Meta Gamer in Equestria: The Blight of Bane.

by reflective vagrant

Debriefing and Detention (Chapter 10. Lab Rat Days, Part 1)

Author's Note:

Back with the start of a new arc. It was hard to get the story moving again after being away from the keyboard to deal with RL for a bit, but I'm feeling good getting back to writing. Two chapters to sink your teeth into this time.

I stood tired in the room that was devoid of any furniture save for a small desk. Across the desk in a chair sat the pony who was debriefing me.

"And that's all?"

I looked down at the five pound stone in my hand that I was told to hold out in front of me the entire time.

"After the Speaker made his accusation, Tempest insisted that we head straight to the castle without rest. When we arrived, I was told to keep this stone held up no matter what until told otherwise. But other than that, yea. That's all."

Tempest had been eyeballing me the entire time while Scraps and Speaks with Talons stood next to her. Fluttershy was in another room, having a medical examination after her bizarre injury and recovery. The Speaker was taken home by Zecora after she met us part way through our trek home.

"And what exactly was it about the little 'devil looking' creature that put you off?"

I sighed for a moment, shifted the stone to my other hand, then pointed to my mouth with my first hand. "When the amulet translates for me, I hear my own language, but I still see your lips moving normally. That is to say, I still 'see' you speaking Equestrian while I 'hear' you speaking English."

"What does that have to do with the creature?"

The pit that had been in my stomach seemed to want to dig itself in further as I forced myself not to grimace. "I saw his lips moving in sync with the words I was hearing. It was actually speaking English, which meant the opposing force has at least had contact with my home world, if not also drawing upon it to fill their ranks."

The pony seemed to be calm, but the delay he had in a response gave away the fact that this disturbed him on some level.

"Very well. I believe I have all I need from you for your debriefing."

He scribbled one last note then closed his notebook and called out, "Sharp Sentry!"

Two guards came in at the call. "You called, First Lieutenant Cold Stone?"

He nodded at the guards and at Speaks with Talons. "The debriefing is over for the prisoner. Escort him to his cell and make sure you allow the griffin to see you do so. It is absolutely crucial we do not endanger our newly formed allegiance with the forest dwellers."

Both Tempest and Speaks with Talons called in unison, "They're called 'the Fey.'" They looked at each other before Speaks with Talons continued with a slight grin.

"They fought diligently in their own way to protect their lands, and in turn yours. The bravest of them nearly gave his life in the process. The least you can do is call them by their proper title."

The pony gave no sense of apology, but rather gave the griffin a raised eyebrow and said, "Very well. I'll make note of that." He and the griffin exchanged a set of cold glares, but beyond that the friction didn't escalate and we were allowed to leave.

Speaks with Talons and the guards escorted me up into the upper parts of the castle to a tower with a small number of lockable rooms. Once I was locked up, I was permitted to finally let go of the stone.

Before they finally took my amulet from me, Speaks with Talons asked them to hold off for a moment.

He spoke to me in his native tongue with a sense of remorse, "I am sorry for this, but to ensure peace the demands of the Fey must be upheld. Stay strong, battle brother."

I looked at him oddly as the guard's magic pulled the amulet from around my neck and back through the small barred window in the door. With my communication with every other sentient being I had any desire to be around on the entire planet cut off, all I could do is wonder what they would do to me now that I was imprisoned again. I eventually had to force myself to bed, knowing I didn't know what was going to happen or even what the hell was going on.

Having been up for about thirty-six hours, an arrow wound in my shoulder, trekking for hours on end throughout the day prior, and then finally holding that ball while telling my story, I felt pretty tired. I hadn't had a rest in some time. So it wasn't long after I curled up on the small bed in the cell before I was out like a light.

---

I awoke when I felt myself falling out of the bed and abruptly landing on the floor below. I quickly got my bearings, finding it to be the evening with the light coming through the door. I braced myself to listen for the quips of good or bad fortune I could invoke that day with my good luck charm, but the feeling never came. Instead, I found myself clutching my stomach when it growled.

"No food, no long rest benefits I guess."

I had no backup in that regard. It was odd how I tried not to rely on it, but still kinda felt naked without it now.

A few hours went by as I just sat in the cell, waiting to hear whatever they planned for me before I finally heard the door's bar being released.

Sitting up straight on the bed, I saw Fluttershy fly in with a meal tray for me in her front hooves and an uneasy but genuine smile.

