be part of an unbroken ring around me, several shifting lines of miniscule connected symbols surrounded her in the rough outline of a sphere, a small disc-like projection just in front of her horn, and a pad of scratch paper on which a stylus scribbled furiously. But none of that seemed to affect her conversation with Commander Pony.

I don't know what she was trying to convince him of, but she didn't sound happy. Not that he seemed concerned with whatever she wanted. Then, as if sensing my momentary attention, Commander Pony cut Twilight off and started stalking slowly around me. I tried to follow but he disappeared behind me.

Something tugged the back of my shirt. Surprised, I again tried ripping my bound wrists off.

What the hell was he doing back there?! When I twisted my head around all I found was the end of his staff hovering near my face.

I'm cooperating! Don't do whatever it is that staff does!

Naturally, the only answer I got couldn't even reach my eardrums. I faced forward, scrunching my eyes shut for a moment, not thinking about the weapon that was right there! Nope. My brain could make me, but I wouldn't. I…

That didn't stop the violent flinches as the commander made his circuit and kept testing my clothes. Staying stoic was far easier thought than done when the commander lifted the front of my shirt, and my gut seized up as I imagined him using the opportunity to gut me. Twilight, who had tried protesting again, gave up in favor of staring at my face - my eyes had to stay on that gryphon! - as Commander Pony rearranged the soldiers so one of the rear unicorns could come forward.

I just had to wait for whatever they wanted me to do next. If I did that then everything would be alright.

After a short discussion with Commander Pony and some hoof gestures at me, the new unicorn's horn gained a pale teal halo.

Whatever they wanted me to do…

The glow around my wrists pulled upward.

They were stringing me up!

Whatever they wanted of me!

My labored breathing perfectly matched my failure to control the rising panic. With my arms held up - though not painfully so - teal encompassed the bottom half of my vision and cloth slid upwards across my torso. Maroon blocked my sight for a moment and then my eyes were free again.

They'd... taken my shirt?! I could only watch, dumbfounded, as the unicorn with the teal glow floated it to Twilight.

With that my arms were let down.

As my shirt hung in the air before Twilight, the rings of light once again flashed above her device. When my shirt started rotating around the commander stepped up again and began closely peering up and down at me. Mostly down. I kept my face forward and tried to breath normally.

I needed to run, or fight, or something! But there wasn't hope of either; I could only cooperate or suffer more.

Setting his eyes on mine, Commander Pony angled his head and directed a question over his withers. The gryphon, of all things, replied. Its beak was inflexible - duh! - but it seemed to speak Equestrian just fine because the commander understood its reply. Or maybe the commander understood gryphon-ish. I couldn't tell!

I suddenly really wanted to rub at my ears. Would that help?

But the gryphon could talk! Of course it could; everyone else here-

Commander Pony spoke again, motioning down and behind me.

Turn around again? I began to but the unicorn didn't let my arms go. I froze. They had my shirt; what did they want now?! My eyes widened at the implications.

No…

"Shi efror imma!" Even I heard that.

His eyes narrowed further at my hesitation, and he stalked around me yet kept a respectable distance. The next time he gestured toward the bed it was sharp and forceful. He wasn't going to allow disagreement.

Okay…

I spoke much the same, more to myself than him - agreeing and trying to convince myself to go where this seemed to be headed - as I backed up until my calves bumped the bed. So I let my butt fall onto the mattress. It seemed to be the right choice because neither he, nor the gryphon, did anything to gainsay my choice. Being no longer upright, my strength left me and I hunched guardedly.

Keep cooperating, Alex.

Commander Pony took a step forward. Twilight said something in the background as he raised a forehoof and said something.

Nothing happened immediately so I just-

Something hugged and then pulled at my foot.

My breath caught again and my eyes snapped down. My feet were backlit by teal. After another futile tug the glow shifted to only the laces, which then took great care to untie themselves. The only thing keeping me still - outside the low-level shaking that had become a constant - was that them stealing my shoes and socks for Twilight to examine didn't outright hurt.

I knew where this was going. The prospect of soon being naked should have brought more distress than it did, but it just didn't. I wasn't sure why, and that was supremely worrying.

And since I didn't want them to try ripping my legs off to get my pants, I even tried to help by laying out the next steps despite my voice shaking hard enough to rattle my tongue. Not that they could understand a damned word of it. Still, Twilight's went erect, focusing on me much like they had every time I'd opened my mouth, and her quill scribbled away furiously - not that it had stopped yet, but my voice spurred it into higher gear.

They didn't seem to need my pitiful help though. A quick conversation between Commander Pony, Teal Magic Unicorn, and Twilight led to a gesture for me to lie back. Staring blankly at the featureless light gray ceiling, I tried to keep my heart rate at less than lethal while they systematically stole my decency. That left me with only an uncomfortable cooling sensation from the smears still on my thighs.

And yet, for some reason, the air against my bare everywhere wasn't as cold as I'd expected. Maybe it was all the alien ponies in the room, but it was uncomfortably warm-

Another gesture and an unheard order got me into motion. I shook all over - how I wished I didn't - while struggling to my feet. Looking down again across a small sea of brightly-colored faces, everything dangling in full view just below their noses, my hands bound and no way to cover up... The various eyes gorging on my nakedness were like a physical force, almost overwhelmingly urging me to curl up in some corner. I'd never been publicly naked like this.

Cold flashed over me from head to toe.

Commander Pony stepped right up again and made a no-nonsense gesture toward Twilight, who was passing my underwear to the cluster of non-guards in the back. I shuffled forward like a good little captive, trying to keep an eye on the gryphon without looking directly at its.

Twilight mumbled something with a glance in the direction of Commander Pony and the flashy violet magic array thingy went off again in front of me. Before I could finish flinching I was being directed to face away. Then more purple light. What the hell was she doing?

And it was hot again! That definitely wasn't the ambience.

Commander Pony again gave me no time with my thoughts, turning neatly about and striding toward the hallway while slinging orders around like they were going out of style. There was some hesitation among the non-guards but they still packed up in a hurry and headed back the way they'd come. Twilight stuck around though. She must-

The air shifted to pale violet.

What the fuck?! Ponies, guards, gryphons, magic, tinted air, stolen clothes... Fuck, fuck, Fuck, FUCK!

