//------------------------------// // Imprisonment and Questioning // Story: My Little Pony: The Brothers of Discord // by mr.myxsiple //------------------------------// CHAPTER 25 IMPRISONMENT AND QUESTIONING "Dear Princess Celestia, my investigation into the matter of the ponies has resulted in a few incidences with others; apparently, there were more of them than I thought. My friends and I are unhurt, but a few of us are quite shaken..." Twilight remembered just how shaken Applejack and Rarity were after their encounters with Psych. "That guy did something to Rarity didn't he?" Spike asked sharply turning towards the door to the basement and shaking his fist at it. "If he ever does that again I'll-" "Spike!" Twilight reprimanded before her assistant could finish the threat. The later stopped and looked back at her sheepishly. "Heh...sorry about that Twilight." he apologized. The unicorn sighed. "Listen, I know you're upset over what he did to Rarity; believe me when I say somepony like him deserves to be locked in the deepest dungeon Celestia has." She glared at the basement door herself. "But we still need information from him regarding what Solstice and his brothers wanted with the Elements. Now back to that letter." Spike held up his quill and parchment as Twilight cleared her throat. "In the end, I managed to detain a pony affiliated with them and plan to interrogate him. We have no idea what the brothers will be planning next. Therefore, I must request for the presence of a few royal guards in Ponyville for extra protection while I question him." "I will send the results of my questioning as soon as I have them. Your faithful student, Twilight Sparkle." Spike rolled up the letter and sent to off to Canterlot. "So when are you gonna talk to that guy?" he asked. "Later after we've had a good meal." she answered, her stomach grumbling slightly. "Think you can rustle up something for him as well Spike?" The dragon shifted uncomfortably. "OK, but I'm not taking it down to him. I know you got a barrier around him, but he just freaks me out y'know?" Twilight rolled her eyes. "Fine, I'll teleport it down there." Satisfied, Spike left to prepare lunch for the three of them. With him gone, Twilight looked once again at the basement door wondering if Psych would be in any mood for talking. I used to think the most important traits to look for in a pet, or any best friend, were all physical competitive abilities. But now I can see how short-sighted and shallow that was... "Huh...Brash aren't you Loyalty?" Psych muttered to himself as he turn a page to view the next letter. He was interrupted by a popping sound from behind him, Looking over his shoulder, he saw a plate on which two hay sandwiches sat. He marked his spot in the binder and fetched his lunch. Carrying a sandwich in his mouth, he returned to the binder and resumed reading. Upstairs while the library's other two occupants were busy having lunch, Spike belched out some green flames, and Twilight caught the scroll that came with it with her magic. She unrolled it and read its contents intently. "What's it say Twilight?" Spike asked. "It says here that the guards have been sent. It's just a small group of four. They should be arriving later in the afternoon." Twilight replied, her mouth slightly full of oats. "It's gonna be weird having royal guards around here." Spike commented snacking on a few rubies. "We don't really need many of them. He's harmless behind that barrier; the guards are just here in case Solstice and the others tried something again. I wonder what they're planning now..." she replied, her thoughts tuning to Solstice. "Solstice and his brothers never actually tried to hurt us, but Ash and this pony both tried to. They're both affiliated with him, so why do they seem to act separately?" "That's why you're gonna ask him right?" Spike pointed out. "Ya better do it now before those other guys show up." "Huh...I think I will." She wolfed down the last of her oats and took a quick drink. "Wish me luck." After receiving a thumbs up from him, Twilight took a deep breath and headed to the basement door. She gently pushed it open and lit up her horn in case she had to do a quick spell. She knew she had a barrier protecting her, but better safe than sorry right? She slowly descended the stairs, every step taking her closer and closer to a psychopath. She shook off bad thoughts from her head. He was harmless; what was the worst he could do? Once she was a the bottom of the stairs, she cleared her throat and spoke. "Hello?...I hope you're in the mood for answering because I have so many ques-" She froze mid-sentence at the scene before. Her magical barrier was still intact. Behind it sat Psych who was busy going through something she eventually recognized as a thick purple binder. Upon hearing her voice, the earth pony looked up and waved