//------------------------------//
// Chapter 2: First day, part 1 
// Story: Caught and Punished 
// by ThePinkedWonder 
//------------------------------//

I never liked to go out at night. It was always freezing. Twilight had told me it was because winter was nearing, but that didn’t make things feel any warmer. I quickened my pace, so we could get to her castle faster, and Twilight did so as well to match me. Even with my coat on, I could still feel the cold, night air against my skin. I was used to warmer temperatures, so this was very uncomfortable for me.

We finally made it to Twilight’s huge, crystal castle. I’ve been inside once before when I first appeared in Equestria a few weeks ago. I freaked out bad when I first saw all the ponies, and more so when they spoke actual words, but I’m getting used to them talking. It really helped that the ponies here are overall like humans from my world from a personality standpoint; they’re just ponies. Although as a whole, they are somewhat more peaceful.

Twilight and I walked inside and I started to take off my coat, expecting it to be warmer in the castle. Unfortunately, it was almost as cold inside as it was outside, so I kept my coat on as we walked through the castle's hallways.

“I really gotta say that the castle is cool and all, but it sucks when it comes to insulation. How can you take it?”

“Ponies have some protection from the cold thanks to our hair, and dragons have a natural resistance against not just extreme heat, but cold air. However, really cold temperatures or cold wind gusts can be too much, and we can become sick if we stay out in the cold unprotected for too long.” Twilight explained. There was still a lot that I didn’t know about ponies or for that matter Equestria, but Twilight was always willing to teach me. Very willing actually.

“So where are the others?” I asked.

Twilight moved ahead of me. “They’re probably in the same room we found you in: the room with the Cutie Map.”

I chuckled as I recalled the memory, though it wasn't funny at the time! Soon, we came up to the Map Room's light-green double doors, which Twilight opened with her magic, and we stepped inside. Once in, she closed the doors behind us. Our other friends were all in there, standing around and talking to each other.

“Hey, girls!” I said, waving a hand.

There was a short chorus of greetings as they all turned to face us, save for Spike, who seemed to be staring at something in the room, but looked at me when I called out. Whoever he was looking at before was blocked by one of the thrones in the room, so I couldn’t see who it was.

“So I’m assuming you took Twilight’s offer to look after...her?” Rarity asked.

“Yeah,” I replied.

Rainbow Dash turned her head to Twilight. “I still think this is a bad idea.”

“Rainbow, I told you already to stop thinking that. Starlight’s in Sam’s hooves - er hands, now,” Twilight countered.

“I promise I’ll do my best to help. Where is this ‘Starlight’, anyhow?” I asked.

“She’s over there,” Rarity pointed a hoof to where Spike was staring. Who it was still wasn't visible from my current spot, so I walked over at an angle so I could see who Rarity was pointing at.

It was a unicorn, like Twilight had already told me, with a lilac coat of hair. Her mane was a dark shade of purple, just brighter than Twilight’s, with a streak of aquamarine flowing through it. It was done up in a ponytail in the back, and the front was done similar to Twilight’s, but her horn divided it into two halves. She had a small bit of chubbiness in her cheeks and belly, but only because my other friends were pretty slim. One wouldn’t be able to tell without comparison. She was staring at me with big, persian eyes. At the moment, I had only one thought going through my mind: How could someone so cute do something so bad as what Twilight said?

That was the thing about me. I didn’t look at them in a romantic way, but I still thought ponies, especially mares, were cute. I made the mistake of expressing these thoughts to my friends before, and while they told me it was flattering, they strongly suggested keeping those thoughts to myself when it came to other ponies. They never said to stop doing it to them, though. Every time I saw one of them do something cute near me, I would give them a little *boop* on the snoot. They always giggled cutely when I did that, even Rainbow Dash, who apparently hated "mushy stuff."

I walked closer to Starlight and she kept staring at me with those big, curious eyes. I couldn’t tell if she was intrigued or scared.

Once close enough, I knelt and said, “You must be Starlight. My name’s Sam."

She said nothing, simply staring at me in return, but It didn’t seem like she wanted to go anywhere. I stood up and looked to Twilight and asked, “Umm, how am I gonna get her back to my place?”