I closed my eyes, trying not to dwell too much on any one thing. But I was fucking naked and playing lead role to a crowd of…

No, I couldn't think about that either, no matter how often it called for attention! Somehow it was easily shoved into the background with all my other woes.

Twilight fell in beside the commander while a small cloud of instruments and doodads floated themselves into her bags. Fucking unicorns and their magic... She chose that moment to look back at me. She couldn't read thoughts, could she? Her expression was unreadable, the when our eyes met what could have been a sympathetic grimace flickered across her face.

The rest of the guards hemmed me in and then waited for a minute. Why? Who knows!

When they finally moved I had no option other than to follow. Even the gems from the corners of the room came along for the ride. I hadn't seen them move, but there they were, hanging just out of reach in the air around me like the corners of an invisible box. The nearest guards - gryphon included! - were barely outside their bounds; also not close enough to reach yet still within easy striking distance.

There was so much movement around me and no way to keep track of it all. And this purple haze...!

I hadn't even been allowed to clean up…

The hall itself was nothing unusual, just more white and gray, and perhaps twelve feet wide. Yet, with the volume of hooves beating the floor, it still managed to be claustrophobic. Along the left were more 'cell' openings - perhaps half a dozen or so - while ahead of us were two solid-looking dark gray double doors guarding the end of the hallway. Another single set was in the right wall near them.

I checked, rechecked, and checked again in mere seconds, but there was nothing else here. I mean, there was a leftward corner in the hall behind us, but despite my fears there were no other onlookers, guards, or even the rest of the non-guard ponies. I didn't see any other than Twilight. Where had the rest gone?

More importantly, what about Luna or Celestia?

Don't think about them.

Something tapped the outside of my left knee. I nearly jumped my head right into the ceiling before shying away, desperately focusing back on the crowd around me. Commander Pony was ahead of me but marching backwards so he could fully give me his glare.

He'd leveled his staff at me again! Why? What had I done?

Once he had my attention he swiped it back toward the center of the enclosing guards. I'd drifted to one side while distracted? I guess.

Down the hall we went. The double doors at the end opened well ahead of us and admitted another small crowd of ponies. They stopped to gawk almost as one and Commander Pony charged forward to lay into them. Into the first cell they went while we waited, the guards leading them forming a protective wall at the entrance. The non-guards couldn't have been prisoners; they were outfitted much like those that had come in with Twilight.

Plus their guards were facing outward. Toward me.

My efforts to not shrink away were partially successful but left me shaking ever harder. And now cold despite the building's actual temperature.

The best part was that they all got to see my penis flopping about! So did the guards who had opened the doors at the end of the hall. And also the guard in the room beyond at the station behind the reinforced glass - like a high security bank teller. It was like some twisted, torturous Oprah giveaway.

'You get to see me naked! And you get to see me naked. And you! Everyone gets a free look at my bare, naked ass!'

Two of the forward guards took position beside and opened the door leading from this room, and Commander Pony led us on without pause. My steps were becoming more and more halting and I couldn't do a thing about it; with every passing moment this was becoming more and more ominous.

We entered into a much larger space - about the size of a small auditorium - with a second level balcony walkway running around its entirety. Light pouring in through the ceiling was supplemented by more 'light bars' under the walkway, illuminating an open central area and…

Oh, hey, more guards! Why not? They too can get front row tickets to the butt-naked human being paraded about!

A fresh, almost literal army of guards ringed the room near the walls and behind them, pushed against the walls, were desks, low couches, and other assorted furniture. Four other doors - one across from me, one on the right, and two in the rear left - were almost completely hidden behind everything else. The place was minimalist with straight lines and neutral colors. Only by a few illegible signs posted beside the doors broke the motif.

I tried to have my eyes everywhere at once, tracking each and every guard. They were arranged in trios - earth pony, unicorn, and pegasus - though amidst the surrounding gleaming gold and silver were several avian heads and leonine bodies. It was fucking impossible! I couldn't do it and keep the gryphon next to me in sight.

As my head swiveled, gleaming blue-purple drew my eyes up…

Above the far door on a railing-less semicircle projection from the walkway was a bulk of brightly-colored scales and leathery wings perhaps twice the size of a pony. Taloned paws overhung the edge, casual and at odds with the intense, unblinking eyes boring into me from a narrow reptilian head atop a lengthy serpentine neck. My feet missed their marks completely, pitching me forward and dragging my wrists along as I fell to my knees.

That was fucking impossible! First gryphons, but now an actual, live and in the flesh dragon! I couldn't! My brain just couldn't! That... That couldn't possibly exist. Nope!

Commander Pony gave me no reprieve, backing toward the center of the open space while waving me forward and mouthing another unheard order.

But that would mean being out in the open! Completely naked! Surrounded by all those-

His mouth moved again, his muzzle creasing with an angry sneer.

And that dragon! The only reason for needing a flying, fire-breathing, knight-eating death machine was to end me messily! Nonononono I don't-

"Ruont!" His third try actually reached my ears.

And this time an insistent force began hauling my wrists forward. I had no choice! I had to survive until Etherea could tell them all what was what!

I let the force on my wrists guide me into a small tentative step. No one else moved - none jumping out at me - though my bare skin crawled from the feel the dozens of inhuman eyes. A second step across the cool floor did nothing more than place me closer to Commander Pony and his scowl. More steps lessened his expression. The guards who had been all around me spread out and reformed their old protective circle. I tried to focus on the commander's hoof as it directed me; not watching the gryphon to my right, or Twilight and her crew stepping around the outside wall, or the persistent violet haze in the air, or that dragon! looming above.

When I reached the center... still nothing happened. Sure, there was a constant low-level movement in the crowd - they were all living creatures, after all - but their commander was the only one to actually move. He directed another order at me as he took a position by the door over which the dragon sat.

I kind of heard it. Too bad I still didn't understand a word of Equestrian! But I could guess at what it had been, especially with the lack of activity. I... didn't want to think about that either. The beige-white tiles in the floor were a whole lot safer.

If only Etherea were here. That was the catch, wasn't it? Without her I was... a non-entity.