cheerfully at her. "Oh hey there Magic. So what's your first question?" he asked grinning innocently. "Wha-bu-ho-wh-" Twilight sputtered before finally crying out: "What are you doing with that?!" "Uh, reading it of course." Psych answered holding the collection of reports up. "I grew bored, so I looked around and found this little thing in a drawer." He opened it and flipped through a few pages while Twilight stared with her jaw hanging. "It's been really entertaining; you've no idea just how much I learned from it." A flash of light later, the book magically disappeared from his hooves and reappeared safely in Twilight's. "So Magic...you're the student of Princess Celestia herself...No wonder you guys have a connection to the Elements." he mused. Twilight placed the binder aside before turning back to him. "So you do know about the Elements; you are with Solstice aren't you?" she questioned. "Well, I wouldn't exactly say 'with' him. We're affiliated with each other, but we aren't really that close." Psych replied. "So why do you keep those things around?" He pointed at the friendship reports. "I'm asking the questions here." she reminded him. "Now what is it that you want with the Elements of Harmony?" Psych sighed and sat on his hunches. "I already told Honesty that. I don't, in any way, seek your Elements." He grinned at her. "Keep them here as long as you want. Make sure they stay put." Twilight didn't feel reassured by his words and his cooperation. Something about that smile of his made her feel edgy. "Well do you at least know what they're planning?" "Hmm...Aside from them wanting to find out where the Elements of Harmony are located, I can't say. I don't really involve myself in the stuff they get into. They could honestly jump off a cliff for all I care." Psych said heartlessly. "I tend to act separately from them." Twilight nodded; this was getting nowhere. "But, despite the truth looking at them right in the eyes, they concern themselves over me. They're probably searching for me as we speak." "Really? Are you Solstice's brother as well?" Twilight asked. Psych's grin quickly turned into a frown. "No. I only have one brother with whom you guys had a run in with." "What? Y-You mean Ash? He's your brother?" Twilight asked surprised. "He was the one that started the fight; I swear none of us wanted to hurt him." Psych huffed and sat down again still feeling upset. "If you must know, that's why I went after Generosity and Honesty." he told her. Generosity? Honesty? Why is he calling us by our Elements? she wondered. "My turn to get a question in." He pointed once again at the reports. "Why do you keep those around? Haven't you already learned from them? Just curious that's all." Twilight eyed him suspiciously. The question seemed innocent and had no ill intent. It wouldn't hurt to answer him right? "Sometime ago I...let's just say that I lost my way." she answered him. Psych leaned forward in interest. "I forgot what really mattered to me; I forgot everything I learned here in Ponyville, everything I learned from my friends. She gave the binder a pat. "These letters reminded me of what really mattered. I kept them in case I ever needed to be set on the right path once again..." Silence ensued after Twilight's reply. Psych's eyes closed, the gears in his head turning as he processed what he had just heard. After much thought, he opened his eyes and gave hr an amused smile. "You truly value friendship don't you?" he asked. She nodded. "It changed lives for the better. One of my friends believed that it would change your brother. He really looked like a troubled colt." "You have no idea." Psych said wondering what Ash was doing at the moment. "Yet what happened to that friendship when he started that fire? I thought your friendship was supposed to help him. What went wrong?" "He...Ash didn't seem to accept our offer. It just seemed to anger him instead." "So where was your precious friendship then?" Psych questioned. "I thought it was going to change him for the better?" "Well I-" "I've read how it changed your friends, and yet it did nothing to my brother." "Well...friendship isn't perfect." Twilight told him. "Oh I know it's imperfect. I'm just saying that it's much more flawed than you think." Psych said. "After all, relationships in general are not only flawed, but obstructive." "Obstructive? To what?" Twilight asked. Psych sighed. "The ugly, irrefutable truth that not all ponies are as perfect as you think." "I'm very much aware of that. I know me and my friends aren't perfect, but that doesn't make me think any less of them. I know how to look past their imperfections and-" "Look past them? Pfft. You blot them out, that's what you do." Psych interrupted. " Take Kindness for example. She is a wimpy, pathetic-." "Don't talk like that about her!" an upset Twilight shouted. "- coward." Psych