Twilight gasped and rubbed her head with an embarrassed smile. “Oops...hehe, that’s a good question. The ring will come off if I teleport you two there, and if you try to walk her there, she’ll probably run off. I could put the bindings back on her hooves so she wouldn’t, but it might look too...suspicious if ponies see you with a bound pony.”

I chuckled and shook my head playfully. “And here I thought you plan for everything with all those lists you love to make. Well, I could try to carry her, unless you have a collar and leash around?”

When I said that, I got a few...mixed reactions from my friends. Fluttershy hid her face behind her mane, Rarity put a hoof in front of her mouth to hide a tiny smile, Applejack stifled a laugh, Pinkie Pie was...Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash burst into laughter, and Twilight looked away from me. I think she was actually blushing.

I couldn't resist this chance to have some fun. I walked up to Twilight, leaned down, and cupped her cheek in my hand to turn her head to me. As I thought, she was blushing at what I said. I booped her on the nose, making her flinch and giggle a little. I chuckled, rolled my eyes, and walked back to Starlight, who was still staring at me.

“Well? What now?” I asked.

“Your idea of carrying her is better than my 'idea' of nothing, so I guess you can just carry her home. But I’ll come by tomorrow to see if you need anything. Thanks again for doing this,” Twilight said. The others were just watching, and Starlight continued to stare at me.

“Alright, then.” I moved around Starlight and knelt down. I put my arms under her torso and heaved her up. She gasped, maybe thinking I wasn’t actually going to pick her up. I looked to the nearest door. “Umm, Twilight, could you get that door for us? My hands are...uh...full.”

“Oh, right,” Twilight said, opening the doors to the Map Room. She walked out of the room behind me, then at the front doors, she opened them for me and we said our goodbyes.









What is this thing? And what does he think he’s doing with me? Starlight thought to herself. She had never seen anything like Sam before. He seemed nice, but she wasn't pleased with how he was handling her.

I don't like this, but I can't do anything right now. I’ll just have to wait until we’re out of sight of that stupid princess.

Sam ran through the peaceful town of Ponyville. A sudden wind gust hit Starlight’s coat, making her shiver in Sam’s grasp, though he did at least provide an extra bit of heat that helped it not feel too cold.

Once near the edge of Ponyville, Sam said, “See that house over there? That’s mine...or well, ours I guess, for now."

There's nopony around, good. Now I can break free without being seen.

Starlight abruptly wiggled fiercely to break Sam’s grip. Sam stopped walking, but he tightened his arms around her. Starlight tried kicking Sam to free herself, but her hooves were in bad spots to reach him. Her legs merely flailed about, kicking nothing but air.

“Woah, woah, what happened? You were fine back at the castle,” Sam said. Starlight wiggled even harder for a moment before she stopped and panted from the effort. “There you go. It’s alright. You don’t need to be afraid of me, I promise.”

Darn, it’s no use. This...whatever it is, is too strong. I’ll just have to find another way to get free.

Sam arrived at the house he was talking about with Starlight still in his arms. She was thankful it was the middle of the night, or she would’ve been even more humiliated than she already was.

Sam stepped through the doors, into his living room and up to his white couch. He gently laid Starlight down on it and knelt down to her.

“So...Starlight, welcome to your new home...for now, at least. It’s not much, I know, but it’s enough for me. I’ve never had a roommate before, so this will be a new experience for me. Here, the couch isn’t a pullout, but it’s still comfortable enough to sleep on. I would know,” Sam said, chuckling at the end.

Starlight stayed silent and wore an annoyed frown.

“Well...Twilight said you did some pretty bad stuff with your magic, which is why you can’t use it for now, but she also believes you can make up for it. And even though her friends don’t think the same, I trust her judgment. She’s been there for me since I first got here and helped me get used to Equestria. Don’t get me wrong: this world is great, but living in a world of ponies still feels a bit weird to me.”

Starlight said nothing, but formed a scowl along with her frown, showing she was only growing more angry, maybe even offended.

“Umm...You look pretty tired, so I’ll go get you a blanket and pillow so you can sleep. I can imagine you’ve had a long day. Uh, be right back.” Sam left the room and returned a moment later with a white, fluffy pillow, and a brown blanket. He placed the pillow on the end of the couch and laid out the blanket next to Starlight.