I dimly caught a barked command from someone in the back and, even as my eyes popped up, the far door swung open. Another gryphon and an earth pony were admitted one after anoth-

Every pony's ears twitched, and the guards tensed almost as one, staring me down, as those nearest the doorway stepped aside to provide more room. Striding purposefully, a trim midnight blue form stepped into view.

Princess Luna's teal slit-pupil eyes were already boring into me from under a crown-like headpiece that guarded her cheeks and the bridge of her muzzle. Three spires rose in front of and bracketed her horn, the base of each bearing a different-colored diamond-shaped gem, a three-part peytral bearing a crescent moon rested about her neck and breast, and she wore the same articulated hoofguards I'd seen the other night. Then there was her stance. With wings held away from her side, mouth in a thin line, and horn glowing azure she looked ready to charge forward and gore me!

I tried to step back. My feet moved, but the unicorn a few feet to my right lowered his head and my hands remained where they were.

I needed to keep my distance. But cooperation! I needed to…

Twilight strode briskly to intercept Luna even as the princess spoke while nodding slightly. She then bent her neck, eyes never leaving me, and tersely said something else to one of the other guards - who began speaking to no one that I could see - before firing out a question. It also didn't seem to be to anyone. Twilight began talking, her mouth practically blurring, but was quickly cut off when Luna's wing sliced through the air. Commander Pony joined in then, though whatever little he said only deepened Luna's frown.

All that I caught only by its proximity to the Princess because my eyes didn't waver. Those slit pupils didn't belong on a pony.

A memory bubbled to the surface. I was immobile, helpless and in jagged pain, unable to look away from them. Now they were right there, coming for me again, and I couldn't move again!

Oh, God... Celestia had done the same thing! Don't look them in the eyes!

I scrunched my eyes shut as Luna finished saying something to Twilight and brushed past her and the Commander. Even I heard Twilight's voice approaching shout-levels of shrillness as she vehemently protested.

I was helpless and alone.

But I had to do whatever they wanted of me! Whatever... whatever it took to get to Etherea.

Each of Luna's shod hoof strikes were more felt through the floor than heard. They stopped some still-too-close distance away.

Don't open your eyes!

Sourceless force wrapped around my head and pressed against my shoulders. My eyes shot open - Oh, God no! - to Luna looking up at me from only feet away. Her eyes bored into me, narrow and cold, while her horn lit my world teal. At odds with the rest of her stance, her blue and violet iridescent mane drifted tranquilly in defiance of the still air and physics in general.

The downward force across my shoulders multiplied and with a strangled squeak I was pressed onto my knees. Ohgodohgodohgodohgod...! I suddenly couldn't breathe fast enough. I also couldn't take looking up at that grim equine face and those eyes... But neither could I move my head despite neck muscles straining nearly to the point of pain. She didn't control my eyes so I stared at her chest piece.

But she didn't do anything! I waited and waited for something - anything - to happen, but she just kept staring down at me with her horn alight.

Then something changed. It was a subtle background feeling that I'd never noticed until it was different. Even then, trying not to drown in panic easily masked what it was.

The pressure around my head and shoulders vanished, allowing me to lean back and away.

Luna's lips moved.

What? What? I can't fucking hear you!

I needed to shout it in her face because-

The strangest little feeling cropped up. Though hard to pin down with my frayed thoughts and the possibility that Luna might decide to just toss me around like a rag doll, it felt like understanding. It faded just as quickly.

Luna's eyes narrowed further and she spoke again. I heard it vaguely.

I don't fucking understand Equosar, Princess!

Wait...! What the fuck?!

I was staring harder, somehow, and shocked into frozen incredulity. I bit and held my upper lip for dear life. I'd wanted to spit back the name of her own language back at her, but I didn't know…

Equestrian. 'Equosar,' my brain helpfully supplied again.

That was fucking Equestrian! In my head! My eyes bulged at the implication. Luna had been fucking around in my head! Shit shit shitshitshitShitShitSHIT! What had that done to me? What was it going to do to me? What else had she done?!

I wasn't in any more pain than before - that I could tell - but did that really mean anything?

Luna was still right there.

My limbs, my torso, my head, my... everything seemed to be there. It could have been something in my head. She'd implanted Equos- Equestrian! directly into my brain, or something.

I... 'Shi...'

Her horn still shed aquamarine light.

She could have done all manner of other things! A quick mental check revealed... nothing that I could tell. Would I even be able to tell if she'd altered who I was?! I mean, the Equestrian language was pretty obvious, but what about sleeper commands, or something?!

She spoke, tone low but forceful, and I cringed away. As close as we were, I was able to catch some of it. Something, something, 'paying attention,' something about her.

If I concentrated, my brain fed me motherfucking Equestrian! Manifesting a language like that was fucking impossible! Even my brain agreed! In Equestrian when I thought about it!

Oh…

I shuddered. Luna had been fucking around in my head! My stomach twisted itself back into a knot. Wonderful!

All the fan stories where Luna invaded people's thoughts through dreams came to my frantic mind. She might be able to outright mind-rape if she didn't like how this was going. And with my ears ringing I couldn't possibly cooperate fully and there was no way she'd stand for that!

Complete cooperation was impossible. Gryphons, dragons, ponies... all impossible. Speaking Equestrian was-

Being in Equestria was impossible!

Oh, God... I'd been teleported - torn apart and reassembled?

And then everything rushed back to stampede around my head in a tide of fear and misery. Forcibly stripped naked to be interrogated... Nearly killed by some psycho with a handgun... The goddamned FBI... Injured and out of money... Luna beating the shit out of me…

I couldn't keep up; it was like I was drowning. Fuck, I had to get away! RUN! But Luna would... I had to find...!

Strange clarity highlighted a fog in the edges of my vision. It crept inward to occlude more of my peripheral vision even as I found focus in its distraction. I couldn't place the haze's color but it was set with myriad tiny sparkling points, framing Luna's face oddly as the world fell away into the distance.

I knew this; it had struck previously when I'd gashed an arm on the side of a wood trailer, when I'd smashed a finger open between a door and jam, when…

Next was an increasingly uncomfortable clenching in my gut. And right on schedule was the faint taste of metal.

Fresh alarm rushed in and replaced the panic that had largely dissipated in the face of my altering perceptions.

I needed a bucket. Now.

The armored visage before me hesitated. A softer voice made it to my ears but I had bigger concerns.