I tapped my throat as the door closed behind her to ask about my amulet.

When she saw this, she frowned and shook her head. She then sat the tray down in the middle of the cell and backed up to sit several yards away from it.

As hungry as I was, I didn't look at the tray. Instead, I looked at her neck and made a brief gesture with my thumb nail across my own, followed by my fingers performing a gentler pass to try to ask about how she was recovering. I wasn't sure if she understood me, however, because she just gave me that same uneasy smile and gestured towards the tray to dig in.

When I got up and started towards her instead of the tray, she backed up in a panic. I didn't see fear in her eyes so much as I did worry. When she glanced towards the door, cuing me in on the guard watching through the bars, I caught on. She was just there to see to it that I ate something.

Looking back at the tray, I saw the food was in tiny, bite-sized chunks. It took me a second, but combined with the fact that she kept her distance I was able to deduce they had to make sure Fluttershy wasn't sneaking anything in for me.

As I ate, I did my best to not delay any more than needed and eat it as fast as I could manage. The food was the most horrid tasting thing I had eaten since I first made it out of the woods, but I didn't balk at it. As bad as it tasted, it didn't taste rotten or poisoned, just cooked without flavor in mind. I think Fluttershy could see my distaste for the food in my face, though.

When I was done, I stepped back from the tray and sat on my bed again. She then took the tray and left with an uneasy smile and a nod.

---

The second and third days went by with nothing in particular happening. The two meals I got each day were identical to the first, save for they were slid through the small gap under the door instead of being brought in by Fluttershy. My shoulder bandage was checked through the bars by a unicorn to make sure it wasn't getting infected, but otherwise I had no interaction with the outside world.

On the fourth day, however, I got another visit.

Fluttershy and another pony with odd bat like wings entered my cell while Speaks with Talons watched from outside the cell.

The mystery pony slid my amulet across the floor towards me. Once I had it on, the mystery pony spoke up.

"I saw in the reports you haven't given the guards any more trouble after your first feeding. That's good."

I pressed on my amulet and turned to Fluttershy. "Yea. Sorry about that, Fluttershy. I didn't mean to make you jump when you brought me my first meal."

"I mean the meal prior to that," The bat winged pony retorted, "The one that the guards had to pull out again when you didn't touch it."

I gave them an uneasy look. "After I woke up, the first meal I saw was when Fluttershy came in."

The bat wing pony's eyes widened for a moment, revealing their cat like slitted nature, then she closed her eyes and shook her head a little. "You were asleep for the first one. Great. Iron Bastion, you block head. Now I have even more paperwork to do over this."

"Well, even though it meant I raced through a stack of paperwork to let Fluttershy in for nothing, at least you weren't trying to starve yourself again."

The bat winged pony opened up a case she brought with her and pulled out some papers.

"Now that we have that settled, we need to address the issues presently hanging over your head."

She pulled out a piece of paper, and read from it. "As per the treaty signed by Princess Celestia and every member of the high counsel of the Fey of Far Everfree, the water genasi, Moss, is to be detained in Equestrian custody until such time that the accused crime of his being a servant of an exalted being and aiding the enemy have been confirmed or disproven to a degree that the Fey High Counsel and the Courts of Equestria both agree upon a verdict. Upon such a bi party verdict, Moss is to be processed in the maximum way allowed by equestrian courts. Should this verdict be guilty on all counts, Moss is to be executed by beheading with the presence of a Fey representative to confirm his death."

I could see Fluttershy wince back at that last part.

The bat pony put a hoof to Fluttershy's shoulder to comfort her for a moment. She then put the paper back where it came from and looked me square in the eyes. "Fortunately for you, we know beyond a doubt you are innocent of these crimes. We just have to convince the Fey of this. Unfortunately, doing so will likely take some time. In the meantime, however, we need your help with something. Some things actually."

"Please help them, Moss," Fluttershy asked me with tears forming in her eyes, "It will only help speed your case along."

"There are other things we will get to soon enough, but, before we get to them, one thing that will help tremendously is if you to tell us what you know of this being you called, 'Jah' in your own words."

That was a lot of information to process at once, but I needed one more piece of information. I looked the bat pony square in her face and spoke, "I have no problem answering your questions about him to the best of my ability, but could I ask a question first?"

She nodded her head and smiled a bit too eagerly.

"I've never seen a pony like you before. What are you?"

Comments

[DerpTape]

At least he didn't just ask straight out if they were a "Batpony". He can learn!