“Feel free to read anything from my bookshelf if you want." I pointed towards the hall leading to the bathroom. "The bathroom’s down that hall; you can’t miss it. And if you need anything at all, don’t hesitate to come ask. I’ll be upstairs, in the last room to the right...I’m rambling here, aren’t I?”

Starlight nodded, but kept her frown.

“Well, at least I got a response this time. Umm...sweet dreams, I guess. If you wake up before me, like I said, go ahead and take a look at my books. Just don’t wake me up early.”

With that, Sam went up the stairs, leaving Starlight by herself on the couch.

“Finally, he left,” Starlight whispered to herself. “Now I can get this stupid ring off my horn and get out of here.”

Starlight poked the ring upward with her hoof to try to slide it up her horn. It wouldn't budge. She tried poking the ring again with both hooves, grunting from effort. The ring stayed put.

“Come off! Come off! Please come off!” Starlight could feel tears welling up in her eyes. Out of pure desperation, she tried firing a blast of magic to force it off, but the ring glowed magenta and absorbed the magic.

“No! I can’t keep going on without my magic! I need it!” With her hooves, Starlight tried lying on her back and push the ring upwards with her hooves, hoping it could give her better leverage, but to no avail. She even rolled off the couch from the effort, making a squeak on impact. After ten minutes of struggling, she buried her face in her forelegs.

“There…*sniff*...has to be a way to remove this stupid ring. I can’t be nothing again…no, I won't give up! Not yet!”

Starlight unburied her face and tried everything she could to force the ring off her horn. She even rammed her horn progressively harder into whatever she could. Alas, nothing she tried worked. By the time she finally tired herself out and gave up, the remaining anger about her situation turned into pure sadness, joining the sadness she was already feeling. She was too upset to care about the mess she made in the room, and more tears than ever flowed down her face to the floor. Starlight Glimmer had never felt so weak before, or at least, not in a long time. A thought emerged in her head that she never even remotely considered.

“Could this…*sniff*...be how they really felt without their Cutie Marks? Because…*sob*...I...”









The next morning, I woke up earlier than I wanted. It had taken forever to get to sleep last night, and had no sleep the night before, since Twilight and the others were away.

I sat up and stretched, trying to remember what I had planned. Nothing new, just job hunting. Then I remembered Starlight and facepalmed at how I forgot. “Wait a second, that’s right. I have a roommate now!”

I changed shirts and put on some decent pants -- the shirt I wore now was light-blue and the pants were gray -- before going downstairs to see...my living room in shambles.

The bookshelf was tipped, and there were books all over the floor. My glass table was turned over and broken. The couch was in the wrong spot, and the cushions were all across the room. My father’s chair was misplaced, making my heart skip a beat, but was otherwise okay.

Finally, in the middle of the room was the one who caused it. Starlight was asleep on her side. It looked like she had cried herself to sleep, judging by the large bags under her eyes. Even so, this didn’t do anything to calm my mood.

“Starlight! What did you do to my living room?!” I yelled, nearly at the top of my lungs.

Starlight’s eyes flew open, exclaimed, “Eep!” and literally jumped a foot of air with her back slightly arched. Her pupils became pinpricks as soon as she saw me.

“What. Did. You. Do?!” I yelled again.

“I-I-I’ve never b-been without my magic b-before, so I t-tried to get the ring off m-my horn, b-but it wouldn’t come off, a-and it made me remember...and t-then I...” she trailed off, and slowly backed away. The pitch in Starlight’s voice was a bit different than it was before; more...timid I would say. She also looked like she was shaking from fear. The anger she had the previous day seemed to be gone and was replaced with nothing but fear now.

Seeing her like that snapped me out of my anger and I took a deep breath.

I am such an idiot. I told her she didn’t need to be afraid of me, and I go and do this. Great, things are off to a just peachy start.

I slowly walked toward her, but she stumbled backward at the same distance like I was a monster until she backed into the couch. Her breathing sped up. I knelt down in front of her, and she looked away with her eyes clenched shut. I gently set my hand on her.

“Hey, it’s okay. I-I’m not mad,” I cooed.

She didn’t move and kept looking away.

“I’m sorry I yelled. I told you that you don’t need to be afraid of me, and I intend to keep that promise.”

Her breaths became more steady. But she still didn’t look at me.

“I get it. You’re scared and frustrated...and you have every right to feel that way.”