Swallow the metallic taste. Breathe. Don't throw up.

Someone was talking again, their tone biting. Angry.

Don't care. Swallow. Breathe.

Whatever they were saying - was that... Luna, that cunt? - just wasn't important. My stomach flipped as my world shook briefly.

Don't throw up! Oh God, don't!

Swallow. Breathe.

Colorful, gut-twisting motion along the narrowed borders of my sight was followed shortly by my various confinements fleeing, and I was finally able to drag my eyes down to the sedate gray floor below. My hands had been freed! I leaned forward, grabbing my knees for support, but even that minor motion sent a distressing somersault through my middle.

I needed to tell them!

No! Swallow, then breathe!

Maybe…

I closed my eyes, trying to shut everything out, but the world whirled around and with a near hiccup the metallic taste turn acrid. Closing my eyes wasn't an option! I was never so thankful that the floor was stationary, blandly-toned, and marked be even, orderly lines. It was calming, reassuring, and most importantly, blessedly static - I could focus past the blurred vision and it would hold me steady.

Breathe. Swallow. And let my stomach settle!

The cool air prickling at my bare skin everywh-

Don't think about that. The mild chill felt good though.

Swallow, then breathe.

The roiling in my core slowly settled into an uneasy truce; it wouldn't punish me as long as I didn't move. At the same time, the détente allowed gave me freedom to again note other outside sensations. A number of nearby unintelligible voices tugging at me. There was at least one of each gender but beyond that I couldn't follow who was who despite the familiarity of one. My stomach seized up at the distraction.

Breathe. Swallow.

Patience, Alex. It'll going away. I just needed time.

Hopefully.

A second of silence preceded one of the voices coming through gently but clearly. It - she - was close. There were even violet hooves in the left corner of my sight.

Funny how the hair of her hocks and canons was a hint lighter than that of her hooves. I'm not sure why I noticed-

Twilight. It was Twilight goddamned Sparkle in the flesh! How the hell could she even exist?!

"...duntarsher? Anledeseluna efror esu evron."

I needed a bucket, or something! I. Shi. Need. Osuar.

Was this really happening?! I didn't dare shake my head so my denial stayed internal.

A. Ne. Bucket. Keuri.

Shi osuar ne keuri.

I mumbled out something that was probably that - pretty sure - and Twilight's hooves twitched. She leaned like she was going to sidle left, but corrected herself before speaking again in fitful starts and stops. Something coherent finally came through and understanding pinged me again. I guess because I'd been paying attention? And when I devoted a little thought to it, I was actually fucking able to sort through the alien words!

Did I know what was wrong?

Of course I did! What a dumb fucking question. I'd almost died only, what, four or five times in the last fucking hour?! And Etherea had been shot clean through! I didn't dare shake my head; my stomach wasn't calm enough yet.

But she just wanted the immediate why. So I needed to think Equestrian.

I might throw up. Shi soheruar... folruirn!

Twilight's hooves moved backward half a pace. Near silence fell around me, weighing everything down. What was she waiting-?

She was speaking, and must have been so for a moment. With some effort I managed to sort through my poor ears and her strained concern, hesitantly leaning on the feeling of understanding.

"...injured? Or... or... or ill? Can you place the...? Is it...? Does it feel... ...within your, um, head?"

It was hard to follow the rapid fire stream of alien words, so I lost as much as I caught. With a moment of thought I was pretty sure I had her last question. A question that made no sense.

No, you stupid pony, it's not my head; it's from shock, or something! That's why my vision's fuzzy! It might be slowly going away now, but it's still really fucking clear to me!

"Terror..." There was apparently no Equestrian for it, so I had to use English. "...dipshit!"

The next pregnant pause stretched long and more meaningfully. I grinned derisively, baring my teeth to the floor even as the pit in my sternum moved up into my throat. I'd insulted Twilight right to her face! Even as I recoiled internally I couldn't stop.

"You would... too if you... had nearly... died as... many times... as I just... did!" And whose fault was that?! Theirs! "You had Etherea... for two... fucking days! Did anypony... even talk... to her?!" I squeezed my eyes shut. My stomach surged at that mistake.

Eyes trailing their way up past Twilight's legs and chest to her face, I found not murderous intent, but strong lines and wide eyes of concern. Her flicking ears were more indecisive. She spoke again, yet it was a moment before I could pick the process back up.

"...not know what about... ...can't speak about what has happened here... ...understand, don't you?"

Of course she couldn't! Oh, I understood conceptually because I was a security risk - at least someone in my situation would be back on Earth - but being kept in the dark made me want to break something. Especially after what I'd been through.

"...recent events, we've agreed that... ...Princess Etherea can speak... ...telling the truth, and your reaction seems... ...do even more harm." She actually sounded upset.

God, this was hard! An unsteady stomach, what felt like a large stone sitting right behind my sternum, cold skin - again - and a host of other distractions weren't helping! I lost my tenuous trains of thought as the rear-left door opened and the nearby guards turned toward it.

In stepped a trio of ponies - two unicorns and an earth pony - all with saddlebags stuffed fit to burst. The lead pony was a gold-white unicorn mare with cream and burgundy mane and tail in neat braids. An unsteady expression on her face grew more prominent as she surveyed the room full of guards. Naturally, her eyes were drawn to the open central space…

She hollered something high-pitched on the verge of strident, blue-green eyes almost leaping from her head. It was almost amusing how her expression was mirrored by the rest of her group.

Twilight, who'd turned when the door opened, flinched. Even as she made her way over to the new arrivals, her head dipped back and forth faintly. The gold-white mare was already going a mile a minute, seeming to talk to everyone and no one as her head and eyes zipped back and forth. Twilight tried to interject once, twice, and again, but the new mare just kept going, getting more animated as she began sidling back and forth.

The whole thing gave me a chance to notice something. Or, some things, really.

Luna wasn't immediately visible. She could have left... Or maybe she was just hiding and waiting for me to let my guard down! Looking around for the errant bitch, I found that the dragon also proved to be absent. In fact, there were fewer guards in general.

The world wasn't doused in purple haze anymore, though the green-amber gems from the corners of the cell were still in the air around me - some bracketing me from the floor and the rest around me just out of reach over my head. I quickly decided I didn't want to know what they were for; probably something else about how much my life sucked.