ended with a smile. "How is it that you can depend on a pony such as that?" "She's a lot tougher than you think." Twilight answered angrily. "I beg to differ." Psych said unfazed. "We're talking about a mare who changed completely upon the acceptance of an idea. Yeah, she reverted back to her old self, but it was rather pathetic of her to change at all right? She's a pathetic mare, and you can't see that because of your friendship. You can't see any of your friends true characteristics before of your friendship." For a while, she was speechless. "What makes you think you know my friends more than I do?" Twilight asked upset over the things he said. Psych grinned and turned to his side. "I think I know just as much as you do; it's my special talent after all." he answered pointing at his Cutie Mark. "The eye represents my kinetic vision, my ability to see a pony's subconscious actions and habits. The brain on the other hoof represents my ability to analyze ponies. Give me say, half an hour with somepony, and I could tell you exactly what kind of pony they are, and exactly what to say in order to hurt them. I couldn't do that to your friends, but you provided me with something just as good." Twilight's eyes widened as she turned to the binder at her side. "The friendship reports?!" she exclaimed. "Indeed." Psych said with a nod. "So let me get this straight, Honesty's a stubborn, hard working family pony, Generosity's a lady who keeps true to her Element, Loyalty's brash and headstrong, Laughter's bubbly and cheerful and loves to make everypony smile..." For a brief moment, anger coursed through his veins. "And Kindness is, as I mentioned earlier, a wimp." Psych finished with an evil grin while Twilight stared in shock. "I even got stuff on Princess Luna." he added. "Funny; I thought she was still imprisoned on the moon..." Twilight shook her head and found her voice. "If you know that, then you must know what good ponies they are." she told him. "Please, you only say they're good because your friendship with them obstructs your view of their true nature." Psych said. "Lemme ask you something; if, for some insane, illogical reason, we were friends, would be be able to look past my sadistic, heartless nature and truly care for me? If we were friends, would you release me?" Twilight was a little startled by his questions. "Well...It wouldn't be nice to keep one of my friends locked up..." "You are aware of what I'll to others once I'm released. You're willing to sic me on the defenseless ponies because I'm your friend?" Psych accused. "You said it yourself that you'd hate to see a friend of your imprisoned like I am. Our friendship has caused you to forget that I'm a maniac. You were so lost in your care for me that you were willing to let me lose in Ponyville." "I...I..." Twilight didn't know what to say. "Such is the nature of friendship. It does nothing but blind ponies to other's faults! They use it as a means to be nice to others despite their faults! It's a cover placed upon the faults of others by those who supposedly care them only because they don't wish to see their faults! All those letters are all just ways to cover your friend's faults and problems!" "Every lesson you learn, every letter you and your friends have written are just displays of your weakness! You may learn something, but that learning's never gonna cease won't it? You six will always remain the pathetic ponies you are which will churn out more and more letters to put in there, more and more testaments to your failures! I may have my own problems, but at least I don't try to cover them up! I love making ponies suffer; it's all I can do, and I can't choose otherwise!" "Don't like other ponies fault?! Despise seeing their errors?! Well don't cover it up with something fine and dandy like friendship! And don't go running to your mentor passing it off as something you learned when it's just another mark of your failure! Here's what you write next time: 'Dear Princess Celestia..." "N-No..." Twilight shook her head not wanting to hear it. "Today I learned that everything I've learned here in Ponyville was all useless. All this time, I've don't nothing but conceal my 'friends' screw-ups. What a pointless task you've given me!" "No...No!" Twilight shouted finally hearing enough. She turned around and hurried out of the basement as fast as she could. "While you're up there, d'you think you can send down any books by Jung you got?" he called before hearing the basement door slam shut. He grinned and started laughing remembering how distraught Twilight looked before she left. Letting out a relaxed sigh, he laid on his back with his head in his hooves and stared at the ceiling still chuckling. He never needed his powers to inflict pain on others; he could do it just as easily with the right words. "I think I'm gonna enjoy it here..."