She looked at me. Her eyes were now open, but still filled with fear. But being closer to her now, I thought I also saw some regret. It wasn't there the previous day.

“Here, why don’t you go back to sleep? You still look pretty tired,” I said, lifting her onto the couch and covering her with the blanket.

“R-Really? Y-You’re not gonna make me fix all this?”

“No, it’s fine. I’ll get it,” I said while gently stroking her mane. Her breathing was still a bit shaky and her eyes still showed she was a little afraid. I kept stroking her mane until her eyes slowly closed. Even though she didn’t look as...good as back in the castle, I had to admit, she looked pretty cute when she was asleep.

I turned back to the room to check out the damage, wondering how I slept through...whatever Starlight did. First, I set the bookshelf back up, picked up the books spread all over the floor, and laid them back on the bookshelf. I slowly pushed the couch in its normal place, careful not to wake up Starlight. I then realized that I had not yet put the cushions on the couch. After I had gathered those cushions, I pushed my father’s chair back into place with extra care. She had left all the pictures of my family untouched as well as my CD player. In fact, the only thing that was unsalvageable was the table, which actually wasn't that big a deal to me. It looked nice, but I was always afraid the glass in the middle would break, so I meant to get a new one anyhow. I simply opened the front door and set it outside by the door, then closed it.

I went back inside and sat on my father's chair, trying to think of what to do next. Around half a minute later, there was a knock on the door. I opened it to see Twilight, levitating a saddlebag in her magic.

“Hey, Sam. I wanted to come by to give you your first payment."

I stepped outside and put a finger over my mouth, closing the door behind me. I ignored the cold air I felt, and it helped that it wasn't as cold as it was during the night. “Starlight's still sleeping in there, so we have to be quiet.”

“Oh, right, sorry. Like I said, I just came by to drop off your first payment,” she said in a lower voice, handing me the saddlebag. I peeked inside it, and saw it was full of bits. Twilight noticed the broken table on the porch and gasped. Guess she was in deep thought when she got here, since she somehow didn't notice it already.

“What happened to that?”

I ran a hand across the back of my neck. “Starlight...kinda got a little carried away last night...”

“And?” Twilight said, raising her eyebrow.

“...And she kinda messed up my living room.”

“What?” she silently yelled.

“It’s not as bad as it sounds, really. The only thing she broke was my table.”

Twilight cracked opened the door and peeked inside, then faced me again. “Well, at least things could have been worse. Still, you’re gonna have to take some kind of measure to ensure it doesn’t happen again. But...I think I know a way.”

“What do you mean?”

Twilight sighed, looked down, and said, “Well...my friends thought of something last night. I’m not the biggest fan of their idea, but it looks like we might have no choice.”

“What did they say?” I asked, rubbing the bridge of my nose.

Twilight lifted her head to me. “I don’t think you’re gonna like this, and I know Starlight won’t. But...they suggested getting her a large...cage to sleep in and…*shudder*...a collar and leash for when you need to go out, just until she shows she can behave,” she said, very sheepishly might I add.

“What?! Twilight, you can’t be serious,” I nearly yelled. I checked back inside to see if I had awoken Starlight, which I didn't. “You said you wanted her to learn friendship and for her and me to become friends. How is keeping her in a cage here going to do that? Is it some kind of a pony thing that you didn’t tell me about?”

“I know, I know, and as I said, I don’t like it either, and it’s not a ‘pony thing’. But...between what happened at the village and now this, it’s either that, prison, or the even stricter Canterlot Dungeon.”

I thought about it. Keeping Starlight in a cage here might be better than throwing her in prison or a dungeon, but I hated the thought of being like a jailer. “Well, I’m not putting her in a cage even if you pay me twice as much...but I can at least do the leash and collar part, if you don't think it will cause a ruckus. Well…*sigh*...guess I’ll have to get her a collar and leash. Do you know of a good place to go for them?”

Twilight rolled her eyes up and set a hoof on her cheek. “Hmm. There’s a pet shop that's nearby. Maybe they will have a collar large enough for her. I can keep an eye on her for you, if you want to go now."

“Alright, I’ll go and see if they do. While I’m gone, help yourself to anything in the fridge. I have the bits to replace whatever you eat,” I said with a chuckle at the end.

“Thanks, and I’m sorry for asking you to do so much.”