There were also still no ways out. Commander Pony had joined Twilight in talking to the new ponies - apparently trying to convince them of something despite the lead mare's insistent objections - but there were still plenty of guards close at hand.

Yes, the gryphon was still nearby. It took a couple of deep breaths to settle my gut back into place. Don't think about it too-

The knot of ponies had all stopped talking and were looking my way. White masks covered the muzzles of the three new arrivals like small socks, and Twilight was working on the strap of hers around the back of her head. White Mare said something, her eyes on me and blinking slowly.

I blinked in return, edging away from her gaze. What?

The earth pony stallion to the doctor's right, however, pulled his head back with a confused little shake and replied.

The other unicorn mare fared worse and just kept wide emerald eyes on me when White Mare queried her. A shoulder bump from the doctor made her flinch but looked to get nothing more than an incoherent stammer. As if I didn't want to hide badly enough already, I was terrorizing regular ponies while just crouching here doing nothing.

The white-gold mare huffed, grumbled, and finally sighed dramatically. Then she was advancing; achingly slow, and with blue-green eyes glued to mine, but the movement was there. My eyes locked onto hers and she froze, her mask moving from within.

My hands moved over my crotch of their own accord. It was a pitiful attempt at modesty, but at least it was something. Even if I was now essentially fondly myself. The world got hot again.

And no, pony, I can't hear you.

She tried again and I caught her cautious inflection.

I can not hear you! Shi enusar non letheduar easu!

At my response White Mare snapped around to Twilight like a whip-crack, giving me momentary flash of just how much of a mare she was. Twilight was forced back step after step by the tirade and, while I could finally hear the new mare, there was no way to keep up with that blistering stream of syllables. Only Commander Pony's hoof slamming into the floor stopped the mare from berating Twilight into the far wall. I flinched worse than either of the mares.

Dipping my head as the argument picked up again - this time between all three - I tried to remain small. There certainly was a lot of head shaking and cutting gestures with hooves. And a vigorously irate mare with her ass pointed at me.

They all seemed to sequentially relent about... something, and that's when White Mare finally got back to me. Despite the impossibility I let my brain feed me translations for what I could pick up from her - something about communication.

Through narrowed eyes I watched, waiting for whatever trap they might have. But other than eventually repeating the question, none of them did anything.

"Can not... hear because... ringing."

"Ringing?" The mare's ears rotated around to scan the room.

Hunching closer to the floor, I extended the thumb and index finger of one hand while curling the rest of my fingers, feeling completely idiotic the entire time. A mock gun. Which I pointed at the floor in front of me and pantomimed recoil. "Bang."

Yeah, that was really stupid. "Explosive weapon. Etherea-"

Commander Pony's scowl reached a whole new amplitude. Fine, I won't mention her!

White Mare started turning but a shake of the commander's head and short comment stopped her. Her head came back around, her eyes leading cautiously.

"You are injured?"

I shook my head. Wait... I changed it to a nod. She just closed her mouth back up right after opening it, and a quick glance around got shrugs from the other nearby ponies.

Twilight pushed her head forward and out of the background. "...some form of assent or dissent?"

What? With everything else that was running through my head the question just didn't parse. Was she really asking what was 'yes' and what was 'no?' On the off chance it was…

"Nod for 'yes...'"

"Oh! Fascinating! It's the same-!" White Mare's glare shut her right up and she coughed lightly.

Speaking of the new mare... "...you tell us how?"

Did she really care at all about Luna tossing me into a wall? Somehow I doubted it.

"Luna broke..." Shit! The painkillers were still in my room at the hospital on Earth! I squeezed my eyes shut despite how it made the world twist around me.

"Broken? What is...? ...are-?"

"Cracked. Two cracked... ribs. Need painkillers."

"O-Oh...! Um..."

"Ears..." My knees also kind of ached from landing on them several times, but even that was distant. For the moment, my brain helpfully pointed out. "Knees. Nausea. Stripped. Mindr-" No! I cut myself off right there, swallowing everything threatening to burst forth.

Small twitches traversed her brow and jaw. Eventually she lowered her head, ears perked and looking me right in the eyes. "We will help as best we can," she enunciated carefully as a sweep of one leg indicated the two who had come in with her.

It wasn't that I didn't trust them, but I totally didn't. I glared back, careful to not look her directly in the eyes.

"Prove it."

I'd snapped at them! Shit! My wide eyes went to Commander Pony, whose scowl kept taking new forms, and then the gryphon, who spent its time eyeballing me like a side dish. But White Mare took it right in stride, the tip of her braided mane bobbing along with her head before she looked over to Commander Pony.

"...really necessary? ...enough to work... ...making things worse."

Worse? What was worse?!

Oblivious to my internal question, Commander Pony just shook his head lightly. "...dangerous prisoner, even if the-"

"Not dangerous," I mumbled. In English. All it did was garner me some confused looks.

White Mare spoke up again after a moment, tone suggesting that she wasn't making a suggestion. "Look, Enlathent..."

Enlathent? His name, maybe?

White Mare was facing me again, looking expectant. What had I missed?

"What is your name?"

I couldn't imagine how telling her that might come back to bite me. "Alex."

She tested it out for herself. "Al-ecks?"

"Alex."

Twilight's entire attention was on her tablet as she scribbled away, her brow creased and muzzle scrunched. She looked... confused?

"Nice to meet you, Alex. I am Arissa Derinetth."

I held my peace and just watched her, though I couldn't meet her eyes. Y'know, unicorn with magic... and having just looked right up under her tail.

Still, she seemed to smile beneath her mask, and afterward she turned back to the commander. "Enlathent, if he... ...say he's terrified. Do we... ...guard here? ...easier and more cooperative... ...so threatened." She unsubtly tilted her head toward the gryphon. "She seems to be a large source."

That gryphon was female?

"Its comfort is a lesser..." Enlathent's scowl switched from 'I'm generally unhappy' to 'I'm allowing this compromise against my wishes' at Arissa's bristling and hardened stance. "Fine. ...is wrong, so it-"

"Enlathent, if his... ...I'd say he's terrified. My professional opinion... ...be allowed some quiet time alone to... ...may cause him uncontrolled outbursts that may harm himself or others."

Now Commander Pony had an 'I'm chewing glass shards' style scowl. "He has been awarded some leeway." A swing of his head sent the gryphon off.

I couldn't tell if the gryphon was bothered at all by this so, just to make sure I was safe, I kept eyes on her until she took an open position against one of the walls. Unlike the new ponies, but similar to many of the other guards, as I was now noticing, the gryphon had some kind of short skirt-thingy hanging from under the armor over her back going from somewhere under her folded wings, along her flanks, and then over her haunches. So even though her tail drifted sinuously with each step, she stayed covered and decent.

Strangely enough, one of the unicorns and an earth pony from my keepers joined her. At the same time another group of three - this one with a pegasus in place of a gryphon - crossed the open area and took up the vacated positions. Hadn't Arissa only asked for the gryphon to-?

Arissa broke the moment with an incline of her head to the new arrivals, "Thank you, everypony." Not a single one acknowledged her, though Twilight nodded along without looking up. "So," she came back to me, "how about we get you cleaned up and situated?"

I just watched her with my breath caught in the back of my throat. Could I trust her? Nope. But... it didn't matter; I was going to end up doing whatever they wanted whether I did or not. Going along was just less painful in the long run.

Not that I liked the idea of moving. That meant going somewhere else. I knew this spot and these surroundings. Who knew what I might find somewhere else? Not me!

Foolish? Maybe.

Getting up also meant being blatantly naked in front of everyone again, and when I considered the stability of my stomach it happily returned a reply of 'no comment.' At least that was kind of an improvement.

Arissa's mask crinkled with the impression of a smile and she went all sing-song. "You will feel better." Though the smile was quick to depart. "I need to ask you some very important questions first - some basic things so I can get at least some idea of where I'm starting. Is that alright with you?"

Why did she keep making this sound like an option? Just tell me to move if that's what you're going to do anyway! But fine, if they wanted to play this game…

"Okay...?"

"I... What was that?"

Right, I'd said that in English. I just nodded instead.

"Good. I'm assuming since nopony seems overly worried that you've already received some treatment for your injuries."

I nodded, distress welling up from my stomach again. "P-painkillers. C-cannot cast. Will heal." And they were back on Earth!

"I... will see what we can do." She sounded about as skeptical as she looked.

Twilight interrupted with a nervous cough. "Actually, doctor, we were hoping you might be able to help with that."

Arissa's gaze bored unabated into Twilight. "Yeah, sure, while we're on the topic of things nopony is qualified for..." She looked up at me again and held up a piece of paper through which I caught the impression of small, neat strings of writing. "So, first and most basic, is there anything, if anything, that you require in the immediate future - like the next, well, right now - that you may not be getting but require to remain alive?"

What? I said as much.

She quirked an eyebrow over her shoulder at Twilight. "Well, the main thing for ponies would be air, I suppose. Things like that."

Hah. "The a-air is a bit... dry, but I... am breathing fine." Just so long as my side start acting up again.

"Fascinating...," Twilight murmured in the background, scribbling some more.

Arissa shook her head and dropped the paper, kicking it to one side with a hind hoof. "Is there anything else that we should be aware of that would be, or is, soon to be necessary or harmful? Harmonic flows, humidity, um... air pressure, emotional or moral ambience, or anything else?"

I still couldn't quite figure out what she was getting at! "I... don't understand. Things are fine! I am not going... to just up and die... unless you..." My throat clenched and I couldn't say it.

She snorted! I flinched.

"We are not going to harm you," she stated with conviction. Commander Pony seemed less convinced. "...us know the instant something else might threaten your wellbeing, okay?"

Sheets of paper, or something, rustled nearby as I bit back a sarcastic comment about 'undue stress' and nodded again.

"Next: other than what you already mentioned, are you injured that you can tell? And do you think you are able to move on your own?"

"I am fine," I said softly. A bald-faced lie in some senses, but it answered her first question. I didn't think she cared much about the bandaged nicks and scrapes down the back of me.

Twilight nodded along in the background, her attention firmly on her tablet-thing. "Do you think you may be able to help if he should become injured?"

That got a raised eyebrow from Arissa. "I can physically keep... ...but that's about it."

"I couldn't actually ask for more. I know that this..." She carried on faster than I could follow. Something about being hard to Arissa, though I know I missed a lot.

Arissa waved a hoof at her dismissively. "You were right though."

Twilight blinked as her head cocked, mouth opening. Arissa was already ignoring her in favor of me though.

"Alright then, up!" She said it with a light tone and hint of a smile. "Let's get this trotting."

Well... alright then. As nice as she seemed, her straightforwardness left me hesitant and made getting to my feet an even more ungainly affair. After all, keeping full three hundred sixty degree coverage just wasn't going to happen. I could cover my front - poorly - or my butt less so, or both almost not at all. Any attempt would almost be more uncomfortable than none at all just from the contortions I'd have to try. My stomach wasn't happy about the change and I tried to stand casually while ignoring it and the faint twinge my back had given.

"Good," said Arissa, her eyes working me over. "Is this a normal and comfortable stance for your species?"

Nod. "Human," I spat.

"Human?"

Another nod. Duh! I'd just said that!

Twilight cleared her throat, intently watching her stylus as it worked over her device. "What are you doing now, doctor?"

"Getting an impression. Nothing like directionless observation to learn how a species does things for itself." Her eyes met mine. "You don't need to worry. I'm a medical professional and I'll treat you as well as I do my own foals." Her ears waggled. "Better even! They don't get to decide where I stick the thermometer."

Shock alone kept me still as she started making a circuit around me. Well, more still than I'd been. After all I'd been through, and with how I'd been treated, this pony was cracking jokes? There was something very off here and I couldn't tell what. I didn't trust her. But I kind of wanted to; she seemed nice.

My eyes locked right back onto her when she came around my other side. A sharp flick of her tail off to one side momentarily tugged at my eyes. She gave a slight nod.

"Just stay relaxed. Well, as best you can; I understand this isn't much fun for you." She turned and made another circuit in the other direction.

"What do you think?" Twilight cut in as Arissa came around.

The doctor rolled her eyes. "I don't know."

"Wha-?"

"His reactions don't seem physically distressed but... ...indicator. I'm operating on... ...hiding it to not appear weak." She shrugged. "Realistically, I need a lot more observation."