I waved my hand in a “no problem” motion, then took some bits out of the bag Twilight brought and put them in a pouch. With that done, I took off to the pet store. During the day, it's not cold enough to need a coat, so I didn't need to get it.

Twilight went inside to watch Starlight. Before I closed the door, I noticed that she was shaking her head at Starlight. It seemed to be showing both pity and frustration.





As I walked around Ponyville, I got a lot of weird looks. Some of the ponies were warming up to me, but others, I think, thought I looked down on them. Probably my own fault: once I was more relaxed in Equestria, I said to a few mares that they were cute before my friends said not to. Guess they felt that I thought of them as animals like they do with sheep or pigs.

One of the ponies that wasn’t giving me a dirty look was a mare named Lyra Heartstrings, who was furiously waving at me with a big smile. I chuckled and waved back. She may have been a little...creepy when she was watching and trailing me, but I could tell Lyra was harmless and was just curious about me.

Soon, I found the shop Twilight was talking about and walked in. It was big, and it had a lot of stuff you’d expect to see in a normal pet shop. There were food, cushions, toys, and junk like that. I’ve never owned a pet, so the whole experience was new to me.

“Well, hello there! How can I help you?” a cheerful, energetic, high-pitched voice called out, kinda like Pinkie's. I looked at the counter and saw a female earth pony with a bright blue coat and a dark blue mane. She wore a big smile to compliment her friendly tone. I hesitantly walked over to the counter.

“Hey...I’m, uh, Sam, and I was wondering if you had any...collars and leashes?” I asked sheepishly while rubbing one of my wrists. I wasn’t exactly sure how she would respond to me treating a pony like a...pet. Some ponies already seemed to think that I looked down on them when I called some cute, and this wouldn’t help my case.

“Well, of course we have collars and leashes, silly. What kind of animal were you thinking of?” she asked. Her tone was still cheery, if not too cheery, so I lightened up a little and stopped rubbing my wrist.

“Umm...a pony."

“Oh...oh, why yes, we have collars for ponies,” she said, her voice growing sly and her smile grew into more of a smirk.

I gulped. “Well, that’s great. Where are they?”

She gave a sly chuckle. “Oh, we don’t keep those collars out for all to see. I’ll be right back with one.” After a couple of hops, she walked into a back room. I had a bad feeling that I wasn’t gonna like what she came out with.

Sure enough, she came back out with a green collar. It had a little heart-shaped charm that had a little bow tie behind it. “It’s rather...rare that somepony asks for a collar for another pony, but it's happened before, so we always keep a few in stock. This one’s made from the finest leather in Equestria, shipped alllll the way from Phillydelphia.”

I slowly took the collar in my hand. One would have to be an idiot to not know what this thing was really for. “Y-You aren’t appalled by leather? Because, well...”

“Some ponies are, but most of us aren’t. I can even have the little charm engraved for the lucky mare,” she answered, giving me a wink at the last part.

“You don’t have anything a little...less? I’m not sure Starlight would like this,” I said, realizing my mistake too late.

Of course, she took the leash and walked into the back room again, with a few hops mixed with her steps. Her somewhat random movements was reminding me a little too much of Pinkie. After a few minutes, she came out of the room with the leash. “Here it is. I’m sure your Starlight would love this, lucky mare,” she said dreamily.

I shuddered and looked at the charm. It was now engraved.

Starlight, property of Sam.

There was also a heart dotting the “I” in “Starlight”. I grimaced as I read the words.

I can’t believe I was stupid enough to say Starlight’s name in front of her. Great, and now that she's engraved it, I’m stuck having to buy it.

I sighed and asked, “How much?”

“Well, the collar and leash cost thirty bits total, plus an extra twenty for the engraving. But, I’ll tell you what: you’re cute, so I won’t charge you for the engraving, so you just owe thirty bits.”

I blushed a little when she called me cute, took out some bits from my pouch, a few at a time, until thirty were out on the counter. After that, I picked up the collar.

“And don’t forget the leash,” she said, handing me a blue string. I took and tried clamping it to the charm, hoping it would cover the engraving. It didn’t.

“Thanks. I should be going,” I said, walking back to the door.

“Oh, by the way, my name’s Lilly. Give your precious Starlight my greetings,” she said in a tone that I was not at all comfortable with. The wink she gave after didn’t help.