"What do you know?"

Arissa cocked her head and blinked incredulously. "Nothing! Now can we get moving? My best guess... ...from this situation... ...help, right?"

Ugh! Couldn't they just speak slower? At least until I was used to dealing with impossible situations. I wasn't catching enough to really understand what was going on here, especially because of that fucking ringing!

Twilight nodded - not to me - and spent some time conferring softly with Commander Pony while Arissa and her assistants kept watch over me. Three groups of pony guards were picked out - one for in front of me and one for behind, while the third played doorpony - and unsteady steps took me back to where I'd come from.

Except for the soft 'thunks' of many hooves filling the air, everyone was quiet, which was fine with me. Surrounded by armed aliens, having notes taken about my every move, and with fictional characters popping up all over the place, I didn't feel like talking to anyone. Or moving. Or existing…

Small motions in the air revealed the gems still tagging along and doing... whatever they were doing. It was just another reminder that this place was fundamentally off. And, yup, beyond them and behind my cadre of guards were the doctor's helpers and a small crowd of Twilight's... Associates? Peons? I didn't know, but there were far too many of them.

As soon as the front guards passed through the final sets of doors, they made a left turn away from the cells and through the double doors on that side.

This wasn't...! "What-?" Equestrian, Alex!

Oh, right. Showers. I wasn't going to have to put up with being caked in dried blood. Like the doctor had said, it was just an open shower room. Maybe she was alright.

The box-like space was tiled in white and pale blue, with sections of thigh-high walls marking out paired rows of stall-like areas overhung with showerheads on the end of accordion-like feed lines. Another set of double doors were in the far wall and mirroring the ones we had entered through. Nobody else was in it but it was big enough to hold a sizeable crowd. Like most everywhere else so far, it felt like I needed to duck to walk around safely.

"It is just... water, right?" Another stupid thought, sure, but-

"Um, yes," said Arissa while one eyebrow rose up her forehead.

Twilight jumped in, "Why...? Oh! Is water a problem?"

What? "No," I snapped.

The two mares exchanged a very confused glance. The good doctor was the first to break the atmosphere. "This is what I'm... ...and likely unnecessary aggression responses... ...levels of distress."

"Right," Twilight nodded.

She stepped around into the first alcove ahead of me, giving a quick demonstration. Apparently the water was controlled at the head of the room and the... inmates only got to turn on the head. Projecting from the side was a plate that controlled the flow of water when twisted. Ponies probably had to rear up onto the median between stalls in order to 'stick' a hoof to the plate, but for me, being taller, the head was laughably easy to reach and, thankfully, my fingers were long enough to grasp around the plate's edges.

The water... could have been warmer. The ponies around me? They could have gotten lost. The best I could do was keep my eyes down so I couldn't see them as well. Twilight, in particular, had some hungry eyes while recording everything I did.

A piece of meat was all I was…

Then they handed me a towel. Clothes! Almost. It was just a towel and did very little. But it was something!

"Good, good," the doctor interrupted. "Feeling any better?"

I stared at the doctor for a moment before moving my head side to side once.

She frowned. "Sorry to hear it." Her frown disappeared and she took a step to the side while giving me a thorough visual going-over.

I totally didn't inch away.

"I need you to do one thing for me before we all head to your room."

I just waited, not comfortable with giving any kind of response.

Her frown returned. "I understand. This is simple though. I just need you to walk around the room once."

Everyone blinked at her.

"Yes, just once around. I need to see how you're moving if I'm going to be able to help. This is for your benefit."

She looked about ready to tut at me. I'd never been tutted before-

"I'm afraid I'll have to ask you to do so without the towel covering you though. I need to be able to clearly see you if I am to have of telling whether you're favoring anything."

Well, at least she spoke clearly and gently. It almost sounded like it wasn't an order. Still, my fingers wouldn't immediately move. Obeying her meant letting go of the one source of security in this entire world.

That... was a terrifying thought; that this towel was literally all I had.

With shaky feet and a bit unsteady balance I managed to pass the towel off to her magic, giving everyone present another good, long look at my pathetically dangling manhood and bare ass. Just a little more of this. I really hoped. My masochistic part pointed out I still wouldn't do much - or be able to - if I was wrong.

The guards chose that ominous moment to spread around the area and block both doors. Yeah, I knew what that meant. I was going nowhere.

Once I started, because everyone was watching, I couldn't stop thinking about what I was doing. And like any simple thing that required no thought, doing so made it difficult. By the time I completed the circuit. every step felt distinctly off. I had surely messed up walking!

I came back around to the doctor, my skin burning as I let her get a eyeful. Don't comment on it. Don't comment on it. Don't…

With pursed lips she gave me one last once over. A glance toward her assistants and got one shrug back. The other mare was apparently still too distracted by me.

Why was I cold again?!

Steady took a surprised step back as I wrapped the towel around me almost before she let it back into my care. Mine!

"You're very possessive, aren't you?"

Stupid pony. "Nudity taboo," I fired back.

"Oh? Oh!" Maybe she was finally getting it! "Let's get you back to your room-" jail cell! "-then. I'm sure we can come up with something more comfortable for you there. Right, Enlathent?"

His head inclined almost imperceptibly. Twilight closed her mouth and turned, leaning her head close to one of the non-guards who had been following along.

As we all began moving she dropped back to Arissa who was just behind me. "Do... Do you have any opinion now, doctor?"

"Well, sure, Lady Naois. It's completely inadequate given... ...naturally so I doubt any major injury. Except for the minor... ...his back, his exterior is lacking... ...notable. He seems to be in acceptable physical condition to the untrained eye."

Thanks doc. I huddled deeper into my towel. My towel. Even the six guards couldn't take this towel from me!

Unless they started swinging around those weapons…

We went right across the hall into the first cell, not the... fourth, had it been? The reason was obvious; another small crowd of ponies was in and around the cell I'd been dropped into by Celestia. I didn't know what they were up to, but the ones not staring at me looked industrious.

"So, we'll be keeping you here for the time being," Twilight said softly a little ways to my right as I stood staring aimlessly at the back of the cell. "It's the safest and best option."

And the easiest to keep an eye on me!

I looked down at her, not quite meeting her eyes and giving no immediate answer. The idea that they might not leave me alone until I acknowledged her - if ever - eventually convinced me to nod. This is what they wanted and I had to keep cooperating.

The top blanket on the bed pulled itself free under the command of pale gold backlighting and floated itself to me. I hesitated before grabbing at the strange halo, snatching the blanket away and draping it's longer length around me before letting the towel drop. It's funny how much something so simple, and yet so incomplete, could still be so comforting. Maybe not the entire world was out to get me.

Twilight had begun talking at some point. "...and the easiest to make sure you're well. And that's the other reason I wanted... no, needed to talk to you. We've never before had an opp-"

Arissa grunted, her eyes narrowed at the violet mare.

"You're right; not important. But this is a new situation to us and despite-"

"I think what the good Lady is saying," Arissa cut in, stepping closer like she was shouldering Twilight out of the way, "is that we are taking your health very seriously. And to that end," she gave Twilight another withering glance, "we're going to leave you alone for a little bit while we sort some things out. We'll be right around the corner though, so just let us know if you need anything. And, for your sake, please, please, help us help you with every health concern you might have."

If I had-

"Doctor," said Twilight with a level look. "I have several things that can not wait." A piece of paper floated over to Arissa. It might have been the same one the doctor had discarded earlier.

Great, more crap to do. Why can't these ponies just leave me alone already? Isn't that what the doctor-?

Arissa's murmuring put a cap on my rising anger before I could do it myself.

"Alright. Some of these are good."

"Great! If you will-"

Arissa didn't seem to hear. "Alex, what do you consume for sustenance?"

Oh, shit... I hadn't had a chance to broach this subject with Etherea to gauge her reaction! I didn't want to starve, so all I could do was roll the dice and hope to God that the time-honored unanswered debate among Bronies about ponies and meat happened to be in my favor.

And then there was the word 'omnivorous' not translating the way I expected even after I broke it down into English. I wasn't really an omnivore according to Equestria…

"Some plants..." I cringed, eyes darting around as I took a step back and away from the two mares. "...and meat."

Arissa didn't bat an eye. "Can you be more specific?"

Twilight also just nodded without pausing in her scribbling. A couple of the guards twitched though.

Right. Sure. I guess I should be happy that turned out well. "Um... leafy greens like lettuce. Fruits like apples," I almost slapped myself for the bad cliché. "Vegetables like carrots. No grass. Flowers? I do not know."

"And for meats?"

Don't say cow, don't say cow, don't say... They might be intelligent here! "Ummmm... chicken, rabbit-" How about something not in Fluttershy's care? Wait, did she even have a little animal haven in this Equestria?

"Turkey. Things like that." I clamped my mouth shut and made a show of looking away.

"Good. We can help with that. It will be a learning process though."

Twilight said something too soft for my damaged ears to catch, her mouth twisted into a small frown.

"I had noticed," replied Arissa.

What?

Then Twilight spoke up. "Did...? Did the Princess have any difficulties eating or drinking while, um...?"

Don't worry, I got that message loud and clear.

"No." Wait... "We use more... salt than you." Was that important?

"Good to know, actually," Arissa flicked her muzzle at Twilight, one ear flopping over momentarily. Twilight nodded back and kept writing.

"Are you hungry now? And how often do you eat?"

"No. Three times a day." Looking around the cell, there was naturally very little way to hide. I wanted somewhere 'away' to be but the only meager privacy was offered by the tiny partition between bed and toilet.

"Please let us know when you're hungry then."

"Okay." Was this almost over yet?! All this Equestrian was giving me a headache. Wait, was that important? It wasn't like it was an actual headache though; I just really, really wanted a break.

"Good. And is there anything else that you are in immediate need of? Drink? Material? Harmonic? Emotional? Or something else that hasn't been mentioned?"

I blinked and looked down at her as I largely failed to parse that one. The answer was just so fucking obvious.

"To go home."

As if my desire to hit something wasn't already strong enough, someone in the hallway snorted.

Twilight's voice remained strictly level even as she directed a narrow-eyed glare backwards. "I am afraid that is not possible at this time."

Of course it wasn't. Who knew how long they'd keep me, or how long it would take for them to talk to Etherea. But at least once they did, she would set them straight. Wouldn't she? The idea that she might not, and thereby leave me to face this on my own, should have been ridiculous, but I couldn't shake the fear that it wasn't.

"Final question, Alex. Will more of your kind be showing up the way you did?"

That got Twilight's ears to somehow stand more at attention than they already had been - such stiffness couldn't have been comfortable. I almost felt like laughing just to throw the ludicrousness in their faces.

"N-No. We can not get... here. Nopony knows where... you are. Even me." I double-checked that everything sounded right in my head - even though I'd been handed the ability, thinking Equestrian was fucking hard.

Her eyes went distant despite looking right at me and her nose scrunched. The strange look was completed by her slightly open mouth, like she was contemplating something she shouldn't. A little shake brought her out of it. "There you... ...immediately important ones."

Twilight opened her mouth and raised her head.

"You just relax now, Alex. I need to have a discussion with Velroa. Like I said, we'll be around if you need help with anything. Oh, and let me know the moment you need any sort of assistance with your ribs."

I didn't feel like trusting her, but she was so earnest. She'd acted it too and had finally gotten everyone to leave me to my own devices. So... I guess she wasn't that bad.

The short divider between the toilet and bed proved to be adequate protection against the rest of the world, and I was left with only my thoughts, the fuzzy ringing in my ears - it was definitely softer now! - and the guards outside the cell. Oh, and those gems that continued to hover-

Don't think about it; they weren't hurting me.

I curled up in the corner with only a slight twinge from my back.

That wasn't good. How long until it was unbearable again? I didn't want to think about that either.

Or where I was.

Or all the teleporting.

Or the ponies with their... 'fingers' in my head.

Or the dragons, gryphons, and worse monsters that lurked around here.

Or how I was utterly alone and had no idea how I could survive this.

Or how little I might have to go home to.

Or having been shot at.

Or, or, or…

I didn't cry - I was too proud to - but my eyes wouldn't stop watering. At least the tiled walls and floor were just and only that. They were blessedly normal and I clung tenaciously to that as my life raft.

Etherea, please get well soon!