I sprinted through Ponyville back to my house, trying to cover as much of the collar in my arms as I could. I did not want any of these ponies to see me with a pony-sized collar.





I reached my house and caught my breath before walking inside. Starlight was still asleep on the couch and Twilight was levitating some books on the bookshelf to different spots, "organizing" them I guess. She's done that before, but I never minded it. I tapped her on the shoulder and pointed toward the kitchen. After she set the remaining books she still held in her magic, we both walked in the kitchen and I showed her the collar.

“Twilight, do not ask me to go to that pet shop again. Lilly is a little too much like Pinkie without actually being her for my liking,” I told her as she inspected the collar.

She grimaced at something. “Uh...well, this collar is certainly...interesting.”

“What is? The leather? Or the engraving?”

“The engraving. Leather doesn’t gross me out quite as much as it once did, but the engraving...it’s a bit much,” Twilight admitted.

“Yeah, I made the mistake of saying who it was for in front of Lilly. I couldn’t really back out of buying it, though,” I responded.

“At least it’s a nice collar. Although I doubt that’d do much to help.”

“Not helping me feel any more comfortable, Twilight. I’m definitely gonna find something to cover those words. I already don’t like this idea even without...this engraving.”

“And hey, who knows? Maybe she’ll start behaving quickly, so she won’t have to wear it long,” Twilight said with a hopeful smile.

“Yeah,” I agreed.

I heard something and there was a small pause. I felt a chill.

“This is gonna get bad, isn't it?” I asked.

“Probably,” Twilight admitted.

Starlight walked into the kitchen. Her eyes were half-open, and she didn’t even pay us any attention when she stumbled by us to get a cup of water, filling it part of the way, then stumbled back into the living room.

“At least she didn’t wreck anything this time. But I know you can do this, Sam, and I’ll come by again tomorrow to see how you’re doing. Good luck,” Twilight said.

“Thanks. I’m probably gonna need it.”

Twilight left, and I leaned on the counter, waiting for Starlight to return; I figured she'd come back in to put the cup of water back in the kitchen. After a moment, she did, and her eyes were fully open. I had a guilty look on my face that made her pause.

“Hey, listen. You’re not going to like what I have to do next and I really don't want to do it. But...it’s kinda out of my hands.”

She tilted her head in confusion.

“Just, with your little ‘stunt’ last night, I have no choice but to take...tighter measures until I can fully trust you,” I said, holding up the collar.

As soon as she saw it, she gasped, dropped the cup on the floor -- it was luckily empty -- and her breaths became shaky again. She looked from side to side as her fearful expression when I had yelled at her earlier returned.

I am just doing a terrible job not scaring her.

I started walking toward her, collar in hand. She backed away from me, at the same speed, until she bumped into the wall. She then lay down, stayed still, but stared at me. I slowly knelt and fastened the collar around her neck. Surprisingly, she didn’t put up much of a fuss as I tightened it, not enough to strangle her, but enough to keep it from falling off.

I stood back up. She brought her hooves up to the collar, as if trying to get it off. After a few seconds, she let the collar go, but her eyes were wide with fear, and she was starting to hyperventilate.

I looked away from her. I felt terrible. I had promised her she didn’t need to be afraid of me, but I wasn’t doing a very good job.

“I’m really sorry about this, but...you’re just not leaving me with much of a choice. Look, when you start behaving, and I can start to trust you, I’ll take it off, okay?”

She stopped hyperventilating and I felt a bit of relief, thinking she was calming down, and even turned my head to her again. But that feeling of relief quickly ended when she looked down and broke down into crying.

At least she looks pretty cute, wearing that collar and being all sub...No, no, no, no, NO! Do NOT go there right now!

“W-Why don’t I make us some breakfast?” I offered, trying to cheer her up a little.

She stopped crying at least, but didn’t respond to me.

I looked at the clock and chuckled. “Okay, forget breakfast. How about brunch?”

I opened the fridge to find...almost nothing. I looked back at Starlight, who was now looking back at me. “I...don’t have anything here. But that's okay: we can just go out and get something,” I said, my voice laced with guilt.

Starlight whimpered and looked away from me. “Let's just get this over with.”

At least she’s talking now. That’s good...right?